Hello everyone, I need some help.

Hello everyone, I need some help.

Hello everyone, I need some help. I am heading to college in the fall and I want to start my own DnD group to play games like blades (Mostly blades to be honest I freaking love this game). I have been in a group for about a year now and I’ve gotten to see cool characters and storylines, descriptions and imagery and it has been a great time; but they’re stopping the group. Or at least, they are no longer going to play with me. For the group I make in college, I really want to be a good DM, but I don’t have a lot of tips in my arsenal. I want to make worlds and characters just as creatively as I have seen and give the same joy I felt the first time I played DnD to others. DnD launched my artistic abilities to be what they are now. It is the reason I will be an art minor. If any of you have tips about how to be a good DM, or how to setup a great campaign, I would be so so so grateful. Thank you. 🙂

24 thoughts on “Hello everyone, I need some help.”

  1. I recommend the writings of Robin Laws.

    Watch live plays.

    Remember everyone sitting at the table should be having fun.

    Start your campaign area small and work out from there.

  2. Watching the actual plays that John Harper ran, Roll20 Blades and the Bloodletters crew, would be really helpful. Also, watch Adam Koebel’s Office Hours series on Youtube. These actually plays and videos are entertaining but also really instructive. Cheers!

  3. Matt Colville’s videos are always good – very D&D-centric but worth a watch anyway I reckon (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-YZvLUXcR8).

    Remember that you’re not solely responsible for whether the group has fun or whether the world is engaging; ask the players lots of questions about the world and be as collaborative as possible. It takes pressure off you and makes it more fun in the long run.

    I would say just go for it and enjoy yourself – you’ll do great! Being relaxed and having fun is the main thing.

  5. I was trying to apply “5 Room Dungeon” to BitD, but it wasn’t really working for me. I really love this short post on how to prepare a heist by making it have 3 zones.

    http://games.nightstaff.net/2018/04/24/prepping-scores-for-blades-in-the-dark/

    Use the random tables in the book to help describe the world.

    Have a few rule reference sheets on the table. While the GM should know the rules well, the players need to have good knowledge also.

    Use social media to handle some of the game outside of the session.

    Don’t forget NPC & Faction downtimes.

    https://bladesinthedark.com/downtime-activities-play

  6. Just relax and run different games for different people. This summer, you could look to play at conventions or in stores. Have a great time at college.

  7. Read heaps of RPGs. There are lots of good habits and tips in different games. The GM sections of Monsterhearts, Apocalypse World and Dungeon World are all worth reading.

    Also mainline the media. Watch shows like Peaky Blinders (or any movie/shows you like) with an eye to how certain scenes are framed. Ask yourself what position and effect level you would set for the actions as they happen on screen. It can both give you fodder for story ideas and help make those position/effect decisions in the moment when you play.

  17. I second the recommendation of Office Hours. It’s full of great episode.

    Good luck with all of this! It sounds like you’re going g to be a great GM.

  19. Always, always, always ask for feedback. After every session. I’ve been GMing for 23 years and I still ask for feedback every time. A lot of the time I get “it was fun” or basically nothing, but every now and then I get nuggets of truth that steer me in the right direction. Whether it’s good feedback or bad, it’s good to know what your current players like or dislike, want to see more or less of in the game.

    Have a plan of action going in. Don’t expect it to last, RPG players are notorious for thinking of the one thing you didn’t or coming at problems in ways you never would have. Adapt your plan to what happens. Learn to wing it.

    On that same vein, have a list of names, places, people, details, etc ready to go. Blades is superb for this as the GM reference sheet has this ready-made for you. Add to it as you deplete it. I guarantee you will need to make up people, places, and details on the fly and having a list is a lifesaver… or at least a timesaver.

    Above all else, remember that you’re there to have fun too. Do cool things with the environment and your NPCs. Nudge the players in the direction of cool things(only nudge, never railroad). You may be hesitant to steal the spotlight, but as long as it’s momentary players by and large will love it. “Remember that badass guy we met?” “Yeah, let’s go see him again.” NPCs who are competent are memorable.

    Make things just mysterious enough that people want to know more, and give them a steady but slow trickle of whatever ‘more’ entails. No information is frustrating. Too much information isn’t satisfying. Ramp it up exponentially.

    That’s all I’ve got for now. Some of this may be more or less applicable to Blades but I just kinda started disgorging random thoughts on GMing I’ve picked up over the years. 😛

  20. If you haven’t already, get your hands on a copy of Apocalypse World. The MC chapter contains alot of very good GMing advice, most of which is applicable to a wide variety of games.

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