hello everyone, i know this question might sound funny (it sounds funny to me) but im willing to start DMing and i dont know where to start, my friends told to just read the book and it feels like its gonna be long. me and my friend group wanted to run a campaign for a while and they asked me to work on something since im the only one that plays DnD in the group but i dont know how to be a DM, got any tips or maybe some good place to start?
YouTube. There are dozens of video essays covering any topic you can think of.
I would honestly say to start by buying a module/adventure/campaign to run rather than running your own. You can get oneshots from the DMs Guild that are pretty good - I'd recommend this one https://www.dmsguild.com/en/product/170405/DDEX102-Secrets-of-Sokol-Keep-5e
You will need to read it through thoroughly as stuff that's later on can impact earlier stuff.
Then...well you just need to know the rules. You've said you play DnD so you should already know most of the rules you need with maybe specific class abilities being something you need to brush up on?
A good place to start is, ultimately, reading the DMG and Players Handbook. I will say that the 2024 DMG has a lot of good advice for new DMs but to answer your question!
There’s no actual method to decide that. Like many skills, DMing is difficult to start off. You aren’t going to be perfect, you’ll stumble and get things wrong. But you’ll get better with time, I’ve been DMing for 4 years now and I’m still getting better. There are good resources out there to help you, such as Matt Colville’s series ‘Running the Game’.
A good place to start would be to watch some actual D&D play to get a feel for it. Matt Mercer's Critical Role is great for this, Brennan Lee Mulligan is also good but I don't think he's quite as good for beginners.
Are you running a module, or making your own campaign?
1 MILLION YEARS DUNGEON!
No but start with some "how to balance and run combat" tutorials, and probably start with some already established modules to run or as a base to jump your fresh new ideas off of.
Ask the group what kind of game they think they want (mystery, combat, heavy roleplaying). If you have a game that gets new players invested their energy will help you get into the ‘flow state’ where things just happen and feel natural
How long is it gonna take me to become a decent DM?Some are decent or even excellent from the word go. Others never get to decent level at all. DM'ing is more about personality and social skills than rules knowledge. Although knowing rules is important but if that's all a DM masters, they are not very good.
Decent is relative, the last thing you should do is compare yourself to anyone else.
Do you have an adventure in mind?
Decent grasp of the rules? (Remember, you don’t have to know every to last little thing off the top of your head).
A good group of friends who know there will be some stumbles along the way as you find your groove and style?
If the answer to those three things are yes, just start DMing and don’t worry about anything other than telling a story and having fun.
Yes, there are resources to help you be “better”, but I truly believe you can over prepare and over think. Just have fun a bit, and then start looking outside to hone your craft if you find you enjoy being at the head of the table.
There's no set amount of time, as everyone is different and brings in different relevant skills.
The first time I DM'd I realized planning for a session is very similar to lesson planning, which I'd done for years already. I unexpectedly had a lot of transferable skills. One of my DMs recognized skills that can transfer from night management at a hotel. Until you start, you don't know what skills you already have that can be roped in.
I do agree with others that doing a module for your first time is a better idea than making it all up from scratch (also get the DM guide and read it, not all in one sitting).
If you and your friends are having fun, you're a good DM.
The players handbook has most of the rules, and if you play already you may have a decent grasp on that. The DMs guide has a ton of information on building a world, which you don't really need to go all out on. Especially if you are doing a pre-made campaign. Like I wouldn't worry about a religion/pantheon unless you have players whose characters worship one. And if they do, you can pull from pre-existing gods.
Basically, wing it. Maybe watch the first 3-5 episodes of Matt covilles DMing series. The other videos are good too, but the first few are really all the instruction you could need.
Not gonna lie some people are just naturally better at it. My ADHD makes me great at improvisation. I like goofing around so I also have no problem putting some acting in my NPCs and give them an accent, a different voice or some personality. Also if I'm motivated planning the next session feels easy. Combat is something you have to get a feel for. That's pretty hard to know from the get go and there might be some sources that help but in the end combat is something that gets better with experience.
Talking outside of the sessions to your players also helps a lot. Having good players also makes it easier to become a better DM.
And don't sweat it if you don't have all the materials it's not your job to pour hundreds of your currency into the game. If your players want better maps or Minifigures they can chip in.
Don’t overthink it, and start with something simple. My favorite DM I ever played for dint don’t do voices or anything he just gave us space to breathe, was good about clarifying rulings and did a great job with stuff like pacing encounters and providing hooks.
But don’t worry about any of that, my point was just you don’t need to focus on doing voices or other surface level stuff to start out cause even great DMs don’t need that.
I started with Most Potent Brew a level 1 one shot that’s available for free, and then we did the Lost Mines of Phandelver starter campaign over the course of like 5 more sessions. Both of these have tons of resources to help you prepare them online.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmtuNGN3ZDJEFDhOcwfFc0-OpZ7omueRx&si=rOT-63sJATFMk09W
As long as you have a general idea of where the party is going next you only need to specifically prep for what is right in front of them. Most Potent Brew they go to a tavern, fight some rats in the cellar, solve a puzzle and fight a big spider. Somehow that took us 4 hours cause I filled it with them getting to know each other’s characters and NPCs from Lost Mines to get them hooked for the rest of the adventure, as well as them just going slow cause they’re still learning the rules. Once you begin you’ll start getting ideas of what works and what doesn’t and what to improve, but don’t worry about being great to start out