The three things I do for brand new players. 1. Help them decide what type of character they should be based on the playstyle they like. 2. Make their character sheet for them. I want them to focus on having fun playing the game, not the mechanics of building a character. 3. Most importantly, I have a color coded character sheet. This is hands down the best way to introduce new players! Being able to help your players navigate the character sheet makes it so much easier. "Roll a stealth check. That's in the yellow area.", "roll a dexterity saving throw, that's in the blue area." Probably the best new player resource I have.
Oh #3 is a fantastic idea! A new player in our game is really ADD and I think this will help him a lot. He starts to get a little panicky when he has to find stuff on his sheet. I will bring him highlighters and I also got him a fidget toy and a book for doodling in
Another great tip! Especially for helping both new players and maybe experienced players who are taking their first shot at running the game. That was always the hardest transition for me, and i was always really anxious about making little mistakes. I thought, "if I've been playing this game for half my life, i should really be on top of all this" but it's an entirely different situation once you're behind that screen. Loving your work, Mike. Congratulations on the milestones and can't wait to see what come next
Bro, this was fantastic. To be honest, you just seem like a really nice guy who's really knowledgeable about the game. That's really refreshing. I have two ideas for videos I haven't seen covered as much. 1) Rules people expect dungeon masters to know are a little bit more obscure (fall damage, cover) 2) How Dungeons and Dragons can impact ones mental health, and utilizing it as a positive tool for not only social interaction but self-expression
If you have a group who consistently miss the plot-hooks, you can use the "Ooops! I forgot to tell you about THIS little detail," to emphasize (without looking like you're trying to emphasize) a detail that will draw them into the plot. For example, "Oh! I forgot to tell you that she's wearing a ruby ring," could make them think, "What's the significance of her wearing a ruby ring? I mean, why even tell us that, if it's not important. GASP! It's IMPORTANT! OK, let's figure this out." You can even use the, "Did I mention that?" and then "Wait. Let me READ MY NOTES ALOUD, just to be sure I got that description completely correct" to make them think, "Ah! This part is important!" and make them listen to you, closely. All the while, you're putting them at ease, and making them feel better about themselves.
Love this idea, not least because I've already made this mistake! In my current LMoP game for new players, I got the names of two minor NPCs (or NPC minors - they were both kids) mixed up while the party explored Phandalin. I had to make my "first official retcon" on the group WhatsApp later that day, and things have indeed seemed more relaxed since!
I'm prepping for my first time DMing, a quick one shot I wrote. The players will need to find an NPCs daughter, and if nobody asks about her name or occupation, I plan to "oh, I meant to tell you" and let the players know I made a mistake. Thank you for this series, Mike!
This is great advice! I had players (second session of play) move from a gridded out boat deck to the hold, which we were playing theater of the mind . I planned to cast a cone of cold at them, as I saw them as all being in a tiny cone shape, but one of my players brought up the fact that that's just where *I* said they were. I immediately admitted he was right, and switched to a different spell. I rother need to be more meticulous about blocking in theater of the mind or slap down an empty grid when needed. I hope they learned that I'm going to admit when I'm wrong or hasty and can be trusted. especially since these players are all new to me, and half of them are new to the game.
That's a really cool trick! I am pretty new to playing and DMing and I will really take this to heart. I really want my players to know that there is no pressure on them. Also I think that it's important to at least to pretend to just roll with everything as a DM. I am terrified of my players doing something I did not at all anticipate and having to make it up on the spot in one of my first run games. But then again, from a new player perspective, your DM being visibly overwhelmed and stressed by something you decided to do would really pressure me as a player as well. So I'll definitely try to be cool about everything. Might still do the mistake trick (even though I will probably make some genuine mistakes anyway, that and the knowledge that this is a first for me as well is probably enough to lower the pressure on my first-time players) and my players can know if they caught me off-guard with something, but I am really going to try and put this as a positive thing, like: "okay that was creative enough for me to not plan for it, give me a second to figure something out". I think stuff like that can really give the players a breather, and helps the DM to be more relaxed as well.
I've been running games since the early 90s, and I have to say, this is one of my favorite tips. I know I've done this accidentally in the past a couple of times, but I've never thought about doing intentionally. Genius. Great video, and thanks for sharing!
Yo Mike! Good timing with this vid, was just thinking about how to get one of the shy players in the group to relax a little and allow himself to goof with the rest of the party and your advice has helped
so glad I found this channel. I might even do this with my group I've been playing with for 10 sessions already - all of them are new and some are still very nervous to "play the game wrong" or make mistakes
I’ve played with tons of new players so I always ran one shot dungeons always a fun great introduction to the game suspense riddles puzzles traps an encounters my group all started brand new with me an loved the introduction
This video is the actual dirty little trick to make new DMs build up confidence when running a game. You just have to make the little mistakes you were going to make anyways lol
Hey man. I dig your calm energy and authentic style. I am happy to like, sub and ding. To help out a relatively new creator in a fairly saturated topic. Cheers buddy.
🤣..I did this with an NPC two sessions ago in a dungeon..he was supposed to be the bb at the end. I realized this after the session and was caught in last session, so the bb laughed and said it was a minor illusion. They loved it.
Brand new players get dice confusion too. Colour coding them can make it easier. "Roll the red one, that's a d20..." etc Most non gamers are unfamiliar with clacky maths rocks.
I'm in two minds about this one... I completely agree with the mindset that it is fine to make mistakes. We are all humans after all, and making sure my players are at ease and relaxed is always a priority for me. The problems I tend to have with new players, however, are that they tend to interrupt me and think they know things better than me. Seriously, if I had a quarter for every time that a newbie interrupted me to badly explain the rules at me, I'd be able to buy myself a shiny new rulebook. I worry that if I were to apply this technique, my players would take me even less seriously. I think Mike gives great advice and I'm a fan of this channel so far, but I would suggest maybe more consideration for the fact that if your GM's a woman, she will be treated differently.
Yeah I see this happen all the time and not just to women. I think it could still be a valuable tip for the first reason he gave, to establish you are working off of something canonical and tangible, not just letting everything flow stream-of-consciousness style out of your brain. As to the problem of players interrupting and "man-splaining" that's a topic that could definitely warrant its own video. I think one trick you could do is if it starts to get out of hand just tell everyone to "roll initiative". Then, even if it isn't combat, you force everyone to take turns in whatever situation or activity they are doing. Then at the very least they will have to talk one at a time without interrupting you as you get your initiative turn. Maybe Mike has some ideas too.
5e is quite well designed. I've been playing a home brew version of 2e for 30 years, I know that system inside out, upside down and backwards. I'm now in the process of learning 5e, the first new system I've ever bothered with. At first I was just thinking of stealing a couple things, but the more I learned about it the more I realized it's a really good system. Obviously, there are some things I'll be changing, but not right away.
Hey Mike, love the content and the video and that advice is really good! Could I offer some critique? Not trying to be a nob but your audio is clipping and distorting a lot when you raise your voice at the beginning of sentences, could you record at a lower gain and compress the audio to bring the level up to a decent range.
Hey I think this vid is great when it comes to giving some information on new players. But if possible, can you make a vid about the different types of sheets, materials, or methods of help keeping track for new players? I know some people have answered this but i'm asking for specifics places on where to find these resources, google search has sent me into a whirlpool of different websites with a price tag. So an example would be a reddit page that shares resources or discord channel that shares free content for sheets to use. Can't be paying for a bunch of subs or books when it might not even work for yourself or the players. Love the content!
If it's an issue of new players keeping track of things, never underestimate simple doc files or traditional note taking. I have people who use a word doc or google docs for notes. Google docs lets you create bookmarks so you can click and zoom to whatever it is you're looking for. Since it's shareable and editable, the DM and player can both have access to it. My cousin broke down her character sheet in a spreadsheet (excel file). She only needed to hit a tab to get to her feats or skills or what have you. It also helps if you have some basic understanding of how to add formulas into the boxes so things automatically change as your stats do. Again, google docs has a spreadsheet option so it can be shareable. I even had a player use post it notes and cue cards. Everything was color coded and organized in a binder. I've seen people use notebooks and use different color pens and highlighters. I also enjoy doing a summary of the previous session. It helps the PCs remember certain things and remind each other of certain things and also tells the DM what everyone sort of focused on and gives an opening for clarification if need be. It also encourages the players to take notes if the DM is also taking notes. I hope this helps a bit.
I don't hide behind a screen, and I try otherwise to be very transparent like that I have no pre-planned stories and I do not hide that I make up many things on the spot. Thus this trick is not really something I think would fit the style how I run games, aside from being a girl that gets questioned already enough and thus the whole thing of pretending to make a mistake is something that I better leave to be used by male game masters.
@Vickiraytive Games Nah, I feel not like I am hiding on the internet, it is more like I can be my true self here. That I can express more who I am with the avatars and such things here than I can with makeup or the like in real life. But well, maybe I am just weird. And sure, not al women face sexism, but it is common enough in the hobby that it might not occur a to a man making such advice videos that this is an issue. And no, I do not just play with experienced players, I actually enjoy playing more with people who are new to the hobby, since they are usually more free in how they think about it, and thus are more open to try things that the grognards dismiss out of hand. I mean I break away from a lot of the ableism that is so prevailed in roleplaying games and love more expressive kind of play, where not the environment is explored by the characters themselves, thus it is for me more about who the characters are and not so much about what they can do. But don't feel bad about over-analysing things, I have the same tendency.
I haven't used a DM screen since the 80s bro! Roll your dice on the table and accept the results! Stop hiding behind a DM screen fudging your rolls! Drop the screen!
My "screen" has always been a couple of three ring binders taped at the ends. I use it for my notes. Always kept my rolling surface to the side in clear view of players.
IDK why people insist that this is all the DM screen is for. I keep conditions, skills, passive perception of my players, trap DCs, potential NPC names, a short chronology of the most important world shaping events, prices of typical stuff like accommodation, ale, travel and magic potions etc. on that screen. So far, haven't found a better way to quick access this stuff. Hiding dice rolls is one of the least important things I use it for.
@@Lathlaer yeah, I put reference charts on the inside, and preferably outside as well, for game mechanics that often reference charts or get referenced frequently. I also have initiative tents on top so both my players and I have access to turn order (I have to read it right to left because I'm on the opposite side, but I'm already a weeb, so this is not a new skill). I also hide my laptop behind it, which has all my notes and access to digital books. I actually never fudge dice, but I still use a screen
The three things I do for brand new players.
1. Help them decide what type of character they should be based on the playstyle they like.
2. Make their character sheet for them. I want them to focus on having fun playing the game, not the mechanics of building a character.
3. Most importantly, I have a color coded character sheet. This is hands down the best way to introduce new players! Being able to help your players navigate the character sheet makes it so much easier. "Roll a stealth check. That's in the yellow area.", "roll a dexterity saving throw, that's in the blue area." Probably the best new player resource I have.
I have alot of friends who tell me "I'm not strong with math". Always find it helps to reassure players, "if you can add 1-20, you're fine"
I also do #2, but I LOVE the idea of #3! What a great way to make an overwhelming stats sheet less intimidating!
Oh #3 is a fantastic idea! A new player in our game is really ADD and I think this will help him a lot. He starts to get a little panicky when he has to find stuff on his sheet. I will bring him highlighters and I also got him a fidget toy and a book for doodling in
@@DerpinaTheBrave I'd be more than happy to email you the colored versions I made if you like.
@@nordicnugz that would be awesome! I'm always looking to collect resources!
Another great tip! Especially for helping both new players and maybe experienced players who are taking their first shot at running the game. That was always the hardest transition for me, and i was always really anxious about making little mistakes. I thought, "if I've been playing this game for half my life, i should really be on top of all this" but it's an entirely different situation once you're behind that screen. Loving your work, Mike. Congratulations on the milestones and can't wait to see what come next
Bro, this was fantastic. To be honest, you just seem like a really nice guy who's really knowledgeable about the game. That's really refreshing. I have two ideas for videos I haven't seen covered as much.
1) Rules people expect dungeon masters to know are a little bit more obscure (fall damage, cover)
2) How Dungeons and Dragons can impact ones mental health, and utilizing it as a positive tool for not only social interaction but self-expression
I have a video coming on Monday about the rules DMs should maybe try to remember… :)
If you have a group who consistently miss the plot-hooks, you can use the "Ooops! I forgot to tell you about THIS little detail," to emphasize (without looking like you're trying to emphasize) a detail that will draw them into the plot.
For example, "Oh! I forgot to tell you that she's wearing a ruby ring," could make them think, "What's the significance of her wearing a ruby ring? I mean, why even tell us that, if it's not important. GASP! It's IMPORTANT! OK, let's figure this out."
You can even use the, "Did I mention that?" and then "Wait. Let me READ MY NOTES ALOUD, just to be sure I got that description completely correct" to make them think, "Ah! This part is important!" and make them listen to you, closely.
All the while, you're putting them at ease, and making them feel better about themselves.
Man, I'm so glad I found your channel. Your tips have helped immensely with the homebrew game I'm running for my kids.
I’m so glad!
Love this idea, not least because I've already made this mistake! In my current LMoP game for new players, I got the names of two minor NPCs (or NPC minors - they were both kids) mixed up while the party explored Phandalin. I had to make my "first official retcon" on the group WhatsApp later that day, and things have indeed seemed more relaxed since!
I'm prepping for my first time DMing, a quick one shot I wrote. The players will need to find an NPCs daughter, and if nobody asks about her name or occupation, I plan to "oh, I meant to tell you" and let the players know I made a mistake. Thank you for this series, Mike!
This is great advice! I had players (second session of play) move from a gridded out boat deck to the hold, which we were playing theater of the mind . I planned to cast a cone of cold at them, as I saw them as all being in a tiny cone shape, but one of my players brought up the fact that that's just where *I* said they were.
I immediately admitted he was right, and switched to a different spell. I rother need to be more meticulous about blocking in theater of the mind or slap down an empty grid when needed.
I hope they learned that I'm going to admit when I'm wrong or hasty and can be trusted. especially since these players are all new to me, and half of them are new to the game.
That's a really cool trick! I am pretty new to playing and DMing and I will really take this to heart. I really want my players to know that there is no pressure on them. Also I think that it's important to at least to pretend to just roll with everything as a DM. I am terrified of my players doing something I did not at all anticipate and having to make it up on the spot in one of my first run games. But then again, from a new player perspective, your DM being visibly overwhelmed and stressed by something you decided to do would really pressure me as a player as well. So I'll definitely try to be cool about everything. Might still do the mistake trick (even though I will probably make some genuine mistakes anyway, that and the knowledge that this is a first for me as well is probably enough to lower the pressure on my first-time players) and my players can know if they caught me off-guard with something, but I am really going to try and put this as a positive thing, like: "okay that was creative enough for me to not plan for it, give me a second to figure something out". I think stuff like that can really give the players a breather, and helps the DM to be more relaxed as well.
I love that this tip is practical, and you also can't find it on any other D&D channel.
I've been running games since the early 90s, and I have to say, this is one of my favorite tips. I know I've done this accidentally in the past a couple of times, but I've never thought about doing intentionally. Genius. Great video, and thanks for sharing!
Fog obscuring a small island in a body of water does actually make perfect sense
This is solid from both a behavioral psychology standpoint and a narrative standpoint.
Yo Mike! Good timing with this vid, was just thinking about how to get one of the shy players in the group to relax a little and allow himself to goof with the rest of the party and your advice has helped
so glad I found this channel. I might even do this with my group I've been playing with for 10 sessions already - all of them are new and some are still very nervous to "play the game wrong" or make mistakes
Great tip. I'm relatively new to DMing, and I'm hoping to run a game for my family soon. I'll try this trick, probably!
I’ve played with tons of new players so I always ran one shot dungeons always a fun great introduction to the game suspense riddles puzzles traps an encounters my group all started brand new with me an loved the introduction
Really nice, practical tip, and you gave good examples for how to do it :)
Always a treat to see an upload from you!
I have been a GM for over 20 years, and I learned something new today. Thank you.
Glad I could help!
You look like you could easily cosplay Obi-Wan Kenobi, great video btw
This video is the actual dirty little trick to make new DMs build up confidence when running a game. You just have to make the little mistakes you were going to make anyways lol
Hey man. I dig your calm energy and authentic style. I am happy to like, sub and ding. To help out a relatively new creator in a fairly saturated topic. Cheers buddy.
LOVE this advice! Gonna be a while before I start something up with a new group, but when that time comes I'll remember this tip :D
I could see this being really helpful, grace in mistakes is always important, no matter who you are:)
🤣..I did this with an NPC two sessions ago in a dungeon..he was supposed to be the bb at the end. I realized this after the session and was caught in last session, so the bb laughed and said it was a minor illusion. They loved it.
Skeletons in 5e are not resistant to piercing damage. However I assume you made this mistake on purpose to make me more comfortable :)
Brand new players get dice confusion too.
Colour coding them can make it easier.
"Roll the red one, that's a d20..." etc
Most non gamers are unfamiliar with clacky maths rocks.
Confidence comes from memories of past success, so this is a great way to build confidence - and not just in D&D!
I'm in two minds about this one... I completely agree with the mindset that it is fine to make mistakes. We are all humans after all, and making sure my players are at ease and relaxed is always a priority for me. The problems I tend to have with new players, however, are that they tend to interrupt me and think they know things better than me. Seriously, if I had a quarter for every time that a newbie interrupted me to badly explain the rules at me, I'd be able to buy myself a shiny new rulebook.
I worry that if I were to apply this technique, my players would take me even less seriously. I think Mike gives great advice and I'm a fan of this channel so far, but I would suggest maybe more consideration for the fact that if your GM's a woman, she will be treated differently.
Yeah I see this happen all the time and not just to women. I think it could still be a valuable tip for the first reason he gave, to establish you are working off of something canonical and tangible, not just letting everything flow stream-of-consciousness style out of your brain.
As to the problem of players interrupting and "man-splaining" that's a topic that could definitely warrant its own video. I think one trick you could do is if it starts to get out of hand just tell everyone to "roll initiative". Then, even if it isn't combat, you force everyone to take turns in whatever situation or activity they are doing. Then at the very least they will have to talk one at a time without interrupting you as you get your initiative turn. Maybe Mike has some ideas too.
5e is quite well designed. I've been playing a home brew version of 2e for 30 years, I know that system inside out, upside down and backwards.
I'm now in the process of learning 5e, the first new system I've ever bothered with. At first I was just thinking of stealing a couple things, but the more I learned about it the more I realized it's a really good system.
Obviously, there are some things I'll be changing, but not right away.
I make enough goofs with proper nouns that it's kinda just a known quality at my tables.
Hey Mike, love the content and the video and that advice is really good! Could I offer some critique? Not trying to be a nob but your audio is clipping and distorting a lot when you raise your voice at the beginning of sentences, could you record at a lower gain and compress the audio to bring the level up to a decent range.
Unfortunately the current mic just doesn’t have options for different settings, but I’m hoping to upgrade my equipment soon!
Hey I think this vid is great when it comes to giving some information on new players. But if possible, can you make a vid about the different types of sheets, materials, or methods of help keeping track for new players? I know some people have answered this but i'm asking for specifics places on where to find these resources, google search has sent me into a whirlpool of different websites with a price tag. So an example would be a reddit page that shares resources or discord channel that shares free content for sheets to use. Can't be paying for a bunch of subs or books when it might not even work for yourself or the players.
Love the content!
If it's an issue of new players keeping track of things, never underestimate simple doc files or traditional note taking. I have people who use a word doc or google docs for notes. Google docs lets you create bookmarks so you can click and zoom to whatever it is you're looking for. Since it's shareable and editable, the DM and player can both have access to it. My cousin broke down her character sheet in a spreadsheet (excel file). She only needed to hit a tab to get to her feats or skills or what have you. It also helps if you have some basic understanding of how to add formulas into the boxes so things automatically change as your stats do. Again, google docs has a spreadsheet option so it can be shareable. I even had a player use post it notes and cue cards. Everything was color coded and organized in a binder. I've seen people use notebooks and use different color pens and highlighters. I also enjoy doing a summary of the previous session. It helps the PCs remember certain things and remind each other of certain things and also tells the DM what everyone sort of focused on and gives an opening for clarification if need be. It also encourages the players to take notes if the DM is also taking notes. I hope this helps a bit.
This, along with the comments, was quite helpful to me.
I’m so glad!
Great tip! will steal
I don't hide behind a screen, and I try otherwise to be very transparent like that I have no pre-planned stories and I do not hide that I make up many things on the spot. Thus this trick is not really something I think would fit the style how I run games, aside from being a girl that gets questioned already enough and thus the whole thing of pretending to make a mistake is something that I better leave to be used by male game masters.
@Vickiraytive Games Nah, I feel not like I am hiding on the internet, it is more like I can be my true self here. That I can express more who I am with the avatars and such things here than I can with makeup or the like in real life. But well, maybe I am just weird. And sure, not al women face sexism, but it is common enough in the hobby that it might not occur a to a man making such advice videos that this is an issue. And no, I do not just play with experienced players, I actually enjoy playing more with people who are new to the hobby, since they are usually more free in how they think about it, and thus are more open to try things that the grognards dismiss out of hand. I mean I break away from a lot of the ableism that is so prevailed in roleplaying games and love more expressive kind of play, where not the environment is explored by the characters themselves, thus it is for me more about who the characters are and not so much about what they can do. But don't feel bad about over-analysing things, I have the same tendency.
I haven't used a DM screen since the 80s bro! Roll your dice on the table and accept the results! Stop hiding behind a DM screen fudging your rolls! Drop the screen!
My "screen" has always been a couple of three ring binders taped at the ends. I use it for my notes. Always kept my rolling surface to the side in clear view of players.
IDK why people insist that this is all the DM screen is for. I keep conditions, skills, passive perception of my players, trap DCs, potential NPC names, a short chronology of the most important world shaping events, prices of typical stuff like accommodation, ale, travel and magic potions etc. on that screen.
So far, haven't found a better way to quick access this stuff. Hiding dice rolls is one of the least important things I use it for.
@@Lathlaer yeah, I put reference charts on the inside, and preferably outside as well, for game mechanics that often reference charts or get referenced frequently. I also have initiative tents on top so both my players and I have access to turn order (I have to read it right to left because I'm on the opposite side, but I'm already a weeb, so this is not a new skill). I also hide my laptop behind it, which has all my notes and access to digital books. I actually never fudge dice, but I still use a screen