Writing the first D&D session in a new campaign
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- Опубликовано: 29 сен 2024
- This video is a very relaxed chat about how I go about writing the first session of a new Dungeons and Dragons campaign.
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Music Credits: "MidNyte" by Noir Et Blanc Vie
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All artwork used in this video was created by me using premium Inkarnate (inkarnate.com/) and is used here for the purposes of entertainment and education.
I just wanted to let you know that I'm an aspiring first time DM, and your videos have come to answer my questions exactly as they came up. Not only is your timing impeccable, but your advice is so genuinely helpful. I love your content and can't wait for each video, short or long form.
Literally the same thing as PoisonCap! I wanted to learn about D&D and how to be a good DM and “Tales Arcane”’s videos could not have come at a better time and all the information is GREAT!
Mate, that's wonderful to hear! I love making these videos, but knowing that fellow DMs like yourself are finding them useful, especially as you're starting out, makes it really worthwhile. I'll keep the content flowing 💪
@@KIBBLESANDBACONBITS That's very good of you to say, mate! Seeing these comments really gets me hyped up to make the next video - really appreciate the support and glad you're finding the content helpful!
Agreed. I've got two sessions under my belt, and I've found these videos very helpful for when I put my home-brew campaign together
Really great how you started by giving the players some limited lore, building their goals and back stories into the basic plot before you even started playing. Smart having players back stories with blank spaces you can just fill in. Excellent advice all around, thank you! 👍 Hoping to see the kitty cat sometime 😃, even if it doesn't jump in your lap but is napping at your feet.
Always appreciate the kind words, David! I'll make sure to bring the cat along for the next in-between video - she'll be the star of the show 😁
This is extremely helpful. It is my first time DM'ing just for my wife and son at first. I've just been doing a lot of reading the books, but I want to start planning, and this had great directional info. Thank you!
Amazing work fella. Just signed up to your patreon (first time for that) and it's definitely the best money I've spent on ttrpg content for a while. Love all this stuff and you clearly have a genuine passion for it which shines through. Thank you.
Love the idea of the clockwork zombie. Just written a tavern opening for my campaign (it's for the kids starting at lvl 1.) And I've had them outside in the rain and written them being cold and hungry looking for warmth. Think I've done pretty well at conveying the pass from the cold outside to a warm and friendly place inside. No one even has any quests although their are basic shops, they get a map and an introduction to some basic characters. Then an old guy bursts in on the edge of death screaming about goblins and asking any heroes to save the village. I wanted to introduce the kids to some classic tropes without making it too obvious, but it seems to work nicely.
This video is so helpful! Thank you! I finally see a path forward in how to get a new campaign up and running in a way that goes smoothly for both me and the players.
HiHi! a am a module Dm, So i dont needed any of this! but man! you are smart! you aced everything. loved the vid! New campaigns new pl, around the table. is always! fun.
I've been taking a different approach to session 1s. My games have revolved around an institute of some sort with my players working for that organization. Each player will discuss how they know each other as they've been working in this place for a period of time. Gives them a clue on what the character is about, gives them a reason to know each other and it gives then a direction as they have a boss that tells them what to do as well as a home base with resources at their disposal. I also run my games a little differently as the whole grand adventure lost its appeal, and I moved onto more bite-sized adventures where my players vote on the type of setting like the horror themed setting in the underdark or a sky ship battle with sahuagin pirates on flying manta rays. It all centers on the core of the institute they work for, whether it be a bounty hunter lodge or an academy that researchers lost magical artifacts that the players acquire. Anyway, back on topic. I always like to have my players just doing normal things, their daily routine or just relaxing in the commons with breakfast cooking while a few npcs mill about with them. A leader will them call them in and give them the rundown of what their mission is, rewards for completion, and any relevant info. I find this a little easier to run for me as there is a clear plot point with an end goal attached. The fun comes from how many twists and turns can I put in to make it exciting and having an established set of npcs that can help them initially, the ones that were passing through or relaxing in the commons with them, I find gives them that added bit of security. The long short of it is that having players all working for someone has relieved a lot of stress on making a group work together for a common goal and that's what works for me
Great video🔥! I am currently writing my first first session of the campaign so these tips wil be very useful
Glad to hear it mate, and good luck with the game!
I really hope you become a bigger TTRPG RUclipsr!
You're so sympathic and your voice is calming and awesome!
The Vids are informative and fun to watch :)
Keep it up
TA.. have you ever come across a podcast called anatomy of a campaign? Along with your channel this was one of my most formative resources as a new DM. I would LOVE you to do something similar. Like this video but a breakdown of previous session, learnings and planning for next. Please!!
Heyy, got the 600th like. Just wanted to say that your channel is fantastic and as someone who is playing a campaign but wants to run one himself, this channel is immensely helpful. Also you from round Stirling? Just sounds like my accent a wee bit
Thank you for saying so! Always makes my day to see comments like this and know that the videos are actually helping people. I'm actually from Glasgow, but I have a very neutral Scottish accent, for some reason. Many fond memories of Stirling though!
Ty sir❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
> I wake up.
> Another tales vid.
> "I think I can stay in bed for a bit longer right?"
Was the thing in the cave a lamplighter?
That would have been a very good inclusion actually! But no, this time it's just a lamp that's meant lure people in to become new test subjects for the necromancer. I'll definitely be throwing the lamplighter in there somewhere though.
@@TalesArcane I used it on my players that was a super cool monster!
Great and interesting advice, but maybe edit out that drinking?
As a RUclipsr, you have so much potential! Keep up the great work. It really is awesome! And I like how you talk like a “normal person”. What I mean is most RUclipsrs think it’s necessary to have a “speaker voice” but I like your style which sounds like a normal guy having a normal conversation.
I really appreciate that, mate! A "normal guy having a normal conversation" is exactly the vibe I'm going for, glad to hear it's coming across. Especially with these in-between videos, I want to keep it low-key and just chat - still getting used to the unscripted thing, but it's a lot of fun.
This is great, I particularly like the combat start as it works well with other points of interest in an area (like a fountain, or a ferry crossing)
Absolutely - almost any situation becomes more interesting when a monster is attacking 😁 Really breaks the ice.
Necromancer + artificer = artimancer OR necroficer
Sounds like a pretty badass subclass!
an artificer that infuses stuff with the souls of the dead goes hard
This is all really good advice for first sessions. Not just for new DMs. My current campaign almost started with a TPK, the party choose to attack a spider nest, turns out there were 5 giant spiders, too much for 6 level 1s! Luckily, they were able to escape and come back for round 2!
So, this is my first time DMing, and I figured I'd share my (So far) plans for the first session. (I'm DMing for my family, none of whom have played before, and I myself have very little experience). Let me know if this first session seems fair please ;-;
For context, a war is beginnning between two other nations, and both sides of said war are setting up blockades to take tolls on eachothers economies. However this is also having a bad effect on other nations, as now these nations are blocked from trading for vital supplies. Looking like it's gonna be a world war. (I want the overarching story of the campaign to be to end this possible world war)
So the party was on a ship, each for thier own reasons (We still havn't even had session zero), when the ship is wrecked. I'm going to have them wake up some time later in a infirmary in the capital of an undersea nation, where they'll be faced with a few quests, each which sorta bring them onto the mainland. All the possible roads here will eventually lead to the mainland.
The queen and one of the quests on the quest board both mention a band of terrorists who've been disrupting trade and smashing holes in the glass bubbles of the nation's cities. (The queen also gave them a singular escort, so they all have to stay together if they don't want to get lost. This NPC may or may not stick around, we'll see what happens. It's a dragonborn cleric, btw, and her english isn't very good.)
They'll get wind of similar attacks from an NPC when they reach the mainland, and in exchange for more information, said NPC asks them to handle a swarm or two of rats in the cellar that have been destroying whatever supplies the town is able to get.
So fight one is a swarm or two of rats. Then they'll recieve needed information to start looking for bandits. I'll give them a series of hints, they'll have to figure it out themselves.
While they look for the bandits, I may introduce another NPC, (Depending on if the dragonborn cleric sticks around) who I think will start by trying to pickpocket them. That may end up a fight as well, hopefully they don't kill him.
Once they find the bandits, another combat may be initiated. There'll be three 'sentry' bandits in this encounter, as the rest of them are probably out on the town or pillaging whatever trade gets through blockades. I don't want the bandits to attack immediatly, I kinda want the chance for an interrogation to open up a little window to the political unrest of the rest of the world. Ultimatly, combat is up to the players and is pretty much inevitable (As two of my players have already hinted at being barbarians.)
That's all I really have planned so far, does it seem fair? I don't have any of the books, I've been using DnD Beyond to put together encounters and NPCs and such. If anyone has any advice that could make this better or more fair, please share! I still have a bit before we even do a session zero as I still gotta buy dice. We're starting from scratch and wild ideas lol. Also a custom/homebrew campaign because I couldn't bothered to buy and read a pre-made one.
Thank you for this info. I've been DMing for 4 years and i got to say that I'm not that great at first session planning. this gave me a lot of insight for when our group starts our next campaign.
It's tricky, because you only get to start a brand new campaign once in a blue moon - hard to get practice 😅 Glad you enjoyed the video!
Bro your accent is incredible, you were born to tell tales of old lololol
I literally opened youtube to find music as I wrote up my first session, and this video popped up! So happy
Hey man, good GM story!
I notice that there are some flickers in the video that are a bit distracting - shadows perhaps?
Have you tried sitting a bit further away from your green screen? May help resolve it!
Agreed! Moving further from the screen is a must. I also set my lights up poorly, casting the shadow to the side rather than directly behind me. I'll make sure to tweak it for the next one 👊
Great content, but... I am now obsessed with the zombie powered by clockwork... Have you done content expanding on this?
I'm glad that hooked you! On my Patreon, I have the campaign setting PDF for Withervale, where the clockwork zombies plot takes place. It's called 'A Traveler's Guide To Withervale', and when covering this area of the map, it explains this plot line and how it integrates into other parts of the setting. You can get it on either tier.
EDIT: This is the PDF in question - www.patreon.com/posts/87259716?
Can't tell if he said sheep theft or cheap theft.
I'm loving this relaxed content and the ideas it is sparking.
Thanks for watching! I'm looking forward to many more relaxed chat videos like this one.
Lets go! Love these videos that are valuable for starting DMs but also a new perspective for experienced ones!
Mate, I appreciate that! Glad you're enjoying the videos 👊
I love watching these sort of videos and im so glad ur putting out more advice and content. However, depending on how invested you are in making this thing your daytime job, you might wanna consider having a second channel for the videos ur expecting to preform poorly. (algorithm and stuff)
That's a good point, thanks for the feedback! At this stage, I still don't know exactly what videos will do well or do poorly - I'm just trying different approaches to content to work out what's the most fun and sustainable approach. Over time I may well open up some secondery channels though, that's a good idea.
I'm going to use those clockwork undead. I figure they make normal zombies more impressive. I imagine they gather metal and corpses building stronger and smarter undead over time until eventually a greater undead is created.
Ohhh I love the idea of the clockwork zombies gathering bodies AND metal, eventually leading to the creation of increasingly large and mechanically-augmented undead behemoths. Terrifying!
I dub thee the DnD-guru, mate :D
You're too kind! I'm learning as I go along, just glad I can share some thoughts with you folks as I do.
@@TalesArcane The greatest master is an eternal student, mate. we're all learning and growing together, as a community :)
This is a charming wee video and packed with useful information. The only thing I’d say is that you don’t really need to explain your intention with the video format or why you’re drinking water. You’ve got a sub out of me.
I’m sorry but 3:20 10-20 sessions In the starting area alone???????? Is that normal???? Do they level up every session???? This seems insane to me as a new DM
It depends how big your starting zone is, really! For this campaign, my starting zone was a small country, with three distinct counties, multiple cities and towns, and various rival factions, so there was plenty for the characters to do. Since I planned this campaign as something that would eventually involve them roaming all over the continent, it made sense to have a large starting zone, but that really depends on the scale you want from your game.
@@TalesArcane ohhhh it’s a small country! That clears up a lot of the confusion. Here I was thinking that you stuck your players in a little starter village for 15 levels. Thank you for clearing that up. Your videos have been very helpful 👍
Just started a new campaign. We’re doing a VERY player driven campaign, so we started with the party who knew each other, arriving in a new town for their own reasons, and hearing a number of rumors of what’s going on in the area. They decided what sounded most interesting and are now off to try to resolve a hostage situation involving a revolutionary they have some sympathies with.
It’s not how I would start a more linear campaign, but for a player driven sandbox style, it seemed to work well.
I have forsaken the “strangers banded together” start. As much fun as that CAN be, it has caused me no end of trouble with players who aren’t good at naturally building character rapport and party cohesion. It’s easier with a linear campaign, but still…unless the players really want that to be part of the fiction, they start with connections.
Love how simple and chill this format is. Not even editing out the drinks. 😂 It feels way more conversational and relaxed, and your other videos already feel that way.
Another idea I had during your explanation of the tavern scene, which I'm not a huge fan of for the reasons you mentioned, but will still put here.
How common are people like your players in the world? The tavernkeeper could look up after everyone has arrived and say "not too often a group of dangerous looking strangers like all of you show up at my bar." Could even add him saying "even less often that they all come in separate and pretend not to know each other."
That might help break the tension a little bit, as well as adding a little bit of information about the world, in that people as dangerous as player characters aren't commonly found in civilized places. Even though this might not get the party to speak with each other, it could be an icebreaker before a bigger event happens to bring the party together.
I'm starting a campaign for a bunch of dnd newbies, to make it extra fun for their first time and give them a reason to work together is they're trying to get hired by a vampire crime boss
Wonderful variety on this channel, humble and helpful presenter. Instant sub
I'm still relatively new to DMing, but I have loved this content for inspiration for the world I am continuing to build.
OG D&D player and DM, since 1rst edition. I really enjoy your videos. Well done and thank you.
That sound like a very interesting quest tbh. Great video. I like the off the cuff videos like this alot. Feel alot more personal which I like
This came at the perfect time! I am running my first campaign ever next week and have been feeling a little overwhelmed. This video helped a ton!
That is an amazing sweater.
"promo sm"
0:43
I like the rambly videos too
😇👍
Plenty more rambling to come on this channel 😅
I know you want to reduce the editing required for these relaxed videos, but I don't think it would have been hard for you to cut out the times you drank from your water bottle. That kind of thing is fine for a livestream but gives pre-recorded videos an air of unprofessionalism. Just my humble opinion.
Always appreciate the feedback, mate!
@@TalesArcanekeep hydrated my lord
@@mr.ltrenchcoat1627 Too late, I am now a dry husk.