New dm here, I need tips on how to be a good dm and how to come

>>48607558
>>48607558
You have nothing planned or prepared one day before the game? It's going to be shit. But maybe your players won't care. Just get a written adventure and handwave the setting.

>>48607705
I have a setting and basic concept for a campaign and a first quest, but I feel like my players might not like it all too much because I'm worried it's too bland. It's a catch a thief sort of quest, I don't know how interesting that would be though.

>>48607558
Ok first question I have is about your setting question: why have you not worried about how to make a good setting until the day before? Since you're not really going to be able to design a setting in that time span you're better off going the collaborative route and building the world as you play. As the players move around the world flesh it out based on what makes the current situation most interesting and if stuck for ideas ask the players 'what do you think would be cool here?', the main issue is maintaining a consistent tone so I would recommend picking some books, games, movies, whatever which you consider examples worth following and let your players know about it, this is how you avoid Catgirls in your ASOIAF inspired game.

As for being a good GM; it's mostly practice (which is somewhat unfortunate for your current situation), your first adventure will be pretty bad, but with the right group chemistry and a nice atmosphere it can still be enjoyable for everyone involved, since you mention everyone playing are your friends already I wouldn't be too worried about everyone not enjoying themselves. My general advice would be to take it session by session, don't think further ahead than the next game, the main question is 'how can I make the next session interesting?', a good rule of thumb is: if you're not excited about running it, you're doing something wrong, come up with something that does excite you. Other than that the trick is largely to play as often as you can, see what works, what helps you, and what your players like and then adapt what you're doing accordingly.

We've all been in your position at some point or another, so trust me when I say that you're probably going to screw up, but that it won't really matter in the long run

Good luck

>>48607766
>>48607766
If you want advice to flesh out the adventure, think about plot points and the motivations of the main NPCs. Maybe this thief works for a cult and stole something? And he tries to hide in a dungeon and gets killed and the treasure gets carried away? This is the brainstorm phase.

>>48607558
Do you at least have a module that you have read the fuck out of?

>>48607558
...also, have they already generated their characters?

Cuz if not, you probably have another week. That'll take all night by itself.

If they have, as a practice exercise, I'd suggest trying to come up with a mini-adventure in which each character has a particular critical use. (Maybe more than one for whichever player you think is least enthusiastic about the game.)

Also, if you're starting at first level in Pathfinder, add some fudge-rule for HP (like maxhp+10), or they are gonna drop like flies. The repeated random death of first level adventures is what new players tend to find most frustrating.

>>48607705
>You have nothing planned or prepared one day before the game?
not necessarily. if everyone is just playing for shits and giggles, it can be great. emergent gameplay and all that.

>>48607766
simple tip: keep an eye on your players, if they seem like they can correctly predict where the plot is going, turn it on its head. throw them off-balance.

>>48608270
OP here, I'm imagining it'll be more like this.
>>48608251
They don't have their characters yet but some of them want to use pre-made characters they can find online.

>creating a setting
Ask yourself if you'd play this setting yourself. Then, think why is your setting better than something in the books/online. What's unique and captivating about it?
>night before
You'll think of something, no biggie. Since presumably none of you are RPG veterans, of the stick-in-the-ass variety, the expectations aren't super high or anything.
Remember you're all there to have fun and keep having fun later. Divide attention so nobody feels left out. Connect backstories of characters with the story of the campaign, the lore of the setting or even backstories of other players. Finish the session on either a twist on the story ot a high note, like a hard battle won.

>Caring about a "good setting"
Don't waste time on this shit. Whether your campaign tanks or not has nothing to do with how good your setting is. The setting is a really easy way to sell your campaign to players, but it's like showing the graphics of a video game without showing the gameplay.

In essence: how "good" your setting is is not important. Furthermore, settings that you think are mediocre are actually just as good as your "good" settings.

>So what should I focus on?
The most important tips for DMing can be boiled down to three points:
1) If a player wants to do something, let them... and make damn sure that you reward or punish them accordingly.

This means if the players want to assassinate the king that they are getting a quest from at the beginning of the campaign: let them try. Then if they fail (which they likely will) have them thrown into prison and move the campaign on from there.

2) Your planning will be useless most of the time. You will have to build stuff up on the spot A LOT. And that's a good thing.

As a DM, you have to be able to react to your players' decisions by creating new questlines, new consequences, new alliances, new adventures, new fights... you will have to do this on the spot. It doesn't have to be good (that will come naturally). But if you can make stuff up on the spot a lot, you will already be better than most DMs.

As a sidenote: being able to repurpose your content is really important. If your players skip out on a bossfight in a dungeon, a little bit of creativity will allow you to take that bossfight you spent time creating, and repurpose it into another bossfight down the line.

Get used to doing this a lot. But at the same time, don't neglect planning. Just don't think your plans will be used since players are unpredictable.

3) Give your players choice. Instead of putting one quest in front of them, divide that quest up into three equally important goals and let your players tackle them as they wish.

1/2

>>48612760
For example, instead of making a "Slay the Dragon" quest, break it up into three parts:
1) Get special poison for dragon by going into a swamp. (If players do this quest, give them the ability to use the poison in the fight for more damage)
2) Get a veteran knight who will teach you the dragon's weakness. But the knight needs to be rescued from bandits first. (If players complete this, give them some critical information about the dragon. Such as: "This type of dragon is in deep sleep at 3am". And if the players pull this off, let them have an easier time sneaking up on the dragon if they go at 3am)
3) Fight the dragon.

Do you see how there is a choice? You can go straight to 3, or you can do 1 or 2 (or both). And whatever you do will have an impact. This type of shit will make players really happy.

So to summarize:
1) Let players do what they want... but punish them for doing stupid things (like landing them in jail, or putting bounties on their heads ect) and reward them for doing smart things. But always let them do what they want to do. This is important because it gives players freedom.
2) Be able to make content up on the spot. It may sound scary, but realize that it doesn't have to be 10/10 content. This is important because it makes player choices matter.
3) Divide quests up into chunks and scatter them around, with optional side quests that the players can finish in any time they want. This is important because it gives players freedom AND it makes their choices feel important.

I hope I didn't ramble on too much, but if you do all of that, your players will love you.

2/2