The BrikWars Forums

Yes, I know Matthew Mercer exists and yes, I do watch his videos. Just want to have as broad a perspective as possible.

Well, you can also watch Matt Coville's video series

If you don't mind letting a long-winded video play in the background while you do other things (because he digresses and gets distracted pretty frequently), Spoony's Counter Monkey series was a big inspiration when I still GMed. He's been playing since ye anciente dayes and has experience with a broad range of systems, and is really worth listening to for stories and advice.

Obviously he doesn't upload anymore because Spoony, but really his backlog is enormous enough to keep you busy.

doodstormer wrote:If you don't mind letting a long-winded video play in the background while you do other things (because he digresses and gets distracted pretty frequently), Spoony's Counter Monkey series was a big inspiration when I still GMed. He's been playing since ye anciente dayes and has experience with a broad range of systems, and is really worth listening to for stories and advice.

Obviously he doesn't upload anymore because Spoony, but really his backlog is enormous enough to keep you busy.

Didn't know Spoony was a tabletop buff, thanks!

literally just make it up as you go along, maybe half reading some lore books whenever you run out of ideas

Pick a monster. Think about where it might live. Think about what else might live with it. Theme your dungeon around that monster. Rinse and repeat.

Been DMing for a while now. My biggest advice is read as mnay books as you can. This will improve your language at the table. It will also give you a names to draw from, instead of making one up on the spot.

Additionally, figure out vaguely where you want your players to go, what you want them to fight, and what you want them to discover ahead of time. Then just let them run wild and drop these details in as you see fit.

*thinks* I've been a DM/GM for over twenty years and several editions now. The best advice I can offer is to remember three basic rules.

#1: Don't overthink your campaign plot. No campaign plot survives an encounter with the players. Seriously. You can plan the background as detailed as you want, but keep the actual campaign kind of free-form. Make up a general plot, but try to limit the specifics. I guarantee that the second you try to predict what the players will do, they're going to do something COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.

#2: Unless you REALLY REALLY need them to do something or be somewhere, try not to "railroad" your players (force them to go places or do things). All it does is annoy people. With enough practice, you can trick the players to go where you want them to be anyway.

#3: This is supposed to be FUN! Don't let the rules dictate what happens! If you don't like (or can't quite understand) a rule, bend it. If it STILL isn't working, break it. If even that doesn't work, throw it out the window and let chance dictate what happens! I once let my players drop a boulder off the deck of a flying ship from high orbit and smash a castle! Was there a rule for it? No. I thought about it, decided it would result in a fun story, and made them roll to see what happened.

think about your setting first. premade settings are good, but I have found worldbuilding to be fun. Watching a man tell you how to be a GM is cool but it still doesn't give you three skills. Improvisation, interesting voices and plots, and EXTREME FOURSIGHT. Also, think about your worlds logic. if dragons can melt stone with fire, why would people use castles near them? How does magic affect warfare? don't punish creativity, and listen to your players. done. Scribonius is a genius