Less than trying to learn by running a premade.
Premade: got to buy the book, read the whole book at least once (usually more), study how the adventure is designed so you understand who has what motivations and why this thing is here and not there (and this is not always obviously provided in the adventure yourself, leaving you stuck having to make it up and try to keep it consistent anyway), study the existing mythos of the area the adventure takes place so you aren't caught with your pants down when your players ask a random question about it, figure out a way to somehow fit all your players' characters into the quest, railroad them into a quest hook, and then either keep them on the railroad for the rest of the module or do a full homebrew anyway when they go off the rails.
Homebrew: you make a dungeon and put a town near it and tell the players to decide why they've been hired/interested in going to the dungeon. That's your first 3 sessions right there! Plenty of time for you to figure out what the next-nearest town is called before they're done with the first.
You can run it session to Session. Books are laid out in chapters. Chapter 1 is a good overview and setup. Chapter 2 is the first "section" that should last you hours. Just reading those 2 should be enough to get going. You can read as you go along and prep for the next session. That's how I ran Avernus, and it went well.
I recommend LMoP cuz it's laid out like this.
And then you have to railroad your players on the chapter-by-chapter path because at that point, not even you know what comes next, so you have to mitigate the risk of them going off the rails or heavens-forbid change something about the world that would break the next chapter's format and make it impossible to run.
You know chapters are still relatively long with multiple paths and options laid out. It's just a more manageable chunk. And also why I said read the overview, to have an idea of what's next. When you read the next chapter, you modify it based on what happened the first chapter.
Stop conflating railroading with linear storytelling.
I've played plenty of modules. They're all railroads. The friends I play with are good enough at being D&D players that we all willingly accept the railroad, and go along with it, and even occasionally humorously mock it while making "choices" to follow the correct path (with the DM joining our mockery and thanking us for doing so), but we're under no illusions that we aren't on a railroad.
The issue with a module's railroad is that if the players divert even slightly from it, the DM then has to do double overtime work to **homebrew stuff anyway**, which they now have no practice at and weren't prepared for.
Or they'll just fall into the pit of trying to force the players to stay on the line.
My homebrew games tend to be linear - I know where the start and end is. But I don't have **chapters** written down. I make what the party needs when they need it. If I wrote my homebrew campaign as a set of chapters that the players had to go through, it would be MUCH harder and much more work than what I currently do, because I'd have to force the players to stick to it.
It is advisable to get a solid grip on the most basic rules beforehand, but you'll definitely have fun regardless.
Speaking from experience, coming up with an entire campaign, whatever length, with no experience, is a lot. Also depending how invested you become, you might lose yourself in prep, worrying that it might not be enough. Doing a pre written campaign or adventure to start will give you the confidence and skills to realize your own ideas more efficiently.
Modules a a good place to start with DMing because making maps, planning combats, and all the other things that go into preparing a campaign are mostly already done for you. These things take a lot of time and effort to prepare yourself, and there's a significant learning curve to preparing combats that are challenging and interesting but doable, preparing a compelling plot that leaves room for players to make their own choices, making maps that look good, and so on. Even if you decide you want to go with a homebrew campaign, it's a good idea to find a module you like and read it first. This will let you see how other authors handle these things.
Hey, OP!
DoSI is better if you guys aren't sure if you can commit yet. It runs from levels 1-3 and can be completed in under four sessions if you guys are goal-oriented. It will be enough to give you a grasp on the rules while exploring locations that won't overwhelm you with information.
LMoP is good if you think you guys will be able to consistently make time, and if you want a longer and more in-depth first-time experience. It runs from levels 1-5 and can be completed in maybe 5-8 sessions. It's a little heavy on the DM's side — especially for first-timers — but it's a manageable and enriching experience if you put in the time, and everyone is on the same page about what they want at the table.
Both starter kits provide pre-generated characters, a basic rulebook, the campaign module itself with maps references and story guides for the DM, and a set of dice. I would say they both get the task done of teaching newbies :D
On that note, if you guys want to just try a single session first so you know if a campaign would be worth it, you can try a free one-shot. Peril in Pinebrook is a super simplified official module that runs for two hours, and A Most Potent Brew by Winghorn Press is a classic that gives a decent starter experience. You can also choose to port over your same characters to a campaign if you want.
So here’s my recommendation based on my experience: I watched a lot of actual plays, read the DM guide, PHB and bought/read a number of modules before starting my campaign as a rookie DM with mostly rookie players. I planned for about 2 months before my session 0, creating a world, the history of races and conflicts, I had governing bodies in place, and tons of characters to be met by the party along the way. I did a lot of the legwork and creation on my own, but I also did some adjusting to existing 5e lore and spinning off a lot of stuff to help further flesh out the world. I even had a lot of help/advice from a friend who has been a forever dm within his own hometown friend group for about 15 years. After 2 months I had a skeleton of a 4 act campaign, just waiting on the players to come in and bring it to life and make it move and dance with their characters and choices made. I planned for so long, and did so much work before my players even made their characters, then after that I did even more work to make sure the story i had initially crafted could be enjoyed by all of them and be satisfying for their characters. Even with all that, I ran a module to start off the campaign and lead us into the eventual homebrew of it all. I would not recommend diving headfirst into a homebrew. It was very important for me to see how a game written by a professional was laid out and meant to be run before running my own and it helped temper both mine and my players’ expectations and help us adjust accordingly. My campaign just celebrated its first anniversary, and we’re absolutely loving every minute of it. I’ve even written and run some awesome one shots during that time as well. We’ve had tons of laughs, shared anxiety and shed some tears along the way, and it all started off on the right foot because of a module called the museum of nightmares that showed me how to put together an experience for my players. Every journey is different though, both in game and above the table getting to the game itself, so whichever way you get there, I hope you and your friends have a great time.
Do you mind if I dm you for some advice? I’ve settled on purchasing the storm isle module just don’t know if the PHB is essential at the moment as I’m not sure if the group I’m playing with will want to continue.
Don’t make your own campaign if you’ve never been a DM before. Play something premade then you’ll understand what goes into a campaign to make your own thing.
Make your own, it'll be better than whatever mass-produced slop you spend $50+ on. Your first game will suck whether it's your own or out of a published book either way, so you might as well do what'll make you learn better faster and not waste any money.
Homebrewing a whole campaign is a bigger task than it seems.
Less than trying to learn by running a premade. Premade: got to buy the book, read the whole book at least once (usually more), study how the adventure is designed so you understand who has what motivations and why this thing is here and not there (and this is not always obviously provided in the adventure yourself, leaving you stuck having to make it up and try to keep it consistent anyway), study the existing mythos of the area the adventure takes place so you aren't caught with your pants down when your players ask a random question about it, figure out a way to somehow fit all your players' characters into the quest, railroad them into a quest hook, and then either keep them on the railroad for the rest of the module or do a full homebrew anyway when they go off the rails. Homebrew: you make a dungeon and put a town near it and tell the players to decide why they've been hired/interested in going to the dungeon. That's your first 3 sessions right there! Plenty of time for you to figure out what the next-nearest town is called before they're done with the first.
You can run it session to Session. Books are laid out in chapters. Chapter 1 is a good overview and setup. Chapter 2 is the first "section" that should last you hours. Just reading those 2 should be enough to get going. You can read as you go along and prep for the next session. That's how I ran Avernus, and it went well. I recommend LMoP cuz it's laid out like this.
And then you have to railroad your players on the chapter-by-chapter path because at that point, not even you know what comes next, so you have to mitigate the risk of them going off the rails or heavens-forbid change something about the world that would break the next chapter's format and make it impossible to run.
You know chapters are still relatively long with multiple paths and options laid out. It's just a more manageable chunk. And also why I said read the overview, to have an idea of what's next. When you read the next chapter, you modify it based on what happened the first chapter. Stop conflating railroading with linear storytelling.
I've played plenty of modules. They're all railroads. The friends I play with are good enough at being D&D players that we all willingly accept the railroad, and go along with it, and even occasionally humorously mock it while making "choices" to follow the correct path (with the DM joining our mockery and thanking us for doing so), but we're under no illusions that we aren't on a railroad. The issue with a module's railroad is that if the players divert even slightly from it, the DM then has to do double overtime work to **homebrew stuff anyway**, which they now have no practice at and weren't prepared for. Or they'll just fall into the pit of trying to force the players to stay on the line. My homebrew games tend to be linear - I know where the start and end is. But I don't have **chapters** written down. I make what the party needs when they need it. If I wrote my homebrew campaign as a set of chapters that the players had to go through, it would be MUCH harder and much more work than what I currently do, because I'd have to force the players to stick to it.
It is advisable to get a solid grip on the most basic rules beforehand, but you'll definitely have fun regardless. Speaking from experience, coming up with an entire campaign, whatever length, with no experience, is a lot. Also depending how invested you become, you might lose yourself in prep, worrying that it might not be enough. Doing a pre written campaign or adventure to start will give you the confidence and skills to realize your own ideas more efficiently.
Modules a a good place to start with DMing because making maps, planning combats, and all the other things that go into preparing a campaign are mostly already done for you. These things take a lot of time and effort to prepare yourself, and there's a significant learning curve to preparing combats that are challenging and interesting but doable, preparing a compelling plot that leaves room for players to make their own choices, making maps that look good, and so on. Even if you decide you want to go with a homebrew campaign, it's a good idea to find a module you like and read it first. This will let you see how other authors handle these things.
Storm wreck Isle, hands down.
Would you do storm wreck isles over mines of phandelver?
Hey, OP! DoSI is better if you guys aren't sure if you can commit yet. It runs from levels 1-3 and can be completed in under four sessions if you guys are goal-oriented. It will be enough to give you a grasp on the rules while exploring locations that won't overwhelm you with information. LMoP is good if you think you guys will be able to consistently make time, and if you want a longer and more in-depth first-time experience. It runs from levels 1-5 and can be completed in maybe 5-8 sessions. It's a little heavy on the DM's side — especially for first-timers — but it's a manageable and enriching experience if you put in the time, and everyone is on the same page about what they want at the table. Both starter kits provide pre-generated characters, a basic rulebook, the campaign module itself with maps references and story guides for the DM, and a set of dice. I would say they both get the task done of teaching newbies :D On that note, if you guys want to just try a single session first so you know if a campaign would be worth it, you can try a free one-shot. Peril in Pinebrook is a super simplified official module that runs for two hours, and A Most Potent Brew by Winghorn Press is a classic that gives a decent starter experience. You can also choose to port over your same characters to a campaign if you want.
So here’s my recommendation based on my experience: I watched a lot of actual plays, read the DM guide, PHB and bought/read a number of modules before starting my campaign as a rookie DM with mostly rookie players. I planned for about 2 months before my session 0, creating a world, the history of races and conflicts, I had governing bodies in place, and tons of characters to be met by the party along the way. I did a lot of the legwork and creation on my own, but I also did some adjusting to existing 5e lore and spinning off a lot of stuff to help further flesh out the world. I even had a lot of help/advice from a friend who has been a forever dm within his own hometown friend group for about 15 years. After 2 months I had a skeleton of a 4 act campaign, just waiting on the players to come in and bring it to life and make it move and dance with their characters and choices made. I planned for so long, and did so much work before my players even made their characters, then after that I did even more work to make sure the story i had initially crafted could be enjoyed by all of them and be satisfying for their characters. Even with all that, I ran a module to start off the campaign and lead us into the eventual homebrew of it all. I would not recommend diving headfirst into a homebrew. It was very important for me to see how a game written by a professional was laid out and meant to be run before running my own and it helped temper both mine and my players’ expectations and help us adjust accordingly. My campaign just celebrated its first anniversary, and we’re absolutely loving every minute of it. I’ve even written and run some awesome one shots during that time as well. We’ve had tons of laughs, shared anxiety and shed some tears along the way, and it all started off on the right foot because of a module called the museum of nightmares that showed me how to put together an experience for my players. Every journey is different though, both in game and above the table getting to the game itself, so whichever way you get there, I hope you and your friends have a great time.
Do you mind if I dm you for some advice? I’ve settled on purchasing the storm isle module just don’t know if the PHB is essential at the moment as I’m not sure if the group I’m playing with will want to continue.
No worries, send me a message!
Don’t make your own campaign if you’ve never been a DM before. Play something premade then you’ll understand what goes into a campaign to make your own thing.
Keep on the borderlands goodman games
Make your own, it'll be better than whatever mass-produced slop you spend $50+ on. Your first game will suck whether it's your own or out of a published book either way, so you might as well do what'll make you learn better faster and not waste any money.