Hey DMs.
It might be hard to remember the fabled before time — that long long ago when you weren’t a DM, but a player.
Because all most DMs were once players, and had to take that tentative, shaky step towards the head of the D&D table at some point.
See also:
- 6 things I miss about playing Dungeons and Dragons at a physical table
- Ranking all Dungeons and Dragons 5e cantrips from worst to best
- This campground will pay you to DM for a weekend D&D retreat
I bet you can remember your first ever session as a DM. Sitting there behind that screen, a handful of dice at the ready, hours of notes prepared.
And you never looked back.
It’s hard to truly remember the feeling of being a player with DM aspirations. How daunting it all seemed. How unachievable.
The thought that there was no way you’d ever know enough to run a game of D&D, let alone run it well.
And then an opportunity presented itself — or you created one through sheer force of will — and you found yourself handling not just a single PC but an entire world. And somehow you managed. Somehow it just stuck.
That’s why you should make sure to ask your party, every once in a while, if one of them might want to put together a one-shot.
Take a little break from that on-going campaign. Create yourself a character that had always been in the back of your mind, or write up a full character sheet for your favorite DMPC. Take a backseat for once, and give one of your players that opportunity they may have been waiting months, or even years, for.
Because, as we’ve always said, the hardest thing about D&D is actually playing D&D, but if you’ve already got a group of people together who are willing to play, then all this freshman DM needs to organize is a one or two session-long story.
Offer to help.
Tell them you’ve got their back when it comes to any rule disputes.
Good DMs make good DMs, and we can never have too many of those in this community.
So why not put it out there.
I bet someone takes you up on the offer — and won’t ever forget it.
See also:
- 6 things I miss about playing Dungeons and Dragons at a physical table
- Ranking all Dungeons and Dragons 5e cantrips from worst to best
- This campground will pay you to DM for a weekend D&D retreat