At the start of the week I shared the photo I used in yesterday’s post on Instagram. An ex-student of mine and now a friend (we play MtG from time to time) left a comment over there, which I have shared below.
Ideally instead of this post we’d be meeting up and sharing ideas and information over coffee and maybe a game or two of MtG.
However current events mean that at the moment this isn’t really an option. Although it very well be nearer the time.
I’ll issue a disclaimer before going on. We all know I’m not a very experienced DM. I’m still learning and finding out who I am as a DM. So this is in no way me telling my friend this is how you do it. This is me saying this currently works for me, and you might want to consider some of this stuff for your own tool box as a DM. I’m also trying to keep any expense down to a minimum. So no 3D terrain or miniatures.
First off I’m proud of my friend for making this leap. Becoming a DM is a scary thing to do. The doubt and uncertainty. Remember it’s about having fun.
Ok with all that out of the way I’m going to firstly suggest some things my friend may want to think about on the practical front. I’m also going to assume my friend already has the three cornerstones of the D&D world, the Dungeon Masters Guide, Players Guide and Monster Manual.
The most obvious suggestion, and I’m pretty sure my friend will be doing this, is buying Mythic Odysseys Of Theros when it hits the shores at the start of June. After all that is going to be the campaign bible.
I’d also pick up a copy of Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica plus the six or so Planes Shift PDF’s that WotC did. I can’t remember which but one of them has some suggestions for how to handle planeswalking. Something that my friend may want to explore.
Having a supply of MtG cards especially the cheap commons and uncommons that can be used to illustrate to players various items or creatures in the campaign is going to be useful. Naturally I’d be using ones from the current Theros block. For the more expensive (usually) rares and mythic cards I’d download the art and print it out. The nice thing about these is that they can also be used to make tokens for the campaign as well (Sly Flourish has a great video and post on making these).
If my friend does decide to also visit one of the planes covered by the Planes Shift PDF’s they may want to consider getting the appropriate Art of Magic the Gathering book. These act as great source books. I believe the Planes Shift PDF’s are meant to be used with them. I’d also be tempted to pick up the Ravnica one if I was using the Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica.
More generic stuff I’d consider that will come as no surprise to regular readers.
Firstly I’d be watching the Matt Colville series on becoming a DM. They helped give me the confidence to run my first game. I still go back and watch various episodes, along with any new episodes that are uploaded.
I’ve found the Lazy DM stuff by Sly Flourish very helpful. The Return of the Lazy DM book is great for not only helping to prepare a session but for preparing a campaign also. It’s also backed up by a series of videos by Sly Flourish looking at each of the chapters. Which are a great way to get a feel for the book and if it’s something that would appeal to you.
Complimenting the above book is also the Lazy DM Workbook. Which can be used without the other book. What I like about this book is the useful tables it has that can be used during prep and during a session. But also the ten lair maps that can be used at a moments notice in any campaign.
I feel that last bit is where us new DM’s fall short. We haven’t yet built up that library of maps that we can use within our own campaigns. Jim Murphy touched on this in his video when he went through his minimalist DM kit and building up a collection of maps. Whether they were ones he’d created, or ones he’d gotten from other DMs.
As part of that building up a library of maps I’d add a copy of The Essentials Kit. Apart from the handy initiative cards (a side benefit), the town map of Phandalin, you get the Dragon of Icespire Peak campaign. The adventures in this campaign also can be dropped into any campaign with very little tweaking, if any.
I’ve found having a DM folder very useful. I’ll go over it’s contents in another post.
Unless doing theatre of the mind combat (something I haven’t done yet) then a dry erase battle mat of some kind is a good idea. Ideally with one inch squares on it. With a dry erase pen you can quickly draw out the current encounter or have it drawn up in advance. I’ve found the Pathfinder series affordable in the UK. Well at a price I’m prepared to pay.
Related to this and already mentioned above I’d create some tokens to represent players and creatures on the battle mat. It’s a cheap way to do this.
Now onto actually planning the campaign.
With the Theros source book having done the majority of the heavy lifting for me on creating the world the players will be playing in it means I can instead concentrate on the campaign instead of world creation.
To help generate ideas I’d be reading the lore/stories that WotC have on the MtG site relating to Theros. With the Greek myth theme I’d also be reading up on Classical Greek mythology. Along with watching some classic movies like Jason and the Argonauts, Troy, Clash of the Titans (original and the remake with it’s sequel Wrath of the Titans), the two Percy Jackson movies, and the fantastic Jim Henderson’s The Storyteller Greek Myths series.
However I’d use the ‘spiral campaign’ method, which I think most of the big names recommend. I’m basically doing this for my campaign. It’s covered in the Lazy DM as well. But the gist is that you start out small and local to where the players are starting the campaign, and as the players explore the world you focus on those bits.
Matt Colville and Sly Flourish both produce a handout for players that is used in the zero session. This handout sets the scene for the campaign, summarises races and classes the players might use, and any house rules. I used one for my campaign I think my players found it helpful. The important thing is it should be one page.
After the session zero I’d be moving onto the Lazy DM session prep. I personally find that this is providing enough for me to run a session and handle anything that turns up. But everyone is different and the stuff above may not work for you.
I hope my friend finds these suggestions helpful.
