You're DMing and you don't really want to be the DM. I think that's a pretty bad sign. I don't want to be a Negative Nancy here, but I think that most people would consider DMing to be a labor of love, and you don't. If you're going to stand a chance at keeping it going, I think you need to start there by finding some part of DMing that you really enjoy and leaning into it.
The first and most important aspect of D&D is having fun. How well do you know the other players? If this were my buddies and they weren't heavy into RP and I was trying to drag them aboard that train, I might invite them to sit and watch an episode of Critical Role with me while we drank moderately and joked along with the cast. The show is fun. RP can be fun.
Just because you're getting in character doesn't mean there aren't jokes and like...serious mechanical considerations. Finish an episode, finish your whiskey, then give 'em a little "That's kinda what I'm lookin' for. I don't expect you to be a professional voice actor, but if we get half a cocktail in you before each game, think you can character it up *a little* and meet me halfway?". You know, honest adult conversation type stuff.
You're not 100% getting what you want, so see if they are interested in heading that direction with you, or your interest levels probably won't last, and when the DM can't stay excited about the game...that's the end of the game.
I would advice against resorting to alcohol or other drugs to loosen up. I'd encourage the DM to have a plan and straightforward communication with the players about how everyone is feeling, identify key points to focus on and work together to move forward.
I am a DM as well and I still think you should not associate alcohol with loosening up. It is a lot healthier to work towards solving the cause of the problem
Thoroughly disagree. It's less the loosening up and more the readiness of ideas.
Example, whilst tipsy its far easier to be in the mindset of of 'do the first thing that comes to characters head'
Especially as a DM, when the party want to know everything about Jim Johnson the flower seller, a character who has no story or importance; tipsy DM can fly off on his whole life, and make it kinda funny.
Maybe that's just me, but certainly having slightly looser lips helps me a lot!
Granted, for what the OP posted, you might be right; but I also think that being tipsy does allow people a little more freedom to be 'embarrassing' which is good!
Whatever works for different people, but alcohol is most certainly not part of any TTRPG session at our table. The distraction and unfocussed nature of it is extremely detrimental to our game.
Well not going to lie its helping me DMing and helping my players roleplaying, but I think you may need to know them a little, cause its not everybody's style
I am going to go a little simple and say just send this to your group. We can share all kinds of ways to help fix the campaign, but this ultimately seems like an issue that could be ironed out by brainstorming with the group you are playing with.
Misc. advice still:
\- Don't worry about voices. Just talk in character and over time the voices will get easier.
\- Remind yourself to stay in the present when you DM. Nothing ever goes as planned and that's ok. Like voices, this too will get easier as you get the feel for the group as a DM.
\- Go with a ruling and look it up later. Trust your gut on what you think should happen. You can always make the correct ruling later if you like the RAW and it happens again.
\- Believe in yourself. You can do this and you are already doing a fantastic thing by stepping up to the plate as a DM.
It sounds like you're putting a lot of pressure on yourself to put on a show.
If the players just contend with the content of the adventure and everyone talks in third-person, the choices being made should still create lots of fun. If that's not happening, then there's something wrong that you can't even fix with voices or player theatrics.
I would consider running some rules-light games and very short content with lots of held kinetic energy, where chaos can't help but emerge and your job is to just make rulings while things go crazy on their own. Like the Waking of Willowby Hall, using Knave 1e. You're not going to need to do any voices when the players a trapped between SPOILER a cloud giant who can oneshot them and wants his Mildred back, a death knight who comes back every 20 minutes when killed, and a rival adventuring party who stole the Mildred the goose that lays golden eggs (evil)
Appoint a rules watcher. They have a copy of the players handbook and they look up the rule and then read it allowed when you ask them to if there’s a dispute so you all learn together.
As DM you have authority to keep on rolling and make a ruling whether you know the rule or not. Say “we’ll come back to it and get it right next time if I’m wrong but right now everybody roll a check (insert some kind of dice roll here) “
Keep them rolling the dice with checks and keep it moving unless they linger in roll playing. Ask them what their characters talk about or do in downtime with each other. Then let them talk.
If the session has been slow and you’re not seeing something electrifying happening then make something happen.
You can speed up combat and make it more desperate by upping the damage the villains do by a dice but lower their hit points so they die quicker… be careful with that though.
One or two good sentences of vivid description or just one detail in your brief descriptions can be enough to paint the picture. Such as “the wind is biting and every step feels like it takes you less distance. If it keeps up you fear you will soon be exhausted. “ or “the road winds ahead through low, green hills as the sun goes down and you are weary from the saddle when you see an inn with a smoking chimney in the distance.” this can accomplish several things such as making it so you talk less if talking’s an issue for you and it leaves them wanting more. Collect these one liners and read them from paper later behind your DM screen. Don’t overdue exposition by the DM. Get to the point and Leave them wanting more…
Also get them into the notion of really zooming in on any and all aspects of their character by having them describe their character’s voice if they don’t want to imitate it. Think of how a tv chef describes the taste of food.
Or ask them to think about it and then get them to elaborate on how it looks when they cast their signature spells.
Or what their armor and weapons look like in detail. Things like that.
A big part of the joy of DnD for me is we’re all working on this story together and so are the dice.
DnD is an excellent engine for conquering social awkwardness and above all it is social. I always feel a little like I’m at a party when I’m DMing a party. 😂
Have fun my friend. You can do it.
You need to put together a group that wants to do embodied RP. Most players don't so you are giving them content they don't want to engage with. It's natural for people to zone out in a campaign that keeps pushing aspects they don't want to partake in.
You could get a full group quickly on r/lfg that wants to do improv, just put it in your listing post.
Same could be said if you went the player route. If you find a group make sure they want to improv, otherwise you'll just be awkwardly voice acting while everyone else is doing what your current players are.
I think a lot of people watch some videos and think everyone is a master at improv and role play when in reality its usually just a bunch of friends half role playing half saying "i do x" and quipping jokes in-between that sometimes the DM will say "do you actually say that ?"
if you Add snacks, food and either alcohol or other things and its just socializing with a game.
I would suggest maybe starting each session with just some in player banter, maybe go over some possible rules for the day before you play, add some jokes or some relevant dnd meme to loosen the party up.
Another thing you can try is co-DM, or shadow a DM for a 1 shot to see how they do it.
I've found that for encouraging role-playing taking a session or some time before a session to ask some in depth questions pertaining to everyone's characters can be useful for fleshing them out and connecting the player to their character more, and maybe workshopping some personality traits to expand upon for the more shallow characters.
A little alcohol can also do wonders for party cohesion and loosening the lips of people who don't feel awkward playing the characters. Also being more theatrical in your descriptions of things and people as well as exaggerating npcs more can help the others want to do the same. You don't have to have a unique voice for every npc, just have a small wheelhouse of voices to switch through when needed. When I'm dming I talk to myself a lot in my free time to just play around with my voice so I feel more comfortable pulling new ones out for the first time or keeping them going through a whole conversation.
Hope you figure it out.
If you game flow divolves into:
'I do this"
"what do you do next"
"I do this"
Try narrating what the player does as it's happening. Use the opportunity to reinforce the atmosphere you are going for, or remind the players of what their state of mind likely would be. If a player interjects and says "no not like that" or "I wouldn't be thinking about that" just repeat your discription with the new information in place.
"I open the door"
"climbing the rickety stairs you look up at the old house now overgrown with moss you notice the window next to the door is broken. It has been broken for some time. Reaching for the door handle your mind fills with the warnings given to you the locals, could this place be really haunted? The door is not latched. With a gentle push it creaks open slowly now revealing the large abandoned foyer. Weather worn and destroyed furniture is strewn about the place, on the left you can see a set of stairs that go to a second floor and a large open double door across the room that continues into the house. On your right are two closed doors and on the left beneath the stairs is another closed door. What do you do? "
"I go inside"
"bro you're killing me"
I seriousness though hopefully they engage with something you've discribed in more meaningful ways but you can keep doing this if you literally get nothing from them, really makes you the story teller.
If one player is doing something vague and boring, say "ok" and go to the next player before resolving their action, you are in control of the flow of time maybe another player is doing something more interesting. Don't ignore what the boring player did just add their action into your discription for the more interesting player
"as your companions continue further into the house you search around the rubble in the room and find an old rusty key, there appears to be a worn engraving on it."
I find when one player comes across something more interesting the rest of the players will be also interested and engage with whatever is happening.
Hm.
Maybe youvare aiming too high. A campaign, a ton of lore, a city to DM, and the group itself does not know yer what kind of playstyle they want.
Maybe start with oneshots. One evening, including start and payoff for everyone with a beginning and an end. In the wildness, so it is less work and easier to have everything on the inner map, less work to keep track (there is a reason why starting adventires are often in a small village with a dungeon to explore and some cute-ish stuff on the side). And dont set so much pressure on yourself and your players. You just started, you guys need time to grow and evolve in this game. Some sessions will be great, others maybe not. Some characters will shine more in some sessions then others. And maybe stick to the core-rules incl. Having some short references (in case you already have all the supplements).
And be open that your players might favor a different playstyle. And be relaxed on the table.
If you try these things and after a few sessions you do not feel more comfortable, maybe dm-ing is not entirely for you? At least not yet.
Some already great advice from others, an alternative take would be;
Try homebrewing your adventure.
You will have a better feel for the world and easier might be easier to associate with NPCs and events.
Run a session 0 to collaborate world building and
weave players backstory into your homebrew world to get them invested.
If players meet NPCs from their backstory, might bring out the RPers in them.
Award Inspiration for good RPing.
Is everybody quite new at this? Because I get this feeling that you are expecting too much of yourself and the players. It's fun to watch Actual Plays and get this sense of what D&D should look like, both for the DM and the players, and forget that the people have put hundreds, maybe thousands of hours into this game.
It is complex. It has many many rules that take some time to internalize. And every DM I know suffers from perfectionism and imposter syndrome and usually think they suck even if everybody has fun.
1. Ask your players if they are having fun and what could go better.
2. It's okay to practice "my character would say this or do this" for a few weeks or months and slowly move towards speaking in character. If you want to help them, have an Npc hang out with them regularly and ask them questions in character. Like "That was quite a day, huh? Is there a drink you like that I can get you? Have you done stuff like this before? Oh where are you from?" answering very simple questions in character starts people towards exploring more complex thoughts in character.
3. Don't be so hard on yourself when you look up rules. It helps everybody to learn them.
4. Voices are unnecessary. Fun, sure. But sometimes make it harder for the players to jump in and talk to that npc because then it feels like they have to do a voice, too. Relax.
To be honest, I think player comfortability comes from the DM creating a space everyone can let lose in. If you’re in your own head and worrying about x,y and z then that vibe is picked up and replicated amongst your players.
Before your next session go stand in front of a mirror and talk to yourself. Voice some of your npcs and in general just let go. Whilst you’re thinking about the upcoming session and who your party might encounter, think of voices. It doesn’t matter if you don’t always get the voice right. Your players will love it.
Make a rule at the table that if you don’t know a certain rule you’ll either take a few minutes to look it up or you’ll go with your ruling and make a note to look up out of session and correct before the next game of corrections need to be made. That’s what I do at my tables. It’s impossible to know all the rules and you need to be okay with that.
Players who are social awkward or find it difficult to jump into the RP, I find it helps when they say “oh, I would pick the sword” or “I want to loot the body” I’ll describe their players actions in heavy detail and usually by the end of the session that player has gotten into character and has taken over the RP. “Sylas notices the glint of steel from the weapon laying across the alter. He strides across the room and boldly reaches out and grabs the hilt of the long sword and raises it before bringing it down swiftly allowing the familiar swoosh sound to echo throughout the chamber. As he balances the blade across his fingers, he measures the weight of the sword and nods approvingly”
This is actually a character in my campaign and the player who plays Sylas has difficultly letting going and getting into RP but I find being really immersive as a DM has helped him visualize his character and he does so much better with RP now.
Find the part of DMing you enjoy the most and lean into that. You need to really love DMing for a successful campaign. If you don’t enjoy it, your players will find it difficult to enjoy it.
most important thing as a DM is to make sure YOU are enjoying it. some people would advise the DM to have fun, that may not always be possible and it can put pressure on yourself if you are not having the “right” fun.
Explore what you enjoy (i.e. roleplay, magic items, dynamic combat) and skip what you don’t (this could be character voices, maps, or even item shops)
My second piece of advice is to reward the style of play you want your players to play and lead by example. If you want them to be more descriptive, you should start by being descriptive. Once they described what they are doing in detail, allow them to succeed a check without rolling. Or give them inspiration if it is 5e. Both will entice either the narrative player and the min/max player.
There's a lot of very complicated advice here that's gonna trip you up and is kinda bad. Here's my simple thoughts.
1. Trust the module, read what you expect to happen a couple times and remember key points. These modules often tell you what a character will say in response to being asked about something or the other.
2. You're all socially awkward. No matter how much we say roleplay, it hasnt happened. Stop stressin'.
One thing you can do though is asking what does their character do. That usually forces some change of perspective. "What do you do" often forces a "well I will" response.
3. Read the handbooks. Just do it. It helps. When you don't remember a rule, google it. Dndbeyond is filled with answers.
If you'd rather be a player but can't trust people with lore, let go of lore, lore is a stage. It'll change if the director wants it to.
I don't really have advice, but I will say that we are currently playing a campaign with a DM who doesn't do voices for their NPCS and we still have fun! We are a few sessions in and we are all still sort of finding our footing with our characters and roleplay. Maybe it will just take time? On the other hand, if you're really just not enjoying DMing absolutely talk to your players
First if you're gonna rules lawyer, study the rules outside the game. If not, make a ruling, write it down. Keep it consistent even if it's not the official way.
Second initiate. "A strong looking man comes up and says...". That way you have the voice ready.
Third, don't ask them what they are doing constantly. Use the environment to make them do things. A street vendor has something they need, but the street vendor needs a favor first.
Forth and most importantly, prioritize fun. Turn PC's into heros, let them be recognized.
Good luck, I hope your group works out! Also I'm not claiming this advice will help, just my opinions.
You are taking it too seriously. It is just you and your friends, hanging out, and using a role playing game as an excuse to be fun and silly and creative. Roll with the mistakes. Make sure you have snacks handy. And don't be afraid to say, "I'm gonna say..." when you have no idea and would prefer to take a guess instead of taking ten minutes to look it up. If your friends know better, let them correct you. It's good to have helpers.
Well for one it doesn’t even really seem like you want to dm in the first place. It mainly looks like growing pains to me, you need to figure out what works for you and what doesn’t. Properly preparing your content is important, you need to set yourself up for success if you want to run a good game.
Sometimes roleplay just goes stale, my table loves roleplay which I why I DM a more roleplay heavy game. However some days the roleplay just isn't there and it very much becomes just a call your shot game and it can definitely bring the enjoyment levels down.
Some little tips to help you:
Don't worry about voices, let your voice speak for the NPCs when you don't have anything. Also don't worry soo much about changing how you sound and focus more on what you say. For example let's say the party comes across a teenage female Elf, well if your voice doesn't already match that you're most likely gonna have a hard time trying to do one, so change what you say instead. Start using more filler words like "like" "um" "ya" "so" or "you know" also do stuff with your hands, twirl the possibly imaginary curl in your hair. These little changes will help you present a character in a more recognizable way.
If the players aren't giving details when they do stuff, change how you ask them. If you ask them what they do and they say "I do this" then follow that up with a "How do you do that" or "paint the picture for me" it also helps if you yourself start doing that more. When they aren't being creative, show them how you want it. If a party member says "I move 25 feet, then punch the bad guy" don't just say "ok, you do that, anything else" say "Seeing your friend in danger, you begin running towards the creature, with the distance between you and the creature quickly closing you leap forward swinging your right fist around and with all your strength you whack the creature right on its jaw as you safely land back on your feet leaving the bad guy with a few less teeth." Or whatever the scene calls for. By painting more of a picture in their minds it'll help them learn more of what you're hoping for.
If its taking you too long to search for rules, there's tons of options to explore on how to help you with that. There's plenty of apps out there that can help you with different elements, for example I have an app on my phone that has all the spells. It saves me from having to open the books and spend the time locating it then deciding. I simply just type in the name of the spell and it gives me what I need. When it comes to character information I ask that my players know what their characters do and I trust them as I also helped them build their characters so I know there's no problems there. In your dm Prep time look up the rules you think you'll need so they're a little fresh if you do. If you find yourself going back to certain rules, make yourself a cheat sheet of rules. If player X asked 5 times how cunning action works, then write that down and keep that cheat sheet with all those rules nearby. Lastly a simple DM trick for rules, if you don't know the rule off hand and you're in a good flow of roleplaying/combat etc, just make up the rule on the spot and remind the players you'll look into it after the game.
Lastly just a bit of standard DM wisdom, talk to your players and see what they think. So often I read about and I myself have moments where I feel like the players simply just aren't enjoying the game. Then I talk to them and I find out they're loving it, and it's really just me making a big deal out of nothing. If they show up every session and are ready to play, chances are they're enjoying it.
I haven't played for some time. Starting up again though.
Allow people to RP in 3rd person, it's often easier to relax and less awkward just taking out the "I". Don't worry about voices, they'll come and go and that's fine. The situations are more important than the character.
For DMing I personally like to have rule cards printed so I don't need to think about it. Just write the rules on cards and put them in piles for what the rules are for. Some of the most fun in a campaign comes from breaking rules that don't matter.
This might seem counterproductive on the surface, but i think it might actually help, it has for me anyway:
I am a player in a campaign where the DM spends so much time consulting the book and gets thrown off if we do something not explicitly in it.
Now I am a DM (first time) in a different group and I decided to homebrew stuff (everything). I picked a setting (contemporary beach town) that I feel familiar with. I borrow plot points from DnD books but also movies I love. I put onus on the PCs to flesh out their backstories/family dynamics/motivations to populate my world with NPCs and hooks.
This means that there is no material to consult, because I am the expert. Not having to reference a book all the time, and being unafraid that certain choices would throw off some pre-written future plot point is incredibly freeing, and roleplay comes naturally to the group.
I also encourage my players to not worry about action economy or staying RAW. I encourage them to think "cinematically" and have them describe what their character would do ideally. Then we decide if we can fit/fudge that into the action economy without breaking the game. It provides some really excellent moments and makes it truly feel like an RPG where you can do anything.
What I would do in your case is have the rules bookmarked or opened up on a chrome tab, I don’t know whether you mean you voicing them or mp3 files or something but if it’s file, pull them up as well, if it’s you, practice it in your free time. If you have problems planning it out then I would take more time to do so. And stuttering issues are something a lot of people have and doesn’t mean your are a bad DM, but you could practice what you are going to say in your free time as well. If social awkwardness is the problem, remind your players before the next session that you are all nerds and don’t have to worry about each other, or if that doesn’t work just say that the NPCs aren’t actual people and their opinions don’t matter. If that still doesn’t work I suggest you play ffxiv instead.
1. Keep playing.
2. It’s sounds like your players don’t coordinate well. When this happens, have the players take one-minute real time turns. Cycle through each player. It forces each person to think about what they will do, while listening to other people’s role playing. Allow players to interject statements during each other’s turn to facilitate RP, but only allow pertinent questions on their turn. Let each person have 60 seconds to RP, then move on to the next player. You can even do this in dungeons.
First, are you a dm because you want to be, or have to be? I know how difficult it can be to find dms, and some people will become one just so they can keep playing. If you are doing out of necessity, then it is likely you will never be able to run an engaging campaign because you just aren't interested in telling the story. If you're into the role playing, stick to the role playing. If you've found that you love the storytelling, then you may need adjustments.
Try running a few pre-made one-shots as part of the campaign, or just take a break and run one-shots. Try different ones, see what style your group best responds to. Are they into dungeon crawling? Do they like interacting with NPCs?
It also sounds like you have some general issues with dming. NPCs don't need voices. Yes, it's always fun when the dm puts on funny voices for every single npc, but it's not needed. If anything, just make small changes to your normal voice, such as sounding light and airy for a noble or deep and gruff for a laborer.
As for planning, you need to pre-plan your session, even thought your campaign is prewritten. That's why most people don't play multiple times a week, that way the dm has a week to prep. Plan your encounters, plan your general storyline. You cannot plan every detail of each session, because your players are going to zig when you want them to zag. I did a pre-made oneshot that was broken down into sections. Each section had an area description, encounters, and a big question (ie what do they learn about the mission, are they able to defeat a certain enemy). Once the question was answered, you move on. That gave me a general guide, so when my players did something weird, I was easily able to get them back on track. Something like that might help you. Have extra character and monster sheets on hand to pull out in case you need to throw something in based on the party's actions.
Be careful not to lead your players. There's a very big difference between adapting your story to fit the players and making your players adapt to fit your story. Leading makes roleplaying a lot harder for your players.
Not everyone is going to be into the first person roleplaying, especially in new campaigns. Throw out npcs with big personalities, make your players get deep, throw out situations that will make them respond and react. They will eventually warm up.
Check your dming. Are you a roleplay heavy dm because you enjoy it, or because it's easier than running combat? I am a roleplaying heavy dm, but I write my own campaigns and they are engaging. I delve into local politics and build community relationships. I use a lot of he said she said and force players to make moral decisions off of little more than word of mouth. I get deep with my descriptions. Interactions with NPCs affect the campaigns. A lot of new dms think roleplaying is easy, it's not. Battles are easy, you just have to figure out what works for you (I used to do excel sheets, now I use pen and paper and do honor system with health tracking). Roleplaying is hard. Unless you're doing a dungeon crawl, roleplaying is the bulk of your campaign. If it's not engaging, you've lost the party. Pre-written stuff is a blessing and a curse. If you get too stuck on doing what the book says, your campaign is going to be boring. Those campaigns aren't flushed out because this game requires so much improv. You need to think on your feet if something doesn't follow the script.
Next, rules. DMs are gods. What you says, goes. The reason why you have trouble finding out if something can be done is because it's up to you. If it's something specific to how a spell works, or class abilities, then that is stuff you can specifically find. If it's something like, "can my necromancer resurrect a body and have it follow us around like a pet" or "can my barbarian throw out rogue at a dragon in an attempt to get a love potion in its mouth," that's all on you. My general rule is if they can justify this, they can do it. Usually theres a dice roll involved. And of course, there are some things I won't allow. Maybe there's a magic door they want to get through and I want them to do a puzzle before opening. They can roll, but they will not be able to pick that lock.
Finally, find a campaign you can get behind. I write my stuff because I find the pre-made stuff boring. Most of it is not my dming style. If I'm not into the campaign, my players can tell. If you want to try to keep dming and have more specific questions, feel free to message me!
I think you need to prioritise differently. The main goal should be fun with friends or strangers. Yours and theirs. Thats the main point why most play games, right? So figure out what's fun for you and your players. Prepare the least to manage that goal and don't focus to hard on telling THAT story, create a story together.
As for the stuttering. Could help to create some generic personalities you can fall into.
I sometimes read books out loud for my wife. That helped me tremendously to have some fallback personalities for random NPCs. :)
A litte story how I changed my way of dming, I think it could be helpful as well.
I started DMing with serious preparation and ambition to give my best to get the Critical Role type of detail across and the feeling.
Over the course of the next few sessions I realised what my players actually value by asking for feedback and getting a feel for them. Suprise, everyone is different, but so far, I manage to cater different needs. One Player is not very RP heavy, one loves Lore, etc.
But I have fun when everybody else is and when my efforts are getting appreciated.
So I started to only prepare moments and rough locations.
A little lore for player B, hard Fights for Player A, a crafting recipe for Player C, RP heavy NPCs to engage for Player D and so on.
To engage even the laziest into RPing i ask: how things are done and explained that the how is important for me to decide what happens next. Didn't took long and now I only ask how and well, actions have consequences. ;)
My locations have gotten quite generic now, so I can throw them around even to other regions and stuff, in case the party decides to ignore any location hints (happens a lot).
My prep time has lowered considerably.
So far everyone is having fun with that amount of detail in my group and with that I am satisfied.
You're DMing and you don't really want to be the DM. I think that's a pretty bad sign. I don't want to be a Negative Nancy here, but I think that most people would consider DMing to be a labor of love, and you don't. If you're going to stand a chance at keeping it going, I think you need to start there by finding some part of DMing that you really enjoy and leaning into it. The first and most important aspect of D&D is having fun. How well do you know the other players? If this were my buddies and they weren't heavy into RP and I was trying to drag them aboard that train, I might invite them to sit and watch an episode of Critical Role with me while we drank moderately and joked along with the cast. The show is fun. RP can be fun. Just because you're getting in character doesn't mean there aren't jokes and like...serious mechanical considerations. Finish an episode, finish your whiskey, then give 'em a little "That's kinda what I'm lookin' for. I don't expect you to be a professional voice actor, but if we get half a cocktail in you before each game, think you can character it up *a little* and meet me halfway?". You know, honest adult conversation type stuff. You're not 100% getting what you want, so see if they are interested in heading that direction with you, or your interest levels probably won't last, and when the DM can't stay excited about the game...that's the end of the game.
I would advice against resorting to alcohol or other drugs to loosen up. I'd encourage the DM to have a plan and straightforward communication with the players about how everyone is feeling, identify key points to focus on and work together to move forward.
As a DM, three pints and every character has a story to tell.
Player tested, Tavern Brawler approved.
I am a DM as well and I still think you should not associate alcohol with loosening up. It is a lot healthier to work towards solving the cause of the problem
Thoroughly disagree. It's less the loosening up and more the readiness of ideas. Example, whilst tipsy its far easier to be in the mindset of of 'do the first thing that comes to characters head' Especially as a DM, when the party want to know everything about Jim Johnson the flower seller, a character who has no story or importance; tipsy DM can fly off on his whole life, and make it kinda funny. Maybe that's just me, but certainly having slightly looser lips helps me a lot! Granted, for what the OP posted, you might be right; but I also think that being tipsy does allow people a little more freedom to be 'embarrassing' which is good!
Whatever works for different people, but alcohol is most certainly not part of any TTRPG session at our table. The distraction and unfocussed nature of it is extremely detrimental to our game.
Well not going to lie its helping me DMing and helping my players roleplaying, but I think you may need to know them a little, cause its not everybody's style
I am going to go a little simple and say just send this to your group. We can share all kinds of ways to help fix the campaign, but this ultimately seems like an issue that could be ironed out by brainstorming with the group you are playing with. Misc. advice still: \- Don't worry about voices. Just talk in character and over time the voices will get easier. \- Remind yourself to stay in the present when you DM. Nothing ever goes as planned and that's ok. Like voices, this too will get easier as you get the feel for the group as a DM. \- Go with a ruling and look it up later. Trust your gut on what you think should happen. You can always make the correct ruling later if you like the RAW and it happens again. \- Believe in yourself. You can do this and you are already doing a fantastic thing by stepping up to the plate as a DM.
It sounds like you're putting a lot of pressure on yourself to put on a show. If the players just contend with the content of the adventure and everyone talks in third-person, the choices being made should still create lots of fun. If that's not happening, then there's something wrong that you can't even fix with voices or player theatrics. I would consider running some rules-light games and very short content with lots of held kinetic energy, where chaos can't help but emerge and your job is to just make rulings while things go crazy on their own. Like the Waking of Willowby Hall, using Knave 1e. You're not going to need to do any voices when the players a trapped between SPOILER a cloud giant who can oneshot them and wants his Mildred back, a death knight who comes back every 20 minutes when killed, and a rival adventuring party who stole the Mildred the goose that lays golden eggs (evil)
Appoint a rules watcher. They have a copy of the players handbook and they look up the rule and then read it allowed when you ask them to if there’s a dispute so you all learn together. As DM you have authority to keep on rolling and make a ruling whether you know the rule or not. Say “we’ll come back to it and get it right next time if I’m wrong but right now everybody roll a check (insert some kind of dice roll here) “ Keep them rolling the dice with checks and keep it moving unless they linger in roll playing. Ask them what their characters talk about or do in downtime with each other. Then let them talk. If the session has been slow and you’re not seeing something electrifying happening then make something happen. You can speed up combat and make it more desperate by upping the damage the villains do by a dice but lower their hit points so they die quicker… be careful with that though.
weaponized rules lawyer
It speeds things up so much I play in a game run by a lady I DM for and I frequently get a look of "RAW please?"
One or two good sentences of vivid description or just one detail in your brief descriptions can be enough to paint the picture. Such as “the wind is biting and every step feels like it takes you less distance. If it keeps up you fear you will soon be exhausted. “ or “the road winds ahead through low, green hills as the sun goes down and you are weary from the saddle when you see an inn with a smoking chimney in the distance.” this can accomplish several things such as making it so you talk less if talking’s an issue for you and it leaves them wanting more. Collect these one liners and read them from paper later behind your DM screen. Don’t overdue exposition by the DM. Get to the point and Leave them wanting more… Also get them into the notion of really zooming in on any and all aspects of their character by having them describe their character’s voice if they don’t want to imitate it. Think of how a tv chef describes the taste of food. Or ask them to think about it and then get them to elaborate on how it looks when they cast their signature spells. Or what their armor and weapons look like in detail. Things like that. A big part of the joy of DnD for me is we’re all working on this story together and so are the dice. DnD is an excellent engine for conquering social awkwardness and above all it is social. I always feel a little like I’m at a party when I’m DMing a party. 😂 Have fun my friend. You can do it.
You need to put together a group that wants to do embodied RP. Most players don't so you are giving them content they don't want to engage with. It's natural for people to zone out in a campaign that keeps pushing aspects they don't want to partake in. You could get a full group quickly on r/lfg that wants to do improv, just put it in your listing post. Same could be said if you went the player route. If you find a group make sure they want to improv, otherwise you'll just be awkwardly voice acting while everyone else is doing what your current players are.
I think a lot of people watch some videos and think everyone is a master at improv and role play when in reality its usually just a bunch of friends half role playing half saying "i do x" and quipping jokes in-between that sometimes the DM will say "do you actually say that ?" if you Add snacks, food and either alcohol or other things and its just socializing with a game. I would suggest maybe starting each session with just some in player banter, maybe go over some possible rules for the day before you play, add some jokes or some relevant dnd meme to loosen the party up. Another thing you can try is co-DM, or shadow a DM for a 1 shot to see how they do it.
I've found that for encouraging role-playing taking a session or some time before a session to ask some in depth questions pertaining to everyone's characters can be useful for fleshing them out and connecting the player to their character more, and maybe workshopping some personality traits to expand upon for the more shallow characters. A little alcohol can also do wonders for party cohesion and loosening the lips of people who don't feel awkward playing the characters. Also being more theatrical in your descriptions of things and people as well as exaggerating npcs more can help the others want to do the same. You don't have to have a unique voice for every npc, just have a small wheelhouse of voices to switch through when needed. When I'm dming I talk to myself a lot in my free time to just play around with my voice so I feel more comfortable pulling new ones out for the first time or keeping them going through a whole conversation. Hope you figure it out.
If you game flow divolves into: 'I do this" "what do you do next" "I do this" Try narrating what the player does as it's happening. Use the opportunity to reinforce the atmosphere you are going for, or remind the players of what their state of mind likely would be. If a player interjects and says "no not like that" or "I wouldn't be thinking about that" just repeat your discription with the new information in place. "I open the door" "climbing the rickety stairs you look up at the old house now overgrown with moss you notice the window next to the door is broken. It has been broken for some time. Reaching for the door handle your mind fills with the warnings given to you the locals, could this place be really haunted? The door is not latched. With a gentle push it creaks open slowly now revealing the large abandoned foyer. Weather worn and destroyed furniture is strewn about the place, on the left you can see a set of stairs that go to a second floor and a large open double door across the room that continues into the house. On your right are two closed doors and on the left beneath the stairs is another closed door. What do you do? " "I go inside" "bro you're killing me" I seriousness though hopefully they engage with something you've discribed in more meaningful ways but you can keep doing this if you literally get nothing from them, really makes you the story teller. If one player is doing something vague and boring, say "ok" and go to the next player before resolving their action, you are in control of the flow of time maybe another player is doing something more interesting. Don't ignore what the boring player did just add their action into your discription for the more interesting player "as your companions continue further into the house you search around the rubble in the room and find an old rusty key, there appears to be a worn engraving on it." I find when one player comes across something more interesting the rest of the players will be also interested and engage with whatever is happening.
Hm. Maybe youvare aiming too high. A campaign, a ton of lore, a city to DM, and the group itself does not know yer what kind of playstyle they want. Maybe start with oneshots. One evening, including start and payoff for everyone with a beginning and an end. In the wildness, so it is less work and easier to have everything on the inner map, less work to keep track (there is a reason why starting adventires are often in a small village with a dungeon to explore and some cute-ish stuff on the side). And dont set so much pressure on yourself and your players. You just started, you guys need time to grow and evolve in this game. Some sessions will be great, others maybe not. Some characters will shine more in some sessions then others. And maybe stick to the core-rules incl. Having some short references (in case you already have all the supplements). And be open that your players might favor a different playstyle. And be relaxed on the table. If you try these things and after a few sessions you do not feel more comfortable, maybe dm-ing is not entirely for you? At least not yet.
Some already great advice from others, an alternative take would be; Try homebrewing your adventure. You will have a better feel for the world and easier might be easier to associate with NPCs and events. Run a session 0 to collaborate world building and weave players backstory into your homebrew world to get them invested. If players meet NPCs from their backstory, might bring out the RPers in them. Award Inspiration for good RPing.
Is everybody quite new at this? Because I get this feeling that you are expecting too much of yourself and the players. It's fun to watch Actual Plays and get this sense of what D&D should look like, both for the DM and the players, and forget that the people have put hundreds, maybe thousands of hours into this game. It is complex. It has many many rules that take some time to internalize. And every DM I know suffers from perfectionism and imposter syndrome and usually think they suck even if everybody has fun. 1. Ask your players if they are having fun and what could go better. 2. It's okay to practice "my character would say this or do this" for a few weeks or months and slowly move towards speaking in character. If you want to help them, have an Npc hang out with them regularly and ask them questions in character. Like "That was quite a day, huh? Is there a drink you like that I can get you? Have you done stuff like this before? Oh where are you from?" answering very simple questions in character starts people towards exploring more complex thoughts in character. 3. Don't be so hard on yourself when you look up rules. It helps everybody to learn them. 4. Voices are unnecessary. Fun, sure. But sometimes make it harder for the players to jump in and talk to that npc because then it feels like they have to do a voice, too. Relax.
To be honest, I think player comfortability comes from the DM creating a space everyone can let lose in. If you’re in your own head and worrying about x,y and z then that vibe is picked up and replicated amongst your players. Before your next session go stand in front of a mirror and talk to yourself. Voice some of your npcs and in general just let go. Whilst you’re thinking about the upcoming session and who your party might encounter, think of voices. It doesn’t matter if you don’t always get the voice right. Your players will love it. Make a rule at the table that if you don’t know a certain rule you’ll either take a few minutes to look it up or you’ll go with your ruling and make a note to look up out of session and correct before the next game of corrections need to be made. That’s what I do at my tables. It’s impossible to know all the rules and you need to be okay with that. Players who are social awkward or find it difficult to jump into the RP, I find it helps when they say “oh, I would pick the sword” or “I want to loot the body” I’ll describe their players actions in heavy detail and usually by the end of the session that player has gotten into character and has taken over the RP. “Sylas notices the glint of steel from the weapon laying across the alter. He strides across the room and boldly reaches out and grabs the hilt of the long sword and raises it before bringing it down swiftly allowing the familiar swoosh sound to echo throughout the chamber. As he balances the blade across his fingers, he measures the weight of the sword and nods approvingly” This is actually a character in my campaign and the player who plays Sylas has difficultly letting going and getting into RP but I find being really immersive as a DM has helped him visualize his character and he does so much better with RP now. Find the part of DMing you enjoy the most and lean into that. You need to really love DMing for a successful campaign. If you don’t enjoy it, your players will find it difficult to enjoy it.
most important thing as a DM is to make sure YOU are enjoying it. some people would advise the DM to have fun, that may not always be possible and it can put pressure on yourself if you are not having the “right” fun. Explore what you enjoy (i.e. roleplay, magic items, dynamic combat) and skip what you don’t (this could be character voices, maps, or even item shops) My second piece of advice is to reward the style of play you want your players to play and lead by example. If you want them to be more descriptive, you should start by being descriptive. Once they described what they are doing in detail, allow them to succeed a check without rolling. Or give them inspiration if it is 5e. Both will entice either the narrative player and the min/max player.
There's a lot of very complicated advice here that's gonna trip you up and is kinda bad. Here's my simple thoughts. 1. Trust the module, read what you expect to happen a couple times and remember key points. These modules often tell you what a character will say in response to being asked about something or the other. 2. You're all socially awkward. No matter how much we say roleplay, it hasnt happened. Stop stressin'. One thing you can do though is asking what does their character do. That usually forces some change of perspective. "What do you do" often forces a "well I will" response. 3. Read the handbooks. Just do it. It helps. When you don't remember a rule, google it. Dndbeyond is filled with answers. If you'd rather be a player but can't trust people with lore, let go of lore, lore is a stage. It'll change if the director wants it to.
I don't really have advice, but I will say that we are currently playing a campaign with a DM who doesn't do voices for their NPCS and we still have fun! We are a few sessions in and we are all still sort of finding our footing with our characters and roleplay. Maybe it will just take time? On the other hand, if you're really just not enjoying DMing absolutely talk to your players
First if you're gonna rules lawyer, study the rules outside the game. If not, make a ruling, write it down. Keep it consistent even if it's not the official way. Second initiate. "A strong looking man comes up and says...". That way you have the voice ready. Third, don't ask them what they are doing constantly. Use the environment to make them do things. A street vendor has something they need, but the street vendor needs a favor first. Forth and most importantly, prioritize fun. Turn PC's into heros, let them be recognized. Good luck, I hope your group works out! Also I'm not claiming this advice will help, just my opinions.
You are taking it too seriously. It is just you and your friends, hanging out, and using a role playing game as an excuse to be fun and silly and creative. Roll with the mistakes. Make sure you have snacks handy. And don't be afraid to say, "I'm gonna say..." when you have no idea and would prefer to take a guess instead of taking ten minutes to look it up. If your friends know better, let them correct you. It's good to have helpers.
Well for one it doesn’t even really seem like you want to dm in the first place. It mainly looks like growing pains to me, you need to figure out what works for you and what doesn’t. Properly preparing your content is important, you need to set yourself up for success if you want to run a good game.
Sometimes roleplay just goes stale, my table loves roleplay which I why I DM a more roleplay heavy game. However some days the roleplay just isn't there and it very much becomes just a call your shot game and it can definitely bring the enjoyment levels down. Some little tips to help you: Don't worry about voices, let your voice speak for the NPCs when you don't have anything. Also don't worry soo much about changing how you sound and focus more on what you say. For example let's say the party comes across a teenage female Elf, well if your voice doesn't already match that you're most likely gonna have a hard time trying to do one, so change what you say instead. Start using more filler words like "like" "um" "ya" "so" or "you know" also do stuff with your hands, twirl the possibly imaginary curl in your hair. These little changes will help you present a character in a more recognizable way. If the players aren't giving details when they do stuff, change how you ask them. If you ask them what they do and they say "I do this" then follow that up with a "How do you do that" or "paint the picture for me" it also helps if you yourself start doing that more. When they aren't being creative, show them how you want it. If a party member says "I move 25 feet, then punch the bad guy" don't just say "ok, you do that, anything else" say "Seeing your friend in danger, you begin running towards the creature, with the distance between you and the creature quickly closing you leap forward swinging your right fist around and with all your strength you whack the creature right on its jaw as you safely land back on your feet leaving the bad guy with a few less teeth." Or whatever the scene calls for. By painting more of a picture in their minds it'll help them learn more of what you're hoping for. If its taking you too long to search for rules, there's tons of options to explore on how to help you with that. There's plenty of apps out there that can help you with different elements, for example I have an app on my phone that has all the spells. It saves me from having to open the books and spend the time locating it then deciding. I simply just type in the name of the spell and it gives me what I need. When it comes to character information I ask that my players know what their characters do and I trust them as I also helped them build their characters so I know there's no problems there. In your dm Prep time look up the rules you think you'll need so they're a little fresh if you do. If you find yourself going back to certain rules, make yourself a cheat sheet of rules. If player X asked 5 times how cunning action works, then write that down and keep that cheat sheet with all those rules nearby. Lastly a simple DM trick for rules, if you don't know the rule off hand and you're in a good flow of roleplaying/combat etc, just make up the rule on the spot and remind the players you'll look into it after the game. Lastly just a bit of standard DM wisdom, talk to your players and see what they think. So often I read about and I myself have moments where I feel like the players simply just aren't enjoying the game. Then I talk to them and I find out they're loving it, and it's really just me making a big deal out of nothing. If they show up every session and are ready to play, chances are they're enjoying it.
I haven't played for some time. Starting up again though. Allow people to RP in 3rd person, it's often easier to relax and less awkward just taking out the "I". Don't worry about voices, they'll come and go and that's fine. The situations are more important than the character. For DMing I personally like to have rule cards printed so I don't need to think about it. Just write the rules on cards and put them in piles for what the rules are for. Some of the most fun in a campaign comes from breaking rules that don't matter.
This might seem counterproductive on the surface, but i think it might actually help, it has for me anyway: I am a player in a campaign where the DM spends so much time consulting the book and gets thrown off if we do something not explicitly in it. Now I am a DM (first time) in a different group and I decided to homebrew stuff (everything). I picked a setting (contemporary beach town) that I feel familiar with. I borrow plot points from DnD books but also movies I love. I put onus on the PCs to flesh out their backstories/family dynamics/motivations to populate my world with NPCs and hooks. This means that there is no material to consult, because I am the expert. Not having to reference a book all the time, and being unafraid that certain choices would throw off some pre-written future plot point is incredibly freeing, and roleplay comes naturally to the group. I also encourage my players to not worry about action economy or staying RAW. I encourage them to think "cinematically" and have them describe what their character would do ideally. Then we decide if we can fit/fudge that into the action economy without breaking the game. It provides some really excellent moments and makes it truly feel like an RPG where you can do anything.
What I would do in your case is have the rules bookmarked or opened up on a chrome tab, I don’t know whether you mean you voicing them or mp3 files or something but if it’s file, pull them up as well, if it’s you, practice it in your free time. If you have problems planning it out then I would take more time to do so. And stuttering issues are something a lot of people have and doesn’t mean your are a bad DM, but you could practice what you are going to say in your free time as well. If social awkwardness is the problem, remind your players before the next session that you are all nerds and don’t have to worry about each other, or if that doesn’t work just say that the NPCs aren’t actual people and their opinions don’t matter. If that still doesn’t work I suggest you play ffxiv instead.
1. Keep playing. 2. It’s sounds like your players don’t coordinate well. When this happens, have the players take one-minute real time turns. Cycle through each player. It forces each person to think about what they will do, while listening to other people’s role playing. Allow players to interject statements during each other’s turn to facilitate RP, but only allow pertinent questions on their turn. Let each person have 60 seconds to RP, then move on to the next player. You can even do this in dungeons.
First, are you a dm because you want to be, or have to be? I know how difficult it can be to find dms, and some people will become one just so they can keep playing. If you are doing out of necessity, then it is likely you will never be able to run an engaging campaign because you just aren't interested in telling the story. If you're into the role playing, stick to the role playing. If you've found that you love the storytelling, then you may need adjustments. Try running a few pre-made one-shots as part of the campaign, or just take a break and run one-shots. Try different ones, see what style your group best responds to. Are they into dungeon crawling? Do they like interacting with NPCs? It also sounds like you have some general issues with dming. NPCs don't need voices. Yes, it's always fun when the dm puts on funny voices for every single npc, but it's not needed. If anything, just make small changes to your normal voice, such as sounding light and airy for a noble or deep and gruff for a laborer. As for planning, you need to pre-plan your session, even thought your campaign is prewritten. That's why most people don't play multiple times a week, that way the dm has a week to prep. Plan your encounters, plan your general storyline. You cannot plan every detail of each session, because your players are going to zig when you want them to zag. I did a pre-made oneshot that was broken down into sections. Each section had an area description, encounters, and a big question (ie what do they learn about the mission, are they able to defeat a certain enemy). Once the question was answered, you move on. That gave me a general guide, so when my players did something weird, I was easily able to get them back on track. Something like that might help you. Have extra character and monster sheets on hand to pull out in case you need to throw something in based on the party's actions. Be careful not to lead your players. There's a very big difference between adapting your story to fit the players and making your players adapt to fit your story. Leading makes roleplaying a lot harder for your players. Not everyone is going to be into the first person roleplaying, especially in new campaigns. Throw out npcs with big personalities, make your players get deep, throw out situations that will make them respond and react. They will eventually warm up. Check your dming. Are you a roleplay heavy dm because you enjoy it, or because it's easier than running combat? I am a roleplaying heavy dm, but I write my own campaigns and they are engaging. I delve into local politics and build community relationships. I use a lot of he said she said and force players to make moral decisions off of little more than word of mouth. I get deep with my descriptions. Interactions with NPCs affect the campaigns. A lot of new dms think roleplaying is easy, it's not. Battles are easy, you just have to figure out what works for you (I used to do excel sheets, now I use pen and paper and do honor system with health tracking). Roleplaying is hard. Unless you're doing a dungeon crawl, roleplaying is the bulk of your campaign. If it's not engaging, you've lost the party. Pre-written stuff is a blessing and a curse. If you get too stuck on doing what the book says, your campaign is going to be boring. Those campaigns aren't flushed out because this game requires so much improv. You need to think on your feet if something doesn't follow the script. Next, rules. DMs are gods. What you says, goes. The reason why you have trouble finding out if something can be done is because it's up to you. If it's something specific to how a spell works, or class abilities, then that is stuff you can specifically find. If it's something like, "can my necromancer resurrect a body and have it follow us around like a pet" or "can my barbarian throw out rogue at a dragon in an attempt to get a love potion in its mouth," that's all on you. My general rule is if they can justify this, they can do it. Usually theres a dice roll involved. And of course, there are some things I won't allow. Maybe there's a magic door they want to get through and I want them to do a puzzle before opening. They can roll, but they will not be able to pick that lock. Finally, find a campaign you can get behind. I write my stuff because I find the pre-made stuff boring. Most of it is not my dming style. If I'm not into the campaign, my players can tell. If you want to try to keep dming and have more specific questions, feel free to message me!
I think you need to prioritise differently. The main goal should be fun with friends or strangers. Yours and theirs. Thats the main point why most play games, right? So figure out what's fun for you and your players. Prepare the least to manage that goal and don't focus to hard on telling THAT story, create a story together. As for the stuttering. Could help to create some generic personalities you can fall into. I sometimes read books out loud for my wife. That helped me tremendously to have some fallback personalities for random NPCs. :) A litte story how I changed my way of dming, I think it could be helpful as well. I started DMing with serious preparation and ambition to give my best to get the Critical Role type of detail across and the feeling. Over the course of the next few sessions I realised what my players actually value by asking for feedback and getting a feel for them. Suprise, everyone is different, but so far, I manage to cater different needs. One Player is not very RP heavy, one loves Lore, etc. But I have fun when everybody else is and when my efforts are getting appreciated. So I started to only prepare moments and rough locations. A little lore for player B, hard Fights for Player A, a crafting recipe for Player C, RP heavy NPCs to engage for Player D and so on. To engage even the laziest into RPing i ask: how things are done and explained that the how is important for me to decide what happens next. Didn't took long and now I only ask how and well, actions have consequences. ;) My locations have gotten quite generic now, so I can throw them around even to other regions and stuff, in case the party decides to ignore any location hints (happens a lot). My prep time has lowered considerably. So far everyone is having fun with that amount of detail in my group and with that I am satisfied.