Interest Check: D&D 5e - Lost Mine of Phandelver

Yeah - I know that leaking feeling. At least I don't have to worry about players bringing a copy of Zelligar's to the table.

I ran that for a group but like always I never run them verbatim I usually grab a couple of more modules along with my ideas and mix them all together this helps prevent meta-gaming by the players because even if they have read/ran or memorized the original module they are never sure what to expect. That and I am always tailoring the game to the characters the players bring as if there is an element that would enhance game play if there were a dragonborn in the group but there is no dragonborn in the group then I phase that out or if there is one in the group then maybe I figure out how to phase something in.

I am always looking at a module as a means to a campaign, the the Lost Mines kind of do that if I recall but I think I played around with theirs to create a campaign story I wanted to tell. I would encourage all GMs -- even first time GMs to augment/adjust the module and make it your own -- never run some cookie-cutter one module fits all kind of game -- look at what characters there are being played -- and ask yourself how might you personalize some of it to those characters --- what if instead of this monster we go with these others because that character might enjoy that more due to their background and such -- also I sometimes alter the monsters such that the players -- if they have learned not to hack-n-slash everything might be able to turn these potential enemies into allies. Never judge a book by its cover as sometimes the contents just might surprise you.

Also I know that many folks say be careful with giving out magic -- but I do not adhere to that -- I have yet to find a player that did not want to have a neat-toy but often they have to wait forever to get one --- so I started trying to figure out how to give folks neat-toys from get go --- using the concept of like legendary weapons that basically grow as you grow kind of thing -- they start fairly weak but as you adventure you learn how to unlock new elements of the item until eventually you have a really nice toy

Now this toy does not always take the form of a weapon, sometimes its additional abilities, or just about anything. What it actually ends up being depends greatly upon the character and their backstory. Some folks come with pre-built toys (aka something that I augment) while others require me to slip them one of these toys without them knowing it.

The end of all this is to strive to make whatever you are doing match what you think is fun for you as a GM and perhaps even more important what you think the players might really enjoy seeing. Remember the players out-number the GM and you cannot have a game without them so tailor it some (or a lot) to them and everyone ends up having a lot more fun.

And do not let being a first time GM daunt you it really is not that difficult to tweak a module and you might find it is a lot more fun to do and it helps you to start to learn how to make your own that way.

Hi, I’m brand new to the game and site. I’d love to play if you have room

Hey FoxofFinch, we have a full party and already started, sorry. Good luck finding a game. Quite a bit of 5e gets posted here.

Hi funfungiguy, thanks for the reply. I got into a game in the end. Hope you all have fun