Serving as Dungeon Master comes with challenges, especially when playing with new players, but some helpful D&D tips can smoothen the process.

There has never been a better time to start roleplaying with new players. Critical Role has become a pop culture phenomenon. New movies featuring Dungeons & Dragons are coming soon. Tabletop roleplaying games, long the forgotten stepchildren of hobby gaming, are primed to continue their expansion of interest since 2015.

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Because of this new popularity, playing in and running a D&D game with at least one player who’s never played Dungeons & Dragons before is higher than it’s ever been. D&D has always been by far the most common on-ramp to a rewarding lifetime hobby. Because of this, Dungeon Masters can always brush up on how to run the game when someone completely new to tabletop RPGs comes to the table.

Session zeroes are a relatively new phenomenon in TTRPGs. While the concept is nearly as old as the hobby itself, session zero was named by Jenna K. Moran in her 1999 roleplaying game Nobilis. Since then, the idea of an initiatory meeting to discuss expectations, ground rules, and how characters know each other has become a staple of the genre. Strangers meeting in a tavern no longer has to be a time to set expectations.

It provides time to talk about D&D and learn the rules. For new players, a sample scene and non-lethal sample combat might be helpful in session zero to teach the mechanics of the game. This works the same as a tutorial level in a video game: giving players the opportunity to learn the game mechanics before having to apply them.

When someone has been running D&D for a long time, there is a strong chance that their D&D game uses house rules. Possibly, those house rules are so ingrained in the game that the DM using them may have forgotten they are not in the rules as written.

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New players, both new to the hobby itself and new to a group, are likely to rely more strongly on the rules as written. The rules as written let players and groups feel each other out while learning which norms and rules work best for each table.

Being available before the game to answer questions is an especially important part of DMing when one or more of the players in the game is new to the hobby. Questions about rules and the previous session are an integral part of learning the game.

When a new player is in the game, DMs should plan to spend at least an extra half-hour before the game. Questions before the game are always a good idea. Almost any D&D session should start with a recap of the previous one, and in a game with a new player, expanding it to learning more about the rules is a great idea.

An average table of D&D consists of just six players, including the DM. A five-member party includes one player for each of the main roles and one to take up one of the secondary roles. With a small group, everyone is important.

While it may be a temptation to have the newest member of the party sit back and learn the game before diving in, learning by doing is an integral part of D&D. Years ago in the D&D Podcast, designer Mike Mearls stated that the most rewarding part of D&D is watching a brand-new player learn from creative mistakes.

New players to tabletop roleplaying are learning a game so complex that its rulebook is, practically speaking, a textbook. Making them memorize that textbook can possibly create a bad experience for a new player.

Having a cheat sheet for every character class available will help new players to the game. Every player, regardless of D&D experience, can use a quick reminder of what their character can do on their turn. Each class has nuances that need reminders in play. A cheat sheet is a great way to keep a high pace in combat and offer helpful shortcuts for more complicated classes like wizards or sorcerers.

To many experienced players, the fighter class uses the simplest version of the game’s rules. Because fighters have a relatively simple action choice, it may be tempting, especially at 1st level, to give new players the fighter class.

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New players, however, may have ideas they want to bring in that are hard or impossible to fit into a fighter archetype. When she joined the Pathfinder game that eventually became Critical Role, Laura Bailey wanted a pet for her character. That wish became the ranger-rogue character, Vex’ahlia. Player choice, not DM preconception, should always drive the character.

D&D playtester Michael Mornard was one of the few players to have been involved in David Arneson’s Blackmoor, Gary Gygax’s Greyhawk, and Philip Barker’s Tekumel games. Mornard once said of his participation in the early games that became D&D that the rules existed mainly to adjudicate situations that couldn’t be handled by acting out a scene.

The rules of D&D, the actual dice rolls and numbers, exist to determine the success or failure of actions. The implication of that success or failure, and its consequences, lie in the hands of players and the DM. Letting the dice dictate both what happens next and how it happens can result in demoralized players.

Drama engages humans emotionally as well as intellectually and roleplaying games are a form of drama. Sometimes players’ emotions can take time to bubble up. It’s useful for a DM with a new player to check in a day or two after the game.

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Players processing new experiences can take some time to figure out how they feel about them. Those experiences can manifest in odd ways. Follow-ups let players know that the experiences that were real to them were also real to the DM who created them.

Pre-generated characters, or pregens, are fine in a game where every player is new, or in a game where everyone is using pregens. In a game with players of mixed familiarity, it’s tempting to hand one of the incredibly useful pre-generated characters from D&D Beyond to the new players.

Dungeon Masters should resist that temptation. New players may have more questions during the character creation process. Character creation, though, is an integral part of D&D. Having one's own character builds a connection to the game and builds a deeper level of familiarity to their chosen D&D class.

New players are coming to a hobby for the first time. Their first game is where they learn if they are going to have a hobby for life, or just a brief dalliance. DMs shouldn't be afraid to put their best game face forward to new players, and some best DMing ideas come from those same players.

Tuning the adventure to players' wishes is just smart dungeon mastery. A DM who takes the cues that a new player is giving them is likely to have a player for life. With more players entering the hobby from more backgrounds, everyone wins.

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Kate Tremaine is an author and screenwriter living in Minneapolis, MN who holds an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Augsburg University. Her writing has appeared on DriveThruRPG and Kindle Direct Publishing, competed and placed in national competitions, Murphy Square, and on the packages of Star Wars Armada and in RuneWars: The Miniatures Game. She has written graphic novels for Torch Graphic Press. She was an Associate Editor of Howling Bird Press’ The Topless Widow of Herkimer Street and Other Stories by Jacob M. Appel. Her creative thesis, Irkalla Derby Demons, was published in 2016. Kate plays roller derby with Minnesota Roller Derby.

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