I would give two pieces of advice… 1) make sure everyone (including yourself) is having fun. Don’t get so wrapped up in doing it ‘right’ that you forget to have fun. And… 2) the DM has to be a *referee.* Be fair and relatively impartial and you’re golden. If a player pushes your boundaries don’t be afraid to say ‘no’.
Welcome to the dark side :)
Read this once a month:
https://archive.org/details/a-quick-primer-for-old-school-gaming
And run this:
https://dungeonofsigns.blogspot.com/2020/10/revised-prison-of-hated-pretender.html?m=1
And read this on how to DM:
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/252934/Tomb-of-the-Serpent-Kings--Deluxe-Print-Edition
And when you have more time start reading this:
https://lithyscaphe.blogspot.com/p/principia-apocrypha.html?m=1
Remember to have fun, celebrate your successes and many failures and have fun learning from them :)
AD&D (1e and 2e) both leave a great deal to DM fiat. As 2e went along more rules were included to cover up blind spots in the system, but it's really up to you how much of those rules you want to incorporate. Ruling things on the fly is something you should be comfortable doing when running AD&D.
2E also has a lot of supplement bloat, so deciding what source books to include will determine what rules you were using. I think it's perfectly fine to start the game PHB only and then let things in from supplements on a case-by-case basis.
Very good advice. While I love the bloat, I can easily see it be overwhelming. If you want a little more than PHB only, I suggest adding the main setting source book (if you are using a pre-made world) and let each player choose one book to add to the pool.
So if you have 4 players, one could add Tome of Magic for spells, another Skills and Powers for more character customization, and the last two pick the brown splat book for their class.
2e or 1e? If 2e grab a copy of DMs option: high level campaigns, Volos guide to all things magical… both of those I use a lot outside the big 3, also a copy of Worlds without Number is a great great addition to any sandbox campaign, back of the book is full of system neutral tools for world building.
For your first outing, try to avoid the optional rules. They look like important stuff, but they're not, really. You can add stuff later when you've got a little experience and can confidently say, "Oh, yes, that rule will definitely make my game better."
Read the 2nd Ed DMG, maybe twice. This will answer a lot of questions that you may not even know you have.
If you have only been a player, reading the DMG will be super helpful.
Cheers (good luck, and welcome to the other side of the screen)
No sweat. And if you run into issues feel free to reach out, this community is pretty good at answering questions. (Often from multiple points of view)
Cheers
You said you knew most of the rules? Those 2 books are great resources for rules one for how to approach the game and the other for magical item creation…. And the Worlds without number is the best sandbox toolkit available, other than that Matt Colville’s running the game series on YouTube is a great start.
you can add extra resources later. Just because you start with the core books doesn't mean you can pick n choose what you want to include later. Most of my favorites have to do with new classes and planes of existence. New monsters are fun too. You won't use half of it immediately, but they are fun to read and you will find a lot of things you like. You also do not have to use an entire book. You might only add certain pieces of books and ignore the rest. That's perfectly normal and within your individual choice. All other books are just optional rules and whatnot.
For instance, in the high level options book, I only really use the high level skills and ignore a ton of it. I do my magic the base way. I will throw quest spells in, but not 10th level casting... I don't do the optional saving throw stuff... I just take the parts I like to add...
For dungeon master advice you should eventually read the 1e AD&D DMG (worth it though it is a long and wordy one) and perhaps Electric Bastionland.
You should know that most AD&D 2e modules are railroady crap that you should avoid, however all TSR/OSR games are compatible and AD&D 1e had a lot of great modules and the OSR is/has produced even more great ones like:
[https://dungeonofsigns.blogspot.com/2020/10/revised-prison-of-hated-pretender.html?m=1](https://dungeonofsigns.blogspot.com/2020/10/revised-prison-of-hated-pretender.html?m=1)
Don't be so hard up on the rules. They are only guidelines. Make rulings that make sense instead (and try to be consistent). This is especially true during combat. Don't stop the action to look up the rules. Make a ruling and check it out later.
I would give two pieces of advice… 1) make sure everyone (including yourself) is having fun. Don’t get so wrapped up in doing it ‘right’ that you forget to have fun. And… 2) the DM has to be a *referee.* Be fair and relatively impartial and you’re golden. If a player pushes your boundaries don’t be afraid to say ‘no’.
Saying no is such a critical skill as a DM.
Welcome to the dark side :) Read this once a month: https://archive.org/details/a-quick-primer-for-old-school-gaming And run this: https://dungeonofsigns.blogspot.com/2020/10/revised-prison-of-hated-pretender.html?m=1 And read this on how to DM: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/252934/Tomb-of-the-Serpent-Kings--Deluxe-Print-Edition And when you have more time start reading this: https://lithyscaphe.blogspot.com/p/principia-apocrypha.html?m=1 Remember to have fun, celebrate your successes and many failures and have fun learning from them :)
AD&D (1e and 2e) both leave a great deal to DM fiat. As 2e went along more rules were included to cover up blind spots in the system, but it's really up to you how much of those rules you want to incorporate. Ruling things on the fly is something you should be comfortable doing when running AD&D. 2E also has a lot of supplement bloat, so deciding what source books to include will determine what rules you were using. I think it's perfectly fine to start the game PHB only and then let things in from supplements on a case-by-case basis.
Very good advice. While I love the bloat, I can easily see it be overwhelming. If you want a little more than PHB only, I suggest adding the main setting source book (if you are using a pre-made world) and let each player choose one book to add to the pool. So if you have 4 players, one could add Tome of Magic for spells, another Skills and Powers for more character customization, and the last two pick the brown splat book for their class.
2e or 1e? If 2e grab a copy of DMs option: high level campaigns, Volos guide to all things magical… both of those I use a lot outside the big 3, also a copy of Worlds without Number is a great great addition to any sandbox campaign, back of the book is full of system neutral tools for world building.
Thanks, i am playing 2nd edition. Are there any rules or some system i need to know? I don't know anything about being dungeon master.
For your first outing, try to avoid the optional rules. They look like important stuff, but they're not, really. You can add stuff later when you've got a little experience and can confidently say, "Oh, yes, that rule will definitely make my game better."
Read the 2nd Ed DMG, maybe twice. This will answer a lot of questions that you may not even know you have. If you have only been a player, reading the DMG will be super helpful. Cheers (good luck, and welcome to the other side of the screen)
Thanks mate, will do:)
No sweat. And if you run into issues feel free to reach out, this community is pretty good at answering questions. (Often from multiple points of view) Cheers
You said you knew most of the rules? Those 2 books are great resources for rules one for how to approach the game and the other for magical item creation…. And the Worlds without number is the best sandbox toolkit available, other than that Matt Colville’s running the game series on YouTube is a great start.
you can add extra resources later. Just because you start with the core books doesn't mean you can pick n choose what you want to include later. Most of my favorites have to do with new classes and planes of existence. New monsters are fun too. You won't use half of it immediately, but they are fun to read and you will find a lot of things you like. You also do not have to use an entire book. You might only add certain pieces of books and ignore the rest. That's perfectly normal and within your individual choice. All other books are just optional rules and whatnot. For instance, in the high level options book, I only really use the high level skills and ignore a ton of it. I do my magic the base way. I will throw quest spells in, but not 10th level casting... I don't do the optional saving throw stuff... I just take the parts I like to add...
For dungeon master advice you should eventually read the 1e AD&D DMG (worth it though it is a long and wordy one) and perhaps Electric Bastionland. You should know that most AD&D 2e modules are railroady crap that you should avoid, however all TSR/OSR games are compatible and AD&D 1e had a lot of great modules and the OSR is/has produced even more great ones like: [https://dungeonofsigns.blogspot.com/2020/10/revised-prison-of-hated-pretender.html?m=1](https://dungeonofsigns.blogspot.com/2020/10/revised-prison-of-hated-pretender.html?m=1)
Your friends want you to do well. They will help you.
Don't be so hard up on the rules. They are only guidelines. Make rulings that make sense instead (and try to be consistent). This is especially true during combat. Don't stop the action to look up the rules. Make a ruling and check it out later.