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Hi folks!

I'm thinking about trying my hand at being a DM. I've never DMed before and was wondering what might be a good system for a person new at DMing could try.

Any RPG that you have read both the "Player's Handbook" and the "Dungeon Master's Guide", whatever the game specifically calls those books, for, and which has a setting that interests you.

As far as easy-to-pick-up games go, I suggest Cyberpunk 2020, Dungeons & Dragons 5th Ed, or Mouseguard.

Cool beans thanks!

I'll look into those.

I'd second Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition. The starter set is pretty good if you want to do generic fantasy and it guides you through a lot of the skills you'll need as a GM in a fairly structured way.

It's cheap enough to pick up too. If you want to go totally homebrew the basic rules are free online.

Any modern game is likely to be alright though. I personally would not recommend Pathfinder, because I find it to be overly complex and a bit too mechanical in how it works. For new players it might be a bit overwhelming.

Ok cool, thanks!

Downloading the rules tonight.

The answer, as always, is The World of Synnibarr.

All you need is the one book, and it allows for a ton of flexibility in character creation and setting!

I personally had my first go at DMing using D&D 5th Edition. Even made a few of my own monsters using a creator I found online.

Trying to make the exact same session with the exact same monsters in Pathfinder was far less straightforward, and really put me off trying until 5th Ed. was suggested.

The main campaign I'm working on--and off, mainly off--has been switched to 5th edition, now. Very few things, if any, I need to work would've worked in PF but don't in 5th.

No matter what system you choose, though, supportive players will make a world of difference. Trying a small premade or even a 1-2 session test run of your own creation, with 1 or 2 friends who have preferably played before and one-use, throwaway characters, can ease you into things in a completely risk-free environment. After that, trying your first proper thing should be with people who understand that things may be slow at times, mistakes will be made, and that's it's a learning process.

Try the D20 Heroes against Darkness. Totally free, and probably the easiest D20 ruleset I've seen to get started with. The designer's theory was that he took everything he loved about every edition of DnD and put them together, ignoring the rest. I am brand new GM if and when I run, and it will be with HaD.

Comes with a complete players book and a Gamemaster's book.

Download links in the bar on the right of his site:

http://heroesagainstdarkness.blogspot.com/p/heroes-against-darkness-overview.html

 Avatar 720 wrote:
I personally had my first go at DMing using D&D 5th Edition. Even made a few of my own monsters using a creator I found online.

Trying to make the exact same session with the exact same monsters in Pathfinder was far less straightforward, and really put me off trying until 5th Ed. was suggested.

The main campaign I'm working on--and off, mainly off--has been switched to 5th edition, now. Very few things, if any, I need to work would've worked in PF but don't in 5th.

No matter what system you choose, though, supportive players will make a world of difference. Trying a small premade or even a 1-2 session test run of your own creation, with 1 or 2 friends who have preferably played before and one-use, throwaway characters, can ease you into things in a completely risk-free environment. After that, trying your first proper thing should be with people who understand that things may be slow at times, mistakes will be made, and that's it's a learning process.

I can also recommend a small once off or mini-campaign to establish yourself and see how it works, regardless of system!

I know I have been looking for a good campaign to convert over to Heroes against Darkness, as sort of an "easy mode" for my first GM experience. I know the Rise of the Runelords hardcover has caught my eye before.

Any other good suggestions? Mostly I would be keeping the theme, and swapping in the appropriate Hwroes against Darkness npc/monster profiles, as the designer went a rather different route to allow quick monster generation on the fly (and it works great).

 AegisGrimm wrote:
Try the D20 Heroes against Darkness. Totally free, and probably the easiest D20 ruleset I've seen to get started with. The designer's theory was that he took everything he loved about every edition of DnD and put them together, ignoring the rest. I am brand new GM if and when I run, and it will be with HaD.

Comes with a complete players book and a Gamemaster's book.

Download links in the bar on the right of his site:

http://heroesagainstdarkness.blogspot.com/p/heroes-against-darkness-overview.html

Did a quick peek and am totally digging it! I'll have to give it a better look.

I have to admit the WoW-style "powers" treatment of character skills seemed off at first, but I actually really like it. Also, how monsters have several general MMO-style classifications (striker, grunt, etc) that you then slap skills and traits onto to theme them as different monsters makes enemy generation really dang fast.

Barbarians of Lemuria. Simple "2d6, roll 9+" system, lite yet robust rules, and (unlike all but the first iteration of 'd20' games) can handle a 'Dead Man's Hand' situation at any level. Great for Conanesque games. Also spawned a number of derivatives for other genres. Best of all, a player doesn't feel screwed if they don't take an optimal set of abilities. Only fiddly bit is the magic system, and that only because of its open nature.

 Carlson793 wrote:
Barbarians of Lemuria. Simple "2d6, roll 9+" system, lite yet robust rules, and (unlike all but the first iteration of 'd20' games) can handle a 'Dead Man's Hand' situation at any level. Great for Conanesque games. Also spawned a number of derivatives for other genres. Best of all, a player doesn't feel screwed if they don't take an optimal set of abilities. Only fiddly bit is the magic system, and that only because of its open nature.

I hate to seem ignorant, but what do you mean by "dead man's hand situtation?"

Personally, I'd suggest looking for a good prefab campaign to get you started- that's more important IMHO than the system itself for assisting getting GM'ing

If you want to try 40k, consider Dark Heresy. There's a pre-written campaign called Edge Of Darkness which is very good indeed.

 Polonius wrote:
The answer, as always, is The World of Synnibarr.

All you need is the one book, and it allows for a ton of flexibility in character creation and setting!

Where is that "not sure if serious" meme when it is needed?

D&D 5e is very DM friendly from what I am seeing. The starter box has an adequate adventure which is meant to teach as well as be played. There is also a lot of support for 5e at this point too. If you want Old School FRPGs, there are plenty of retro-clones out there. Swords & Wizardry is one of the better ones. Some resources are here, http://froggodgames.org/free-downloads and here, http://www.swordsandwizardry.com/?page_id=18

FUDGE.... and FUDGE variants.