I spent a lot of time planning for my first Dungeons and Dragons session as a DM. I knew I was going to be thrusting my players immediately into a problem and I wanted to make sure I gave them a way out and enough information to find that way. After a bit of planning, I thought I had it laid out perfectly. The scenario was something like this:
The players woke up in a forest clearing, bound and gagged. There were several empty tents in the clearing and a lone bandit sitting by a nearby fire eating his breakfast. The players' gear was stashed in one of the nearby tents. An axe lay up against a nearby rock. I expected that one of the players would crawl over to the rock and cleverly use the axe to break the ropes binding them and then the others. After that, I wanted the players to sneak up and assassinate the bandit, claim their equipment, and head to the nearest town.
But what I quickly learned was that my players often find other solutions to the problems I present them with. And that's one of the most important lessons I've learned to date.
Despite everything I did to make the encounter play out my way, nobody would have it. Things went my way up to the point that they were all free. After that, things changed pretty quickly. Once free, one of the more brash and reckless adventurers used all his strength to pick up the rock and hurl it towards the bandit.
At first, I was kind of in a state of shock. This wasn't what I had intended, so I honestly wasn't expecting it. But a few people in the group laughed and found the idea amusing, so I knew I had to go along with it. I added in a few checks, they failed, so I made the rock miss the bandit. He was now alerted to the adventurers being free. Seeing that he was obviously outnumbered, he signaled for his fellow bandits who quickly returned from the forest.
What came next was a battle between the players and a group of NPC bandits. I didn't really know what I was doing. It was my first session as DM and things obviously weren't going according to plan. The thought crossed my mind that the story I was trying to set up just went down the drain. But I realized that everyone was having a ton of fun. The players were getting themselves out of a sticky situation and beginning their adventure, and they were doing it their way.
But as a result of this impromptu solution being more fun for the players, it was more fun for me as well. Not only could I take enjoyment out of the fact that they were having a good time, but the feeling of creating an encounter on the fly was exciting. The sense that literally anything could happen next kept me on my toes.
Somewhere along the way I realized I didn't have to be worried about my planned story being blown to bits. Despite the encounter playing out differently than I wanted it to or ever imagined it would, I realized I could always direct things back onto the path I envisioned for the overall story. It might take a little bit longer and it might require some more improvisation, but as long as everyone is having fun, none of that matters.
I believe this is easily one of the most important things for new DMs and GMs to learn. I'm honestly thankful I learned it so quickly. I'm not suggesting you neglect planning out your session at all. That's definitely something you can do, but generally it helps to have at least some things planned out. What's important to remember is that things won't always go your way or according to plan, but that's okay. Things don't always and shouldn't always go your way, because it's not just about you. Your campaign involves several other thinking and independent people who are probably just as creative as you are. You're all in it together. Don't deny your players a fun experience just so your plan can be executed perfectly.
So, if you've planned an encounter down to the exact detail and things go astray, don't be afraid to go along with it. Don't even hesitate for a second, just do it. Remember that no matter how things play out, you can always bring your encounter back to your intended end goal. If a situation comes where your players want to wander a little bit, let them do it. Let them have their fun and let the leash go for a bit. You can always pull them back in later in order to lead them onto the next step you've planned.
Happy questing!
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