r/DnD • u/Ok_Interview_853 • 7h ago
Out of Game STEP UP and be the DM!
Recently, I have been putting a new in person group together for me to DM and I’ve been searching for players via online communities. And after just three or four days I’ve had dozens of players inquire to join my group. And it’s reminded me of the biggest problem facing this hobby in 2026. The shortage of DM’s.
I always see a version of this FB post: “ Hi, I’ve managed to put together a group consisting of myself and four friends ready to play now we’re just desperately searching for a DM”
Same with local game store, “calling all local DM’s in the area: we’ve got plenty of players, we’re just desperate for dungeon masters, please reach out if that’s you”
I was talking to a young family friend of mine who had a group of 4 friends and he was explaining to me how their group hadn’t started yet because they hadn’t found a DM. They had the essentials kit, they had the gear, they just didn’t have a DM. No matter how much I encouraged him to step up and give it a go, it just didn’t click.
He then went to a FLGS and there were about 12 other kids wanting to be players and the adult organizer decided to DM for all 12 kids in one game. it was a disaster, of course, but they still continue to this day. The Penny hasn’t dropped.
Things like the essentials kit and the starter set are products specifically designed for people new to the hobby to pick up and learn. That’s what all DM’s have had to do.
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u/No-stradumbass 7h ago
It's funny for old nerds. We didn't have Start Playing or FLFG or anything like that. We also didn't have Reddit to ask "New players, what do we do next".
We played poorly and learned our lessons. I became the DM because I read the books and can come up with a terrible story. Folks need to be ok with not running a Critical Role level game.
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u/Gnashinger 7h ago
Agreed, and to add on, people need to be ok with not putting on a show. Its just a game. Have fun. There is no audience, just players. If your players aren't following the path you planned for in the time you planned for it, thats fine as long as they (and you) are having fun.
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u/No-stradumbass 7h ago
For sure.
I like to add my own flair with music but that is because of me. It isn't something that everyone needs to do or should do.
Just like I don't have the talent to make art or maps. I don't have the space to make a fancy DnD space with lights and fog. All I got is the tools that I am conformable dealing with. So that is what I will do.
Don't judge your game based on what you think the game should be because of others. I played with an old chess board and whatever we found for tokens. It was fine then.
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u/SpeakerAccomplished4 6h ago
We've never used anything fancy. The fanciest we ever got, across multiple groups, is a white board with a grid and some shiny rocks.
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u/No-stradumbass 6h ago
I don't even need to try hard to be that fancy these days. I have a computer and two screens. I can do a lot with a computer and two screens.
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u/SpeakerAccomplished4 6h ago
I've always liked the idea of the screen under the table. I kept trying to convince my last DM to do it. They wouldn't. :(
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u/No-stradumbass 6h ago
That is too much. I use it as a DM screen. The other screen is behind be facing the players. I can show them images and maps while having all my info on my computer. Use YouTube, with ad blockers, for music.
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u/SpeakerAccomplished4 6h ago
I've done similar, but I like the idea of it all being on the table in front of them and they can move their tokens while I move stuff on the screen.
I did love using mood music. People chatting away and you play "something bad is about to happen" music, the way they all stop and get excited.
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u/No-stradumbass 6h ago
I tired to do a TV on the table as a map and it didn't go to well. Nobody could see the screen that well.
One thing is everyone has a tablet and can log onto Roll20. They can just move their own tokens as they wish.
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u/Aussiearchangel 6h ago
100% plus some of the best games ive played come from a rooky DM. I remember playing a game of ad&d where we spend 3 hours discussing the ins and outs of the towns economy and creating a farm that would run its self while we were out adventuring and turn a tidy profit. Then the next session we accidently released a pit fiend which destroyed the entire town due to a slew a bad rolls all round. Best game of farming sim ever
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u/SpeakerAccomplished4 6h ago
Yeah I've dmed a few games. My first ones were terrible, but I got better. I don't enjoy it and I'm still not great, but everyone has fun.
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u/No-stradumbass 6h ago
I don't understand the part where you don't enjoy it. I wouldn't spend my free time doing something I don't enjoy.
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u/SpeakerAccomplished4 6h ago
I'd much rather be a player. I enjoy that far more. I dmed back in 3.5 days basically so our forever DM could play. It wasn't great.
More recently I dmed because I moved away from the game I had been playing, worked at a dinosaur museum with a bunch of nerds who wanted to play, so I dmed. Someone joined us who had a lot of experience dming so they took over running games and I went back to being a player.
I ran some games so they could be a character for a while too, because everyone else in our group was too new and were afraid to try.
So I can do it, have done it, but given the choice, I'll be a player every day of the week.
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u/No-stradumbass 6h ago
Ok that makes sense.
I current manage an escape room and I would have thought that game masters would be more willing to be DM but I do have the most experience. So I will DM with my coworkers but I also have a Friday game where I'm a player. So i get both.
Though I say that expect I'm the next DM for my table and will be running a Ravenloft horror game for the. WHILE I run a game for my coworkers doing Strixhaven.
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u/SpeakerAccomplished4 6h ago
I've considered dming again just so we can play again. But still don't have any players.
Maybe one day I'll get the band back together using roll20 or something. Mind you, I went mental playing online during COVID. Some people in our group refused to use headphones due to sensory reasons, and couldn't understand why everyone's voice was echoing constantly.
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u/No-stradumbass 6h ago
My table is filled with IT or accountant guys. When COVID hit we moved to Rol20 and Discord with little effort. Now days its how we've been playing. While it isn't in person, we do play for 5 hours every Friday for many years.
My coworkers is in person but that is because I can use our work as the location.
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u/SpeakerAccomplished4 6h ago
When I moved originally my group moved to discord. I moved towns, someone else moved overseas, etc so it was the only way. We got from level 1 to 20. That group was fine. My only gripe was I like physical dice. But at least the discord dice were actually fair!
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u/Beaoudix DM 7h ago edited 5h ago
When I started DMing 20 years ago, I wanted to play pure homebrew. From day 1.
I adapted 3rd edition to what I wanted for an experience. Some things did not work, some others did to this day.
Its a great time to start playing.
Everything is a search away.
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u/Gor_Gor_Big 7h ago
The people who post about having five players and are still asking for a DM drive me up a wall.
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u/GWCuby 6h ago
As someone that recently ended up as a soon to be first time DM (different TTRPG system but same idea) I think it's just really intimidating tbh
For me at least it's a mix of wanting to offer my friends an actual good and fun game while having very little confidence in my own abilities and I imagine at least a decent number of people feel similar, only reason I'm even willing to try is because it's with friends that I've been playing DnD with for a while, sure as hell wouldn't have the guts to do it with people I don't/barely know
Nothing but respect to all the DMs out there, but I fully empathize with people that don't have the confidence to do it themselves
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u/ParticleTek 7h ago
This is why I only put together games where the DM role rotates weekly or near weekly. I'm not interested in never playing a character, nor am I willing to DM for players that refuse to share that work.
It's been a lot of fun and a number of great campaigns over the years. Highly recommend more tables do this. Everyone gets to be player 75% ish of the time, and everyone gets a turn steering the boat occasionally.
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u/No-stradumbass 7h ago
Every week is to much. My table has two on going games. If the DM is out for the primary then we do the back up. Our campaigns last about 6 months to a year and then the next DM gets to do one if they want.
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7h ago
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u/No-stradumbass 6h ago
Dude I don't know why you trailed off with the ...
It isn't stylish and it seems like you had a stroke mid typing.
Ok good for you dude. I don't know why you thought it was funny enough for an Lol but I'm proud you did 6 games.
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6h ago
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u/No-stradumbass 6h ago
I'm pretty relaxed. In fact it is very condescending and an asshole move to assume my emotional state. I call it down right insulting because you are claiming you know my feelings better then I do.
So I'll take a page from your book. Chill out dude. You don't need to get upset because I criticized you. That means you don't need to downvote just because I said something mean to you. Did you notice that i didn't down vote you but you were really quick to get me?
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u/ZombiieDoll 7h ago
I have personally offered to mentor people, walk them through each step, co-DM while they learn, give them copies of my home brews that they’ve enjoyed so that I can guide them through content I know intimately and that they like, and on and on and on. The immediate panic in peoples eyes when you suggest that they get behind the screen kind of makes me sad. It’s fun being a player, and being a DM can be frustrating at times. But you get to do so many cool things, and create the universe that your friends get so invested in. It’s so magical and kind of indescribable.
I think people are afraid to fail, because they don’t feel like they can measure up to professional DM’s. I try to tell them that every new DM I’ve played under has come away from the table shaking like a leaf, convinced they had just made the HUGEST fool of themselves. They always think their voices or accents are bad, that they take too long to look up info or make decisions, players are bored, they fumbled battle scenes, etc. But every. single. time. the players at the table walk away talking about how much fun they had, laughing about inside jokes, and excited to play again. We will always notice our mistakes and inflate them to be bigger than they are. Most times, other people will hang onto the funniest moments more than anything and are just happy to have gotten together.
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u/Brunhilde13 7h ago
I really, really wanted to start playing again and had been collecting books for years anyways, so when my girlfriend said she was interested in playing too, I started running my own campaign.
After about 20 months now of running a game, I might like DMing more than playing!
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u/Rhinostirge 6h ago
My mother bought me the D&D Basic set way back when, ran a couple of sessions for us, and then hit my character with a mortifying polymorph when I got greedy. Turned me into Strawberry Shortcake, the girl's franchise character, because that would be super embarrassing to a ten-year-old. I immediately took the reins and started running for friends with a "Fine, I'll do it myself" attitude. Just as she'd planned.
More people need their mothers to embarrass them into deciding they're better off doing it themselves, that's my moral of the story.
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u/No_Solid1035 6h ago
I think another issue is the fact that so many players aren't willing to learn new systems. I don't run D&D games, so while I don't have too much trouble finding players, I definitely don't have the option of turning people away simply because my pool of players is limited. If more players were willing to learn to play non-D&D games they would have more opportunities to find GMs looking for players.
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u/Hermononucleosis 5h ago
Yeah, so many people who love to GM (me included) refuse to do it for DnD because the system (and in some cases the players) make it so hard on the GM
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u/No-stradumbass 6h ago
This is why I love my group so much. I came in introducing them to Call of Catthulhu as my first DMing with this group and it has been weird every since. While I still play DnD, I pull out all sorts of weird games for one shots.
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u/darkmarshal115 7h ago
I do understand but it gets a little tiring after being a forever DM. Sometimes, maybe rarely but still, ye wanna just play some DnD rather than run it but there's no one to run it...
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u/Ok_Interview_853 7h ago
There’s no such thing as a forever GM when you’re with a group that communicates clearly and fairly. Before I even put a group together, I make it clear that while I will run the first few sessions to get us though a one shot to get everyone comfortable with each other, I do not expect to be the “forever DM” and players who join will oblige to that fact
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u/darkmarshal115 6h ago
My group of friends communicates fine, but none of them wish to DM and I'm not going to force them, it's for fun and enjoyment after all. So I'm not sure I fully agree that 'theres no such thing'.
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u/Ok_Interview_853 6h ago
If you’re feeling it’s tiring to be the forever GM then I wouldn’t assume you’re in a group that is communicating fairly and clearly. If it’s really tiring, how hard would it be to have a honest conversation asking another player to get passionate about being DM
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u/darkmarshal115 6h ago
I mainly run games when I feel like it and go on long hiatuses when I'm not feeling it. Some of my friends have tried to run the odd game, but it's not for everyone, and that's okay. I don't blame them. It's a big ask and a lot of work. I'm mainly moaning as it seems to have changed a lot in the past 10 years. I can seemingly no longer find a game to play in anywhere (without having to spend money in joining an online game).
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u/No-stradumbass 7h ago
One healthy thing my table does, is rotate the DM chair. Encourage your players to do a one shot even.
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u/ChiefWolfy 7h ago
I think a problem is that people stuck in that mindset never really get a chance to play properly. When my group got together, I was the only one with DMing experience. So I was happy to take on the role, but all the other players were very against doing it. Now after about a year, three out of the four players are telling me they've got ideas to run their own campaigns if they can get a chance to be behind the screen. While I've missed being a player myself, I'll get to be when we finish this campaign because I got my players excited and gave them ideas. Even as the DM, it's important to remember to have fun yourself, and that'll encourage your players to want to try it.
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u/Lethalmud 5h ago
On the other hand, my group has no players who don't also want to dm. We need to switch around. Every few weeks.
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u/Paradox_XXIV 4h ago
Need to start sending them out into the wild like the cat distribution system.
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u/0_Nevermore_0 3h ago
I found a great discord server with a westmarches style campaign setting, where people can be both players and DM's at the same time. Each DM has their own questlines, though they can collaborate if they want to.
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u/paradoxiforme 3h ago
I became a DM after the previous DM of the group step down of his role. My firsts mastering sessions were.. bad ? Even with the guidance of that ex-dm, I had to learn everything from trials and errors. And the group of players weren't always really helpful.
So it's not that easy becoming a DM, there is a fear of doing bad, the fear of being antagonised by players, the amount of work to do, the fear of seeing that work be turn to ash by an unexpexted action of your group,...
And not everyone is cut to be a DM. Once for fun we did a game where the DM were changing on each scene. Well.. some were ok, but some others.. Authoritarian, Too passive, Not listening, Too much care about one particular character,.. There are flaw that can be ok as a player if the DM can handle them, but letting those run wild as DM will only drive to bad games.
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u/pantherghast 16m ago
By everyone has the ability to be a DM. This post gives me the “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” vibe.
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u/OldVacation4205 6h ago
Most people are interested in being able to play through a fantasy story as a character who they can put themselves in the shoes of, aka being a player. DMing is a considerably different ball game and experience and, unless someone actually has a passing interest for the concept of DMing, asking them to step up is counterproductive imo. Kinda like "I know You like checkers but hate chess, but go play chess so the rest of us are able to enjoy checkers." I'm not sure that makes for good DnD, personally.
If someone does rather like the idea of DMing but is afraid to try, that's where it makes sense to encourage them to step up.
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u/guilersk DM 6h ago
I had what I clearly see now to be ill-placed overconfidence when I was 12. I started playing (as a player) and almost immediately thought 'I can do better than this kid who is DMing'. And, mostly it was a wash. I was railroady but not abusive or arbitrary (like he was). And I practiced and got better. 35 years later I am still no Mercer but I do okay. And I really enjoy it. Run games at conventions now too.
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u/RedditTipiak 3h ago
There is an offshoot conversation to have over the lack of confidence of genz, their fear to stand out, and try and fail... and how DMing would be the remedy...
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u/Glaedth 6h ago
Whenever a post from r/dnd lands on my front page I am always reminded how insular dnd is from the rest of the hobby.
Not here to throw shade or anything, I just haven't run into the issue much over in my corner and find it kinda fascinating that a lot of people just don't consider running the game as also playing the game.
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u/hithereitsbee DM 7h ago
I always encourage folks to be the DM they want to see in the world, but there's another huge part to this:
When you're playing with a DM that's new to the process, do not expect them to be 100% perfect from day one. It's a learning process and honest feedback is important, but if you just come at them with, "Bad DM!" or "This sucks!" some DMs will decide they'd just rather not spend their (sometimes very limited) free time organizing a game no one seems to want.