the best advice i can possibly give to someone who wants to get into DMing/GMing a ttrpg but is scared of having to make stuff up on the spot: Just Don’t. Don’t come up with stuff. Make your players do it for you.

this coming from someone who asked their players to name the pirates who had just rescued them from an air elemental and now has Patricia Blueliketheocean Traven, Gallathan Morphineighbor, Clark Duneforest, Sunday Monday, and Steelback (and also the hot genderless elf Gaeladriel Balius (Gae for short))

by asking them the race of the barkeep in a tavern we ended up getting the inspirational story of a centaur who loves his job despite barely being able to move around behind the bar but he’s Trying His Best, and also his coworker, a halfling on stilts.