I've never played or run D&D before and neither have my friends. Can I really run the game without the DMG?
Yes, you absolutely can. You definitely can. I'm going to tell you a dirty secret: the Dungeon Master's Guide is not really a Dungeon Master's Guide. It hasn't been in ages. It doesn't teach or instruct very much at all. It has some mechanical stuff useful for building your own adventures and it has a bunch of rules options, but it should be called a "toolbox" or "pile of options" or "a bunch of random s$&% we crammed together because we have to have a DMG," but I doubt it will be any more usefully instructive for teaching non-DMs how to DM than any previous edition has been.
All you really need is the rules of the game (like in the PHB or the Basic Rules online), an adventure (like the Starter Set or Horde of the Dragon Queen or something), enough courage to just start running the game as best you can, and willingness to have fun even if you absolutely f$&% up every last little thing. You're going to screw it up, it is going to be scary, and the people at your table won't care because you'll all have fun.
I had zero experience with D&D 26 years ago when I ran my first game for a group of friends who had no experience with D&D. I bought the Starter Set of the day (the D&D Basic Rules by Frank Mentzer) and just ran the s$&% out of the game. And I had fun. And those two friends never wanted to play again. Oops. They just didn't didn't jive with the game. It isn't for everyone. But I found new, better friends who didn't suck, and they loved it. And from that moment on, I was running games. Now, here I am, the best motherf$&%ing DM in the entire world. If I did it, you can probably be okay at it with practice. Just give it a chance.
All you really need is the rules of the game (like in the PHB or the Basic Rules online), an adventure (like the Starter Set or Horde of the Dragon Queen or something), enough courage to just start running the game as best you can, and willingness to have fun even if you absolutely f$&% up every last little thing. You're going to screw it up, it is going to be scary, and the people at your table won't care because you'll all have fun.
I had zero experience with D&D 26 years ago when I ran my first game for a group of friends who had no experience with D&D. I bought the Starter Set of the day (the D&D Basic Rules by Frank Mentzer) and just ran the s$&% out of the game. And I had fun. And those two friends never wanted to play again. Oops. They just didn't didn't jive with the game. It isn't for everyone. But I found new, better friends who didn't suck, and they loved it. And from that moment on, I was running games. Now, here I am, the best motherf$&%ing DM in the entire world. If I did it, you can probably be okay at it with practice. Just give it a chance.