Being DM is a big responsibility, and being able to do it well is a real talent, but it's one of those things that you can absolutely improve on with practice.

Players have to take some responsibility too, by getting a grip on the core rules and mechanics, dedicating time to fleshing out their characters, and committing to the role itself. They can't rely on the DM for absolutely everything.

There are some one-shot campaigns out there which I hear are designed for beginners which would be a good place to start. In fact I'm pretty sure if you make a DnD Beyond account, you get the basic rules and a beginner campaign for free, so that would be a good resource for you.

Also, if you haven't seen it, go check out Critical Role, starting with campaign 1. Matt Mercer is an outstanding DM and will give you a great demonstration of how to run a campaign.

Check out Lost Mine of Phandelver: https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/lmop

It's a one-shot campaign, pretty much ready to go, to the point that I think it's even got pre-rolled characters included.

Very little set-up required beyond the DM familiarising themself with the campaign itself, and the players reviewing their chosen character and brushing up on the core rules of the game so that they know how to actually play.

Beyond that, pretty much everything else is already taken care of, so far as I know (I've never played it, but I know it's a firm favourite for beginners for these very reasons).

And as for DM experience, someone who is willing to put in the work kinda just has to bite the bullet and go for it. It's a skill like anything else, and you only get better through practice. Start with pre-written campaigns to help keep the amount of prep required and wildly unexpected events that require lots of improv on the DM's part to a minimum. Branch out from there into more homebrew stuff when you're feeling ready.

Above all though, just give it a shot and see what happens. There will always be reasons not to play, but if you've got a group who are willing to give it a go then you've already overcome the biggest hurdle by far.

Entire reason when Roll20 became a thing, boi I jumped. Even then, it takes me long enough to vet people for Roll20 tables that I just don't have the time to go sifting while I've still got coursework on my neck, otherwise I'd be looking for something now with all the character concepts already in my BG3 save folder.

Pathfinder (1st edition) was basically a cleaned up/ refined version of DND 3.5 Current versions of each system differ quite a bit more

DND 5e is much more user friendly and approachable system. Easier to learn and jump right in.

Pathfinder 2e is more complex, bit tougher to learn, but comes with a lot more options and flexibility.

Both give you similar experiences of playing DND, but the mechanics are different

I played once through already as a bard (shadow heart, karlach, and wyll in my party) because I wanted to RP as Edgin and it was a blast. But I really suck at action management and had to play on easy. My second time im playing a fighter and I still have to play on east but next playthrough I’ll do dark urge on normal since I’ll just kill people if I fail my rolls.

Fate is my current game crush I want to play more, but I haven't had much opportunity. I got my D&D group to try it as a one-shot twice, and both times didn't really sing.