Bottom line that PC has a really annoying class power. No one can deny that.
I have to disagree with that statement. Class powers aren't annoying, it is the person playing the character that can be annoying. If a player learns to share spotlight then it doesn't matter what type of build they are playing as a fun time can be had by all.
Short answer:
Foster a safe and welcoming community where giving back to the group is a core value.
Long(er) answer:
I have found that by starting out with laying down the concept that people are entering a community of gamers that will grow and prosper and offer more amazing things if every member of that community gives back. If the community allows any members to just take and not give back then the community will suffer and fail in the long term. This plants the seed in people’s minds that table time is not an entitlement but a gift from the larger group. That the time that the GM spends running the game is a contribution to the group. It fosters reciprocity and makes it easier for people to make the jump from player to judging.
Asking people directly to judge for you is the most effective method. Letting them know that you have confidence that they can run a great table, tell a great story, allow people to feel safe in roleplaying, control the pacing of the game and figure out the rules along the way with the help of others is often enough to get them to step up. There is nothing like someone believing in you to inspire you to go beyond your boundaries especially when you know that you will have help and support. It is also a tangible way for them to give back to the larger group.
Now as has been said before, not everyone will make a good GM the first time out of the gate. This is why it is helpful to foster a culture of continual improvement. The best GMs become the best GMs because they learn, they grow, and they take risks. Taking the time to talk through as a group those things that went fine, those things that could be changed next time and reveling in the moments of awesome will help anyone level up as a GM, player and over all community member. It also build a sense of the group of who are we as a local gaming organization.
GMing is not the only way to give back. There are as many ways to help as there are people to think of them.
Where: Town and Country Resort
500 Hotel Circle North
San Diego, CA 92108
Tel: 619-291-7131; 800-772-8527
Web site: www.towncountry.com/
Email: res@towncountry.com
Pathfinder Society Organized Play:
This is another 'Choose your schedule' convention. So if there are games you really want to play this is your chance to get exactly the convention schedule that you want. If you already know what you'd like to play and in what slots just send an email to SDPathdfinder@gmail.com and I will add it!
So sign up quickly to ensure that the exact game you want is offered in the perfect slot!
Who would have thought that I would play another barbarian as my first character in an OP campaign.
I have a lot of good memories of games we have played together. Hopefully we will share a table soon.
Jon and my past characters and good words about Jon:
In Living Greyhawk Jon and I both played barbarians who had some amazing story interactions dealing with brotherhood, desertion, betrayal, treason, rivalry, hate, politics, blood and death.
Great stuff.
If you get the chance to play with this guy take it!
As the subject states, where have all the fun PFS modules gone? All I've seen for the past months is meatgrinder after meatgrinder. No plot, no role-playing, just hours of combat versus one-trick ponies who have all sorts of cheesy crap that the authors have designed into the module purely to kill characters.
Just finished running a game day where we had about 5 season 4 games happen.
Did people have fun, absolutely.
Was the challenge level in season 4 games higher, absolutely.
From my experience I have found that my own fun level is dependent on the following from most impactful to least:
1. The attitude that I bring to the table. If I am in a bad place then odds are I am not going to have that fun a game regardless of anything else.
2. The other people I am playing with. If I am at a table with awesome players this can make almost everything better.
3. The GM running the game. A good GM can certainly make a scenario better.
4. The scenario itself.
I find fun to be where you make it. Just because there is a combat going on doesn't mean that I have to stop roleplaying. It is an easy thing to bring your characters perspective into a battle. A few descriptive phrases or verbal reactions can work to maintain the immersion in the role.
Were I in your shoes I might decide to take it upon myself to see what season 4 looks like from the other side of the screen. I can to you that 4-03 The Golemworks incident is one of my favorite scenarios simply for the story it tells about one mans psyche.
I understand the frustration in not having that thing that you loved about the game be in reach at the moment. Looking for immersion and role play and finding only rules and survival mechanics. I get it. However from my experience in my region this is not endemic to season 4. You didn't provide a lot of details so I forced to wonder what else might be in play in your situation.
If you have the chance head on out to San Diego and we will show you that the fun is still there and that it is not all about "one-trick ponies" designed to kill characters.
Hang in there and I hope you find that things are immensely more enjoyable very soon.
In the hypothetical world where there are 17 classes available, there'd be no reason a convention organizer would have to print all of them. Pick five or six classes, run levels 1, 4, and 7, and be good.
Chris, as long as this hypothetical world were also reasonable I would tend to agree. As an organizer it is often best to have to much prep vs. not having it at all.
The best option I have found (and it doesn't always happen)is just to have a printer at the event.
What you can do is work to raise the level of awesome in your gaming community while being a responsible member of that community.
More awesome in the community and in each game leads to more players. Being a responsible member of the community means that members of that community give back to the larger group. This leads to more judges and more / larger events which in turn can be used to increase the levels of awesome.
Show people how amazingly much more fun they can have in this hobby of ours and everything will improve because of it.
Please forgive me for coming late to this party. My thoughts on the larger issues discussed here are listed below:
Wall of text on being a GM and some theorycraft on community building:
As GMs in for Pathfinder Society organized play we have responsibilities:
We need to care about the person playing the character. This doesn’t have to be mushy but there does need to be a level of respect for the person sitting at your table.
We need to be unselfish and consider all of the people at our table. This does not mean that we don’t include ourselves. It’s just that we must make sure to always include others.
We need to be perceptive and keep track of what parts of the game light up what players. Different people will be interested in different aspects of the game. People can be interested in any aspect of the game be it intense RP, combat, lore, exploration, the social aspect of the game and the thousand other things.
We need to focus on fun and work to run a fun table. Not everyone has fun that same way. This is why we need to be inclusive. As long as it doesn’t violate the “Don’t be a jerk’ rule there is no BadWrong fun. We need to be perceptive to track whether the entire table (including the GM) is having fun.
We need to understand the rules and recognize that at times we will make mistakes. We need to be able to accept feedback gracefully and use it rapidly.
We need to realize that as a GM we are not out to ‘win’. We are only the facilitator of the good time that can be had by a table in this social game.
We need to have, gain or grow our understanding of the world and its creatures. We need to learn what makes a Paizo Goblin different from a 3.5 Goblin. This adds color and depth to the world we present to our players.
We need to have good time management skills in order to finish our games in the time that we have. For me this means having a clock in sight at all times when I know I have a hard time limit (space is closing, last slot of the convention or a player needs to leave the table at a certain time).
As GMs our games need to reflect positively on the Pathfinder Society. A table full of people having a good time is great advertising.
As a GM we must recognize that we are part of a local gaming community and that it is part of all of our responsibility to support and grow our communities. By building stronger gaming communities we continually raise the level of awesomeness in our area. More awesome = more players = more games = even more awesome.
As a GM part of our goal is to recruit and retain new players. Without new players we cannot grow the hobby. If we drive people away our local PFS community will suffer and we will constantly be stuck running only low level games for a continually revolving set of players. If a first time player has a bad experience they will likely not return.
As much as we can we should strive to be generous and inclusive and not lose focus on the fact that this game is meant to be fun.
We also need to ensure that we don’t lose focus on the fact that we need to make sure that being a GM is something that is sustainable. For me ensuring that I am having a fun time at the table keeps GMing a sustainable thing.
We need to reflect on our experience at each table we run and see what we can learn to make the next table better. If the last table you ran resulted in the players falling silent, leaning away from the table and only mechanically rolling dice for the last half of the game you might want to consider that the table was not having a good time. We need to learn and grow.
In my local area I have taken to giving a speech to players regularly. This speech expresses my belief that our local PFS community is a community.
Communities are made stronger by their members supporting each other. The things that kill communities are selfishness and a sense of entitlement. Communities only prosper when all members contribute to the larger group. If there is a member of the community that only takes or constantly expresses a sense of entitlement or in any other way causes damage to the community, then that person will be asked to leave the group.
I give this speech after people have been playing for a bit and well after the hook has been well set for PFS play. This lets people know that there is something that will be expected of them. It helps them realize that they will need to give back to the group that has generously given to them. It makes it easier to get new judges. It helps people realize the gift that each GM gives their table.
It is also key to realize that people can contribute to the community without having to GM a table.
GMing is not something for everyone. That fact will always remain.
Also I was the 3rd level Ninja at Dragnmoon’s 2nd running of “Rise of the Goblin Guild” if you’d like feedback on this table Dragnmoon please PM me.
