PerdantTheSavant |
So, I am starting a pathfinder game with some people, I have only played any type of tabletop rpg once. I am going to be the GM and the four people playing don't have experience with tabletop rpgs at all.
I was looking for advice on how to get things rolling in the first meeting.
I also wanted to know some things it might be nice to have.
I already have these things ordered, or am going to be getting them soon.
-Core Rulebook
-Bestairy
-New GM guide
-Rise of the Runelords adventure
-White board (instead of mat)
-dice(I would like to know which kind of dice I need, I have a lot of d6, and I know d8, d4, d20, d12, but any others?)
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Pan |
Hi, welcome.
Seems like you have most of the tools you need to start. I would reccomend picking up one of the free modules for a first time game. These one or two shots allow everyone to get a feel for the game. Master of the fallen fortress or Hollow's last hope are free and should serve you well. For a more fun twisty type of experience the We be Goblins series is a good time too. Either way getting used to the game and group dynamics is a great way to start out. I reccomend doing that before starting a long term AP campaign.
Gregory Connolly |
Don't forget d10s!
I would advise you to read all the books once you get them. If you are time crunched just read the core rules and only skim the spells and magic items chapter for now and then read RotRL. I would advise you to take it slow and easy at first, having fun is more important than anything else.
'Sani |
Two d10s might also be needed, in case you ever need to roll a 1 out of 100. Often you can get a set of polyhedral dice that includes a d4, d6, d8, 2 d10s (1 labeled 1-10 the other labeled 10-100), a d12 and a d20.
As for advise, if you are running Rise of the Runelords, the best thing you can do is read at least the chapter you will be running ebfore you run it, that way you are familiar with whats going on, you know what to get ready as your players approach areas and so forth, you can mark pages in the beastiary for monsters you will be using, etc.
Other than that the only piece of advise is that be warned, no matter what grand plans you lay out or what you expect to happen, no plan survives first contact with that party. Good luck!
Pan |
Exactly. My groups tend to jump systems a lot. Every time we approach something complex like pathfinder we find it useful to have a one shot or tutorial session. Often the GM will provide pre-gens to make jumping into the game quick. We try out combat and social skills etc. There is going to be a lot of questions in that first session and its good to hash them out before you ante up to a long term campaign. This way when you are ready the players will know what they want out of their characters and as GM you will be more confident in running the game. Have fun!
Ellis Mirari |
I agree about trying out a free module first. If you lock players into a long-running campaign before they have that good an idea what they're doing, they may get frustrated. After they make their first character and experience the game a little, they may think "Oh, I really should have pushed my Reflex save up a bit higher." and then they get the chance to correct their mistake.
Touc |
If your players haven't delved into Pathfinder, I'd keep them restricted to the Core Rulebook only rather than open up the entire Internet. They'll be overwhelmed with accessories and rules, many of which they may not grasp. Also endorse running an "intro" adventure to get everyone used to the rules. We be Goblins is a free, fun way to start, and Hollow's is edition 3.5, minimal effort needed to update to Pathfinder given most of the monsters are from the Bestiary anyways.
As a tip with new players, if you don't know if there's a "rule" (or forget), don't interrupt play to search through the books for it. Act confident and declare something that sounds fair, say we'll look up the rule later (but encourage players to bring a cheat sheet of any special abilities so they don't have to refer back to the books). It's my experience players lose confidence if the GM spends sessions repeatedly bumbling through a book. You'll all get to know the rules you need as time progresses.
Finally, the white erase board rather than the tradtional grid may get tricky when someone casts a cone shaped spell, or you're talking line of sight issues with whether someone can fire a bow. Again recommend keeping the game flowing. When in doubt, make a ruling that seems fair. Someone in the way of a player's bow and you can't recall whether that might be a +2 or a +4 bonus to Armor Class for the target due to cover? Don't sweat it. Make your call, make a note to check it later, and keep things exciting.
Laithoron |
In terms of dice, it looks like you are missing a d10 and also a percentile die. (A percentile die is a 10-sided die labeled from 00 to 90 that you'll combine with a normal d10 when you need to roll percentages.) Speaking of which, there was a recent thread detailing how various groups treat these "d100" rolls. It might seem like a small thing, but it illustrates one of the sort of small details you'll end up having to coach people on as you go: d% doesn't make any sense to me.
In addition, another new GM was recently asking for some advice. While their situation involved experienced players leaving a prior group, there's still some good stuff in there regarding character creation, possible pitfalls, etc. Since it's relevant to your case as well, I'm simply going to be lazy and link to what I'd say here instead of rehashing it. ;) linky!
The only other suggestion I would make is that you might want to try a one-shot adventure for everyone instead of jumping right into an adventure path. Pan lists a couple good options, and my personal favorite (for new groups and new GMs both) is Crypt of the Everflame — there's even a Flip Mat of it so you can wow folks with a cool map and not have to draw it on-the fly. Crypt of the Everflame, Everflame Flip Mat
Beyond that, I'd definitely suggest getting a basic Flip Mat as that will make drawing your own maps easier than a blank whiteboard (which you can still use for initiative and other things). Both can use the same dry-erase markers. Flip Mat Basic
EDIT: Ninja'd 5× over... :)
Kolokotroni |
So, I am starting a pathfinder game with some people, I have only played any type of tabletop rpg once. I am going to be the GM and the four people playing don't have experience with tabletop rpgs at all.
I was looking for advice on how to get things rolling in the first meeting.
I also wanted to know some things it might be nice to have.
I already have these things ordered, or am going to be getting them soon.-Core Rulebook
-Bestairy
-New GM guide
-Rise of the Runelords adventure
-White board (instead of mat)
-dice(I would like to know which kind of dice I need, I have a lot of d6, and I know d8, d4, d20, d12, but any others?)Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks!
I would hold off on all of those things (except the white board and dice) and get the begginer box
This product is designed for precisley your situation. It will walk everyone (including you) throug How to play an rpg. The truth is the core rulebook is not very good at teaching people how to play the game. Thats why the begginer box exists. It comes with everything you need to get started, including some pawns (carboard miniatures) and dice. It also lays out the steps and process, and ideas of playing such a game much more clearly, and in a more pleasing way. Start with that.
You'll want a couple extra sets of dice though so feel free to pick up more. In general I find its best if everyone has the following at the table:
1d20
2d10 (or 1d10 and a percentage die)
4d6
1d12
1d8
1d4 (or more for casters)
I usually have 2-3 sets like this with me in case im rolling multiple attacks or something (gms will have to do that fairly often) so yea, you can never have too many dice.