Looking for Info on how to become a PFS GM


GM Discussion


Greetings all!

I have a group of friends that want to get into Pathfinder and they are a bit hesitant to go to a structured gaming event at the comic shop and would rather learn slowly and amongst friends that they will feel more comfortable with will learning the flow of the game. It would be a smaller group (5 players and a GM) ranging from 9 years old to 45 years old. Basically, it will be two dads with their three kids and a friend.

I want to GM for them at least until they get to the point where they are confident with their own abilities to game and RP, and if they decide to just continue running our campaign thats fine, but if they want to try out the game sessions at the local comic store thats fine as well.

My question:

How do I become a GM? What are the benefits (if any) of being a GM for the Pathfinder Society? Is it even possible to run a "home game" for PFS?
What is my next step (other than reading tons of material).

Also, can someone suggest a good entry level scenario packet that I could run them through that wouldnt be terribly difficult for a group of new adventurers and also isnt terribly taxing on the new GM.

I appreciate all the help! Thanks!

5/5 5/55/55/5

How to become a dm:

Get a number. Run a scenario. Congratulations you're a dm! There's noooo qualifications or training or anything (which is how i got in.. shhh)

How to get a pfs number (might be slightly off because I can't actually do this as i tpe because i already have a number)

Right click the "Pathfinder society" logo in the upper left hand corner and hit "open in new tab"

Click "Join the pathfinder society and create your character now" this will get you a PFS number and registered.

To get PFS numbers for your players

Go to the pathfinder logo again
Go to "my pathfinder society"
Click the tab that says "Gm/event coordinator"
scroll down to "Download ten pathfinder society cards"

Get the pathfinder society guide to organized play Its.. a little dense and a lot to absorb at once. If at all possible try to play a game or two yourself: some things are hard to get without any context and playing a game or two will provide a lot of that.

Download First steps Get some legal characters, play the scenario, collect a chronicle sheet with 1 xp. Get 3 xp go up a level. Wash rinse repeat.

Quote:
What are the benefits (if any) of being a GM for the Pathfinder Society?

Fancy stars next to your name. (at 10 30 60 100? Games) points up

You get to assign a chronicle sheet to any character you want as if you'd played the game (First level? Whats first level? screw that!)

A star chronicle you can add to a character

Quote:
Is it even possible to run a "home game" for PFS?

Yes. I have a home group for pfs (some of whom venture out into the wider world of pfs and some of whom do not), a "home game" of online geeks, in addition to a comic shop and the occasional migration near a con.

Quote:
Also, can someone suggest a good entry level scenario packet that I could run them through that wouldnt be terribly difficult for a group of new adventurers and also isnt terribly taxing on the new GM.

First steps and the confirmation are both made for that sort of thing.

Grand Lodge 4/5

I would also advise the Free RPG Day module Master of the Fallen Fortress as a simple one to run, as well.

Both MotFF and First Steps, Part 1: In Service to Lore (long name, usually just called First Steps, like in BNW's post above), are available for free, as is the Guide he referenced.

For a beginning group, until they are sure they like it, you can use the Paizo PRD (left side pane, above, shows as Rules Archive (PRD) under Pathfinder Game System) as a rules and information source. After that, someone should pick up at least the Core Rulebook (CRB) and the Bestiary.

Scarab Sages 5/5 5/5 *** Venture-Captain, Netherlands

To add to what has already been said: If they find it hard to make a character, or want to try out some classes, you can download the pregenerated characters: http://paizo.com/download/pathfinder/PFS-Pregens.zip

They are all PFS legal, and a great way to try things out. They are not the most optimized example of a class, but do let you try our the important things.

Sovereign Court 4/5 5/5 ** Venture-Lieutenant, Netherlands—Leiden

In addition to the good advice given by previous posters...

Krell44 wrote:

Greetings all!

I have a group of friends that want to get into Pathfinder and they are a bit hesitant to go to a structured gaming event at the comic shop and would rather learn slowly and amongst friends that they will feel more comfortable with will learning the flow of the game. It would be a smaller group (5 players and a GM) ranging from 9 years old to 45 years old. Basically, it will be two dads with their three kids and a friend.

I want to GM for them at least until they get to the point where they are confident with their own abilities to game and RP, and if they decide to just continue running our campaign thats fine, but if they want to try out the game sessions at the local comic store thats fine as well.

I've been trying to get some of my friends to get into PFS as well. Playing scenarios at home has helped to soften the ground a bit for that.

Krell44 wrote:


My question:

How do I become a GM? What are the benefits (if any) of being a GM for the Pathfinder Society? Is it even possible to run a "home game" for PFS?
What is my next step (other than reading tons of material).

Like BigNorseWolf said, just run the scenario, get everyone a PFS number, and report it.

In addition, I'd like to mention some things that are good to have on your reading list:

- the Guide to Organized Play; absolutely necessary.
- the PFS FAQ. Also absolutely necessary. You don't have to smother the players with precise rules from the start, but it helps if you know them, just so you can avoid teaching them bad habits.

In addition, Paizo's written some tracts of supplementary advice:

- PFS GM 101
- PFS GM 201

These aren't critical to success, although they do contain some useful tips.

Finally, it's a good idea to find out who the Venture Captain of your area is and say hello someday. It can be useful to have someone nearby that you can ask questions.

Krell44 wrote:


Also, can someone suggest a good entry level scenario packet that I could run them through that wouldnt be terribly difficult for a group of new adventurers and also isnt terribly taxing on the new GM.

I appreciate all the help! Thanks!

I would recommend The Confirmation, which was specifically built as an introductory scenario. It isn't as dated as First Steps. It's also not too hard for the players, but it has plenty of learning about the game system built in, to teach players about for example swarms, creatures with DR, traps, climbing and big monsters with reach. Also, it gives the characters extra nice rewards if it's the first scenario they play.

I'd also recommend The Night March of Kalkamedes. It's a very beginner-friendly scenario because most of the challenges require common sense, not game mastery, to solve. It's also funny and interesting. It has all the classics: a dungeon, a dragon, a "princess", bandits, wild animal attacks, a mysterious portal and many more such things. As a GM though, it's important to read this one through a couple of times beforehand, to get the backstory right, because that's important. But I think it's one of the coolest early scenarios to play.

Shadow Lodge 4/5

Darkest Vengeance! Trial by Machine! The Accursed Halls!

Seriously now, Murder on the Throaty Mermaid. It's the bee's knees.


The classic scenarios for new players are Masters of the Fallen Fortress, First Steps Part I (In Service to Lore), We Be Goblins!, and The Confirmation.

Probably the easiest on the GM are MotFF and First Steps. I thought We Be Goblins was simple but I've heard some new GM's found it confusing (younger kids especially love it). The Confirmation seems to me like the most complicated to GM of those 4, but it still isn't too bad. And the players can definitely learn a lot from it.


Thanks for all the tips, this is exactly what I was hoping for.


One thing I forgot to mention.

Don't sweat it if you aren't exactly perfect. Few of us every get everything correct no matter how often we've GM'd. Especially with new players, cause they'll never notice. ;)

Sovereign Court 4/5 5/5 ** Venture-Lieutenant, Netherlands—Leiden

Kydeem de'Morcaine wrote:

The classic scenarios for new players are Masters of the Fallen Fortress, First Steps Part I (In Service to Lore), We Be Goblins!, and The Confirmation.

Probably the easiest on the GM are MotFF and First Steps. I thought We Be Goblins was simple but I've heard some new GM's found it confusing (younger kids especially love it). The Confirmation seems to me like the most complicated to GM of those 4, but it still isn't too bad. And the players can definitely learn a lot from it.

I've run MotFF and I've run (and played) the Confirmation twice now.

MotFF is okay, although it bugs me that you earn only one 1PP. Also, the danger at the end is a bit extreme. That said, it's straightforward.

I think the Confirmation is much better; it's great at teaching a variety of game mechanics that will be important later on (swarms!), and it's got a lot more flavor to it than MotFF. The danger level is pretty okay; most of it is pretty easy, only the end can be really dangerous because that thing hits pretty hard. Also important: the chronicle sheet has some really nice rewards on it, I think that's also good for making people come back for more.

I still wanna play We Be Goblins before I read it as a GM, I hate spoilers. But people seem to love it.

Grand Lodge 2/5

People say First Steps is dated. I don't really agree. Only recently (within the last month) the factions changed. Other than that, it's an awesome introductory scenario. Outside of the factions, it gives a great introduction to combat, puzzles, investigation, social.. Basically it has some of everything in it while none of it is overpowering, so it's really good at introducing "Pathfinder" to new people. My only complaint is that the final combat was a huge disappointment. The NPCs have all of these tactics and things they want to do, but the first tactic and the cramped scene completely negate almost all of the tactics.


I agree, Confirmation is a great low level primer as intended.

I guess it depends upon you Krell44. How much PF and/or GM experience do you have? I haven't run it yet, but I was told Confirmation isn't as simple for the GM as some of the others.

The order a friend gave me for new players was to first run them through Confirmation, then We Be Goblins (or Masters of the Fallen Fortress if they don't like silly), and finally First Steps.

But I don't think the order is that big a deal.

Sovereign Court 4/5 5/5 ** Venture-Lieutenant, Netherlands—Leiden

The Confirmation isn't as simple as MotFF, but that's mainly because MotFF is really simple. MotFF could have been set just about anywhere, while the Confirmation ties in to Golarion's story as a whole, and I think it's good for introducing a bit of that to the players.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Download the Guide to Organised Play as suggested before.

Turn to the back of the guide and you will find a list of Venture Captains and Venture Lieutenants in your area. Contact one or more of them and they will be a tremendous resource in you getting yourself and your group started properly.


I was looking at some of the free scenarios available to run, and the First Steps #2 & #3 are available as a free download but they are marked as "retired". Does this mean they are no longer available for play?


Krell44 wrote:
I was looking at some of the free scenarios available to run, and the First Steps #2 & #3 are available as a free download but they are marked as "retired". Does this mean they are no longer available for play?

They are no longer available for PFS credit. Though I have heard of them still being used in home games.

5/5

Krell44 wrote:
I was looking at some of the free scenarios available to run, and the First Steps #2 & #3 are available as a free download but they are marked as "retired". Does this mean they are no longer available for play?

They can no longer be played for credit...that is correct.

First Steps 1, Master of the Fallen Fortress, and We Be Goblins are all free and can get unlimited number of characters from 1st to 2nd level with replay if you like.

Shadow Lodge 4/5

I just walked into a room of PFS and asked 'Hey, do you need another GM?'

I don't recommend doing that at a PaizoCon special however.

4/5

I don't like running the Confirmation as the first PFS scenario. At the end of the scenario, players are asked to pick which of the three "schools" or "area" of the society they want to belong to. If this is the first scenario, players have no clue who the Masters of Swords, Spells, and Scrolls are or what they do. Also, they can completely change their build before level 2, and it seems weird to dedicate yourself to the Master of Swords after your first scenario and then rebuild into a wizard after your second.

I like to use the Confirmation as a player's 3rd scenario, so they pick the "school" of the society at the same time they finalize their character build.

We've used First Steps Part 1 (In Service to Lore)/Master of the Fallen Fortress/Confirmation as our first level track, and it seems to work out pretty well. I usually tack on a faux-intro to Fallen Fortress, where the Master of Swords and the Master of Spells give the characters the assignment (clear out the fortress and find a missing society agent), so that the players have at least met all three masters once before they play the Confirmation.

Scarab Sages 5/5 5/5 *** Venture-Captain, Netherlands

Master of the Fallen Fortress is a really simple scenario.
While it wont challenge you with roleplay, it has pretty much everything you need to know rules wise covered:

- surprise attacks
- cover
- skill checks
- auras
- swarms
- traps
- flanking
- grapple
- casting
- Bossfight

Grand Lodge 2/5 RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

1 person marked this as a favorite.
TOZ wrote:
I just walked into a room of PFS and asked 'Hey, do you need another GM?'

I walked into a room of PFS and was told "Hey, we need another GM." ;)

Grand Lodge 4/5

Jiggy wrote:
TOZ wrote:
I just walked into a room of PFS and asked 'Hey, do you need another GM?'
I walked into a room of PFS and was told "Hey, we need another GM." ;)

I walked into a room of PFS and determined that we had 8 players and 1 GM, so I volunteered to run First Steps...

The Exchange

Can we as new GM's post a game here to limit sign-up to only say ...3 characters? Using the web based tabletop is going to be a learning curve.

Would be easier to manage until got the hang of things with only 3 or 4 players versus 6.

Where do we go to post previous face to face PFS games I have run at our group's moving hangout's? Can I just post their chronicle sheets here to give them credit due so they don't have to start out with level 1 characters again?

What all is needed to upload to piazo for getting my players credit? It looks like some things have changed.

Is there a place for easy reference of a current allowed rules and changes as they come? (I just discovered they banned Tieflings and Aasimar's) How do I give credit to my player that was playing a Tiefling Rogue? (if credit can be changed to an alt character?)

Liberty's Edge

Baru,

Look at the second post above by BigNorseWolf.

Do you and your players have PFS numbers? If not, that is the first item.

Have you downloaded and read the PFS Guide to Organized Play? It sounds like you haven't. That is the second item.

Changed rules and allowed things are in the guide and in Additional Resources

When did the game with the Tiefling take place? If it was before Aug there is not problem.

If it was after Aug, he will have to rebuild as one of the allowed races. Is he level 2+ yet? If not, no problem. Anyone can completely rebuild their character before they reach level 2.

If he has reached level 2, I'm not sure exactly what the rebuild rules are.

The Exchange

They do have pathfinder numbers yes. I use the guide but have never submitted anything. I have only given them there sheets (8-9 different players over the time I have done it.
I will look to make sure my guide is the current one after this. They are level 3 and lower. The tiefling is level 3. Will see if someone gives me an update on what he can/cant do with his banned race.

Thank you for the quick feedback.

Baru

4/5

If he made it before August something (6th or 16th I think) the tiefling character is still legal, just no new tieflings.

Edit: I actually think his first chronicle needs to be dated before that date, not just made before that date.

Grand Lodge 4/5

Under A Bleeding Sun wrote:

If he made it before August something (6th or 16th I think) the tiefling character is still legal, just no new tieflings.

Edit: I actually think his first chronicle needs to be dated before that date, not just made before that date.

The Tiefling (or Aasimar) PC needs to have been played, as a Tiefling (Aasimar) before August 14th, 2014, in order to legally be a Tiefling (Aasimar) after that date.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
My PFS Lavode De'Morcaine wrote:


If he has reached level 2, I'm not sure exactly what the rebuild rules are.

Make the minimum amount of changes to make the character legal, starting with changing to an allowed race, removing all tiefling modifers including mental scores and than fixing whatever needs to be fixed. Class levels remain the same as well as original derived attribute scores.

Community / Forums / Organized Play / GM Discussion / Looking for Info on how to become a PFS GM All Messageboards

Want to post a reply? Sign in.