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I am not claiming the sky is falling but locally I have seen a decline in the number of people signing up for games. Pre 5e I rarely saw games cancelled and for the most part spots would fill up very quickly. Now games are getting canceled fairly regularly due to not enough players and the games that do go will usually have some spots open pretty late in the week.
I know this is just what I see anecdotally but was wondering if others are seeing this as well.
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Locally, we are victims of our own popularity.
We used to have 3-4 tables of PFS a week. Now we're at 5-6 a week, spread over two days, and tables are still selling out the moment people can sign up for them! GMs too - if I want to GM anymore, I have to arrange it two weeks in advance just to make sure I'll get one of the tables!
As with all things in PFS, expect table/venue variation :)
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I think there is a certain point where PFS will stop expanding. Are we there yet? Im not sure. There are of course untapped markets but we also have to factor in locations where gaming has never really 'taken off' at least not traditional gaming. Markets like India, China etc have huge populations but not a high population of what we might term traditional rpgers.
Is 5e an issue? I wouldnt think so. PFS has many current advantages over Adventurers League
A) You are not locked into Wednesday nights (as you are with Encounters)
B) You can run games anywhere you wish as long as they get reported (Encounters and Expeditions both have mandatory store play requirements)
C) The quality of production of PFS Scenarios is currently streets ahead of the Expeditions Scenarios.
*Quality issues refer to appearance of scenarios, spelling and grammar levels, scenario design.
* Im not reference the actual plot/story of the scenarios here. THats entirely subjective and based on players experience. I will say that the current season of expeditions is very closely linked to every other one in the season
D) THere is a huge catalogue of scenarios to chose from in PFS. You currently have Hoard of the Dragon Queen/Rise of Tiamat, Lost Mine of Plandelver and 8 Expeditions scenarios. So some choice but nothing near the same level.
E) A still incomplete basic level of knowledge. THe DMG for 5e still isnt 'out' everywhere. That means the take up for DMs is still quite slow and Ive seen many a con organiser screaming out for 5e dms to run AL games with few takers.
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I am not claiming the sky is falling but locally I have seen a decline in the number of people signing up for games. Pre 5e I rarely saw games cancelled and for the most part spots would fill up very quickly. Now games are getting canceled fairly regularly due to not enough players and the games that do go will usually have some spots open pretty late in the week.
I know this is just what I see anecdotally but was wondering if others are seeing this as well.
Locally PFS has very significantly declined in the last couple of months. Nobody seems to know why. As far as I know the only organized 5th edition play is the Wednesday Encounters and there isn't too much of that.
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The issues with Pathfinder Society and Golarion in general, as I see it is that nothing changes in the world it is exactly as it was five years ago
1) Was the world wound closed No
2) Has a single boarder moved No
3) Any major world event taken place No
The adventures happen and everything goes back to normal frozen in time
I would for one love to see some kind of historic events people are losing interest. Do I want 4e apocalyptic changes no. Do I want a kingdom to change hands, sure Galt settle their constant revolution sure, Andoren and Cheliax finally go to war sure.
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Before Gencon we were running two tables a week in a small town but after Gencon I am down to a single table now. School started, people got jobs, the game store started doing a Smash Bros night the same night (it stole some interest but also helps justify us being there so late on a weeknight), and with basketball season coming I lost yet another player this past week.
People come and go.
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Online play seems to be struggling as of late, but locally, its gone back up to 2-3 tables at a minimum spread across different venues.
I think this is in part, because several people that were running on a regular or semi-regular basis online have started playing in or GM'ing long term games keeping them them from running as many random games (the case for me). There's also the fact that much of what comprises the online community has played a large percentage of the available scenarios and those scenarios that are offered online most end up being the same ones that many people have already played. For example, there've been very few offerings of late season 5 and season 6 games (at least where/when I look), but things like the Blackros Museum scenarios are run repeatedly. Finally, there's just a lack of time for any RPGs, which I'm going to be forcing myself into over the next 6 months :(.
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Online play seems to be struggling as of late, but locally, its gone back up to 2-3 tables at a minimum spread across different venues.I think this is in part, because several people that were running on a regular or semi-regular basis online have started playing in or GM'ing long term games keeping them them from running as many random games (the case for me). There's also the fact that much of what comprises the online community has played a large percentage of the available scenarios and those scenarios that are offered online most end up being the same ones that many people have already played. For example, there've been very few offerings of late season 5 and season 6 games (at least where/when I look), but things like the Blackros Museum scenarios are run repeatedly. Finally, there's just a lack of time for any RPGs, which I'm going to be forcing myself into over the next 6 months :(.
I'm guilty of this as well, otherwise I'd hosting more stuff online. It doesn't help that from November through January I'm typically much busier during this time of the year and therefore don't have the time or energy to run games.
Yay holiday season...
Venture-Captain, Montana—Kalispell
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The issues with Pathfinder Society and Golarion in general, as I see it is that nothing changes in the world it is exactly as it was five years ago
1) Was the world wound closed No
2) Has a single boarder moved No
3) Any major world event taken place NoThe adventures happen and everything goes back to normal frozen in time
I would for one love to see some kind of historic events people are losing interest. Do I want 4e apocalyptic changes no. Do I want a kingdom to change hands, sure Galt settle their constant revolution sure, Andoren and Cheliax finally go to war sure.
Yes, it would be fun to see some really major world events, but when things like that happen it also invalidates published material. Having to reprint the Inner Sea World Guide or even more minor books like the Demon Hunter's Handbook is a thing that, I imagine, is minimized, rather than planned on. Having things like PFS faction changes are kind of the best of both worlds.
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Global Organized Play Coordinator
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Yes, it would be fun to see some really major world events, but when things like that happen it also invalidates published material. Having to reprint the Inner Sea World Guide or even more minor books like the Demon Hunter's Handbook is a thing that, I imagine, is minimized, rather than planned on. Having things like PFS faction changes are kind of the best of both worlds.The issues with Pathfinder Society and Golarion in general, as I see it is that nothing changes in the world it is exactly as it was five years ago
1) Was the world wound closed No
2) Has a single boarder moved No
3) Any major world event taken place NoThe adventures happen and everything goes back to normal frozen in time
I would for one love to see some kind of historic events people are losing interest. Do I want 4e apocalyptic changes no. Do I want a kingdom to change hands, sure Galt settle their constant revolution sure, Andoren and Cheliax finally go to war sure.
Factions and finding one of the three lost Sky Citadels which had remained undiscovered for 8000 years and is now a part of canon.
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The issues with Pathfinder Society and Golarion in general, as I see it is that nothing changes in the world it is exactly as it was five years ago
1) Was the world wound closed No
2) Has a single boarder moved No
3) Any major world event taken place NoThe adventures happen and everything goes back to normal frozen in time
I would for one love to see some kind of historic events people are losing interest. Do I want 4e apocalyptic changes no. Do I want a kingdom to change hands, sure Galt settle their constant revolution sure, Andoren and Cheliax finally go to war sure.
Its not really the Pathfinder Society's job to do such things. The in-game society just wants to amass wealth and knowledge - not take over the world or destabilize nations. We are doing our jobs correctly when those things don't happen, because if we did start wars or cause major events to occur, more places would ban our presence entirely.
Here is a list of major events we HAVE caused (each spoilered):
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I've noticed some decline in Melbourne, Australia, in recent weeks due to a few reasons:
We've just run two large conventions within the same month.
PAX Aus was the largest PFS event ever run in Melbourne:
- 8 tables per session over three days
- between 200 and 300 pregen character sheets handed out
- over half of players were visitors from interstate
- most players were completely new to PFS and played a single 2-hour Silverhex quest
that's a lot of players.
This was a great result, and we have welcomed new players sign up for our weekly gamedays in stores. However, preparing for events like these takes a lot of effort. For example, to be able to run so many tables of 2-hour Silverhex quests, we had to slot-zero two tables of GMs in the weekends prior to the event. Similarly, we slot-zeroed GMs through new scenario releases leading up to Unicon. While slot-zero sessions are the fastest way to prep a solid number of GMs for new release scenarios, they take six GMs out of public play for those weekends. If you don't have the number of additional GMs required to keep public games running over those weekends, there will be player drop-off. It only takes a week or two with no scheduled games, and players find something else to do with their weekends - it can take a few weeks of scheduled games for attendance to rebuild.
This time of year is also leading up to exam time in Australia, then you have Christmas/New Year break, which slows things down considerably.
I've also noticed a sudden up-take of privately run Adventure Paths, which is actually great that players who met through publicly run Pathfinder Society sessions, now have the friends and connections to join privately run Adventure Paths. This is a success condition! even though it reduces the number of available players for our weekly public store gamedays.
Now that I've caught my breath from having run PFS at two large conventions in the same month, I GMed my first in store gameday again for a while. We all commented at how we used to run three tables per week at this venue, but after the con season, we're down to one. By scheduling more public games, more players will attend once more, but attendance often occurs in seasonal cycles, I've seen it happen year after year. It takes some dedicated effort to keep things running, but it's not something I'm necessarily concerned about - I'm looking forward to attendance building once again. I know the PFS release schedule isn't slowing down any time soon.
Owner - Enchanted Grounds, President/Owner - Enchanted Grounds
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No drop-off of attendance in Denver that I can tell, beyond the usual cyclical wax and wane of faces.
Some is artificially created: I schedule adventures that have been played too many times recently in too many venues, and don't get instant "sell outs." Or we offer up 40 tables during the month of November instead of our usual 18, or Paizocon/GenCon/Tacticon happen during a 7 week span of time in July and August.
I believe other posters may be right about a couple things. Having only 2 adventures published each month keeps the old guard from playing more than twice per month ("old guard" defined as those guys who have consumed everything published that coordinators in their area are willing to offer). A 6 month span of time with no Pathfinder Module product published doesn't help this, nor does having Wrath of the Righteous left on the PFS sidelines help. Perhaps the "rules bloat" that is happening is driving off a few players, as well, or the current Adventure Path focusing on technology has pissed people off.
But those are inherent problems with the campaign that I have seen happening in different ways each season since early on.
Frankly, for every person I no longer see playing regularly in Denver, there are two faces I am seeing who are new or are playing/GMing more frequently. Often those new faces are excited by the same things that seem to drive other people off. Two new adventures every single month? Wow! Robots? Sweet! I can play 30+ different base classes? Awesome! There are HOW many books I can take rules from? Holy crap! I have to start making characters right now to get all that in!
Essentially, welcome to the world of marketing and gaming. Life, essentially. Sometimes you're so busy you can't find time to relax. Sometimes you're so bored you wish the zombiepocalypse would hit just so you could test out all those skills you're not using.
Just keep playing and offering to show people the game.
Edit: What the crap? What happened to my Cheliax symbol?
'nother Edit: At least there's a phoenix symbol I can pick, instead. Ah, well. Sad to see that changing factions in the campaign changes my messageboard identity...
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In our area, from what I can tell, we have seen a drop off for a few reasons. Writing assignments, a major GM leaving the area, and lack of scenarios to play. We are running Modules and APs in order to fill tables, because SO MANY of our players have played many/most of the scenarios out. If a new scenario gets scheduled, we fill 2 tables of it almost instantly, but other than those, it's steady. A year and a half ago, there were 2-3 tables 3 days a week at the store I play in (Plus 1 table a week at my house), but now it's down to 1 table each night.
We do have people playing DnD5E, but only one of them quite PFS to do so. The others that jumped ship are those that have nothing left to play...and at least one of them has nothing left to GM.
I feel confident that come the new year, numbers in our area will push back up, but for now they are a little lower than usual. I also remember last year this time being slower, as well.
On the flip...we had two cons in the last 2.5 months that were run in people's homes that had 6 slots and 4-5 tables in each slot. One said con even had a special guest by the name of Mike Brock (he happened to be in the area so it was a lucky coincidence!)
The numbers are this: PFS is growing and will continue to do so and the powers that be are working on some exciting things to help that growth and bring back older players that might have tapered off. It's an exciting time...just look at the 'changes are a coming' posts we have had!
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...and at least one of them has nothing left to GM.
You can always GM something. Sure, you don't get a Chronicle, but it takes less prep time the second time (or third, or fourth) and you get to see how different groups face the challenges. Plus, you get to use those lines that you thought of 5 minutes too late the first time around!
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I agree with you GM Lamplighter, but there is something about being able to advance a character that some people thoroughly enjoy. I should have specified that at least one of them has run and GM'd almost every scenario and can receive no more chronicles...and that is a tough position to be in.
I personally LOVE to rerun scenarios, as I think everyone enjoys them more. I have run Wardstone Patrol 7 times and both of the Evergreens more times than I care to count (I only report if it's not my usual group because we use them to try out new builds all the time)
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Yeah, I understand, not everyone wants to do it. There isn't really a way around it, though... organized play can only have so much content. Running a sanctioned AP in campaign mode can work, you still get credit but it doesn't go as fast as just playing the sanctioned parts.
Not to mention, back during the 3PP Living model, almost all living campaigns that were sponsored by the RPGA retired all modules after 6 months.
The concept of playing 3 or 4 times a month, let alone 3 or 4 times a week, was impossible.
We are literally spoiled by PFS in that we have 170 and counting play opportunities that are only growing. But part of the problem is that organizers and coordinators and VOs across the world (including myself) are creating so many play opportunities that players can't help themselves but to play so often that they run out of things to play.
This is both a good thing (huge interest and lots of play opportunities per week) and a bad thing (entire regions are slowing down dramatically because everyone has played almost everything.)
So what are some solutions we can use that do not include replay or expanded play content?
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I'm going to wager a guess that he's one of the many people out there that believes Season 6 is "all tech".I personally will never play or run a season 6...Why?
Or that because there is no tag or flag on the scenario indicating that its a Tech scenario, he's not going to risk playing in them for fear of getting Tech in his Fantasy.
That being said, it is a bit frustrating to hear folks constantly talk about Season 6 as a tech season. So far, we've had 9 scenarios where only 3 are tech.
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PFS is in its 6th season (and, I think, 7th year), and some parallels can be drawn between it and another major campaign which lasted 7-8 years, Living Greyhawk.
There are a number of things which happen as a campaign matures, and most of these affect publicly-observed play of PFS:
1. Pathfinder, as a game, has become very cumbersome and bloated. I know I don't like GMing it any more, because there's just no way for me (a busy person) to meaningfully master the rules. I feel like I'm playing RIFTS at times! I know this has driven players away, as well. This happened in LG as well (the infamous 3.5 bloat.)
2. There's a natural phenomenon which occurs in long-lasting organized-play campaigns: groups of players, brought together by game days, get to know each other and eventually move their games out of public venues, running privately at homes. Less fuss, no time limits, even non-PFS house rules are possible in such a scenario; I know I prefer playing in a home. This does have the effect of reducing the *visible* play population, though.
3. Other campaigns. Obviously, Adventure League is here (D&D 5). Honestly, if I had Wednesdays free, I'd pretty much switch to AL (for reason #1). That's not to say I'd quit PFS, though - I have room for a few games, in theory.
4. I think over the long term that lack of meaningful campaign continuity - allowing so many characters, for example - causes loss of interest in the actual campaign or story; it's pretty obvious that folks play PFS to play characters and builds, and that very little concern is given to actual story lines. The fact I can play a Year 6 at 9am and then a Year 1 after lunch - with the same character - illustrates that PFS scenarios are "instanced", not "serial", with a few rare exceptions rewarded by special chronicle boons (like playing Rats of Round Mountain 1 and 2 in order). The most immersive organized play campaign BY FAR, "Heroes of Rokugan" (now in it's 3rd campaign), is "storied" enough that players want to play the same character through all of them, in as close to "order" as possible; it's uncommon to have more than a main and a backup character in the campaign. Such heavy investment in a character (the stories run 5 years, and usually about 100 scenarios) builds a small but very devoted following.
5. Serious players grind through scenarios at a rate exceeding production, and simply run out of play. Steam lost, they drift away. I know I went from playing/GMing scenarios 5+ times per month, to my current playing of about 1 scenario monthly and maybe GMing one scenario every 2-3 months.
Basically, in Atlanta we have slight net growth, since we seem (lately) to have brought in quite a few *young* players (college-age). We've also lost almost all the "original" crew, and a number of committed players simply finished *everything*, and have moved on to AL.
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Paizo helped cement the assumption in many peoples' minds that season six was going to be the 'Tech season' right from the very beginning with the season 6 Guide to Organized play.
Season 6 glyph = Tech
Layout design = Tech
Artwork inside = Tech
Rules information on glitches = Tech
Now since we've *played* season six scenarios, we know that it's not all tech. But going into it, I sure thought this season was going to be all tech all the time, as it was shoved all up in your face in the Season 6 guide. Combine that with the technology guide coming out around the same time and it's easy to see why many had that opinion.
I can't blame people who are adversely anti-tech from looking at the season 6 guide and thinking, "Meh, doesn't look like this is going the way I like my RPGs. Time for a break."
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I think David Haller has it spot on. For new players they often skip around seasons and there is absolutely no overall story arc that makes any sense while doing this. The story arc only matters for experienced players who have gone through most of the scenarios.
The rules bloat is a big issue. A few years ago I knew just about every character variation and rule, and now I can't keep up, there is simply to much out there so i simply have to trust the players that they got it right. Unless i specifically know something is wrong then I correct it. This issue is heavily exacerbated in the higher tiers. I get semi-frustrated as a GM when players pull out something that destroys encounters that I have never seen before. In home games, I play with the same people so I know their abilities and this is not a point of frustration. In PFS all kinds off odd stuff gets pulled out by having different players at every table I play.
It also appears that lots of new players are going to 5e first when there is a choice, it's simpler and has a known name (D&D) attached to it.
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it is a bit frustrating to hear folks constantly talk about Season 6 as a tech season. So far, we've had 9 scenarios where only 3 are tech.
But the first three scenarios were tech. The Guide is tech. Tech PCs were introduced. The Season started with tech.
Sure, the rest of us have been continuing along, but when the first couple months of the new Season are all tech, I can see why that would be off putting.
And not everybody reads these forums, or the blogs. They don't know that Season 6 is really about traveling the world and getting back to the roots of what it means to be a Pathfinder.
All they saw everywhere they looked, was tech.
And at the wrong time, too. Right when a new fantasy campaign was being rolled out elsewhere.
(these thoughts are what I've gathered together talking to friends who no longer play PFS, and a "how would this look from another person's POV" kind of mentality, not my own views. I have no problem with tech personally, and even made a tech character for Season 6)
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Why?I personally will never play or run a season 6...
I can't speak for EricMcG, but I can tell you that I won't be playing any Season 6 scenarios until I am finished playing in our Iron Gods home game.
I really like the blending of tech and fantasy, personally. I have fond memories of playing through Expedition to the Barrier Peaks when I was in middle school. But I don't want any spoilers for that AP. I own the Technology guide, but I haven't even opened it up yet, so strong is my desire to not spoil anything from the Iron Gods AP.
This is why I was happy to hear that you will be divorcing future seasons of PFS from the APs.
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it is a bit frustrating to hear folks constantly talk about Season 6 as a tech season. So far, we've had 9 scenarios where only 3 are tech.But the first three scenarios were tech. The Guide is tech. Tech PCs were introduced. The Season started with tech.
This has been a very common misconception with some of my local players as well as many online players as of late. Not to say everyone's reaction to that has been negative.
Also I have to agree about the rule bloat issue becoming increasingly problematic, however I doubt very much that is having an impact on the number of active players.
The online community's activity level seems to hit spurts of activity and it has been a bit slow in the wake of the most recent Aethercon, but we are heading into the holiday season which puts additional demands on people's time.
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RPG Superstar 2014 Top 32
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The first 3 scenarios didn't do Season 6 any favors. It's hard to tell people "It's not all tech!" when the only new scenarios they can play at GenCon are tech-based. Combining tech with neigh-impossible combats just sealed the fate of this season, I feel. Many of my local players avoid Season 6 after bad experiences in Silver Mount Collection and Trial by Machine, both of which ended in TPKs.
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~shrug~
It's natural. I like 5e and their Adventurer's League (mostly the Plan setting), but that's not why I am playing Pathfinder Society less.
With work and grad school I don't always have time to prep to GM a scenario, and with more of a local need for lower level scenarios for new players I'm having to go home without playing more often because there's nothing running that I haven't already played or GMed. But then I've played almost all of the season 5 and earlier 1-5s. It happens.
(Though I am asking myself why I bought over $300 worth of stuff - before discount - during this year's Great Golem Sale, knowing that I won't be playing as much! ^_^ )
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The rules bloat is a big issue. A few years ago I knew just about every character variation and rule, and now I can't keep up, there is simply to much out there so i simply have to trust the players that they got it right.
Word.
In other threads on this topic (and there are lots; clearly this is something people think about, one way or the other), "trust the players" is generally offered as the solution. And it is. However, even if you advocate that solution, you have to admit that it is different from how it used to be. Yes, even the Core Rulebook is massive, and it takes some level of obsessiveness to get a handle on all of it, but somebody potentially could do that. Now, it's going to be rare GM who really has a handle on all the possible player classes that could sit down at his table. (ACG followed rapidly by Occult Adventures playtest was a giant spike of this all at once.)
I hate to think about new GMs coming to Pathfinder now, and seeing the large number of RPG-line books on the shelf. Again, the Core Rulebook is intimidating enough, but now that there are so many books, it would probably seem prohibitive. I would probably hesitate myself before buying into this system, looking at it from the outside. In reality, yes, you can get by just knowing Core, especially as a player, but the perception of the system based on just how many rules are out there makes the whole thing seem a bit overwhelming now.
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The rules bloat is a big issue. A few years ago I knew just about every character variation and rule, and now I can't keep up, there is simply to much out there so i simply have to trust the players that they got it right.Word.
I'll get on this bandwagon as well.
I'm one of a handful of "really active" GMs in my area (160 games GMed in 2 years is a "lot" to me, at least). But there used to be a number of "less active" GMs that we could count on to fill out the ranks.
Those GMs are largely gone, now, and the new cadre of potential GMs are new to Pathfinder, and just don't feel comfortable with all the rules they feel they need to know.
So we try and give them the angle of "trust the players", but a lot of the players are new themselves, and sometimes they legitimately get things wrong.
I gamed at a table with a Halfling Cavalier the other day. When he dropped the boss on the first round of combat, before she even acted, even I shrugged and said "that's what Cavaliers do when they charge", but luckily we checked the numbers and found out he was adding and multiplying his bonuses incorrectly.
And that's just content from the APG.
It makes me hesitant to play my Savage Technologist around some GMs.
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The rules bloat is a big issue. A few years ago I knew just about every character variation and rule, and now I can't keep up, there is simply to much out there so i simply have to trust the players that they got it right.Word.
In other threads on this topic (and there are lots; clearly this is something people think about, one way or the other), "trust the players" is generally offered as the solution. And it is. However, even if you advocate that solution, you have to admit that it is different from how it used to be. Yes, even the Core Rulebook is massive, and it takes some level of obsessiveness to get a handle on all of it, but somebody potentially could do that. Now, it's going to be rare GM who really has a handle on all the possible player classes that could sit down at his table. (ACG followed rapidly by Occult Adventures playtest was a giant spike of this all at once.)
I hate to think about new GMs coming to Pathfinder now, and seeing the large number of RPG-line books on the shelf. Again, the Core Rulebook is intimidating enough, but now that there are so many books, it would probably seem prohibitive. I would probably hesitate myself before buying into this system, looking at it from the outside. In reality, yes, you can get by just knowing Core, especially as a player, but the perception of the system based on just how many rules are out there makes the whole thing seem a bit overwhelming now.
Which makes me wonder about the "growth" of PFS world-wide in different countries with different languages. Do those other countries have all of the bloat in their own language? If not, that would explain why they are gaining traction: they don't have to deal with the initial sticker shock of bloat.
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Do those other countries have all of the bloat in their own language? If not, that would explain why they are gaining traction: they don't have to deal with the initial sticker shock of bloat.
or worse like here in Portugal.. we have to deal with the bloat in another language since publication in Portuguese has been infinitely delayed and so PF rulebooks are only available in English
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Venture-Captain, Germany–Hannover
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Pathfinder translations into other languages go at a fast pace and normaly the translation companies try to get the new books while catching up with older ones.
And then internationaly, a lot of people just use the english source material, which makes no difference at all.
Not sure why, but the term "bloat" seems like one of that awfull trends on the board here at the moment. Now and then some topic pops up and everybody joins in on moaning about it. Nobody is forced to buy all the books or use all material, not even on PFS. This is a pure player decision. There are also rules in the guide that clearly state no GM has to own or know everything, that´s why the players need to bring their stuff.
If the players are beginners, that´s one thing.
If players are too lazy to look at their characters and the sources beyond some powerplay guide on the internets, that´s really their problem and boarderlining on the don´t be a jerk rule. Strangely, a lot of those "don´t have to play or GM" complaints fall in line with the bloat stuff and hints at powergaming. Now i seriously wonder how one can play and GM through all those scenarios, all the while perhaps even powergaming or seing powergamers, and not be familiar with so many classes and felt rules?
For a new GM this might be a lot, especially if new to the system yes.
But then this is an attitude thing too, as in just how welcome are people to new GM´s...and what do they expect from them and how are they treated.
And if you don´t like tech stuff, here´s a hint:
Without the proper feat and knowledge, your character really doesn´t know what´s encountered there. For all is known that is dark numerian sorcery and it actually pretty much looks like other magic.
The words laser, robot, etc don´t need to be used and untill identified should not be used. The machine men look like animated armors, what is possible with normal sorcery. You can play through all of the tech scenarios without any tech reference actually, because it could as well all be some magic stuff. And if you are a wizard, probably it´s magic stuff beyond your grasp. That´s why those numerians are so weird.