new GM jitters


Advice

Liberty's Edge

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Okay I'm admit that I'm still new to GMing only done it 7 times and I was recently ask if I wanted to run the Giantslayer AP. I agree cause all the gms at my local store said running an AP is a great way to gain gming experience seeing how you start at level one and work your way up.

Now the reason I posted this cause as the day for the first adventure approaches I'm starting to get nervous and was wondering if there's any veteran GMs out there that could possible give me some advice as how to, for lack of better words, "get the party started."

Any and all advice will be graciously appreciated.


Don't railroad your players if they're not following your plan or the AP's story line perfectly. Let them be inventive and challenging to you in their solutions, while you challenge them equally. Be ready for anything they throw at you. They seldom follow Options A,B, and C. They often choose Option Q.

By the same token, don't let them run roughshod over you. You ARE the GM, and you have final say in things. Discuss problems with players, but be fair in your decisions.

An encyclopedic knowledge of the rules isn't necessary, but know enough to keep things rolling smoothly and know the rulebooks well enough that you can find things quickly. Expect the same of your players.

Take notes. Lots of notes. (I could do better at this, myself). Players will forget things from one session to the next. It's a good idea to have a player take notes, as well, if they can. They might record something you missed.

And have fun. Don't squash the occasional sidebar about a movie or someone has seen recently, but be firm enough to push things back on track at the proper time.

There. That's all I got.

Liberty's Edge

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I find the best way to start any game is to have the players collaborate while making their characters, that way everyone can intertwine their characters backstories.

I don't know if Giant Slayer will be as restrictive in this department as some other APs like Skull and Shackles which has the characters just press-ganged into service. But if not then it might be worth it.

As for running the game, well most of it will be handed to you with the AP but what isn't you can look up early and write down on index cards or on a laptop so you don't have to look up things every five seconds. Like spells creatures can use or special monster abilities, and the like.

Also don't be afraid to divy your work load out to the players. I personally hate Initiative tracking and leave it up to the players, because I like doing things old school, which means no laptop for me, and dozens of papers and notes all around, so Initiative just is one thing too many for me.

I tend to play almost exclusively with friends, but when I did play in Pathfinder Society on a regular basis as the GM I had to read and try to follow their standards of play since it is an organised campaign and not my own. To that end they released a few documents that helped new GMs with how to run the games for society play, and honestly the documents they made are just as relevant to non-society play as they are to society play, so I would suggest picking those up and thumbing through them. They are free by the way and located here: http://paizo.com/pathfinderSociety/gmResources

As far as resources go the Narrators Guide also has advice for GMs on how to run a game.

Ultimately though just have fun and the nervousness will go away, don't be afraid of making mistakes, because even the most hardened and experienced GMs make them.


Preparation is KEY!
Read the AP front to back, then read it again! Know all the characters, monsters stats and any powers or spells you might not know already (a lot of GM's seem to forget NPC's carry items they can use), know the world (NPC's attitudes, cultures, religions, etc), and have an idea of map layouts. This lets you keep the game on track and moving forwards at a good pace. Stopping to look things up slows the game.

Have contingencies prepared, a few -1/-2 APL encounters for when the party goes off track (they will, best to have something there for them), a list of names for when the party asks the name of this random shopkeep/store/tavern/pet?

Determine the tables preferences for gameplay, Silly? Realistic? Easy mode? RP? Combat bloodbaths? Hardcore? The game works best if everyone agrees going in the mood and rules. Do you want to allow food at the table, phones, observers, set breaks?

Determine what sources are allowed. Core only? Third Party? Anything goes? Are some feats not permitted (Leadership) are some classes (Gunslinger? Psyionic? Summoner?).

Get a tablet or small laptop, and keep D20 open to spells, conditions, and relavent bestiary stat blocks (including the list of pregenerated NPC's).

Get to know your players (if you already don't), bring snacks (no peanuts, just in case), to set a friendly mood, some might be experienced and may be willing to lend a hand managing the game (handling initiatives, moving pieces, etc). The first day of gaming is usually slow to start, especially if new players are making their first character.

Have a book of house rules and RAI decisions, if there is something you need to rule on, and the table cannot agree, write it down and move on, discussions can come later, and future rulings will be "set in stone" for all to see.

Don't be nervous, you and your players already have at least one thing in common, Pathfinder.

And remember the goal is for EVERYONE to have FUN!


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( 1 ) Read. I cannot stress this enough. You must know how the whole thing plays out so that you are able to plant seeds for later adventures early on. But when it comes to the part that you're running right now, read that again and again and again. Know that backwards and forwards. When the players "choose Option Q" (as DungeonmasterCal points out), there's a tendency to want to "stick to the script" and shut down anything players suggest that deviates from that. If you know the module exceedingly well (again, not the whole AP right now, just the part you're running), you'll be much better equipped to connect the players' Option Q to another part of the module and get them back on track.

( 2 ) Don't solve the puzzle yourself. If you come up with a solution to a problem, you might tunnel vision in on your solution and think that it is the only solution. If you resist the temptation to solve it for yourself, you'll then be more open to what the group comes up with and you'll "Let them be inventive and challenging to you with their solutions." If it sounds like it'll work, let them try, but you'll avoid shutting them down just because it doesn't match what you came up with.

Grand Lodge

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Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

Nervousness is a natural response. I still get nervous, especially when I'm running something public or with strangers. I try to turn that nervous energy into excitement for the game. Focus on what you like about the adventure you are running, and put your energy into sharing that with the players.


Don't Panic.

If you don't know whether something's allowed and can't find the answer in less than 2 minutes, say, "I'll allow it this time but I'm going to look up the rule later."

When they try something unexpected and it doesn't seem to match a specific skill, pick an ability like Strength, Dexterity, etc. and make up a DC like 5, 10, 15 or 20, depending on whether you think it's easy, average, difficult or almost impossible. Look up a more official ruling later.

If you think it should actually be impossible, don't be afraid to say, "I don't think that sounds right. I'll look the rule up later but for now, try something else."

Everybody's there to have fun, so as long as you're fair and can articulate why you're making the decision you're making, there shouldn't be any problem.

Liberty's Edge

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Okay thank you for all the great advice. As for the info about all the different readings. I have read through a majority of the rulebook multiple times and as for the adventure so far read it twice.

I'm also quite use to "option Q" as I have a 11 year old brother that always find that option along with option 24.

TriOmegaZero I really hope when it start I am able to change the nervousness into excitement seeing how 3/5 of my players are the store main GMs.

Once again thank you for the advice and please give more if you believe anything was forgotten

Shadow Lodge

You know what's in the campaign, so think about the exciting parts of it, get super enthusiastic about it, and overplay it.

TriOmegaZero's advice is spot on. Generally when your players are GMs it's even easier, because they tend to get into the spirit of the game more than newbies do. They've got better rules mastery as well, so if you forget something, you can ask them how it works if you want to, and go with that.


If u are unfamiliar with a rule don't be afraid to call on experienced players. It's better to ask for help then to create or not follow rules on the fly.

Realize a lot of aps are written for non optimized players... This really becomes evident at higher levels. Be ready to apply templates to enemies. If all else fails instead of going average hd Hps use max hit points instead.

If you have a player useing combat maneuvers Brush up on them.

If you have a Spell Caster be prepared for Lots of unexpected Outcomes. Try to roll with it.

One enemy fights are easier to manage and quicker but also usually not much of a challenge to experienced players. Throw in a couple mooks or another threat to go with them.

Don't bother with xp... Use designated spots in the ap to give lvls. Optimized players throw the cr-exp out of wack and cause there lvls to rise too fast.

Feel free to discuss your decisions with players who don't agree but don't let someone convince u to rule against what u feel is right simply by not giving up the arguement.

Brush up on knowledge skills and try not to give out too much info about enemies... Specially when there not the big bad.

You don't always have to speak in first person for npcs if it's hard you can summarize what they say. When u get more of a feeling for a npc then you get more comfortable speaking for them.

Watch out for animal companions/eidolons/summons/ECt. In the hands of an experienced player they can bog down combat, Let alone a novice. Ban these things for players who are not able to operate them quickly.

If combat still drags out you can bring an egg timer and give people time limits on there combat rounds.

Use terrain

If someone makes a broken char that is causing the other players to not have a chance to shine then talk to that player alone and ask him to tone his char down. Or add enemies who focus on him so that he is kept busy and others can get some action.

Save or suck spells or effects can kill fights that are supposed to be memorable. Splitting his fights into groups of bosses can help solve this.

Ok that's what I got so far... The advice I give I learned the hard way.

Liberty's Edge

Duncan888 said wrote:
Watch out for animal companions/eidolons/summons/ECt. In the hands of an experienced player they can bog down combat, Let alone a novice. Ban these things for players who are not able to operate them quickly.

One of the GM is infamous for making summoner that are wayyyy OP'ed so would it be wrong to ban the class just for him so he can get variety? Or would it be better just to ban the class altogether.

Silver Crusade Contributor

If you're new to GMing, I'd say: go ahead and ban it. I love the class, but it's best if you wait until you've got a little more experience before tangling with it.

Also, good luck with your campaign. You'll get the hang of it in no time. ^_^


Ur well within ur right to ban them... I have... Many have.... Don't know if unchained is better though.


Besides if he always plays op summoners he's just trying to win and doesn't care about rping..

I kinda get it my first gm was hard core any mistakes and u died. Made me inclined to make characters that were tough enough to survive anything. But rping isn't about winning at combat at any cost it's about the story and making it epic.


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Ban the Master Summoner definitely, if that's the route he's going.

I agree with Pyris - have the group formulate their characters together. This helps build a group dynamic before you even start playing, and can hammer out shortfalls and overlaps early on.

Have others at the table help with some of the tasks during combat: one person tracks initiative; another has a rulebook handy to look things up as needed; etc. Don't try to do it all yourself!

And be prepared. Meaning: know the group's make up and read through the encounters you'll be heading into and see where you need to tweak the AP: additional mooks (depending on party size); treasure meaningful for the group, not the generic "4-person party" the APs are designed for.

And you're off to a good start. You came here and asked for advice!

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