Done - Except that I changed my name in the profile to GM Darren and it still shows as Darren Whitehouse. No big deal.
Darren, you cannot change Darren Whitehouse to GM Darren because you have over ten posts and so the name in your profile is stuck. Create a new alias called GM Darren for your GMing. That is how I got this GM Hmm identity — I created it for my Play-by-Posts. (Though to be honest, the Lady in Red has taken on a life of her own.)
You can create new aliases by going to your account. Then you’ll be even able to pick out a fun avatar for your GM identity. If you click on my profile here, you can see that I put a lot of links in my headers.
PRO TIP: If you use tiny URL, you can shorten those long google links and fit more links into your header real estate.
PRO TIP 2: Using separators will make it easier to keep the links distinct from one another. I am using slashes right now, but sometimes I use stars or dots to separate links.
Hmm
wooooo... tiny URL. That's a really good tip!!
I love how much I'm learning here!
I second and third the use of Tiny URL I When you have multiple things you want to post in your GM header. Or you have Multiple Tables the really help you keep under the 255 character limit.
Also GM Profiles are great. I actually have written up a little bit about my self within my GM Poblano Profile. Including my GMing expectations. Not everyone reads my profile though so I still copy some of my profile into my first "Welcome to the Table" Post. Including my expectations as a GM and what you can expect from me.
Ok, everyone, that was a good week's worth of work!
Over the weekend, please decide what character you want to bring, and post with them in discussion. (if you haven't already)
Other than that, enjoy your weekend, and I will see you on Monday! (feel free to chat here about anything that would be helpful. I will still be stopping in to answer any questions.)
Voice of Mag Do you have a Legacy Race boon?
Ninja'd by the great HMM
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I think they will eventually open up... You can ask on the Starfinder Boon Trading thread, if anyone is willing to spare one. I wound up offerng a Contest to give away my spare Legacy Boon but I have run out of them now, alas.
I sure hope they open up the legacy races by Origins with the start of SFS Season 2.
Hmm
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I do too, my biggest complaint (and where I struggled most to convince others to play) was with the lengthy ban list of PFS; more races were banned than you could play. It always seemed like 5e vs Pathfinder was an "Updated Mechanics vs Massive Content Pool" battle, so trimming huge amounts of content out made it lose some appeal.
It's really discouraging seeing Starfinder start with more banned races than playable races already.
"Yum!! I do like food."
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That is how I got this GM Hmm identity — I created it for my Play-by-Posts. (Though to be honest, the Lady in Red has taken on a life of her own.)
Sometimes your GM persona will find you when a certain Lady in Red knights you with a nickname. ;)
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I think they will eventually open up... You can ask on the Starfinder Boon Trading thread, if anyone is willing to spare one. I wound up offerng a Contest to give away my spare Legacy Boon but I have run out of them now, alas.
I sure hope they open up the legacy races by Origins with the start of SFS Season 2.
Hmm
Took your advice and left a post there, fingers crossed! Working on my character now though, not banking on a handout.
I'll have my character ready and posted soon. I'm putting together a ysoki technomancer... Either Ace pilot or themeless. The name will be Kaiole.
Voice, just FYI, a new Starfinder character normally cannot start off with any single attribute greater than 18, unless there is some special ability or boon out there that I'm unaware of.
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I'll have my character ready and posted soon. I'm putting together a ysoki technomancer... Either Ace pilot or themeless. The name will be Kaiole.
Voice, just FYI, a new Starfinder character normally cannot start off with any single attribute greater than 18, unless there is some special ability or boon out there that I'm unaware of.
You ninja, you posted that minutes before I finished fixing everything.
This is my actual character, Luvilynx. She's a Lashunta Envoy Icon. The world famous Social Media Superstar, or at least that's her dream. She's a little squishy at the moment, as she can't wear Heavy Armor until level 2, but she's an Envoy who has a STR of 17 and fights with a Doshko.
I'm actually really fond of her, and will probably have a full character image and bio made for her in the next couple days.
Characters so far:
Bigboom: Kaiole, Ysoki technomancer
Voice of Mag: Luvilynx, Lashunta Envoy
Elinnea: Cora Jex, Ysoki mystic
Darren: Dee 42, Android operative
Red and Poblano, go ahead and pick your characters to play.
I'll post some discussion topics for today in a little while.
Looks like we might need some heavy artillery. I'll make a soldier unless you wanted to GM Red.
Discussion topic for today: What do you guys think the GM's job is? (We'll assume that this is for a Play-by-Post game to keep things simple)
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Discussion topic for today: What do you guys think the GM's job is? (We'll assume that this is for a Play-by-Post game to keep things simple)
To make sure that all the players at a table feel involved, feel as though they're contributing and making progress, and most importantly to have fun.
Specifically in regards to PbP, to provide Chronicle Sheets, to create the material necessary for a game (such as sheets, slides, and handouts), and to follow a Scenario or Module as closely as possible.
From a "meta" side, their job is to play enemies as accurately as possible. Never pulling punches but equally never playing an enemy as smarter than it would be. To encourage players to solve problems creatively, and when they struggle, to perhaps push them in the direction they need to go without making them feel like their hand is being held.
And finally to bring the world to life. To make the NPCs feel like real individuals, and to make players smell the oil of a ship and hear the quiet buzzing of the monitors. To immerse the players in the world and make the really feel "there."
I don't have much more to add to Voice's response. Only thing I'd probably add is that for PBP, the GM needs to keep things moving. It seems to me that a PBP game that loses momentum may have a hard time spinning back up again.
Yeah, all good stuff that I echo from reading the GM pbp guides especially the
Immersive bit . I would add stuff like rolling initiative to keep things moving. Making it a canvas for others to draw the art rather than seek compliments about how good you are as an artist.
Hey, Red and Poblano and Hmm, do you guys have anything you want to add about the job of a GM?
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Making it a canvas for others to draw the art rather than seek compliments about how good you are as an artist.
^ ^ ^
This especially right here is important. We all enjoy proving a little more flavor text when we go into detail and explanations about what is currently happening in the game table. As a Gm you have to have the mindset that not everyone will have the same "minds eye" that you have and you as GM need to account for that as much as possibleDescriptive words your players use are a key point to get an insight into how they perceive the in game world, and also using those same words can help you pick the "paints" your players use to cover the minds canvas, weather its at the physical or virtual table.
Another key piece of information as a GM that may not come up often is Some of your players might have not grown up with English as a first language. I can speak from experience that some of those playing on these message boards could have a small language barrier, This also includes other countries like the UK where some words have a different meaning than they do in American English.
Some are upfront about playing and English being a second or third language. Some not so much.
All in all we are fostering the want to have fun right ^.^
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As a GM, you're trying to tell an immersive story while keeping the players interested, juggling mechanics, and tracking stats at the same time. Different GMs and players gravitate towards different things, ie. the classic roleplaying vs roll playing discussion. Some are in it for the storytelling and worldbuilding aspects of the game and will put far more emphasis into social encounters and scene setting, while others are perfectly happy with short, to-the-point posts and really just want to start a fight so they can use their characters' favorite abilities. I think it's important, as a GM, to find a group of players that matches your GM style, and as a player, to find a GM that runs a game in the way you'd prefer.
That said, your job as a GM is three fold (in no particular order):
1. Keep your players interested in what's going on.
2. Ensure everyone is having fun.
3. Keep the game moving.
Try to know your players as best you can. I think GMs shouldn't rush their posting when possible (we've all got busy lives), and should seek to challenge themselves when they post. Try something new. Do something ridiculous. Go off the rails from time to time. Have fun with it!
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Discussion topic for today: What do you guys think the GM's job is? (We'll assume that this is for a Play-by-Post game to keep things simple)
When I am prepping scenarios, the number one thing that I prep is STORY. I want a sense of who the main NPCs are, what their motivations are, what has been happening in the background. I want to understand and enrich the setting too. What details will make this place real and vibrant?
Then I look at my PCs. I want to know who they are and what they want, and I want to push their buttons a bit to get them involved and active with moving the story. Often I try to have NPCs address a PC directly to pull them into the action.
I want to be cognizant of mysteries in a story, and to make certain that I drop fun little clues for the players to pick up.
Once all this is in place (story, setting, fun NPCS, plot hooks for the PCs, mystery clues) then I start to interweave everything. But all the way through I want the players to be the main action. I want them to be the heroes. So I want to be subtle, giving them a vibrant stage in which they can act and feel important.
By the way... None of this is limited to PBP. I do all of this in face-too-face games too.
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I realize that I am being vague here. So... here is a scene in action. The Pathfinders have just arrived in Averaka. They are being sent here by VC Calisro Benarry, who cannot come herself. In the background, the Averakan half-orcs are horribly disappointed that Calisro cannot come, and likely to be resentful to the PCs.
So... I painted in a brief description of the town, but the most important thing that I did was have the townsfolk interact directly with the players. I first hooked Grigorri the half-orc, playing up his rockstar skald charisma. Then I gave hooks to other players. A halfling warrior gets mistaken as a child by a half-orc kid in the crowd. Everyone is expressing disappointment that their favorite pathfinder, Calisro, has stood them up. The setting is not static. It’s a vibrant moving canvas designed to pull the players in and make them all interact with what is going on.
As a GM, I think you should always be moving the story forward for the players so that they have something to react to. Here are things that I hope are going on in most of my posts to draw the characters in:
1) Plot — questions, conflict, mysteries, investigations
2) Character Development — learning not just about the NPCs, but also the HEROES
3) Setting — What does this place smell like? Sound like? What is an essential detail that everyone will remember about this place?
4) Hooks, hooks, and more hooks.
Players won’t always pick up the hooks you throw at them, and they’ll often provide hooks of their own. You also have to react a bit to what the players give you. If you want them to feel like they are center stage, you have to react to them. Recap their actions heroically in combat. Have NPCs notice and react to what they do.
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I probably should keep this simpler, eh? So here’s my summary:
1) Have fun
2) Remember what the story is
3) Keep things moving
4) Make the players feel they’re the heroes.
Hmm
I like to look at a GM's job by the question, who is the GM responsible to?
1. The players. The GM is responsible to run a fun game that moves at a reasonable pace, where every character feels important.
2. The Society. This responsibility is where we get the need to follow the rules.
3. The GM. Yes, a GM has a responsibility to themselves to have a good time.
Next Assignment: I would like each of you to write a few sentences that are your own GM philosophy that you include in your GM profile. Yes, this assignment I need to give myself, too. :) You may take some time to look over the profiles of other GMs you respect, if that helps. I know this is not an easy assignment, so I expect this one to take a few days.
Why do we do this? It helps our players to know if they are likely to be a good match for how we GM. A player whose only interest is combat is not likely to enjoy playing with a GM whose focus is on storytelling. Similarly, a player who values story may not enjoy a game with a GM who does not.
Things we're waiting on:
Red's character
Elinnea's thoughts on a GM's job
everyone's GM philosophy in their GM profile (or main profile if not using a GM alias)
Could you check mine? I’ve basically tried to say ‘I’m learning so be gentle but it’ll be fun!”
I've updated my GM profile as well!
For what a GM is, I guess I see it as the person with the job of setting the stage for people to bring characters and live out a fantasy - whether that's having the ability to wield magic, being an action hero that gets stronger over time, or exploring strange new worlds. People have different reasons for playing, and it's nice to be aware of what each person is trying to do with their character, so they get their moment to shine.
Even if it's a pre-written scenario, you "create" the world for the players by bringing it to life for them, and reacting to what they say and do. The GM sometimes also has to keep the story moving, or adjudicate the rules.
The forum seems committed to eating my posts today, but I'll get my GM profile updated as soon as I can.
^ Elinnea, you may need to post again... Forum encryption was wonky!
Everyone, Redelia is sick and won’t check in today.
This means that I get to make an assignment! (Poor Redelia. She had no idea that I was going to do this.)
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Tell me about one thing that another GM posted in a game that made you go... WOW! It can be anything from a clever short hand or an elegant transition to the smooth diffusion of a player argument.
Provide a link, and tell us what made the post one you remember. Positive examples only.
Hmm
Yikes, I knew I was struggling to get a post to go through, but I didn't know it could end up like that! Robot me from the past, what thoughts were you trying to convey??
About what a GM does, what I wrote was something along these lines:
Create a world for people to play in (or bring the world to life, if using a pre-written scenario). Take note of what individuals want to do with their characters, since people play for different reasons (e.g. to be able to wield powerful magic, to live out a fantasy of being an action hero that becomes stronger over time, to explore strange new worlds, to try having a confident or intimidating or shy personality, etc) and give them chances to shine at what they like, if possible. Keep the game moving along and sometimes adjudicate or enforce rules to keep it fair and consistent.
I put my philosophy into this GM profile - though I consider it in preliminary form, since I haven't actually GMed yet and maybe my ideas will change.
I'll come back with an answer to Hmm's impromptu assignment after I've gone to browse through a couple of my recent games.
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Yikes, I knew I was struggling to get a post to go through, but I didn't know it could end up like that! Robot me from the past, what thoughts were you trying to convey??
About what a GM does, what I wrote was something along these lines:
Create a world for people to play in (or bring the world to life, if using a pre-written scenario). Take note of what individuals want to do with their characters, since people play for different reasons (e.g. to be able to wield powerful magic, to live out a fantasy of being an action hero that becomes stronger over time, to explore strange new worlds, to try having a confident or intimidating or shy personality, etc) and give them chances to shine at what they like, if possible. Keep the game moving along and sometimes adjudicate or enforce rules to keep it fair and consistent.
I put my philosophy into this GM profile - though I consider it in preliminary form, since I haven't actually GMed yet and maybe my ideas will change.
I'll come back with an answer to Hmm's impromptu assignment after I've gone to browse through a couple of my recent games.
Whatever the problem is, it wasn't you. I saw your post before it turned into the text version of static and it seemed like any other post.
I just got out of work, about an hour until I'm home to update my profile.
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Ok, I found one. This post is from a scene that I thought went really well in terms of pacing. That's something I don't feel very confident in, so I try to pay attention when someone is doing it well.
Looking back I see a lot of things that kuey did well here:
* Narrated what happened in a dramatic fashion to make our actions (both successes and failures) feel significant
* Assumed obvious actions for us (move to the point of interest, and look around the room) without requiring people to say every little thing
* In describing what we could see, clarified where those objects were on the map so it was easy to follow
* Made it clear what the situation was and that we each needed to make a decision for what to do next
* Summarized our status so we knew where we all stood (helpful when a scene stretches across several days)
Oh, that is a very nice example, Elinnea!
Hmm
I have my GM profile updated, hopefully it covers the bases well. If any seasoned GMs here have advice for what I might add, I'd love to hear it!
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^ Elinnea, you may need to post again... Forum encryption was wonky!
Everyone, Redelia is sick and won’t check in today.
This means that I get to make an assignment! (Poor Redelia. She had no idea that I was going to do this.)
★ --- ★ --- ★ --- ★
Tell me about one thing that another GM posted in a game that made you go... WOW! It can be anything from a clever short hand or an elegant transition to the smooth diffusion of a player argument.
Provide a link, and tell us what made the post one you remember. Positive examples only.
Hmm
Struggled a bit with this one, only because I haven’t played that much PbP but I wanted to share this post. It’s ‘only’ the GM explaining some rules to me about chronicle sheets but I thought it was great because the Adventure had finished and it would have been easy for the GM to go off and launch into something else. That he/she took the time to help a newbie like me helped a lot.
GM (or anyone) - could you explain what I should do with the PFS chronical sheet? Are the items on there mine or are they shared with the group? DO I just add the GP to my character sheet?
Your chronicle sheets track your organized play progress and are used to keep track of XP, prestige, fame and gold in addition to boons earned and items found.
My advice would be to make a folder (digital, physical or even both) and sort and archive your chronicle sheets. The PbP community (and the VTT one) is not that stringent when it comes to presenting your chronicle sheets for inspection, but if you plan to play any IRL games, then it is in fact required that you bring all sheets attributed to the character you wish to play.
To deal with the more abstract nature of organized play, all items found during the adventure are sold, and each player gains a portion of the total gold earned (sorta, don't think to much about it). All items found that are not always available (see chapter 4 of the guide) are listed on the chronicle sheet and can at any later time be purchased by you without the usual limitations of your fame score (also explained in chapter 4).
Hakak Urungai wrote:
One more question - am I right that I can level up Hakak to level 2 once I have 3 XP? So, I could go and do another PFS adventure at level 1, get another XP?
Yes, every regular scenario gives you 1 XP (assuming nothing horrible happens), and you can always play a scenario that your character is the correct level for (the tiers are IIRC: 1, 1-2, 1-5, 3-7, 5-9, 7-11 and 12-15). Sanctioned modules give you a whopping 3 XP each, but they do (for most the most part) take much longer than standard scenarios, and their level ranges are also narrower and specific for each module.
You can also only have one chronicle sheet from a given scenario attributed to the same character (GM credit and replays can be a nightmare to keep track of if you, like me, have 30+ registered characters).
Oh, I love that example!!!
Hmm
Mine is from an instance where a GM played along with my character's silliness. It just made me laugh so much that I won't forget it. It's from Cries from the Drift and I'm putting it in spoilers, although it doesn't really give much away.
Once we came across a veskarium ship with whom we are to duel, my ysoki banked on that vesk not knowing this pop song, so tried to convince the vesk ship to play this song during the battle, claiming it is an honor to play your opponent's battle anthem during a duel. The goal, of course, was to continue annoying the other character (in character only, of course).
The GM replied with this: CLICK
My character (and the player: me) was flabbergasted and had no response.