Redelia's GM school (Inactive)

Game Master Redelia

Welcome, new GMs. I'm Redelia, Venture Agent for Flaxseed Lodge. I'll be running the classroom portion of GM school. I'll be bringing up questions and discussion topics for us to talk about. They're designed to help you think about what it means to be a PbP GM and how to run a game well so everyone involved can enjoy it.

There will also be four other experienced GMs involved. I'll let them introduce themselves.

You will also be at a table that will play through a quest, where each new GM will have a chance to GM one quest with help from a mentor. Your players will be the other new GMs who will in turn GM for you.

Here in the classroom, I'll also help you to get your maps and campaigns set up, and also prepare chronicles and report your game.

If you have any questions that are not directly related to what we are talking about, you may ask them in the discussion thread of this campaign, by private message, or to the mentor GM at your table.

I do want to note that some of you will be using Pathfinder and some Starfinder as the system you want to use as a learning experience, but they are similar enough that almost everything said will apply to both.

Hail and well met!

First of all, welcome! GMing can be an amazing experience. My name is Chris Marsh. A bit of back story:

My style running games is rather "classic" which is to say I try to evenly balance the various aspects of the game; social, skill, and combat. I tend towards high posting rate as a GM, but always hold to the motto "real life comes first." (One of the first things I try to convey is that a GM's worst enemy is burnout.)

I'm looking forward to the introduction into the world of GMing!

Chris

Hello, Pathfinders!

I'm pleased you're interested in GMing in the wonderful world of Play-by-Post. Although, I'm a recent initiate myself, I absolutely love the medium for its many advantages over face-to-face play.

During our GM School, I plan to show you how to leverage the tools available to a GM in PbP to enhance the gaming experience for yourself and your players.

Like Chris, I post at a high rate, usually once in the morning and once in the evening, and more often during encounters.

I agree with Chris, that burnout can be a real issue. So too can be overestimating your capacity, leading to posts that look more like text messages. (Which is totally okay, if that's what the GM and players all want.) Start small, and realize your personal limits gradually. I've found that running three sessions at once is my personal sweet spot. I also like to play in about three sessions at once.

Cheers,
Larry

1. Thank you for your service.

2. Do as I say, not as I do. Runs away before someone looks at my campaigns page...

Greetings Starfinders!!

Pleasure ta be makin yer acquaintances. My name is GM Poblano Pepper aka Gary Pepper, Venture Lieutenant of Northern California. If you ever happen to be visiting or happen to be in the area shot me a little message and I can get you setup. [/shameless plug]

Since I started roleplaying I have really honed in on bringing roleplaying to my community by running games for a Local Store and offering up opportunities for anyone to come learn, play and have tons of shenanigan filled fun. I got into PbP last year just before PaizoCon 2017. Since then I have been building my repertoire as a GM not only on the forums but also while playing Face to Face at my local venues.

Finding your sweet spot for PbP, as Larry has said, is a fine line that can be crossed with just one game. I personally work for the County I live in and do not have much access to the internet during my work hours but I do attempt to post at least twice a day as a GM. Once in the morning and then Hopefully a second time during my lunch break.

Not many know but I strictly run most of my PbP through a mobile environment using my Cell Phone, Bluetooth Keyboard and Mouse. It can be quite difficult at times but I make it work and it helps me learn tools and tricks everyone can use from player to GM alike.

I also like making Maps for the Scenarios we run too; so if you need help with a Map let me know.

Larry thats my line :P,
GM Poblano

Greetings, Friends!

Thanks for stepping up and helping out! I’m hoping that all of you find GMing to be as much of a blast as I do. It’s not just about providing games — it’s about engaging with players and having fun while doing it. My name is Hilary Moon Murphy, and I’m the VC of PBP. What this means is that I get to help people have great games, which is something I love.

So, I’m one of Paizo’s newest 5 star GMs — confirmed only a few days ago! I started with PFS four years ago, and discovered that I really loved GMing in Play-by-Post. The roleplay sucked me in and made me happy. So happy that I wanted others to discover how great PBP is, which led me to becoming an online VO. I have been blessed with great players, great GMs and a wonderful online team.

My favorite things to do with PBP is fill out settings and enrich them, and to make quirky and memorable NPCs. I love to help players discover new things about their characters. Oh, and sometimes everyone in my games burst into song.

Like Poblano I’m a strictly mobile GM. I am going to echo the others here in saying that it’s better to have a few quality games than get overstretched. However, we all get overstretched from time to time. One of the reasons that I advocate botting spoilers (and good communication) is that I know that there are times when we all get stretched thin. Letting your players know when you’re going through a busy time will help you get over the humps.

Hmm

Welcome, guys! That's it for our team of mentors. Chris Marsh, Poblano Pepper, and GM Lorenzo will each be a mentor at the table for some of you. Hmm will be participating only in this classroom.

Now it's your turn, students. Please introduce yourselves.

Holy Crow that's a lot of experience there. I'ma gonna mess this up for sure!

Hi.

I'm Jim Page, and most folks from Pathfinder and the Paizo forums know me more from my aliases, in particular this one. This is my player alias, and as was stated when I started on the forums a few years ago, every day is a good day when everyone learns something new.

Now I'm going to turn it over to my, ah... more assertive aspect here, who is the butt-kicker who makes sure that I ah, get my work done in a timely fashion and ah... yeah...

Please bear with me.

Welcome, Wei Ji the Learner!
I remember meeting you at the PbP Workshop at PaizoCon.
Larry

Hi, I am Harry, or Skorn on the boards. Looks like I will be one of your victi... er students. I know, or at least know of some of you from the boards. Thanks for the chance to become a better GM. I am long time player of numerous RPGs, having started way back in 1976. I suspect that makes me a little order than most here. I have run my fair share of games in the past, but I still have not run on-line and hope to learn the tricks of that trade. I am currently a 3 star GM but all of my GMing has happened at cons or home games, including Gen Con where I been a tier 1/2 GM twice.

I have also brought a lot of new players to my hobby, including my son and daughter and many of their friends. But I have failed to keep up with the electronic tools to create and post maps and definitely want to learn more about that. And I am interested in how to handle what I'll call table variations on rulings. I am not sure what is acceptable calls in PFS and what is not. And I'd like to gain confidence in running. I seem to have to prep a lot (hours) to make things run smooth and have learned that I am very bad at running cold so just don't do it any more.

First things first: Don't mind the worry-bird behind the curtain. He stresses about everything and doesn't realize if the work is put in, the quality is there before the name goes on it.

This is Jim Page's GM 'face'.

As far as availability/posting speed and schedule -- I work in retail.

The goal is to post twice a day, but sometimes it'll be lucky to post once or twice over a weekend due to the needs of the job and the lack of both Internet AND a phone to use said Internet at work. Also of importance is a re-organization of every system at work plus additional job responsibilities (always fun) but this class is VERY IMPORTANT and NECESSARY imo to 'kick the tires and light the fires'.

I'm here to learn, help other folks learn from my mistakes, and hopefully get the worry-bird to stop worrying so much, enjoy GMing in PbP, and start sharing the GM-side of the PbP story experience with others after so many years of self-doubt and indecision.

Thank you very much for your patience, and let's get it on!

I've thoughts to share on several of the points raised in player introductions so far, but I'll hold fire until the other introductions are complete.
Not ignoring anyone, I just want wait till we hear from everyone, before launching us on discussions.

There will also be some big discussion questions, and I will be adjusting those questions a little to make sure we touch on the issues people are bringing up in a more formal way.

We will have about 15 students, so there are going to be a lot of people talking here. I hope to have things set up so that you can also ask questions in a smaller group if you feel better doing that for any reason.

Hi all. Thanks for including me! Posting now by phone to add this to my campaigns.

I'll have more to say soon.

Another general topic I'd like to discuss is the differences between on-line and table play. Things like posting is more like texting where tone and body language do not come across so its easier to be misunderstood or even taken as being insulting when no insult was intended. But also the fact that people somehow feel its ok to simply drop a PBP game without a word where they would (I hope) never get up and leave a table mid game. And what expectations for posting (and not disappearing) is reasonable to impose in a PBP game.

Yep, Skorn, you're pointing to topics that are already on the list of things to talk about. When we are talking about a topic, please feel free to ask related topics and bring up related issues.

New experience; new avatar.

I'm Aaron, but for this class (and going forward as a GM), I'll be going as DamonLuos. To be honest, I am relatively new to the PbP thing and even newer to PFS.

I am looking to be a better player. I am looking to be a better tabletop GM. But mostly, I want to become a PbP GM and be the best I can be.

In between playing and GMing, I earn my keep in healthcare IT. As such, I am tied to a computer M-F 8-5 and can post at almost any point during that. The weekends become a little tougher though as that is when I have time to do things with my wife and kids.

I can't wait to get started, and if I am being completely, honestly am scared witless to do so.

Have mercy on me!

I'm not necessarily going to be posting here until Sunday, because I'll be at Origins. I will carefully read all your introductions when I get back, so please don't feel ignored or that I don't care about what you have to say!

We will actually get started with the planned questions about the 25th of June, because I will be taking a short break after the special ends. We can chat here informally until then. During the next few days, I'm sure that the other mentors will be here, so someone should be able to respond to anything until I return to the forums on Sunday after Origins.

I do want to say that I understand some of you may be feeling very nervous. What we will be doing here is laying a solid foundation for how to GM in PbP, as well as giving you some practice at various tasks with instructions on how to do the technical things, and lots of 'safety nets' if anything doesn't go quite right. In other words, if you're feeling nervous but want to GM for PbP, you're in the right place.

Hey there, everyone. My name is Will, and I set up this alias in anticipation of this. Right now I'm on my phone, and just wanted to post so it will show up in my campaigns. Where have I heard that before? Looking forward to adventuring/GMing with you.

Hi everyone, I’m Porter MacDougall-Shackleton, although I usually shorten it to MacShack so people can actually remember it. My first experience with RPGs was maybe six years ago, when I started playing Pathfinder, and I was instantly hooked. Since then, I have been participating in PBPs for the last 18 months or so. I also picked up Starfinder, and enjoy both games. I mainly stick to PBPs since my opportunities for real-life games are kind of infrequent, so this way I get to be a part of games constantly.
My GMing experience is a little bit of face-to-face Starfinder, plus a game I’ve been running on the boards here for the past year.
I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about this, but I would also be lying if I said I wasn’t excited either.

Greetings, all!

I'm excited to learn more about this game we all love.

Like a lot of you, I got into RPGs back in the '80s with the red box, though I rarely got to play it. In high school, I finally got into a reasonably successful campaign using AD&D 2, but that only lasted until graduation, and I never found a group to get active with again.

When Pools of Radiance came out and I found that computer games and RPGs could be blended together I found my outlet, and focused mostly on computer games for a long while, replaying the games over and over to explore the worlds more fully and to live out many different characters. I think I spent about five years playing Baldur's Gate.

Fast forward to a couple of years ago, and I happened to start looking more seriously for a group. I entered a group hosted by a GM who I found to be a very good story teller, but unable to get a steady group of players.

We eventually found a group when he started a run of Shattered Star. This was my first experience with Pathfinder, and I was instantly hooked.

He eventually succumbed to his health conditions, and a recently added player took over as GM. While the new GM was a great person and moderator, the chemistry never really worked and the campaign eventually died when he retired from the military and moved back home.

This is my incentive to taking on GMing. I've been playing PbP here for a little while, and have gotten into a good group of players. I really want to explore the rest of the story behind Shattered Star, but don't think that I can make enough of a break to not horribly metgame a second attempt, so I am going to try running through the AP for this group of players who I already know.

While I play PFS occasionally, I greatly prefer the feel of campaigns, and plan to make that my focus.

Hi folks!

I'm Steven from Seattle. If you've seen me on the boards it's as regular-ol-non-GM PaleDim. Everything on my profile is true (mostly).

I'll try to keep the life-story short...

I might have failed at keep-it-short. Shrug

What I want to accomplish here:

* Learn how to run a table in a way that is welcoming to players' different styles and mindsets. I've observed rigid GMs on the boards (thankfully a stark minority) and take it as an example to avoid.

* Learn how to storytell better over this medium. I try to practice as a player to varying success. This is where I feel most inadequate because I suspect that people who write alot have an advantage here, and that's something I don't do so often. If people have suggestions about good writing exercises to flex creative muscles, I'm all ears.

* Learn the mobile tricks. I try to play on mobile and I get a certain amount of mileage out of it, but haven't achieved full function there yet. I'm fine with tools, but frankly I just haven't had the time to figure out which ones help with this. I think slides go a long way, and I even use them at home with my family, chromecasting the map to our TV (miniatures, meh). I don't have a tool to get bbcode keyboard shortcuts (I end up just copying from my own botme spoiler).

* As mentioned above by others, reflect more on what my burnout threshold might be. I think I've learned what it is as a player, and I'll admit that this is by self-imposing a bad eyes-bigger-than-stomach habit. I don't think it's adversely affect any games I've participated in, but I've felt the stretching internally.

Secondary goals:

* Compliance and cheating: how strictly do we check up on characters playing at our tables?

* Resources to quickly arbitrate ambiguous rules (e.g., "no player, I'm very sorry, fiendish sorcery does not apply to your eldritch scion magic, I wish it did too")

* Possibly open up non-PFS tables that are more welcoming to 3P materials. I see polar opposite attitudes on this, and I kind of wish it didn't feel like two different "camps". Perhaps this is just my perception.

In conclusion, I'm excited to be here to learn how to support this community better. Thanks for accepting me, and thanks for what you do to run this community.

Also nervous :)

Way back in the early 90's, middle-schoolish, I somehow got into AD&D 2e. I was the weird guy who liked Psionics (yes, even on it's own without DS) and Dark Sun. I was often the GM by default. This is okay, but I've always doubted my storytelling abilities, which I see as central to the role.

I'm just going to leave this right here

Hello! I'm Jared, and this is my brand-new GM alias. On these boards, I post most often as Tusk the Half Orc. Outside of PbP I am probably most active on the Rise of the Runelords forums.

I usually post from my iPad or phone (and I will bend your ear for an hour about Drafts, the app I use to compose my posts). As a student PbP GM, I'm most concerned about learning how to keep up the pace, when to push the players forward and when to be patient.

- Tusk, Master of Dungeons

Unlike a lot of you, I only started playing RPGs about 4 years ago. It started as an activity that I could do with my teenage kids. Now, I own about 20 of the Paizo hardcovers, pawns for all of the bestiaries plus a couple other sets, bunches of flipmaps, minis, etc. I still play with my kids on a regular basis and I find it is a great family activity. But the majority of my Pathfinder playing happens as PbP games. I live near Portland, OR so there are lots of face-to-face opportunities but I just have a hard time finding time for meeting in person. This is why PbP is so great. I can play when I have time.

Up till now I've only been a player with PbP even though I am mostly a GM in face-to-face. I feel like I want to "give back" to the PbP community and apply my GM skills, whatever they may be, to PbP. My primary concern is the amount of time it takes to do a good job GMing. I'm hoping that with this class I can learn the tricks and techniques that will allow me to be a great GM.

GM PaleDim wrote:

Way back in the early 90's, middle-schoolish, I somehow got into AD&D 2e. I was the weird guy who liked Psionics (yes, even on it's own without DS) and Dark Sun. I was often the GM by default. This is okay, but I've always doubted my storytelling abilities, which I see as central to the role.

I'm just going to leave this right here

Very nice. If I wasn’t in two DS PbP campaigns already... :)

Heya all.

I'm Garon Niehaus from Akron(Well, close enough to it.) I go by Blue Moose here on the boards. Like a great many of you, I started in the 80's with the red box, though I fell out of the game during high school(No one to play with). I didn't start seriously playing again until 3ed came out, though I've been playing with the same group of friends since then.

I started with PFS during GD4, catching a "New to PFS?" Confirmation run. Near the end of that game, I was fortunate enough to find a local store that had just started running on Sundays, when I can attend. Since then, I've ended up becoming the VA for that store, through 2 moves of the store. I'm currently a 2-star GM, though I feel I have lots of room for improvement.

I've been meaning to start games for others in Flaxseed since I've joined, but I'm been unsure where to even start for that. As such, I've been planning on jumping on the next GM school that came up to learn exactly what to do.

I'm surprised at how many old guard players are in this group. I'm clearly biased, but I think that is a great boon to be leveraged. The game was very very different then. While I think the evolution of the game into Pathfinder and the medium into PbP are both "Good Things", there is a lot from the "old days" that can really bring out the best in the game.

Chris?

A humble request, as I don't want the worry-bird coming in here and getting all frantic about work parlance creep... could we please back off the corporate paradigm descriptives and call things what they are?

Leverage can have some significant negative connotations, for example. Opportunity is another word that has also been contorted beyond it's meaning in business settings, as well. Hopefully we're all mature enough to not use the buzz-words!

Thank you! :)

EDIT: Truth in Text, I fall into the same trap myself sometimes!

It's not a buzzword. I'm not going to shy away from normal language. Let's just move on.

Alrighty!

Hi folks,

I've played and worked in hobby games for a little while. Got my start in 3.5 and played a few years of homegame pathfinder before finding PbP PFS at the beginning of last year. I'm a father of two young boys and a frequent business traveler, so PbP is the perfect format for me.

I've GMed a few live games and GMing my first PbP game now.

@Poblano, I'm in the Bay Area so maybe we can get together for a live game one of these days.

@Poblano, I'm in the Bay Area so maybe we can get together for a live game one of these days.

@OG3 I would love to meet up and play sometime. I'm based out of the Lake County area and am currently trying to expand north and west from there. Not sure if you have ventured out into the face to face around the bay area but we have an amazing crew of VOs out there. Shoot me a PM if you want me to help get you in contact with them.

@Blue Moose pleasure to see you here. Has been great playing/running the long campaign with you.

I love seeing all the ready and willing GMs so far. It is heartwarming to say the least all of you are readyto take your turns behind the screen.

Redelia if you don't mind my asking a question of our new recruits.

@Everyone: Do any of you have a favorite post from a previous/current PbP GM? Is creating a similar post something you might consider becoming your goal or milestone to reach in your own PbP GMing portfolio l?

I do, though it's a bit of a cop out. This post HERE. As it required the fruition of so much work. The feeling of accomplishment keeping that many players and myself engaged for that long is my favorite PbP moment of all time.

I can't point out any one specific post as a guide. However, I am in one of DM Brainiac's Ruins of Azlant games, and I am amazed at how she is able to sense that some of the players are more interested in the role play, others want to solve puzzles, and others thrive on combat.

She is able to blend some of each into the game and keep everyone interested. It is even more amazing when I look at her campaigns page and see how many APs she is currently running.

I want to learn to be 1/10th as organized as she is and learn to provide depth and breadth of experience to one adventure. I would consider that a major accomplishment.

I can't say there's a single post that sums it up but I'm starting to have my favorite PbP GMs. The things I hope to be are: thorough, transparent, and technically proficient.

This is a current game where the posting is sharp and has all the right info.

GM Fuzzfoot ran a pair of scenarios that were super fun and we blew through in just a few weeks. Great posting cadence and thorough posting.

At the sake of dropping names, Hmm is my gold standard, closely followed by bluedove, Shifty, and a couple of others.

You know... I've never played in one of Hmm's games..... I guess I keep missing them. *shrugs non-committually.* Well, I've always tried to limit the number of games I play in on here, since I tend to hem and haw over my posts for far too long, so too many games mean that I'd take forever to respond.

Shifty's been a god-send, though. I've enjoyed his style, and he's rescued 3 of the games that I've had on here.

My single post would likely be one from GM Mug a few years back in a Carrion Crown game. He was able to weave into the story, them departure and addition of players so well, and in one specific case did so adding quite a bit or horror to the scene that fit the setting so well but I am sure was totally contrived by Mug. All the players were astounded. It was like reading Lovecraft with our PCs as the stars.

I don't think I've got a particular single post I can point too as the best example of the kind of GMing I'd like to do. I'm focused on pacing because I have played in a couple of PbP games that have been terrible on that point - and but I've played with a number of GMs who have done an excellent job keeping the party moving, botting when necessary (but only when necessary), which encourages the players to post regularly as well.

I'll see if I can dig up a few exemplary ones later today, but I'll be looking for: great battle and situation organization that helps flowing forward feel easy for the players; and economy of post size: maximum flavor in less words (avoiding walls of text as the sledgehammer to "get the job done").

Thank you so much, Poblano, for introducing a good topic of discussion while I was unavailable during the convention. I'm back, but very tired, and have a special I'm GMing in that will finish in two days. For this reason, I'm going to let you guys continue this discussion for a few more days and I'll introduce the first planned discussion topic in a few days.

ASSIGNMENT 1: Please decide if you wish to use a GM alias or GM with your usual main alias. If you want a GM alias, please create it and post with it here, if you have not already done so.

Please post here when you are done with your assignment.

alias for OG3

Alias of Skorn

Not trying to put on any airs here. My last name is Wise... :)

And strangely WiseOne was already taken.

This is GM-me.

I am here and standing by.

This is my GM alias.

I'm all set and ready to sweat.

So I’m the oddball. Not surprising, really.

Tusk, MD

1. I heartily recommend using the Paizo Campaign Tools if you're not already.

2. Using the tools, I will set my default alias to Dungeon Master S (this is Chris Marsh)

1. I heartily recommend using the Paizo Campaign Tools if you're not already.

2. Using the tools, I will set my default alias to Dungeon Master S (this is Chris Marsh)

Raises hand slowly, looks around to see if he's the only ignoramus in the class.

"Um, Paizo Campaign Tools?"

Man, this is why I should always sit in the back row!

Paizo Campaign Tool. Everything Paizo should have built into their website but won't.

Wayfinder was better, but alas didn't survive.