CraigShaw's page

The Fiend Fantastic is banned for sun burn.

So I asked him what he was going to do. He said "I'm hugging it".

When I first read that I thought it was a purposeful choice to maybe try take out the flame devil (with the force of the blast not the heat).

It wasn't that bad, it's just stupid as hell.

We should start a similar thread but for stupid deaths? :-)

I once had a group of PCs fighting a powerful opponent while standing in a watery area that was just above their ankles. The mage in the group had the wonderful idea of freezing the water. Enough said. He trapped the entire party as no-one had the strength to break free of the solid ice while their enemy just ripped his own feet free. (Though I do think they managed to win in the end.)

The second I had was not so much stupid as just funny. The PCs came to a river and began to rest and drink from it. While they were doing this one of the players, a Kender, whispered something in my ear. I then began to explain to the rest that the water had a peculiar taste to it which they could not quite pin down. They immediately without second thought decided the water was magical and some began drinking as much as they could while another PC began bottling the stuff. I then proceeded to tell them that they hear laughing from up stream and in turn see the kender urinating in the river. Not exactly the cleanest joke but it was awesomely funny at the time.

Play roguelikes frequently. It helps.

That was beautiful. A thousand thumbs up!

(IMHO) part of the problem - perhaps most of the issue the OP is encountering is in the use of the term GM. He knows what a GM is, he has his understanding of the duties and powers of the GM... the responsibilities and abilities, etc. of running the game.

In PFS we have given up much of that to the lady/guy running the show... and that is not the person at the head of the physical table when we play.

I use the term "Judge" for the guy (or woman!) running the table I sit at, and save the term GM for the lady/guy running the Campaign. That is the way I learned the terms back in LG days (before that I used the term "DM"). Back in Living Greyhawk days, when I learned them and learned to play in an Organized Play campaign, that is the way the terms were defined. I am sometimes a PFS Judge. In my home game I am the "GM".

Thanks, nosig. I did come to understand this from what everyone has been saying, and the change in perspective with regards to the role of GM vs Judge did change my expectations and idea of approach, making me far more comfortable with the concept now.

Though, while I do see the benefits in the ability to easily pick up and play a game almost anywhere, in the end I think "free" games will always be more my thing.

CraigShaw wrote:

So what do I do if players rabbit trail? Simply say: "Sorry. This is FPS play. Not allowed." Or do players come in knowing that they will be confined by the scenario?

EDIT: The scenarios I picked were -

#7-14: Faithless and Forgotten, Part 1
#5-02: The Wardstone Patrol
#6-22: Out of Anarchy

(They seemed interesting and came recommended - though I wont get to see them until he adds them to me - and the descriptions on the season scenarios doesn't seem to give that much info...)

This is one of my favorite scenarios and I've run it several times. If you run into any questions prepping it, feel free to shoot me a PM or ask your question in this thread.

Thanks Walter. I'm still waiting on the VC to get the modules assigned. Once he does, if I have any problems or need some pointers I'll be sure to ask. :-)

On a side note, do you know what's the hardest part of cooking a vegetable? Fitting the golden throne in the oven!

Feeling kinda board at the moment and this question didn't seem anywhere near serious enough for the GM discussion board - and it's probably been asked in some way before, but to all you GMs out there, what has been the worst player death reaction you've personally encountered?

Mine was back in high school. I think it was with one of the first systems I ever designed way back when I started GMing.

I've always tried to be fair with my players and make it fun for everyone while providing a good challenge that keeps them on their feet and on edge, but without any unfair odds against them. (I also used to normally keep a close watch over PC health and try not to have unfair kills.)

I don't really remember what the adventure was about or what had been going on before, but one of my player's tripped a trap and got snicked by a dart that did something like 1 point of damage. For some reason that was all that he had left and he died. He immediately raged out and threw a chair at me (it missed).

That's the worst I've ever encountered. What about you guys?

It's a perfectly valid concern. Thanks for taking the inquisitive route rather than the derisive one!

Generally speaking, you can add non-mechanical features as needed. Most scenarios that involve investigation include some helpful local personalities as options to enhance the roleplay, but you aren't limited to just those. As long as the party isn't grabbing free magic items that the scenario doesn't have, you should be fine.

As for not being able to do anything outside the scenario, that's not true. The party can go carouse around the town or explore the local crypt all they want. What they can't do is earn any chronicle rewards or substantial loot from it. (Anything they find goes away at the end of the session, after all.) This doesn't mean they can't pickpocket the local merchant, it just means they won't get much out of doing it besides the roleplaying satisfaction.

What, specifically, are you concerned about not being able to do? I think we've covered the generalities, but if those aren't assuaging your doubts, I'm not sure what other advice I can offer.

Thanks again. You've been very helpful and I'm pretty much okay now from your reply.

The thing that was bugging me was that I got the impression that doing things out of scenario were forbidden.

CraigShaw wrote:

Steven Schopmeyer wrote:

CraigShaw wrote:

So what do I do if players rabbit trail?

Tell them what they find. Usually, they find nothing. If they are far afield and run into NPCs, roleplay accordingly. This can eat up a lot of time, but players will usually realize they are not progressing towards their goal. You can also use those NPCs to steer them back to the written parts of the scenario. It's amazing how off script a table can get only to somehow giant-frog themselves right to where they need to be.

For a better idea of how scenarios are written, there is the First Steps series in the Free Products section that you can download without charge.

Thanks Steven. I still don't quite get it though. If I'm not allowed to add items and such things outside of what is offered in the scenario, doesn't that render rabbit-trailing moot?

I mean, I guess it will require all sorts of creative ways to say "no" without actually saying it. But in the end players eventually will realise that they can't do anything outside of the scenario?

It feels like there's no freedom in FPS play and that's the whole reason I enjoy GMing and running RPGs.

I'm not trying to put down PFS play, I'm just trying to decide if it's still something I want to help out with.

I'm also getting the impression that with PFS play the players and GM need to go in with the understanding of the limitations and work with them rather than against them in order to have fun?

Why don't you play a few games of PFS before GMing? You seem to have a lot of theoretical panic over PFS that would likely be assuaged by simply sitting down and having the practical experience of seeing how the games run.

Thanks. It's not really panic, and I've never really enjoyed PCing. I just got a little worried after reading the guild guide and also some stuff I've read from newcomers to FPS play. It made me weary of committing for the convention and being stuck bored.

Though I've also read some good things about FPS and I'm thinking maybe you're right and I'm just over-analysing way too much.

Thanks everyone for the input. :-) Much appreciated.

CraigShaw wrote:

So what do I do if players rabbit trail?

Tell them what they find. Usually, they find nothing. If they are far afield and run into NPCs, roleplay accordingly. This can eat up a lot of time, but players will usually realize they are not progressing towards their goal. You can also use those NPCs to steer them back to the written parts of the scenario. It's amazing how off script a table can get only to somehow giant-frog themselves right to where they need to be.

For a better idea of how scenarios are written, there is the First Steps series in the Free Products section that you can download without charge.

Thanks Steven. I still don't quite get it though. If I'm not allowed to add items and such things outside of what is offered in the scenario, doesn't that render rabbit-trailing moot?

I mean, I guess it will require all sorts of creative ways to say "no" without actually saying it. But in the end players eventually will realise that they can't do anything outside of the scenario?

It feels like there's no freedom in FPS play and that's the whole reason I enjoy GMing and running RPGs.

I'm not trying to put down PFS play, I'm just trying to decide if it's still something I want to help out with.

I'm also getting the impression that with PFS play the players and GM need to go in with the understanding of the limitations and work with them rather than against them in order to have fun?

So what do I do if players rabbit trail? Simply say: "Sorry. This is FPS play. Not allowed." Or do players come in knowing that they will be confined by the scenario?

EDIT: The scenarios I picked were -

#7-14: Faithless and Forgotten, Part 1
#5-02: The Wardstone Patrol
#6-22: Out of Anarchy

(They seemed interesting and came recommended - though I wont get to see them until he adds them to me - and the descriptions on the season scenarios doesn't seem to give that much info...)

Hi All.

I've been playing RPGs for years. I started with Fighting Fantasy, moved on to Basic D&D, then Advanced D&D, then designed many systems of my own. I now develop and sell my own RPG as well as GM Dark Heresy. I have a HDD fill of MANY different RPGs.

The reason I love RPGs is because of the story element and the versatility involved. I've been a GM for a REALLY long time.

Now, there was a message on FaceBook asking for GMs for a convention near me. Not knowing anything about PFS I thought it would simply be running some friendly games. So I replied and said I would be happy to.

1) I then got asked to sign up on Paizo and get an ID. Okay. No problem. Done.

2) He then told me to select from the available modules and I asked what about designing my own? He said it's not allowed for PFS. Okay... Picked some adventures that seemed role-play focused.

3) He also told me changes are not allowed and gameplay is very strict and to the book. So I downloaded and looked at the PFS Guild Guide and gave it a read. Okay... Seriously doubting if I want to run any games now...

+++

I'm not sure if I've got the wrong impression, but I'm both a writer and game designer and PFS organized play seems extremely restrictive on creativity and fun. And, to be honest, is really making me doubt whether I would enjoy running games. I get the need to keep everything fair for everyone that plays PFS organized play across the world, but Isn't it supposed to be about fun and adventure?

Am I missing something? Will I even enjoy running PFS games? Am I misunderstanding how PFS works?

Anyways, thanks for any input. Highly appreciated.