I've been playing for a couple years and I am getting ready to attemt GM'ing my own game. Is it wise to start by running a pathfinder path? and if so which one? I'm debating on serpents skull. just looking for feedback and tips. thanks!
Hi,
speaking from personal experience I'd recommend trying out with one or more simple modules first. An adventure path can be a bit big to start off with IMO.
It's easier to handle and you won't have too many things to worry about.
If you decide to run an adventure path I'd recommend getting at least the first few modules before running so you can get a better grip of the overarching story, and make changes as you see fit for your group.
Good luck and happy gaming!
Agreed,
Do something easy that involves a few simple fights, and some skills checks etc so you can grasp the feel of having to 'play ref' and make decisions. Especially useful as a session for bonding up the group and getting a feel for the dynamic.
Paizo has plenty of free stuff so you can try this on the cheap. As a player, I can recommend Hollow's Last Hope about halfway down the page.
Good luck.
Hi,
speaking from personal experience I'd recommend trying out with one or more simple modules first. An adventure path can be a bit big to start of with IMO.
It's easier to handle and you won't have too many things to worry about.
If you decide to run an adventure path I'd recommend getting at least the first few modules before running so you can get a better grip of the overarching story, and make changes as you see fit for your group.
Good luck and happy gaming!
Thx for the insight, I would run a simple module istead of a full adventure path but I have a big party, well big for my usuall anyway and i have to make it last long enough for our usuall GM to come up with the second part of his story. on the plus side i have a very experienced GM to ask if I absolutely need help but seeing as he is going to be a player i dont want to ask too much of him. I do know a fare bit about running i've just never done it. theres only a few things that confuse me, like challenge ratings and giving experience and the like. I also have to get over my stage fright lol
Use your GM(now player) for all his knowledge, maybe not that often during play, but definitely between sessions. Be it ideas that you may or may not use, or how to handle various situations.
It will let you, IMO, get the hang of the GMing part faster, and thus be more enjoyable for the group as a whole.
Another idea is to pick/adjust an adventure to your players' interests. (e.g. don't pick one full of traps if no one is particularly fond of overcoming them)
Use your GM(now player) for all his knowledge, maybe not that often during play, but definitely between sessions. Be it ideas that you may or may not use, or how to handle various situations.
It will let you, IMO, get the hang of the GMing part faster, and thus be more enjoyable for the group as a whole.
Another idea is to pick/adjust an adventure to your players' interests. (e.g. don't pick one full of traps if no one is particularly fond of overcoming them)
That sounds good, i just want to be carefull what I ask him because I'm doing this so he can be a player again because we have not had another GM in the party for a long time. I appreciate your insight it seems to be worth taking in. What should I do if I run into a snag that involves information i dont want my GM turned player to know?
That sounds good, i just want to be carefull what I ask him because I'm doing this so he can be a player again because we have not had another GM in the party for a long time. I appreciate your insight it seems to be worth taking in. What should I do if I run into a snag that involves information i dont want my GM turned player to know?Use your GM(now player) for all his knowledge, maybe not that often during play, but definitely between sessions. Be it ideas that you may or may not use, or how to handle various situations.
It will let you, IMO, get the hang of the GMing part faster, and thus be more enjoyable for the group as a whole.
Another idea is to pick/adjust an adventure to your players' interests. (e.g. don't pick one full of traps if no one is particularly fond of overcoming them)
Well in my case I trust my GM/Player to not use that knowledge as a player, but it doesn't work in all cases. If you're not in a hurry there's always this forum (or other ones) to give you advice.
Well in my case I trust my GM/Player to not use that knowledge as a player, but it doesn't work in all cases. If you're not in a hurry there's always this forum (or other ones) to give you advice.That sounds good, i just want to be carefull what I ask him because I'm doing this so he can be a player again because we have not had another GM in the party for a long time. I appreciate your insight it seems to be worth taking in. What should I do if I run into a snag that involves information i dont want my GM turned player to know?Use your GM(now player) for all his knowledge, maybe not that often during play, but definitely between sessions. Be it ideas that you may or may not use, or how to handle various situations.
It will let you, IMO, get the hang of the GMing part faster, and thus be more enjoyable for the group as a whole.
Another idea is to pick/adjust an adventure to your players' interests. (e.g. don't pick one full of traps if no one is particularly fond of overcoming them)
Its not that i wouldnt trust him to not use it to his advantage, i know he wouldnt but I want him to enjoy it from a pure player standpoint as much as possible. he deserves it he has been an awesome GM. I will use this forum to my advantage as much as possible. does this site offer PM'ing? and if so do you mind if i contact you personally on ocassion if im in dire need of an answer to a story related quandry?
There's no PM'ing that I know of and as a fairly new GM myself, I'd recommend you to ask others here who are likely to give much better story related advice. :)
There's no PM'ing that I know of and as a fairly new GM myself, I'd recommend you to ask others here who are likely to give much better story related advice. :)
No problem thatnks for the advice though, its greatly appreciated
If you run an adventure path, you have to live with your mistakes for months of play. One one hand, that makes it easier to see the long-term effects of errors, such as allowing a character to possess a magic item that's too powerful. On the other hand, dealing with your own cumulative bad judgment calls can become irksome.
In my experience, non-combat magic is the type most likely to "sneak up on you".
There's no PM'ing that I know of and as a fairly new GM myself, I'd recommend you to ask others here who are likely to give much better story related advice. :)No problem thatnks for the advice though, its greatly appreciated
You're welcome. Happy to help. :)
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Sir Wulf beat me to the punch but I'll reiterate it as many of us have over the years here on the Boards.
The advice I've always give goes like this: Since you're starting out as the DM, you're gonna make a handful of rookie mistakes and sessions won't run as smoothly as they will once you get a bit of experience.
Thus, if you start with something that is long like an Adventure Path, for example, you're gonna be stuck with those bumps and hiccups for a long while. More importantly, your Players' PCs are gonna get the worst of it. Whether one PC gets to be too powerful because you accidently interpreted some feats or spells too powerfully or whether you inadvertantly give too much or little treasure or too much or little XP -- your Players have some awkward "stuff" with their PCs and you're commited to keeping them in that Adventure Path. Not to mention the longer term commitment with managing all the dynamics of a longer adventure as opposed to a shorter.
If on the other hand you begin with a smaller Pathfinder Module or Pathfinder Society Scenario, you can start over with a new set of PCs and new adventure with a clean slate sooner -- getting better and fairer/ more consistent as you go.
If you are looking for something that is longer then a single module because you want to cover game time, what about the modules that can be strung together?
crypt of the everflame, Mask of the living god and City of the golden death are meant to be strung together. But they are individual modules. That way you arent committed to an adventure path (which are often slow to build and thus are really disappointing if cut short) but have a fairly long run of prepared material for you to work with while getting used to things.
By the end of those 3 modules you will probably be ready to put together an adventure or two of your own, or at least to tie in other modules and side quests to whatever is going on in your game world. That way you can cover a fair amount of real world time, but you arent stuck with the complex stories of an AP that you may or may not be ready for.
Thanks for the help and advise everyone, I will definitely take stringing modules together into consideration. If anyone else has advice I'll definitely consider all advice thrown my way. Thx again!
I just started DM'ing and just had my second session this past Sunday night. I am running a single module in a larger campaign world. We're doing a bit of a round robin DM thing. This is the first time I have DM'd since I played first edition more than 20 years ago.
I actually found a 3/3.5 module that had a good story in it and am converting it to Pathfinder rules. Not real difficult to do. A few of the monsters are a bit more challenging as they aren't in the Bestiary.
That being said, have I made rookie mistakes, yes. Was it a bit disheartening to have your lead off encounter gone through like a hot knife through butter? You bet. Did they follow the clues and hooks I laid our for the adventure, nope. Did they go off in a direction I didn't expect? Completely. I ad-libbed for three hours, making up stuff as I went along. And did I have a good time, yes. Did the players. Absolutely. Can't ask for anything more than that. If you don't know the rule, make a decision and then review it after the game. Use the other players as a reference if they know certain rules better than you.
I asked some of these same questions you are asking to our primary DM. Here are some of his replies to my questions.
1. Don't be nervous; you're among friends.
2. Request that rules discussions be postponed until after the game.
3. Make a ruling and move on. Retconning a ruling is worse than making the wrong ruling.
My module is a mystery/detective story, city adventure mixed with Dungeon crawl. Here is some more thought he had on that subject:
With mysteries, there is a temptation to bottleneck. But what if the players don't find the "one clue," or, as is almost always the case, find the clue and come to a completely different conclusion?
You have a few choices:
1. Validate the players' decisions. Do the players think the clues add up to the Maid doing it instead of the Butler? Ok, what's it hurt the game if that turns out to be true?
2. Scope a second-best outcome. This means having the players fail. It is important to know what will happen if the players fail. It is important that what will happen when the players faile (1) will be cool; and (2) will continue the story.
That's the mistake most DMs make: they have no "second sentence." This means they are afraid of player failure because it ends the story. You should have a "second sentence." "You all die. You wake up, hanging from your ankles, from the yardarm of a pirate ship crewed by an undead madman." Ok, that's a second sentence.
In mysteries, a player failure should be an even bigger and better plot point than success. Make the failure close-ended, in that the players know they have failed, or they will spend weeks taking twenty hunting the weeds. Then weave it into broader plot points that come up again and again.
Finally, if the player succeed: Don't be stingy. If they win, they win. Give them the treasure. Let them know they've won, and don't forget to sink a hook for the next adventure!