First, welcome to the game!
Second, just try to be prepared regarding what your monsters are likely to do, and whatever mechanical issues you may not be clear about that are likely to come up.
Third, remember that it's all new to everyone, more or less, so if you make a few mistakes and have to look some things up, it's ok. The more you play, the less that will happen. If you do look something up, but it's not clear to you, just make a ruling using common sense, make a note of it, and study it more later.
ALL GMs make mistakes, even experienced ones. The main thing to do is have a good time with your friends. If everyone gets into the story and the action, beats "insurmountable" odds, has a few heroic moments, and comes home alive with some treasure, it was a good session.
Let us know how it goes.
I think the best thing for you is to just read your books. Maybe bookmark pages with rules that you have trouble remembering. (I have to bookmark CMB/CMD because I'm not used to the concept yet).
After that it's just trial and error figuring out what works and what doesn't.
i don't want to be a GM who has to constantly hold up the game to look up rules
Nobody wants to be that guy.
I can't give too much advice especially not specific advice but here is a short list.
You are a player, too. The game is about enjoying each other's company. It's not a competition (I see by your name you are familiar with 40K, *that* is a competitive game :) )
Understand the basics of the rules and play; if you do have to look up a rule, ask one of the other players (one that is not active is preferable) to check and keep the game moving. This serves two functions. 1) It keeps the game playing, not sitting and reading, and 2) it includes all the players in the learning process.
How do you adjudicate something that you don't know right off the bat? Well, it is probably a skill check, or a save or some kind of roll. So, choose a DC and have the player (or NPC) throw his die and see what happens! If after the fact you read that the rules disagree, well, oops. Go with what feels right to you and the group. However, that decision comes *out* of game and does not eat table time.
Be fair and consistent. If the DC of an Acrobatics check for the Wizard is a 15, then the same action should be a 15 for the Uber-Rogue, too! Fair and consistent! :D
To me, D&D (Pathfinder) is about player success, and I tend to rule in favor of the party. I know that is a purely personal preference, but that is where I am going ;) The game is *your* game, it will play in *your* style and as you learn the game, and learn the DM's trade, your game will become more and more yours, fingerprints, DNA and warts and all :)
I hope that helps some :)
GNOME
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i know how to keep a game moving story-wise
You may not realize it now, but that may be a trap. A good DM can tell a story, but make sure you aren't keeping a game "moving story-wise" at the cost of your players' fun. What seems like a great story to you may not be to them. A lot of players want more freedom. I say start with your story, but don't make it a railroad that they're forced to travel along. If they seem bored or uninterested, ask what they would rather do in your campaign after the session. If needed, alter your story to make it interest your players more, and allow them to affect it; if they do something significant, don't try to use DM fiat to fix it. If they get a lucky crit and kill a bad guy who was supposed to get away, just roll with it and alter the story accordingly.
Above all, don't railroad. A good story is one thing, but it quickly becomes a bad story if it can't adapt to player actions. Remember, this isn't a novel that your players are acting out; it is a collaborative story. Work in their interests as well. If the Ranger picked Favored Enemy (Dragon), try to work in a few dragons over the course of the campaign even if they don't fit with your initial story. If the Fighter took Knowledge (Engineering), try to add in some rickety bridges or mechanical constructs so he can use it. If the players are intent on catching a minor bad guy who escaped, let them catch him with some effort. If they're not interested in listening to the old guy in the tavern who will give them their quest, let them do something else and try to work in the adventure somewhere else. Don't strangle them with your story.
Be fair and consistent. If the DC of an Acrobatics check for the Wizard is a 15, then the same action should be a 15 for the Uber-Rogue, too! Fair and consistent! :D
To me, D&D (Pathfinder) is about player success, and I tend to rule in favor of the party.
Those are good points.
Consistency is incredibly important. Inconsistency leads to arguments and hard feelings and detracts from the fun when someone was expecting one ruling and got another.
I am also for ruling in the players' favor when in doubt. It's about having fun. If it seems like it should work, and it's not prohibited by the rules, then let it work if it makes things more fun.
i know how to keep a game moving story-wise
You may not realize it now, but that may be a trap. A good DM can tell a story, but make sure you aren't keeping a game "moving story-wise" at the cost of your players' fun. What seems like a great story to you may not be to them. A lot of players want more freedom. I say start with your story, but don't make it a railroad that they're forced to travel along. If they seem bored or uninterested, ask what they would rather do in your campaign after the session. If needed, alter your story to make it interest your players more, and allow them to affect it; if they do something significant, don't try to use DM fiat to fix it. If they get a lucky crit and kill a bad guy who was supposed to get away, just roll with it and alter the story accordingly.
Above all, don't railroad. A good story is one thing, but it quickly becomes a bad story if it can't adapt to player actions. Remember, this isn't a novel that your players are acting out; it is a collaborative story. Work in their interests as well. If the Ranger picked Favored Enemy (Dragon), try to work in a few dragons over the course of the campaign even if they don't fit with your initial story. If the Fighter took Knowledge (Engineering), try to add in some rickety bridges or mechanical constructs so he can use it. If the players are intent on catching a minor bad guy who escaped, let them catch him with some effort. If they're not interested in listening to the old guy in the tavern who will give them their quest, let them do something else and try to work in the adventure somewhere else. Don't strangle them with your story.
I cannot give enough kudos to the advice that Squidmasher just gave you. Players will always ignore side quests, or turn side quests into mainline quests. Furthermore LISTEN to them. While they are trying to figure out what your plot/story is...they will often come out with a better plotline than you ever imagined right there at the table. At that moment, throw yours away and take theirs. Then you not only have a better campaign, but they feel awesome because they "figured it out".
Always have more than one way out (unless you are planning on killing the entire party). If they turned left and you wanted them to turn right, just flip the map. Your players then won't feel trapped. If they feel that you've stuck a ring in their nose they WILL turn against you. Long standing friendships notwithstanding.
Your players are there with you. The role of DM is tough, because (in reality) your story is meaningless. The players want to tell their story, the story of their characters. Your campaign world is just the canvass they are painting on. Set up just enough to get them started and then have the world adjust to what they do. They'll make friends and enemies. Have those friends and enemies take action. Where did all that gear they're selling come from? What about all that gold they're bringing into town. People will notice.
Then work in the modules you want; even if it's just the dungeon part.
Finally, so what if you have to look up a rule? Your players will also. In fact, while you're learning the game everyone will be on uncertain ground. If you and your players spend 20 minutes discussing a rule then you're still playing the game - especially if that 20 minutes means that you've all cleared up something that was piling on rules confusion for everyone. Remember that it's better to bring the players into rules discussions than come up with an arbitrary ruling "because it's cool or fits the story".
My suggestion is that when a rules hunt/discussion goes too long is make a snap decision for that game session and then spend some time between games figuring it all out.
While typing up my response to Squidmasher's excellent advice I remembered an email I sent out to my group (where I was a player). We were playing D&D35 with several rules addons (gestalt etc) and the DM (without telling us) changed the Damage Reduction rules.
As part of that I sent out an email to the group which I am pasting below
I changed the names to just use the first initial of anyone's name.
I hope this helps.
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Email pasted below
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Rules vs Roles
This was highlighted for me after our last game session when we were standing in the freezing cold outside the House (why were we outside when it was warm inside???? I give up on that...)
The discussion involved the rules for Exalted (good) Feats and the alignment rules as described in the Book of Exalted Deeds vs the Book of Vile Darkness.
S, Me, and A were describing the Exalted rules to B, and then D made the comment “because he’s the DM”.
This got me thinking…
When people gather to play a game – chess, checkers, football, baseball, or DnD the one thing that everyone must agree on is what the rules are going to be. Those rules can come from books, from group consensus, from almost anywhere. The key is that everyone who is playing agrees with them.
Can these rules be changed? Depends upon your personality. Some people believe that the RULES as written in THE BOOK are inviolate. Others never met a rule they didn’t want to change. Others don’t care. Which brings us back to the cardinal rule for game playing – doing it to have fun.
In the case of DnD there are several categories of rules.
1. Core rules – the actual mechanics of the game – combat, character creation, feat & spell descriptions, etc.
2. House Rules – those changes (of any kind) made because the group just likes the changed rules better (Sepia Snake Sigil as an attack spell), a revised magic system, gestalt rules, spell points, etc.
3. Campaign Specific – under the direct purview of the DM – dragons or undead can have any alignment, lesser vs greater undead. Generally related to campaign flavor.
D’s comment got me to realize that part of the issue we’re dealing with (what triggers me when I go into rules lawyer mode) is that there appears to be a disagreement over which domain what rules belong to.
Where there are rulebooks, the assumption that is fair for everyone to make is that, as an operating default, the rules as written (RAW) in the books are the default rules everyone will follow. This is especially true where it is related to game mechanics (core rules).
Do I believe that Core Rules can be changed (House Ruled)? Yes. The key is that we (as a group) need to discuss and agree with what these new rules are.
In our most recent example – Damage Reduction – that, as I read it, is a Core Rule. Can WE change it? Yep. Does the DM have the authority to do that on his/her own? Nope. Not as a Core Rule.
Given the way A has structured the gestalt system (as a “goddess gift”) in this game does that make it a campaign rule rather than a house rule? When the game started, even after Selber (my former character) left the party, it was a house rule (since there were originally only 2 players, and Selber did not lose his gestalt powers when he left the Goddess’ service). When we went into the winter half of arcadia we lost the gestalt. Since we really didn’t pursue it (thus agreeing with the decision) a house rule was turned into campaign rule.
I think rule number 1 of being a new dm with an inexperienced group (besides have fun) is be prepared to make mistakes. You will make them, probably a fair number. We all do. We misinterpreted rules, we forgot details, we handed out treasure that was way too powerful for the group or put monsters that were absurdly strong. Everyone does it, so will you. Be prepared to laugh it off (hopefully along with your players). Talk to them about the fact that you are all starting off together, and that you're first game (or two) will have kinks to be worked out.
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These are a few things I do/did to better myself mechanically. I would first recommend you but two things. You should buy the Pathfinder GM's Screen and a battlemap. the GM's screen will help you quick reference most of the rules. The battlemap (as controversial as it is, oh my!) is a really great way to help the player visual. For everything else, you need to read two chapters and two chapters alone.
The first chapter is the Combat chapter. I read this chapter almost weekly. Melee combat is never slowed down to look for rules. Reading feats isn't really nessisary since most of the combat orients feats are mentioned in the combat chapter. And most of the Manuevers are listed on the GM's Screen minus the new ones from the Advanced Players Guide (APG).
The second chapter is Magic (not spells). Same thing with the combat chapter, this will make you mechanically knowledgeable about how Magic combat will flow. Most of the magic oriented feats are also described in tbis chapter as well.
The character creation chapters should only be looked at during, well the creation phase. The feat chapter doesn't matter since all their feats will be on their sheets and incorporated into thier stat/abilities. I have my players e-mail their characters so I can browse over them to make sure they are okay. As for spells there are far too many to memorize. You players should know the spells they are casting as well as the ones you plan on using. When ever I play a caster I always have the book open to the spell just incase a quick reference is needed.
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I think you are on the right track by starting with a module. I think that will help you work out some of the kinks before you start a campaign.
I started DM'ing for the first time several months ago (Rise of the Runelords). My players were all new to Pathfinder like me, so there was a learning curve for all of us. We are all older (not that old! :) ) and mature, so they were pretty patient with me when it came to rules knowledge.
I didn't focus on every single rule in the beginning. I focused more on combat rules and spells. As we progressed through the first book of the campaign I slowly introduced new rules into the game. Things like lighting, delaying your turn, charging, etc. I would also take 5 - 10 minutes in the beginning of each session to go over something. One week I would cover skills (When do you use them? How are the modifiers determined?), another week I would cover actions (standard, move, full round, etc). It didn't seem so overwhelming to us when it was introduced over a series of sessions.
Good luck!
Getting a copy of the GameMastery Guide wouldn't hurt either.
This, in spades. Much of the criticism of that book from experienced players was that so much of it was devoted to fairly basic (and some pretty advanced) advice for GMs as opposed to new rules content. It has some great sections on how to run games that are designed for exactly your situation, a new GM trying to run a complex game.
Lurking and participating on these boards is also a great way to pick up a lot of good advice and highlight potential problem areas for you. I've been GMing games of many types for over 30 years and I learn new stuff here all the time.
Best of luck to you!
Rule #7: The rules are your servant, not your master. (Borrowed from the Castles and Crusades RPG)
Man, so much awesome advice in this thread.
One thing I would emphasize is to pay very close attention to how your players like to do things, and learn to adjust accordingly. Do they ask the name of every NPC? Are they very precise in their execution of game mechanics? Do they sweat the details or deal in broad strokes? Do they come alive during combat but flail at even the simplest of puzzles? Etc. Being tightly attuned to what each player likes will allow you to work better with the flow of the game, move PCs in and around their comfort zones, help them develop a love for activities they might not enjoy when they start, and maximize the efficiency of your prep time.
Most importantly, it helps make everything more fun for all involved, including yourself!
Having been in a very similar situation about a year ago (I was a player not the DM) where it was an entire group who was new to pathfinder though we had played some 3.0 I have one suggestion. If I were you I would avoid using the Hallows last Hope, and Crown of the Kobold King series of modules. Not that they aren't good modules, they are, however at least in our experience they were not very good modules for a new GM.
The problem is you are using the pathfinder rulebook and the pathfinder bestiary and that specific series of modules was written for the 3.5 rule set not the pathfinder rule set. While the rules are very similar, we found ourselves in a situation where the DM kept having to look things up and there was some confusion due some of what was written in the module not being correct by pathfinder rules. If you feel comfortable converting a 3.5 module to pathfinder rules, I would say go for it but it will take a little bit more preparation for the GM.
What I might suggest is looking into the Crypt of the Everflame module that I think then uses Masks of the Living God as a sequel. Now in fairness I haven't played or read either of those two modules but I have read many good reviews for both modules.
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My number one piece of advice? While playing the game (that is, rolling dice, roleplaying, exploring, etc.), be assertive, but not asinine. Remember that your job as the DM is to allow the players to explore at their own pace, and keep things interesting and exciting. Many times I've had players with questions about how X works or about how Y could possibly produce Z outcome. If you know the answer, GREAT! If you don't, don't be afraid to make an on-the-spot ruling. I can't tell you how many games I've had go terribly simply because we stopped for a 20 minute rule break. Looking up rules isn't fun. Nobody likes doing that in the middle of a fight to the death with a pair of Wererats.
If you're using miniatures, you should watch this video, it really helped me!
http://www.youtube.com/user/mshea01#p/u/5/aa-Lj2Oz4iU
The problem is you are using the pathfinder rulebook and the pathfinder bestiary and that specific series of modules was written for the 3.5 rule set not the pathfinder rule set. more...
This is pretty important. It isn't a big difference, and you could convert it, but right now, you don't need that extra confusion.
I would start with a "sample encounter" where you just go through the motions of combat (initiative, attack rolls, movement, etc.) without any consequences. Battle mat is cool, and does help people visualize everything.
Keep scrap paper, pencils, and dice handy for everyone. Set up a place to keep track of Monster HP and initiative, as this is very important for the flow of the game. Players don't like to be skipped. On that note, players also don't like to be dropped into bad situations. Give them a chance to make choices and take actions before surrounding them. Give them chances to do what their characters do best. Easy encounters can still be fun!
Pay attention to how everyone is feeling during the game. Breaks, snacks, fresh air, all help keep people focused on the game and are very important if you plan on playing for hours. People have fun in different ways, so mix it up, and try different things. Also, turn off cell phones, tv, video games, etc. and try to get a fairly distraction free environment.
Have fun! You will totally screw up somethings, but the first games are great in their own ways!
Become familiar with your players' characters - take the time to review their abilities, various spells, feats. Look up the rules that they're most likely to be using!
Don't be afraid to make a ruling to keep the game flowing. After the game, look up the rule, tell the players how it was supposed to be, and remember it for next time.
Give each player a chance in the spotlight.
Remember terrain and don't be afraid to use it.
On combos - what's good for the goose (players) is good for the gander (monsters).
Keep notes! Sometimes you come across a gem buried in them (like a forgotten subplot) and can build on it.
Bring an extra set of dice, paper and pencil for forgetful players (or new ones).
Don't sweat the small stuff. Get together. Roll some dice. Have fun.
Kill a PC fairly now and again. Be aware that this may happen at the outset of the campaign, and make your peace with it, but don't try to ensure it... Just let it come up. Player tactics will differ if they believe the threat of death, and though that first PC death is always hard, the game will be better if the players feel their risks are real. Do talk it over with the players first though!
I would be remiss in my duties if I didn't mention this book also.
I go with multiple rulebooks and let the players look up the rules. That way I can focus on the world and the players all learn the rules for me. It also ties up the Rules Lawyers and lets players be the heavies.
My personal advice is this:
Make sure that your encounters are interesting and challenging. Even though you have everything going make sure that CR listing isn't always the way things should be. Challenge is determined by how challenging it is for that party, if its more challenging then adjust, less challenging also adjust. The way you adjust is up to either making the EXP change or adding some flavor.
Remember that you essentially have creative license, even over rules. If you aren't sure about a ruling you are making do not feel afraid to take a gaming group vote or a short discussion (it can prevent the argument from coming up later if it was necessary to have it to start with).
All in all rules are just rules but make sure all your rulings make sense for the setting, the action, and the intent. The intent is most key.
If the intent behind an action is to be heroic and they simply don't understand the mechanic (or you don't) be lenient and make sure to find out the ruling (either book or group wise) for the future.
Lastly, I know you said you know how to keep an adventure going, that is the toughest part sometimes. Leaving it open enough to where they do not feel trapped is almost as important as getting them to the next step. Do not be afraid to take them on a side route quest just because the book doesn't mention that. Freedom makes the game more realistic, if that is what your players truly want go wild with a plot touching action.
Just my 2 cents. I am sure you will do fine, and you will get even better with time.
MT
I want to add a bit more advice, this time less bloodthirsty:
Diversify encounters as much as possible. In my experience, many of the complaints about lop-sided class balance and class-superiority owe to a lack of diversity coming from those people's groups. Adventure Paths set a great baseline for including challenges that utilize all of the classes' strengths and weaknesses. Even then, you need to mix things up as much as possible.
To take a semi-tired example: people often say that the major difference between caster and martial characters is that the martials can go all day with their attacks and the casters can't. Leaving aside whether this is even true (and I know some folks are too ready to spar over that) let's presume that it is. In that case, the thing to do is not to run a campaign which always allows rest OR always denies it. Some sessions should be hard-fought marathon sessions where the martials really do get to apply their skills while the casters are burnt out. Some sessions should be the opposite, and most should be a mix.
Oh. And on an unrelated note, in order to challenge casters, be sure to include a timer on a long series of encounters. Done correctly, this makes for the best sessions for everyone.
