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Hi all,
I'm going to run my first scenario as a PFS GM this weekend at Neoncon. Not only is it PFS, it's a con game, and I was wondering what advice people had.
What can I expect in terms of resources: Just what I bring?
What do GM's tend to find hard to handle in PFS?
Thanks in Advance,
Lavachild
Here's my experiences, yours may vary.
I always bring extra dice, lots of pencils, and printed pre-gen characters for walk-ins.
The hardest thing for me is the player's character builds, they are almost always PFS illegal somewhere, or attacks are calculated wrong, or the player pulled traits from some very obscure supplement you've never seen. Granted, they are supposed to bring the books with them, or print the relevant pages. But they don't always do that.
I have to say though all the players I've played with have been great.
Also, some GM's I play with seem to be very lenient about giving out chronicle rewards and prestige. I tend to think the players get a more rewarding session if they don't always find everything, or accomplish their missions. They will try harder and pay better attention next time to not miss out.
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I usually bring:
- Core Rule Book, Bestiary, Field Guide
- A printed copy (or two or three) of the PFS Guide to Organized Play.
- Pre-drawn maps are always nice!
- GameMastery Combat Pad for initiative tracking (a luxury item, but worth it imho)
- Extra Character Sheets
- Pregenerated Characters
- A sign-in sheet of some kind is handy!
- Some Pathfinder Society Cards, for new players
- Dice
- Extra pencils!! There's always that one person who needs one!
- A pen to sign stuff!
- Scratch paper
- And don't forget to bring the Scenario (printed or on your laptop/tablet of choice)
- And the Chronicles to give players - I try to fill out most of the bottom of the chronicles before the game.
Hope this helps!
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What can I expect in terms of resources: Just what I bring?
Other threads have compiled this information (like Painlords), off the top of my head I bring:
3 sets of dice, core rulebook, APG, bestiary, and maybe a snack. Pregens are also a good idea and have been used in most of my sessions.Scenario: Printed copy of the scenario, cheat sheet (scenario summarized one 1 sheet), chronicles (bring 1-2 extra), the scenario summary thing, faction missions, maps (printed, flip-mats, map packs), paper minis for the bad guys, a few plastic minis for the good guys (that are missing minis).
Technically, you need all of the core books, but it can be heavy and I have yet to use more than the core, bestiary 1, and APG.
What do GM's tend to find hard to handle in PFS?
Everyone is different, but GMs that are new to organized play might have trouble with time constraints. Experience helps here.
The other major thing is organization. Everything that makes a good player, also makes a good GM. Stuff like rolling your dice all at once. Keeping track of multiple opponents hp. Initiative on recipe cards. Basically, the GM should be the fastest player.
Many GMs miss important monster abilities in the game. If you'd ask them at a bar later, they could probably recite the stats, but at that moment, they forget basic stuff. It's best to make simple notes in the margins (or highlighter) about key abilities.
I guess you can get difficult players, but I haven't seen any so far.
Maybe the overall key is to relax and have fun.
In a nutshell, just remember these three things and everything else will go well:
1. Keep things flowing (slots run ~4 hours and if you keep a good pace without forcing the party, you should easily have enough time)
2. Know the adventure and paperwork fairly well (you need not memorize every word, but focus on presenting the atmosphere of the scenario and you won't have to spend time 'loading' what happens next)
3. Make sure the players have fun (you'll have fun if they do, I guarantee it)
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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Technically, you need all of the core books, but it can be heavy and I have yet to use more than the core, bestiary 1, and APG.
Nope. All you need is the main Pathfinder rulebook, Bestiary I, the Field Guide, the free guide to the Pathfinder Society, the free Traits document, and the Additional Resources list.
If one of your players comes to your table with a PC using some feats from the Cheliax book, or traits from the Halflings race book, a weapon from one of the Adventure Paths, or a class from the APG or any other book, the player needs to bring that material with him.
Otherwise, I concur completely with Jason's suggestions.
RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 8
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I posted a similar question to this a while back and got a ton of really good answers. You may find something useful if you follow this link.
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Not much more to add to the excellent advice already given. In general, if you think of things that happen in home games (needing pencils, forgetting dice and so on) and prepare for those things you'll be fine. Have fun running the game, because fun is contagious.
Something specific, if you are running off of a laptop (as I usually do); it is worth it to either print off the map pages, or create a separate file just with the map images (through Photoshop or some other program). The time and aggravation you avoid by not having to scroll back to reference the map on your laptop is worth it.
Again, have fun! And welcome to the PFS GM fold! :)
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Have a great time, Lava Child, and thanks for GMing!
One thing that I thought worth mentioning again, even tho it is probably in those links: bring a water bottle or cup, and be sure to keep yourself hydrated. It will help save your voice for those last sessions.
Heh. I tried to post some of this stuff before, and the boards ate my post. Let me try it again.
Usually, there will be large containers of cold (really cold) water available, along with plastic cups, in the gaming area. Last year, the hotel was really good about making sure they were refilled in a timely manner.
NeonCon should be providing both sign-in sheets and chronicles for the games you run. Doug is really good about making sure most everything is available.
99.999% sure Doug will have printed copies of all available scenarios, along with having a printer on-site.
There should be a dealers' area again, so set aside some money for that, if you want. Also make sure you have room in your luggage for what you buy.
Set up a budget for food and drink for the con. Last year, there was a coffee cart right outside the gaming area.
Make sure that, if you gamble, you set up your budgeting for that. Remember that we are going to be in the convention area of a casino, and they route you by the gambling area in order to get to the convention area.
Read the scenarios you are going to run at least once, and have a highlighter available to catch the imbedded DCs and important information you don't want to miss (retcon is no fun).
NeonCon uses 5 hour slots for PFS this year, so you do have the full 4 hours for the scenario, and still have time for mustering, and paperwork at the end, before the next slot.
The hotel is right by the Strip, and the southern terminus for the Monorail is just across the street, so it is easy to explore the whole length of the Strip if you have the time.
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I'm playing session 7, saturday afternoon, the Dalsene affair for tier 3-4. Thanks for all the advice, I'd love to have anyone on the boards join the game and offer feedback.
Nick
All I can add to what the others have said is to read the module at least twice before you run it. It allows you to really let the module flow and increase the fun factor. The only other thing is, if you have questions, ask. The great thing about the Con you are at is that you have alot of the PFS greats there. Look for Painlord, as well as Azmyth. Both are excellent judges from my area, and more than willing to talk to you and give you advice.
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Well, had a great time, learned a lot. Saw a lot of shieldless GMing, and I think it's so players can hear the GM during a crowded con. That was my major issue during the game, strangely enough. I had a blast running the game, and am looking forward to more. I also really enjoyed playing my thief, Vadim, in four adventures, and seeing other GMs in action. I totally recommend GMing pathfinder society, it's fun and very educational.
Great to meet everyone, and I hope to see some of you at Orccon in February!
Nick