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Recently I've been looking for tools that help my GMing, or specific things that I felt either really helped pacing, or just overall made sessions more enjoyable.
1) At Gencon I played at Nathan King's table. Someone asked a very specific question about the region, and Nathan promptly grabbed his tablet and found the page(s) on that region and gave us what info there was. I thought this was really cool and helped with immersion.
Recently I was running Quest for Perfection again, and I printed out the map of tian xia, and the pages on the wall of heaven and Goka. Mostly because I thought it was cool to explain more about Golarion :D.
2) At Gamehole Con I played with Kyle Baird, there I learned I need d6's that average 4.5 :D.
Seriously though, Initiative cards. Up until recently I thought an imitative board was enough, but when combats get truly complex i really feel like cards are needed. The added benefit of not having to ask for AC so it's harder for people to metagame atk bonus is a nice little side benefit :D.
What have you experienced in your travels that you found really cool or really useful?
Especially in a one-shot, which any PFS game somewhat is (in the sense of characters you may not be familiar with), I like to jot down the player names, character names, classes, and a couple of stats (primarily Perception & Sense Motive, sometimes also AC & saves) on a sheet of paper, by the way the players are sitting. I tend to skip AC because it fluctuates with buff spells and so on.
I also do like to use index cards for initiative. Though I also tend to note down enemy HP & conditions on the cards, which can result in some awkward shuffling of the list. I think I'll transition away from doing that part, and log them on a sheet of paper.
Once I get a tablet I may transition a lot towards that. But so far, the cards really help me not skip people in initiative (something that happens a lot in most of the games I play in, because it's easier to forget where you were as you run down a list).
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I like the initiative boards as you can offset the tiles as the turn comes up (helps not skip people), or offset further if someone delays or readies. That way you know who's readied, delayed, what have you, at a glance without losing their place in the stack of index cards. But that's just my two cents on the matter of boards. I have used index cards, but dropped the stack one too many times, haha.
As for other resources, I am an advocate of the Pathfinder GM screen. Yes, it's annoying because it is profile and not landscape, blocking off the players from the GM, but it has a lot of quick-reference information set up across its panels. It has been a very good resource for me.
Like Phelan, I also write down character names in a way that reflects how they're sitting. Another option requiring a little more hardware is to bring little table-tents for players to write their character name on. Though I notice that many people (here, at least) bring their own. But really anything that helps people remember character names.
One other option is to print out little character card portraits of the different NPCs. This is especially helpful for social scenarios so the players know why they're talking to, and also if you, like me, can't keep up character voices for long.
I historically haven't used a screen, but if I did, I think hanging pictures of the NPCs over it would be quite helpful.
Since I'm not running PFS, at least not officially, I'm pretty comfortable winging things instead of checking for the proper ruling and effect. That reduces the need for a screen for reference, but if I was running an official PFS scenario I wouldn't be comfortable winging things as much.
When I play online, I like to add badges or similar to the miniatures; I don't have a good mechanism for doing that in a live game, but it really does help me keep track of which guy is wounded, which guy is dazed, and whatnot.
In PFS, I'd suggest that when writing down the character names, faction is something to include. Depending how much space you're interested in expending there, languages are also good to write down; then you don't have to say "Does anybody here speak Aklo?", but instead just tell teh relevant person what they understand. That helps a bit with retaining immersion.
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I'll second the iniative card idea. I liked using the combat pad at first, but the cards seem to work so much better. It gives me a space to write things for each character as well. Got hit by a poison? I can track the rounds. Used gp to bribe someone/bought equipment in the scenario? I can track it.
Best usage for them that Ive found is one I picked up from my wife. If someone delays in combat, she gives them the card and tells them to give it back to her when they are ready to act.
-My favorite initiative card idea came form the Know Direction podcast. (Thanks, Perram!) Rather than having a stack of initiative index cards to shuffle, you cut index cards into 2 or 3, fold them in half, and hang them on the top of your screen in initiative order. That way both you and the players have the initiative order right in front of you. Plus, I write things like Perception and Sense Motive bonuses, AC, saves, etc on my side of the cards and so all that info is right in front of my eyes when I need it.
-I also make custom face cards for NPCs. I just crop a pic from the adventure PDF, drop it on a page (4 to a sheet), and print them off. When the PCs meet a new NPC, hand them the face card for them to take notes about the NPC on.
I have a couple of other situational things that I've made up, but those 2 are my big ones.
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I do like the idea of giving them the NPC portraits to write notes on. For Gen Con, I handed out the opening briefing with a lot of room for notes and the like. Seemed to go over well, especially towards the end of the con when my voice was betraying me and they could read along with the intro, too.
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-My favorite initiative card idea came form the Know Direction podcast. (Thanks, Perram!) Rather than having a stack of initiative index cards to shuffle, you cut index cards into 2 or 3, fold them in half, and hang them on the top of your screen in initiative order. That way both you and the players have the initiative order right in front of you. Plus, I write things like Perception and Sense Motive bonuses, AC, saves, etc on my side of the cards and so all that info is right in front of my eyes when I need it.
Hey! I've been doing this long before Perram put it in his podcast!
But seriously, I find this an awesome way to do initiative because I screw up initiative enough that I'm happy when players are able to correct me quickly and easily. Also, having the initiative order public allows people to see when their turn is coming up so they can get ready. It saves a lot of time, especially in high level games.
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Also, having the initiative order public allows people to see when their turn is coming up so they can get ready. It saves a lot of time, especially in high level games.
Personally I think players should always be planning their next move and paying attention from the moment their turn ends to the moment their turn begins. Too many players "switch off" if it's not their turn or if they're not being attacked.
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Also, having the initiative order public allows people to see when their turn is coming up so they can get ready. It saves a lot of time, especially in high level games.Personally I think players should always be planning their next move and paying attention from the moment their turn ends to the moment their turn begins. Too many players "switch off" if it's not their turn or if they're not being attacked.
Eh, I feel like that's pushing it a bit much. I agree that people should be focused when it's not their turn, but there's a lot that can happen in a round, so I don't blame players waiting for a couple turns to pass to see what the field looks like before they start deciding.
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Eh, I feel like that's pushing it a bit much. I agree that people should be focused when it's not their turn, but there's a lot that can happen in a round, so I don't blame players waiting for a couple turns to pass to see what the field looks like before they start deciding.Also, having the initiative order public allows people to see when their turn is coming up so they can get ready. It saves a lot of time, especially in high level games.Personally I think players should always be planning their next move and paying attention from the moment their turn ends to the moment their turn begins. Too many players "switch off" if it's not their turn or if they're not being attacked.
I agree with James, there's too much that can happen between the end of your last round, and the beginning of the next. There are certain things that can you can prep for, especially if you play with this group and there's a lot of synergy. But you have to give each player at least a little bit of time before they go.
With that said, I have used card, boards, computers, etc. My favorite was always little index cards that I had made that I passed out to the players. I only have to remember the initiative order, and I call out the number (1 just went, so it's 2...the player then jumps in). This fosters two things, 1, the player has to pay attention, and it's really easy to make sure that you don't skip anyone, and allows them to 'prep'. I don't let them 'Play By Committee' with this method, but people that have adventured for a while should have, at least, an idea of what to expect from their party.
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Eh, I feel like that's pushing it a bit much. I agree that people should be focused when it's not their turn, but there's a lot that can happen in a round, so I don't blame players waiting for a couple turns to pass to see what the field looks like before they start deciding.
I'm not saying it should be "It's your turn, what do you do, decide now, come on come on!". But I've seen a lot of times, locally as well as online, where players will zone out, check the order, and just check out again since their turn is still two turns away. Then their turn comes up and they're either still zoned out, away, or have no idea what's going on. Not saying a public init tracker is the cause for this, just that's how it's been associated over my time with RPGs.
But this wanes on the off-topic, so I'll shut up, heh heh.
As much as possible, you want to keep combat moving. This helps reduce the zone-out.
The worst experiences I had were in my early days of online gaming (I was playing, not running). We didn't have any actual sort of virtual tabletop; the best we had was the GM typing up little ASCII art maps like so:
...V.
..d..
..S..
.a.cd
With one letter per creature (in this case, PCs are capital and enemies are lowercase, and the . is an empty square).
Between this poor mapping and a lot of slow turns, almost every time someone, anyone's turn came up, we had to repeat a summary of what everything looked like. Both because of zoning out, doing something else (in an online text game, it's not uncommon to at least have the TV on in the background), and the relative difficulty of keeping everything straight in our heads without an actual map.
Basically, if you're waiting 5 minutes between actions, you're much less likely to zone out if you're waiting 30 minutes between actions.
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I'll second the iniative card idea. I liked using the combat pad at first, but the cards seem to work so much better. It gives me a space to write things for each character as well. Got hit by a poison? I can track the rounds. Used gp to bribe someone/bought equipment in the scenario? I can track it.
Best usage for them that Ive found is one I picked up from my wife. If someone delays in combat, she gives them the card and tells them to give it back to her when they are ready to act.
My husband and I both use initiative cards. We usually carry loaner sets, and we're gradually converting most of our local group to them.
We laminated ours and have players fill in their information in wet erase marker. Throughout the game, we track GM notes in dry erase marker. You can lightly wipe off the dry erase marker without messing up the text in wet erase.
When I was picking an app project for my XAML studies, I wanted to build a combat manager. Every design I came up with still fell short of the initiative cards. I couldn't match that system--not even in wishful thinking. Sometimes low tech is the best solution. :-)
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I print the NPC pictures on card stock so I can use them again the next time I run something (or when I loan the scenario out).
For Hellknight's Feast, I dug through the Paizo Pathfinder Tales blog for pics that worked for the NPCs the party meets. Then you can turn them over when
My biggest shortcoming as a GM is pacing from act to act; I've had too many sessions where I run long. I try to keep my phone in front of me now so I can check the time regularly. That's helped a little.
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RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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I use poker chips for a variety of purposes.
1) I indicate how much damage NPCs have taken with a pile of poker chips next to them.
2) Tracking rounds for spell effects. If a PC is going to be nauseated for 3 rounds, I give the player three chips. "Give me one of these at the end of every turn you take. Once you are out of chips, you can act normally."
2b) At small tables without time pressure, I do the same with dying PC. Rather than have the player announce to the table that is at -6 and has seven rounds left, I give him seven chips. "Hand me one of those at the beginning of your turn until you stabilize. As long as you can keep handing me a chip, your character's not dead."
It helps avoid everybody at the table metagaming.
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I use poker chips for a variety of purposes.
1) I indicate how much damage NPCs have taken with a pile of poker chips next to them.
2) Tracking rounds for spell effects. If a PC is going to be nauseated for 3 rounds, I give the player three chips. "Give me one of these at the end of every turn you take. Once you are out of chips, you can act normally."
2b) At small tables without time pressure, I do the same with dying PC. Rather than have the player announce to the table that is at -6 and has seven rounds left, I give him seven chips. "Hand me one of those at the beginning of your turn until you stabilize. As long as you can keep handing me a chip, your character's not dead."
It helps avoid everybody at the table metagaming.
This is an idea I really like as well. Having played at Chris' table a couple times, the system works pretty well. At first I thought that giving the players an idea of the exact amount of damage done via chips might be giving out too much info...but when you have no idea how much HP it has, seeing 70hp worth of chips idnt actually that helpful. :P
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1)Cheat sheet: Basically one sheet (sometimes two) of paper that has everything you need to run the scenario. Notes for loot and faction missions. Sometimes notes for rules. Everything is abbreviated and you don't miss anything and mistakes are minimized.
2) Initiative cards: I'm also a fan of using recipe cards for initiative. You don't miss anyone and delaying and readied actions aren't a pain.
3) Pre-drawn or printed maps: I don't walk into games planning to draw maps on the fly.
4) 3 sets of dice: Enough dice that I can roll efficiently. (Rolling dozens of dice doesn't mean efficiency, but you should be able to roll all dice for at least 1 attack).
5) 3 inch tall GM screen: Traditional GM screens create a barrier between the player and GM, helping to create a US vs THEM attitude. I don't like that. A super small screen helps me roll dice that I don't want the players to see.
6) Appropriate Minis or Paper Minis: Too many times I see the enemy represented by ... those generic blue dwarves. Nothing breaks immersion like that.
Using plastic minis is the best but if I don't have them (or don't want to afford them), paper minis are dam good too, especially since they're light, portable, and look different than the PC minis.
7) Paper to cover up portions of the map. I have lots of scrap paper that I use for covering the uncharted potions of the map.
8) Props: Props can add some fun to the session. In Frostfur, one of the PCs had to carry a goblin, so I made the player carry a Kermit the frog stuffed toy. It was awesome. :)
Basically, anything to get a laugh or help immersion.
9) Monster printouts. Sometimes useful so that you don't need to flip through the bestiary.
10) Notes in NPC Stats: Notes on how things work (entangled status!) or how certain spells or abilities work. This is really key, because it's so easy to forget details, especially when rushed.
11) Water/food: I get very hungry when GMing, don't know why. :)
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Monster printouts are pretty much a must-have. If you're using a computer or tablet, at least have every monster prepared in a tab or window or similar.
It makes a tremendous difference to not have to flip back and forth between books.
Do this for every creature you expect to need; if you've got an NPC who will summon monsters, make sure to have the monsters handy, and if there's Augment Summoning involved, make sure to have an augmented version.
This is good advice for PCs too; I still have a folder I made from a one-shot where my fiance was playing an augment summoning druid in 3.5 - we picked out every single creature she might summon, I copied them off the SRD, manually augmented them, and printed it all out. That was 3.5 but hey, we might need those again for a one-shot, no reason to ditch them.
Keep those printouts around, you may want them again. It helps to even print out the ones that are in-line in the adventure... I've often seen encounters which require flipping between two or three other pages of the adventure for stat blocks. Having those creatures printed out helps a lot.
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I agree, Phalan. As a player, I can get a good sense about whether the GM has done her homework for a scenario or not, based on whether she has stat blocks handy, or has to go digging.
Preparation is one of my major weaknesses as a GM (some exceptions, like specials and Eyes of the Ten) but for weekly game days I am pretty bad about it; However I always at least check for stat-blocks :D
Pacing is one of the most important things to me as a player. It has always been a major focus of my GMing.
Not having stat-blocks immediately disrupts the pace of the game, preparing stat blocks is also the easiest thing to do (barring some templates, but most PFS scenario's use easy ones). Sometimes you have to audible scenarios, and run unprepared. In these situations I'll give the PCs a 5-minute break after the briefing to find goods and do my best to pull up the next encounter's creatures in that time. One time I stood in for a GM who was sick, and ran a scenario off my phone and 2 tablets. That was an interesting game :D
The GM in one of my games prefers to run without the prepared stat blocks, and while he doesn't screw up (or at least, he's making enough on-the-fly adjustments that it's not noticeable), there is a notable delay as he opens & re-opens the book, or flips between pages.
The biggest hassle I've found in preparing stat blocks is successfully copy/pasting them from the module PDF to a text file, and getting a readable, cleanly-formatted result. I haven't tried in a while, though.
And on those stat blocks, add notes on anything that you're even worried you might need to look up. When I ran Broken Chains, this meant noting down on each inquisitor NPC what the domain power(s) did, and the exact effects of the judgments I expected to use. Likewise I wrote down a lot of the spells I felt I was most likely to cast and didn't already have memorized.
Avoid the need to refer to books as much as possible - it speeds up the game and keeps players engaged.
Instead of standing the screen up, I have been experimenting with laying it down and placing my stuff on it. This gets it out of the way, but it's still there when I really need it.
I also set three alarms for myself. One at two hours of game time left, because that's when I usually should be thinking about the optional encounter. One at one hour left, when I should be getting into the final encounter. And the last at a half hour, when I better be in the final encounter.
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Venture-Lieutenant, West Virginia—Charleston
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Here are a few things I've been doing:
I tend to do scenario prep a bit weird. I read my scenario 3 times. The first time, I do a very brief read-through, looking for plot points and a general idea of what opponents the party will face. A couple of hours or days later, I'll do a more thorough read-through, getting the finer points about the story and looking up a few stat blocks. The final read-through, a few hours or days later, involves me thinking about how I could break the scenario as a player, reading up on the region in the ISWG and looking up any feats or spells that I am unfamiliar with.
At the table, I use a short GM screen for low-level scenarios and run without one for higher level scenarios. For me, the cutoff is level 5. If the party's APL is above 5, I run without a screen; if it is below 5, I run with one.
I also use the initiative tracker pad that Paizo sells. I used to use numbered initiative cards, where the first person in the initiative order would have a card marked 1, second would have a card marked 2, etc. It made for very, very fast combats, but didn't handle delayed actions well, and also broke immersion somewhat, since I was calling out numbers rather than PC names.
The key thing to remember about combat is that it needs to be peppy. Taking too long on the average round will make players zone out and make your scenario drag on. Sometimes, it's unavoidable, but keep it moving as best as you can.
Always ask players for character introductions. It helps the players get into character early, and it lets everybody know how to react to each other.
I sometimes enjoy letting the players find or interact with odd items that they might come across, then writing it on their chronicle sheets at the end. In several scenarios, there are merchants selling knockoff wares - I've sold a burnt scmiitar "used by Sarenrae in the war against Qadira!" 7 times now. Another great time involved a gnomish PC who was diving into a well to try to get something at the bottom. He kept failing his swim checks. Rather than just say he couldn't hold his breath, I first told him that he was distracted by a brick with a fascinating moss pattern on it. The second time down, he realized that the moss pattern almost looked like a map of Absalom. The third time down, he realized that it was loose and brought back up with him. Other great ideas include notes from faction heads, quotes from NPCs or great lines that were uttered at the table.
Finally, and this is the hardest thing for me to do, try to answer as many player ideas with "Yes, but..." as opposed to no. If there's something a player wants to do that you think is a bad idea, there is often a mechanical reason that it can't be done. If there's something game-breaking that a player wants to do, there is also often a mechanical reason. For instance, I play as a gnomish paladin with ultimate mercy who can raise dead for free. In a particular adventure, we came across the dead body of a key NPC. My paladin tried to raise him. The GM, somebody whom I greatly admire, ruled that the body had been dead too long for my effect to work. That made a lot of sense, and it kept my character from breaking things too badly. Everybody walked away happy.
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I create a spread sheet that fits one page that lists across the columns
Perc/Init/HP/AC/MeleeAtt/RangeAtt/CMB/CMD/Speed/Fort/Ref/Will/Special
I then fill out the rows with each monster/npc and merge cells at the bottom for spell lists etc.
I currently use the initiative board but I think I'll go to initiative cards after hearing the laminating idea. As it is, usually the only waiting results from players not being ready since my system is fairly speedy on the GMing side of things.
Furthermore, I have a projector at home for maps and one of our gaming stores has a projector in the 'back room' DIBs! But when I don't have access to that I make sure to make my maps ahead of time.
In summary, excel sheet for all monster stats, initiative cards, and pre-drawn maps ensures you come in under the 4-hour window almost every time.