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That's a pretty amazing feat.
You can keep GMing after you should be dead.
Pre-requisites: 5 stars, 500 tables of GMing, must have previously or currently been under the effects of Madness
Benefit: Once per day, you gain insane braggings rights, mad respectz from every Pathfinder within long range (400ft + 40ft/level).
Normal: You can't help but gasp in awe when someone with this feat walks into the room.
I live in Melbourne Australia, and Doug lives in Michigan USA, so I'm pretty sure mad respectz extends far further than long range, more like extreme range (9900mi or 16000km).
Probably due to extreme range, Doug has not yet GMed a scenario for me; however, I still feel connected to the Doug phenomenon. I'll let you all in on a little secret:
Back in Nov 2012, I received the following message:
Hey Stephen, feel free to decline to answer this but I am wondering what your PFS session count is at currently. I suspect that we are the two highest, but I took the better part of a year off and I wonder how we compare now.
Doug needn't have worried. I may have been in second place, but even after a year off, Doug was still somewhere in the vicinity of 100 sessions ahead of me.
Without realising it much at the time, I was a prolific GM, simply because we had a lot of players and few GMs, so I was running tables every week or players missed out.
Nowadays, I'm pleased to report that our community has not only grown in players, but also GMs. As a result, I find myself doing more support tasks now, such as helping my GMs with maps, advice, scheduling, slot-zeros, organising cons, new player enquiries, maintaining various facebook groups, Warhorn, RSS feeds etc, a VC's work is never done.
I know others have overtaken me in session count, as I recently read of someone GMing their 300th session, but I don't mind, I do whatever I'm needed most, and sometimes that's supporting others to GM scenarios to help grow the community.
Nonetheless, I still GM frequently, and I'm only a few games shy of 250 - but that's still only half of what Doug has achieved.
Well done and congratulations Doug, I know how much effort this has taken over a number of years, you deserve the accolades, you're the King!
RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 8
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Very Soon... I hear someone down in the Carolinas is in the final stretch!!Outstanding job Doug!
When I think of how many people you have met over all those tables it gets even more impressive. Think of how many of those players have grown into better players and GMs in their own right because of your GMing. And what of those people that kept playing PFS, or started playing because of your table presence alone? That's huge, man.
I imagine that if we included all the people your GMing has influenced and inspired, you'd have well over a 1000 tables to your name. That's a monumental accomplishment, Doug. I hope one of these days I get to sit at one of your games and be a better GM because of it.
Now then, how soon can we expect the next 500?
:D
That's awesome!
I was referring to when is Doug going to hit another 500 (making 1000), though ;)
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Wow 500 games. Ive only got lesse... 464 to go!.
3 questions
1) Can you remember much about your first ever game you ran in PFS? What was it called? Where did you run it?
2) Game 250? Same questions as above
3) Ratio of Con games to non con games?
1) I can't remember the details of the first game, but I did look up the event data. It was Frozen Fingers of Midnight (still one of my favorites) at a local convention called Pandemonium Fury on 19 September, 2008. Coincidentally (after looking up the session this morning), I played Words of the Ancients last night with three out of the four people who were at that very first table I GMed.
2) Game 250. No memory. It was The Devil We Know, Part 4 on 13 October, 2010 at RIW Hobbies in Michigan. That was from the session report.
3) I have GMed 203 sessions (out of 501 to-date) at 42 different conventions from Texas to Toronto.
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Congrats Doug!
Two fond memories of playing at Doug's table I'd like to relay.
1st story: It was my first tabletop RPG in a 15+ year drought. I heard about Pathfinder and just moved to Michigan. New guy all around. Googled gamers and RIW came up. Unannounced, I arrived. Kyle Baird interpreted my dazed look correctly and greeted me with an Obi-Wan wave "These are the geeks you are looking for." Doug introduced himself as lead conspirator, was shocked that I drove an hour for a chance to play. He made room. Thusly I was a born-again RPGer. [insert draconic chant here]
2nd story: Same FLGS, RIW, there was a call out for anyone willing to play a cleric. Good news! I had one that fit the bill. Unfortunately, she gave her life to save the rest of the table. Good news! In gratitude, everyone pitched in to rez her. Unfortunately, Doug decides to leave his mark.
Upon waking from the shorted cold deep sleep, it was noted on her PFS sheet she rec'd a free nipple piercing and a discrete tattoo compliments of the sole Lamashtu cleric the players located to perform the rez.
Thank you Doug. :-)
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I live in Melbourne Australia, and Doug lives in Michigan USA, so I'm pretty sure mad respectz extends far further than long range, more like extreme range (9900mi or 16000km).That's a pretty amazing feat.
Benefit: Once per day, you gain insane braggings rights, mad respectz from every Pathfinder within long range (400ft + 40ft/level).
I did consider that, but I don't think Pathfinder rules support that range. I figure Doug is just level 40. Erm, wait...
Venture-Lieutenant, Michigan—Detroit
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Meh, I have a hard time throwing out insincere compliments to a murderous, character-killing GM. (Play up, he says. You'll be fine, he says. Pfeh.)
Seriously, though, the most memorable session I've had in PFS play is thanks to Doug and is one in which my PC died -- twice! The second time was deemed unrecoverable and poor Aldarric is no more. (Actually, I believe his undead body still serves his new master far underneath Cassomir...) A funny and ironic twist for a character whose backstory was that he was a veteran of the crusades at the Worldwound -- years before the PFS had an interest in it -- and had started out as a level 1 ex-paladin because he'd died so many times and lost his faith in Iomedae along the way. (I must have been channeling a previous edition to think he'd lost actual levels from dying and being raised... :-) )
There's little I can add to the thread about Doug's GMing that hasn't already been said and in a manner better than I can. Congratulations, Doug -- it's always been quantity AND quality in your judging and not in that order!
From day one Doug has been an amazing and tireless champion of PFS in the Detroit metro area. Before anyone can get behind the GM screen, someone has to step up and organize the games. Doug's efforts have seeded many regular game days and have brought a metric ton people in this area to the gaming table. It's because of his efforts, and those of his disciples (LOL), that PFS is so strong around here. His positive impact on our local gaming area can't be overstated. Thanks Doug!
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Congrats and Happy Birthday, Doug! 500!! Did the lichdom process hurt as much as they say?
I've just been informed that this thread is for 500 games GM'd, not a birthday. My bad. Silly me for only reading the thread title.
It's been a pleasure meeting you at GenCons, one of these days I hope to actually play at one of your tables! Congrats on the milestone.
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Thank you for being a mentor, a master GM, and a friend. Your exquisite maps, dedication to storytelling, and player-enabling style has inspired us to push our GM skills to the limit and beyond.
Watching Doug run Mists of Mwangi cold, and without any printed material (completely from memory) at Origins 2010 was awe-inspiring and proof of his awesomeness.
Thank you for showing us the best ways to organize a local/regional convention. Your methodology is the foundation of how most conventions are coordinated. It is always amazing to see the things convention organizers do and think, "Doug did that first." The methods were shared by the lucky few of us who worked for Doug at a con he organized to others who attended our cons or who we had discussions with. Even GenCon has been impacted by the things he pioneered.
Doug, words fall short of the thanks you deserve. Congratulations on 500 and best wishes for 500 more!
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Thank you again. You won't last long as a PFS GM if you don't enjoy the work. Having good friends to play with makes the miles pass quickly.
I never would have been able to organize a single convention without the support of so many friends. I will always be grateful to my crew from Origins '10, who saved me from drowning. No one should believe I'm infallible just because I've accumulated 500 sessions. As Stephen White pointed out above, a good organizer learns to delegate responsibility rather than carry it all on his or her back. Part of the reason I reached 500 is because I am a slow learner. I kept on trying to do it all myself instead of developing a robust network of volunteers. There was this former VC from Atlanta, whose name escapes me ATM, who probably would have passed me a while back, but he knew how to work smarter, not harder. I have been fortunate to have made so many friends who have supported me and shared my insane passion for this game.
It's kind of weird to be recognized (again) when I peaked so many years back. You're not going to see me at Origins, PaizoCon or GenCon this year. I'm not done, but having a family changes your priorities. Disneyworld isn't cheap! That said, I'm still staying involved in my local PFS community and struggling with the inner control freak that wants to be in charge again.
