|
In February/March 2015 the next Exclusive should come out. Ambitious GMs will schedule sessions in advance of the scenario being released. Offer to slot zero it for your VOs and local workhorse GMs. Getting those 10 Exclusives/Specials has become more difficult as the number of regional 4-Star GMs & VOs increase. You guys have my sympathies. Back in 2011 I ran 2-EX The Midnight Mauler 14 times in a two month span. A lack of competition in the marketplace helped. Keep an eye out early next year for the new Exclusive and run the hell out of it, fellas.
Not only do we have more competition but we also have the issue that it's been in convention play for a year before release as an EX which further reduces the player pool. Then add the fact that it isn't PbP compatible which takes out another chunk of possible players. It's a square peg forced into a round hole to say the least. Hoping to be done with my 5th star before the next EX which is probably going to be Bonekeep 2.
Edit: Thanks for the comments acknowledge things are different now Doug Doug.
Barring any last minute pickup games Thursday night, I am scheduled to GM my 150th table on Saturday in the second slot. If I manage to run one more table before then, the Friday night special Legacy of the Stonelords will be both my 150th table and my 10th special as well.
With timing like that, you need to run a pick up game!
|
Well, last night would have been We Be Goblins but one player had to cancel due to a medical emergency, so we ran God's Market Gamble since he had already played it. :) So I missed a table credit due to that.
I am not opposed to a pickup game Thursday night for anyone else getting to the hotel early like I am. ;)
|
Session 1: April 11, 2010 running #7: Among the Living at a friend's house
Session 150: August 17, 2012 running Race for the Runecarved Key at Gen Con. My 5th star was announced at Gen Con right before I ran Race for the Runecarved Key, Part 2. I may have qualified a little earlier, but I feel that particular table felt appropriately exciting to remember as the "150th" game.
I GMed all of half a dozen games online. The rest were through conventions (about six per year on average), coordinating two game days a month, and doing the occasional home game.
Probabaly I should "just know" this, but for context: when did you start working at Paizo? When did you become PFS developer?
(It's kinda funny seeing years-old posts about PFS from people like Mike Brock, where it's clear from context that they're not on the inside. It always jars me a little at first, thinking, "what? Why is he saying that?")
|
|
Then add the fact that it isn't PbP compatible which takes out another chunk of possible players.
About a year ago (or a bit less), I played in a VTT version of "Year of the Shadow Lodge", which went quite well.
I've heard some people musing about how you might put together a PbP version of an SP. We've idly fantasized about trying to do it on Myth-Weavers, for instance. With some creativity on how to manage things, as well as holding a fairly strict (but not too fast) posting schedule for players, I think it could be done.
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
July 17th 2010 at my first PFS event (PaizoConUK) they were short on GM's for the Special: "Year of the Shadow Lodge" so I raised my hand and moved to the other side of the screen. A good 10 minutes of prep later and I was off!
Weekly games at the house and running at conventions for the next few years.
5 star game was on Feb 1st 2014 at Conception UK "The Flesh Collector"
I am an American and all but one of my games were run in the UK. Next month I am off to Canada for three years with my VL Wife. Expect to see some spikes in reporting from North Bay!
|
You guys have my sympathies. Back in 2011 I ran 2-EX The Midnight Mauler 14 times in a two month span. A lack of competition in the marketplace helped. Keep an eye out early next year for the new Exclusive and run the hell out of it, fellas.
It would have been hilarious to watch the 5 (or more?) of us 4-star GMs in the Detroit Area scramble to put tables together had we gotten a Midnight Mauler style special.
Developer
|
As for the original question, my GM experience was like a freight train building momentum. GMing started slowly, a game here and there, but pretty soon I was helping run two stores (the same ones Compton mentioned) and GMing 4 to 5 games a month, plus pretty much 5-8 games at any conventions anywhere near Georgia.
My first GM credit was May 2010, I got my 4th star shortly before Gen Con 2012. My 5th star was at Connooga 2013 (February or March).
So under 3 years.
As for exclusive requirements, I've been running games at Gen Con, Dragon Con, Connooga, and Scarab since 2011 (though Scarab might have been 2012). I ran many many specials and played in far fewer (that's the trade off to get 5 star quickly). I also ran Cyphermage and Day of the Demon a great deal.
Though I do recall one Dragon Con where Mike Brock ran nothing but the exclusive (Midnight Mauler, I think?). I've never had to go that far.
|
|
You guys have my sympathies. Back in 2011 I ran 2-EX The Midnight Mauler 14 times in a two month span. A lack of competition in the marketplace helped. Keep an eye out early next year for the new Exclusive and run the hell out of it, fellas.
I know Doug, it was a hard 3 months for you until I got my 4th star.
|
|
1st Table: May 22nd, 2012 - #3-01: Frostfur Captives at GameNite here in St. Louis
150th Table: July 5th, 2013 - #5-SP: Siege of the Diamond City (Playtest) at PaizoCon.Yep that's right, for the math geeks out there, that's roughly GM'ing a game every 2-3 days.
If I had the ability to do that I would.
My wife vetos a good chunk of my gaming time.
|
|
My first GM game was in April 2009, I had over 200 games run before I got my 5th due to special requirement, which was some time in July 2013 with Day of the Demon(3rd run). Take your time, run allot fo different things, having a 5th star should mean you are elite as a GM, that is the most important thing help your players enjoy the game it's about them.
Venture-Captain, California—San Francisco Bay Area South & West
|
Tracy, I'm seeing a bit of a trend here ;)1st game: June 17, 2011--We Be Goblins
2nd game: We Be Goblins
3rd game: We Be Goblins
....
149th game: We Be Goblins
150th game: August 17, 2013--We Be Goblins:)
My wife has run We Be Goblins! quite a few times. Every time she runs it she gets two table credits, while I only get one if I'm running a regular scenario in that same four-hour slot. Running Free RPG Day modules is a good way to earn table credits quickly.
I keep telling her that's the only reason she got to three stars before I did :-) Mind you, at present the bug in Paizo's counting of table credits means she only shows up with two stars, while I (with less tables of credit) show up with three (although for a while I'd dropped to zero!).
|
Rob, don't worry about that all that much. The ONLY reason it only took me 5 months to get to 2 star was because I was running a game EVERY SINGLE week. Now that I'm running maybe one a month locally, It won't be until TWO THOUSAND SIXTEEN until I get my 5th star. And that's with only 13 games until I get 4 stars right now! (I plan on pretty much Iron Man-ing the two local cons starting next year)
So don't let the time frame trip you up! Take your time! Learn! I'll say this much. I have 87 tables of credit. There are GM's who have half the tables and twice the knowledge and skills than I because I do tend to just run through it. So take it slow, do your best, and remember: there will always be room for one more on 5-star mountain/island/asteroid/whatever the hell it'll be when we get there! =P
|
Developer
|
So I've resolved to qualify for 5 Star by the time my two year anniversary of my first game comes around. I have 10 months to do so, and I'm at 2 stars. Wish me luck. Apparently I have lots of Murder's Mark, Tide of Morning, and Prince of Augustana in my future.
Don't forget We Be Goblins! Your future is chock full of We Be Goblins!
|
|
GM Session #1/1st Special: The Grand Convocation 4712 - July 6th, 2012 - PaizoCon 2012
GM Session #10: The Frostfur Captives - September 25th, 2012 - Home Session
GM Session #30: In Wrath's Shadow - February 18th, 2013 - Home Session
GM Session #60: Severing Ties - June 30th, 2013 - Dayton PFS
GM Session #100: Black Waters - December 30th, 2013 - Roll20 Online
GM Session #101: Silent Tide - December 31th, 2013 - Roll20 Online
GM Session #150/10th Special: Legacy of the Stonelords - July 4th, 2014 - PaizoCon 2014
GM Session #150/10th Special: Legacy of the Stonelords - July 4th, 2014 - PaizoCon 2014
Well done!
|
|
Session #1: March 15, 2013 Thornkeep The Accursed Halls at ConnCon
Session #100: Dec 14, 2013 The Traitors Lodge at Online VTT Gameday 2
Session #150: July 6, 2014 Risen from The Sands at Dexcon 17
I qualified for the requirements for the 5th star on July 11, 2014 by running Ruins of Bonekeep Level One at ConnectiCon.