| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Hi, all. I'm posting this from my phone, so if it's filled with typos, please be forgiving. I live in a college-like campus and right now I'm running a campaign with a few of my classmates. My campaign is only a little over a week old, and I'm already worried about it. Not only am I new to GMing, I'm also new to Pathfinder (and its parent game D&D) as a whole. The only experience I had with Pathfinder was creating a character sheet once and attending one meet-up at my last campus. That campaign was made by another one of my friends, but I fell in love with it so much that I became determined to start my own group.
The current campaign seems to be going pretty well - I can tell my players are having fun because they never stop talking about the various antics that go on. Most of the guys are as new to the game as I am, and I've chosen my closest friend as a confident and advisor, seeing as he knows the most about the mechanics.
I have the phone number of everyone that has a cell, I keep a detailed journal of stuff that goes on, I have a binder filled with their character sheets and other information to keep them safe, and I have lots of NPCs written up in case they need to interact with anyone. The story follows a plot of my own design, in a setting that is similar to Golarion, even to the point of having the same deities, but it's ultimately my own design, too.
The players are great, they seem to be having fun, and I'm having fun too, but I feel like it's an uphill battle fighting my own flaws and insecurities. It's a lot of pressure, and for someone who's not used to being in the spotlight, it's also pretty terrifying. Add my unfamiliarity with the game mechanics and perfectionist tendencies, and you've got one heck of a rodeo.
TL;DR: Does anyone have any tips for a GM that's both new to the game and extremely shy / introverted.
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Sounds like your perfectionist tendencies are getting in the way. You've already put an enormous chunk of work into the game and your players love it.
Stay cool, you're already doing more than most. You're already doing great. Let knowing that steer your confidence. Don't get caught up thinking maybe you're not good enough.
Get caught up thinking of the amazing experience you're giving those players.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
First, you're not in the spotlight. Well, you are, but, I find it helps to think of it as not being THE STAR. The players are THE STARS. I'm the director/ stage engineer/ lighting team. It's not about you. It's about them.
Second, dead air is not a horrible thing. I don't know about you, but, I tend to get nervous if someone isn't talking all the time and I start babbling. It's okay to let the silence go. I take a deep breath and count to 10 before I break the silence. I've never had to break the silence.
Third, make a ruling and make a note of it. Research it after the game. Don't halt the game to go on a all intensive rules hunt. That just bores everyone. Make the best ruling you can, let the players make ONE counter argument, then roll with it. After the game, feel free to discuss it (civilly, if possible) with other players or someone else more knowledgeable than you. Next week, before game starts, bring it up, briefly go over what happened and why you changed your mind.
Good luck!
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
I've been running games pretty regularly for thirty five years or so and, in my experience, the feeling of not being quite good enough never goes away as a DM.
Beware of setting the bar too high - I've seen people chuck in campaigns that have been great fun to play in purely based on them not meeting some idealised conception of what a 'perfect session' should look like.
It's never quite going to pan out like you expected, you're occasionally going to forget crucial plot twists, get rules wrong or whatever. That's part of tabletop gaming, not a sign of not being up to it as a DM. It's rewarding to stick with it. Just get used to that 'not quite on top of everything' feeling - I think that's a side effect of having engaged, happy players.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Know that someday you can laugh at how bad you are now. That's how is is for me. It amazing how bad I was, but I had fun. Take the time to familiarizing yourself with any and all game material - immerse yourself. Thrn reread it later. You will make "mistakes", but can play through them. Keep the game running smoothly. Don't get caught up on an unknown rule during play, but look it up later. Make up what you don't know, but try to be fair. Remember that if a player wants to try some thing ridiculous, assign a DC and let them try, even if the DC is very high. It's better than just saying no. Prepare as much game material as you can, but accept that you will not use half and then end mostly improvising. Think of things you think are fun or cool and turn it into a gamr session. Play off of cues from your players and add that into the game. Remind the players to play their characters. It's not a video game. Same for you.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Hi, all. I'm posting this from my phone, so if it's filled with typos, please be forgiving. I live in a college-like campus and right now I'm running a campaign with a few of my classmates. My campaign is only a little over a week old, and I'm already worried about it. Not only am I new to GMing, I'm also new to Pathfinder (and its parent game D&D) as a whole. The only experience I had with Pathfinder was creating a character sheet once and attending one meet-up at my last campus. That campaign was made by another one of my friends, but I fell in love with it so much that I became determined to start my own group.
The current campaign seems to be going pretty well - I can tell my players are having fun because they never stop talking about the various antics that go on. Most of the guys are as new to the game as I am, and I've chosen my closest friend as a confident and advisor, seeing as he knows the most about the mechanics.
I have the phone number of everyone that has a cell, I keep a detailed journal of stuff that goes on, I have a binder filled with their character sheets and other information to keep them safe, and I have lots of NPCs written up in case they need to interact with anyone. The story follows a plot of my own design, in a setting that is similar to Golarion, even to the point of having the same deities, but it's ultimately my own design, too.
The players are great, they seem to be having fun, and I'm having fun too, but I feel like it's an uphill battle fighting my own flaws and insecurities. It's a lot of pressure, and for someone who's not used to being in the spotlight, it's also pretty terrifying. Add my unfamiliarity with the game mechanics and perfectionist tendencies, and you've got one heck of a rodeo.
TL;DR: Does anyone have any tips for a GM that's both new to the game and extremely shy / introverted.
Just take it slow and easy. Let the players build their characters from level one up. That will give you a chance to learn more about the rules and various spells and abilities that you will need to familiarize yourself with as the game goes on. If you have problems with the rules, then come to the forums and ask for advice. Read up on anything you're unsure of between sessions. GM'ing a game takes a lot of work, but once you get a rhythm, you can keep a campaign going without devoting your entire life to it.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Just keep on going like you are now. If you see a little problem, just think of something for the time being and look into it afterwards. If you reached a decision regarding the problem then inform the players and all is good.
Regarding the work load, I don't know how often you are playing but since you're at a campus I'd say you have plenty of school work aside from this.
My group and I started a second campaign under my wing so our first DM can keep up. One week he was DM of his campaign and the week after I was DM of my campaign and so forth. That lessened the strain on him. At the moment I'm busy with my graduation so my time is extremely limited. I had to make the call to switch my campaign from once every two weeks to a monthly schedule for now.
Being a DM is tough some times but if your group is a merry and fair one and they allow your space to work then I shouldn't be that worried. If something ever comes up then the forum will always be here for you ;) .
Also, as some already mentioned, whatever you plan will not go exactly as you plan it. So instead of planning things down to the last detail while you expect your party to do A, plan it somewhat detailed but keep a couple of back-up ideas in case your party does B. Mainly, preparation is nice to have and you should have it really but thinking on the fly and improvising situations is a must.
If you don't like being put on the spot like that (and believe me I dislike it) then just start improvising small things like NPC encounters. Eventually you're able to improvise an entire city if need be (bad practice I know but didn't have a choice. Damn party xD)
I wish you good luck and you're always welcome to send me a message if need be :)
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Well, it's primarily about having fun. Given they have a blast, your campaign is fine (as Hmm already pointed out).
I started GMing this Summer. The official Game Mastery Guide was an amazing help, and I felt more confident when I knew I keep to the guidelines. I learnt quite a lot:
* Give everyone a chance to shine occasionally. That's one major reason why players actually play such games.
* Encourage them. If they try something weird, don't say 'no, that doesn't work' - unless it's totally implausible. Ask them how they want to accomplish it, let them work for the details. Give them a fair chance to succeed, even if it means bending the rules. Finally, NPCs should cheer the PCs sometimes - honor where honor is due.
* Give them choices. I try to build in a nonviolent solution to all encounters (intimidation, bribe, diplomacy, disguise, stealth etc.). Sometimes it's not possible, but some diversity to 'roll initiative and fight!' is already a huge plus.
* Be careful with events which makes players feel out of control. Effects like fear, stun, confusion etc. tend to be fun killers because an affected player can't do anything. Use them rarely and probably only if your party can do it as well.
* Players want fun, not your effort. Don't spend hours on details your player won't even notice - unless it's fun by itself for you. This mainly applies for NPCs in my case - e.g. who cares what cantrips this level 5 caster has.
* Sometimes it's enough to give players a situation and let them roleplay. For instance my group had a long discussion about morale a while ago, so I just leaned back and listened for an hour or so. When it runs dry, send in any NPC.
* Burnout is a real danger. Better continuously 90% of perfect than 99% and stopping the campaign because you can't do it anymore.
* A set time of the day (and probably day of the week) helps to avoid confusion. Remember that players have other things on their plate also.
* Try to figure out the best tools for you. For me books, printed respective copied pages, handwritten notes and electronic helpers have all their place.
* Reading these forums helps a lot. There are many experienced players and GMs here, and you will automatically remember some useful things when they become relevant for your table.
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I completely feel you, I first became a GM when a friend's campaign started to fall apart, and we needed someone to run a few sessions on the side. I never would have thought that I'd take to the position so well, now I've GMed with about four different groups and it has only been a year and a half since I started.
There's no advice that works for everyone, but I'd suggest to keep up with what your players want while staying true to your story. Also, if something unexpected comes up, or the mechanics of an encounter are unclear, you should totally feel free to make stuff up that seems plausible. The players don't know if you're prepared or not, so if you make it look like you've got everything under control, they'll go along with you. Be flexible, basically.
Overall just remember to have fun on the way :)
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The most crucial tip I can give you is to not force a plot hook or encounter onto the players if they've taken some unexpected step you didn't anticipate which completely negates the big reveal or boss fight. Make sure they feel in charge of their actions, because they should be. I know it can be so frustrating to spend hours on some grand encounter in a burning building with a custom built monster, his custom addons, and timed roof section collapses, only for the players to jump out the window the moment the encounter starts, stick their landing, and beat a retreat away from your grand creation, which would have revealed moments before the boss died who really killed the Governor. Trust me, it'll happen, and it'll suck. Don't stop putting your heart and soul into creations like these, though. The most important thing I've learned is you can always salvage a new (and usually better) plot hook from the ashes of a failed one.
The players are great, they seem to be having fun, and I'm having fun too, but I feel like it's an uphill battle fighting my own flaws and insecurities. It's a lot of pressure, and for someone who's not used to being in the spotlight, it's also pretty terrifying. Add my unfamiliarity with the game mechanics and perfectionist tendencies, and you've got one heck of a rodeo.
TL;DR: Does anyone have any tips for a GM that's both new to the game and extremely shy / introverted.
Rules: If the players know them better than you, don't be afraid to ask them. If the players don't know either, make stuff up. Roll a d20, add a relevant bonus, set a target value, narrate the result.
Insecurities: After a session, try making a list of all the things that went well, the moments people enjoyed. Read the list back next time you're stressing about your GMing responsibilities.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Many people have said this already, but I want to reiterate: if you are all having fun, even if you completely destroyed the rules as written, that is the point! Don't worry about the rules, or whether or not the plot makes sense, or whether you look like an idiot, or whether ... you get the idea. If everyone in the group is having fun, whether or not what you're playing even remotely resembles Pathfinder, keep on playing. If at some point you'd really like to play as closely to the rules as written as possible, then work towards that as a group. I cannot overstate this, and there are several threads on theses boards that will back me up: if the rules get in the way of the fun, you are doing it wrong. The rules are there to facilitate fun, not to cause headaches, or make things less fun.
Rules: If the players know them better than you, don't be afraid to ask them. If the players don't know either, make stuff up. Roll a d20, add a relevant bonus, set a target value, narrate the result.
That's a great point. I have a few more experienced players in my campaigns and I always ask if one wants to help be the "rules lawyer" during a session by looking up obscure rules in the books while I keep the scenario going.
These are all really great tips, and I can already feel myself shaking off those tell-tale signs of paralysis. I suppose I was worried about cramming as much as I could in X amount of days because one of my main contributors is leaving this week and I wanted him to see where the plot lead in full.
But I really might as well leave it be; I'll still have his number, and I can just text him stuff that happens and revert his character to an NPC of sorts so he doesn't feel totally forgotten. But trying to rush through stuff doesn't make any kind of sense. As the saying goes, if it's not worth doing right, it's not woth doing at all.
I've decided to take a much looser sand-boxy approach to the plot for now until everyone who's planning to leave can do so and have their places filled without creating too much upset.
I'm in a program called "Job Corps" which is basically a taxpayer funded technical training... thing. We mostly don't have to worry about homework at all, which is why I have so much free time to run it like I do. We tend to meet several times a week, especially during the weekend. How would you guys advise handling players that frequently don't show up with no explanation?
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Don't worry about being shy or introverted. Chances are most of your group fits that description as well.
While we certainly aren't the socially-inept brainless morons often portrayed by mainstream media, RPG players aren't exactly known for being social butterflies either...
In any case, from what I could get from your OP, you are doing fine. If your players are having fun, that's all that matters. I know it sounds corny, but you'll notice that GMing is most fun when the players are having fun. :)
In any case, here is my usual advice for new GMs. YMMV.
2- Don't Get Attached to Your NPCs. Chances are they will end up dead or forgotten. Memorable NPCs are a real thing, but you should always think of them the same way you think of characters in Game of Thrones. ("This guy is kinda cool. He'll probably die.")
3- Learn to Improvise and Be Willing to Adapt. Your players will often surprise you with completely unexpected ideas. Learn to accept them and mold the story around their choices instead of forcing their choices to match your preconceived script.
4- Give Them Real Challenges, But Don't Get Adversarial. Remember, the PCs are the heroes! They are supposed to be the stars of the game. Don't be pissed off just because they one-shot'd your villain. Sometimes it happens.
5- Assume Players Will Kill Everything! I'm exaggerating, of course. My point is: Always be prepared for the possibility of the PCs killing (or at least attacking) anything you place in front of them. Sooner or later they will attack someone or something when you were sure they had absolutely no reason to do so. Be prepared.
6- Remember: Your Priority is to Make Sure the Players Are Having Fun! I know it sounds cheesy, but it's true: The GM has the most fun when the players are having fun. You'll quickly notice that you enjoy the game the most when your players having a blast.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
There's a lot of great feedback, suggestions, commentary already provided. And kudos to you for jumping in with both feet. Sounds like everyone is having fun, which is the main point of game.
If you start to feel like it's too hard to continually improvise, don't be afraid to lean on modules or adventure paths. There are some very good low level modules and adventure paths that can take some of the burden off you by providing a ready made plug-in adventure when your current plot thread starts to thin out - or can act as drop in alternatives if the group takes a strong left turn away from your main plot.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
.... I feel like it's an uphill battle fighting my own flaws and insecurities.
TL;DR: Does anyone have any tips for a GM that's both new to the game and extremely shy / introverted.
1) You are only in the spotlight if you put yourself there.
2) A GM should not be bashful, try to avoid it. You can be loud, you can be dramatic, and you can wave your arms around like an idiot (its actually a lot of fun) to make a point about something.
3) Remember that a lot of energy in a game comes from the GM in the beginning. If you want the players to put in a lot of energy, then you need to make the story about them. This is a skill that requires a little bit of practice, but, when done right, the players more or less tell you what to do about a week before each session.
4) Do Not play more than once a week as a GM. I know it might sound odd, but that week if time for you to write. You need to have time enough to actually get anything done: you might be building maps (yay, cartography), building enemies (yay, stat-blocks), building characters psychological blocks (yay, character building) or just writing the story (yay, actually writing), but if you can't do any of the above then realize that Pathfinder can be extremely unforgiving in terms of pulling content out of your arse.
5) The biggest tip is: what you find fun might not parallel what your players find fun. I've had games where I was semi-bored, exhausted the entire time because of it, and worried that the players were all bored as well (but too nice to tell me), but the players all found the content outrageously fun and cool. The only thing that really maters is if your players are having a good time.
6) Ok, so how do your players ~~and~~ you have a good time? Well, write a story with characters you like and want to write about. Make the story's progression fit what the players will enjoy. Boom. Done. It sounds simple, but can be excruciatingly hard. If you don't know what your players like or want, just focus on what you want. Many people will just jump on the bandwagon.
7) Make your N.P.C.s count. I cannot stress this enough. You want to make your NPCs important in some way, but also you want to be able to reuse assets all the time. Don't make throw away NPCs that show up once and then never again, but instead have them return. This is one of the primary reasons Liches and Vampires are so popular: you can't kill them unless you find out where their McGuffin is. This means that this creature is probably going to continually come back for revenge or until the players show some form of contrition to placate it.
8) Reign in the scope of your adventure: Start small, then go big. If you start off fighting Rovagug or equivalent then you have nowhere to go. Bad video games do this to show off how powerful the player's character can be later on in addition to showing off the mechanics (typically because the starter levels are so terrible that no one would sit through them) to try to give the players a chance to understand what is going on. You don't need to do this. Instead, have your players start small. Saving a hamlet from X, Y and Z isn't that bad. Move up to a Village. After a few if those, move up to a town. My point is that you want a feeling of progression. Most Golarion settlements max out in power around lvl 11 or so. The Ruler of Riddleport is around CR 11 or so, this means the PCs could take him on around level 8. If you add some elite pirate guards, maybe level 9. My point is that by level 10 your Players can effectively be leading insurrections. You'll want something more, and that is where the inner and outer planes start to become fun.
9) Lesser Astral Projection is available for Wizards at level 9, Plane Shift is available by level 13 (lvl 9 for Clerics). This means you can start going planar by these levels. The big advantage of Astral Projection is that you don't really die if you are killed in the astral plane, but instead you just gain a negative level or two and you're fine. Plane shift can result in you actually dying, which could be very, very bad.
10) Try to keep your adventures cohesive. If your players go planar at level 9, have there be a reason. Maybe McEvil has astral projected and is plotting to strike out at the PCs via astral plane enemies. Perhaps he has shifted his entire operation to the elemental plane of earth for the expressed purpose of acquiring as much money as possible so he can come back, hire an unstoppable army of death and steamrolling the PCs.
11) Any outsider, regardless of alignment, can be your friend for a little while. Regardless of a creature's alignment, most of the time they will be your B.F.F. if something you're doing furthers a cause of their own. Opposed outsiders will also work together if it means some sort of mutual gain (even if that gain boils down to the obviously stronger one doesn't kill the obviously weaker one, E.G. a Hound Archon working with a Dretch). The example of the Hound Archon (LG) and the Dretch (CE) is a bit of a rare one, but it could happen.
12) Make sure you take advantage of cool stuff. Things like True Names, Planar Allies, Skeletal Pets, Necrocrafts, Golems, cohorts and so forth are excellent additions to a villain. He can surround himself with an army. If the Players make the mistake of attacking him directly, then he'll probably wipe them out without any problem. If they take him apart piecemeal, then he can't do anything about it. Keep in mind that the community is divided on if these things, if they are included by a character's class, spells or feats, count towards or against the character's CR when used to gain any of the above. I'm sure someone will chime in.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I suppose I was worried about cramming as much as I could in X amount of days because one of my main contributors is leaving this week and I wanted him to see where the plot lead in full.
This is a common problem. Few campaigns come to a really satisfying ending. People leave because of work commitment, or they move away, or they get married and don't have the free time.
Or the party gets too high level and their vast abilities break the narrative, or the number of dice rolls and bonuses gets too much and combat becomes tedious.
Or there's a TPK.
Or you defeat the final boss, and it's an anti-climax.
Or you defeat the final boss, and it's still fun, and the players want to keep going, but the GM is exhausted.
All I can advise is don't put too much effort into some grand years-long megaplot that probably won't pan out - focus on making individual game sessions good.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I'd also add: play to the players' strengths, not the characters. I mean, consider what the characters are capable of when you're creating encounters but like, if you've got a friend that's really jonesing to mix sci-fi and fantasy maybe throw in a bunch of homunculi that are like little server droids.
When the players are engaged they do a lot of the work for you. For example say you randomly add a detail to a cave they notice: there's blood on the entrance. If one player suddenly remembers a cult attack that left a similar scene and guesses that the cult is back but you hadn't planned anything like this, maybe just run with it. Suddenly the player thinks they've discovered something and feels cool while you have a new direction to take a random scene in.
Finally if you're really shy and introverted, just play the way one of the inventors of D&D did it. Gary Gygax supposedly used to sit away from his players, behind a screen so when he DM'd all his players heard was a voice.
As far as endings, take the advice of the character Chuck Shurley from the show Supernatural. "Endings are hard... there's always gonna be holes, the fans are always gonna bi&#h... no doubt: endings are hard. But then... does anything really end?"
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I'm in a program called "Job Corps" which is basically a taxpayer funded technical training... thing. We mostly don't have to worry about homework at all, which is why I have so much free time to run it like I do. We tend to meet several times a week, especially during the weekend. How would you guys advise handling players that frequently don't show up with no explanation?
I haven't DM'd before, but I am working on a campaign and I've been in several already. Sometimes (and I've done this for myself from time to time), you can create a in-game explanation for why the character is gone today. Maybe he/she went to run an errand, or went to check on their business, or they suffer from a sickness that results in them falling asleep for hours on end on the back of their horse. Stuff like that can make for amusing situations.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
As someone who's been functionally away from D&D technicals since 2e, my bits of advice are these:
1: Find your game-technicals guru. There's at least one in every group; find him, her, or self-identified 'it'. (We're RPers; who cares.) If there's more than one, great; that means you can get a second opinion. You can run the game, and if there's a technicals question, whether in combat or whatever, you can turn to him/them and say, 'What's the rule for this?' If they disagree, listen carefully to both arguments - do NOT let them get into it for more than 5 minutes total - then make a ruling. Let all your players know that once you make a ruling, that's it - until the next time you have to make a ruling, because the Rule Of Fun / Cool may say it should go the other interpretation next time. That said, don't let yourself be a pushover; they are wandering around in the world, but you ARE the world. Ye Cannae Change The Laws Of PhysioMystics, Jim!!
2: Give yourself permission to say 'f~$& it'. Before the game, when you're still alone, do some acting exercises. Romp around the house on all fours; howl at the moon. Put on 'Gonna Fly Now' and act like Rocky Balboa, or 'Old Time Rock 'n' Roll' and be Tom Cruise, or 'You Never Can Tell' and be John Travolta or Uma Thurman. Take that feeling and bring it into the game. Use voices; use accents. Watch Lilo and Stitch and imitate Dr. Jumba or Agent Pleakley or whomever. My very best advice in this regard is to watch the video (YouTube Link) of Robin Williams on 'Inside the Actor's Studio' and try to channel him a little during the game.
3: Finally, and most important, as a writer and a lover of writing, an actor and a lover of acting, a GM and player and a lover of roleplaying: do not try to be perfect. Try to be great. Perfect things are cold and lifeless; imperfections are where people live, where memories are made. Falling down is part of getting up; the heroes of every good story ever fall to the brink of failure so that they can rise to triumph. In Lois McMaster Bujold's 'Paladin of Souls', the main character Ista worries that she isn't getting it right, that it isn't perfect. "It is good, then," replies her god, "that we do not desire perfect souls, for if we did, we would be truly barren. We desire great souls, in all their shining imperfections. Carry on, imperfect Ista."
Do not be perfect; be great. Carry on, imperfect TwoRefined.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Sorry for the big delay in posting. Life got crazy, lol. I wanted to let you all know that I carefully read through each response and will take everything you kind souls said to heart. I no longer feel frozen up with paranoia about committing a HUGE SIN and driving my players to hate me.
Taku, I will make sure to use your advice to slow down especially. Once a week still sounds a little TOO long to wait, but now I no longer feel compelled to do something EVERY DAY, or even every-other day. I'm going to draw the line at three times a week, and spend the rest of the time plotting. Meh heh heh!
Thanks again everyone for chipping in and making this newbie feel right at home. It really means a lot.
Btw, tomorrow is when my friend leaves, and today was probably the last time I'll ever see him. I bought everyone pizza and we had a fun little going-away party for him. I'll miss him, but I'll keep his character active as an NPC who retired from the group because he found his true calling and fell in love. (After getting permission, of course!)
Hey TwoRefined. Regarding players not showing up and not giving a notice towards you.
Personally I'd say somewhat of a strike system. Its no fun for anyone if you have to wait on others so I'd say that if you don't show up you are given some strikes. If it happens to often then you just assume he won't be there and just start without the person.
Now if he just happens to be late, no worries and work him in. It might be a bit tedious because of challenge rating and all but this is the responsibility of a playyer. If you can't communicate properly regarding your presence then you aren't in a position to complain about starting without you.
It's a bit harsh but just think of the other players who are waiting ages for the campaign to begin while waiting for that person.
Well, it's primarily about having fun. Given they have a blast, your campaign is fine (as Hmm already pointed out).
I started GMing this Summer. The official Game Mastery Guide was an amazing help, and I felt more confident when I knew I keep to the guidelines. I learnt quite a lot:
* Give everyone a chance to shine occasionally. That's one major reason why players actually play such games.
* Encourage them. If they try something weird, don't say 'no, that doesn't work' - unless it's totally implausible. Ask them how they want to accomplish it, let them work for the details. Give them a fair chance to succeed, even if it means bending the rules. Finally, NPCs should cheer the PCs sometimes - honor where honor is due.
* Give them choices. I try to build in a nonviolent solution to all encounters (intimidation, bribe, diplomacy, disguise, stealth etc.). Sometimes it's not possible, but some diversity to 'roll initiative and fight!' is already a huge plus.
* Be careful with events which makes players feel out of control. Effects like fear, stun, confusion etc. tend to be fun killers because an affected player can't do anything. Use them rarely and probably only if your party can do it as well.
* Players want fun, not your effort. Don't spend hours on details your player won't even notice - unless it's fun by itself for you. This mainly applies for NPCs in my case - e.g. who cares what cantrips this level 5 caster has.
* Sometimes it's enough to give players a situation and let them roleplay. For instance my group had a long discussion about morale a while ago, so I just leaned back and listened for an hour or so. When it runs dry, send in any NPC.
* Burnout is a real danger. Better continuously 90% of perfect than 99% and stopping the campaign because you can't do it anymore.
* A set time of the day (and probably day of the week) helps to avoid confusion. Remember that players have other things on their plate also.
* Try to figure out the best tools for you. For me books, printed...
Well solid advice. Specially the first point of letting everyone in the spotlight from time to time. Find what that character is about, what the player likes, and throw something. Doesnt need to be big, a couple minutes of "hey this is for your Profession: Hatter that you insisted on taking, you recognise that the villain's wearing a hat from this area" etc.
Another, is about pulling punches or not pulling punches. Find out if your group likes it or not. Find out if they are ok with losing characters or not. Also, decide what YOU prefer, and INFORM your players if they're ok with it too.
|
|
As some who started DMing in '77 here is my humble advice.
By now you should be starting to know where you are weak when it comes to the rules, work out whether you want to play to by the book, throw out rules you disagree with or make house rules to patch things.
As for adventure designs try to make things as logical as possible as players will appreciate it as they work things out. An Orc subterranean raiding base? Give it a back door, places to keep riding beasts, links to thier overlord (and possibly evidence of at least change due to turbulent Orc politics) and think about how their loot would be distributed.
For inspiration see some of the 70s Sword & Sorcery movies and consider reading some Conan or Micheal Moorcock.
Good luck!