How long should I play before I start GMing?

[.....d]

The title pretty much says it all.

I think of myself as a pretty competent person and a fast-learner, however, I have only been playing PFS for around 3 months now. GMing seems like something I'd be very interested in, but I don't know how long I should be playing before bringing it up to my local Venture-staff about joining/learning about GMing.

Any advice would be great on this matter, thanks!

Oh! Almost forgot. As far as my background in tabletop before PFS goes, I have none. I've only been playing any tabletop for about 3 months, I love it so far and am learning new things everyday. Might also be relevant information to add that I am not shy to roleplay and am more of an extroverted person, two qualities I think would help me a lot in becoming a GM.

[Hmm]

I GMed for PFS for the first time about three months after playing my first game, and I've been hooked ever since.

If you feel ready, it's probably best to jump in with a simple adventure. Ask your local venture staff to set you up with something short and easy for your first time.

I am constantly recruiting and training in new GMs. If you like storytelling and RP, I think you'd be a great GM. You'll make mistakes. You'll sometimes get thrown by what your players do. That's okay. It's all part of the learning process.

Hmm

[Declindgrunt]

I have a few sugestions, first try to play untill you've encountered what you feel is 90% of the combat rules as having a dm who knows all the rules for combat is important

Second there is a guy named spoony on YouTube I recommend his counter monkey videos to anyone looking for insite into DMING

And finally you need to know your place, you are the story teller, pathfinder is not a game of dm vs pc's it's a game of pcs vs story and you are there to tell that story.

You should also think about your enemies in an intelligent way is this enemy smart enough to be able to 5ft step? Would this enemy charge head in without thinking? If the enemy knew the pc's were coming or knew their battle tactics would they fight differently? Ect ect...

Point is you should have a game/world that feels alive and in motion Many adventures make the mistake of the bad guy not showing up until the pc's get there. Also don't ever hesitate to ask for help everyone here on this forum is there to help and 99% of us are super nice (the other 1% are the gnomes.....)

[Bill Dunn]

There is no hard and fast rule to this. Some people are ready to GM right away, some are never ready. As long as you have a willingness to give it a try, the flexibility to experiment, the forgiveness of friends for the inevitable mistakes (they will happen, that's OK), and the time - I'd say go for it.

As Hmm points out, start simple. PF is well suited for that.

[Deaths Adorable Apprentice]

Kind of depends on the group you have and your confidence level. Not being shy or introverted should defiantly help. I am both shy and introverted but I was playing with friends who knew me well and wanted to see what I could do. The one shot is now a full campaign going to level 20 with mythic.

If you feel like you want to give it a try then do it. Make sure the group knows that you are learning to GM.

Know what you want to run and be ready to improvise. If you have a and b planned for they will pick c or d.

Like Hmm mentioned you will make mistakes and that is ok. Do not sweat the small stuff and remember that it is a game.

[FallofCamelot]

If you feel like running, run.

Have a word with your local VO if you need some help but I'd say if you want to do it, do it.

[Dave Justus]

I think Hmm has the right answer. The other answers are more appropriate to home games than running for PFS.

An environment like PFS means you probably have a little less forgiveness for screwing up, but also something of a less complicated job.

In any event, I think your Venture Staff will be able to guide you and help you out. If you want to do this, no reason not to mention it now, if they think you need more experience, or anything else they will be able to tell you that, but I am sure they won't bite your head off for asking.

I would guess that they would love to have as many people as possible who are willing to GM.

[Derek Dalton]

Being a GM is hard work! I'm not saying don't be I'm saying be prepared. I have played with a variety of players and groups in a variety of RPGs. With some players I had a lot of fun, in others not at all. Expect one or more players to want to do things differently. This can range from a gnome pulling annoying but harmless pranks to a player doing everything to screw with the campaign. The annoying character is indeed annoying but easy enough to deal with if you expect it. The problem player is trickier.
My style of play is usually somewhat laid back. Problem players find themselves asked to leave. My group has shrunk because of this but we realized it's better to have a small friendlier group then a large unfriendly even hostile.

[Hmm]

PFS is its own interesting environment. You never know what you're going to get for players at a PFS table. On the other hand, the adventures are short and sweet.

Some PFS adventures (Sun Orchid Scheme) are really complicated to run. Others are blindingly simple.

___

Some recommendations for a beginner:

Master of the Fallen Fortress -- short and free!

Beggar's Pearl is easy despite a complex and hard to draw map. "Doooooom!"

Mists of Mwangi and Penumbral Accords have one simple map and are simple to run.

Stolen Heir -- Simple, easy maps and silly accents galore.

Silent Tide, Horn of Aroden, Icebound Outpost -- all of these can be good places to start.

Or you could just go nuts and run We Be Goblins. It's short, it's silly, it's fun!

[Just a Mort]

I actually never ran WBG, and I don't think its that simple. The last fight can end up like a jackie chan movie with goblins on the masts and fooling around with the ropes. (All those climb + acro checks)

Besides, goblins do the darnest things. We were playing poison ball with the bee hive:p

[Hmm]

Yeah, it can be a Jackie Chan movie, but there's nothing here that a creative GM can't work with.... I had a blast Gming that one even if it called for some judgments on the fly.

Hmm

[Matt2VK]

A lot depends on the people you're running the adventure for.

People I usually game with keep trying to push the boundaries of what's doable and what the DC would be for doing stuff. This can be fun but also frustrating at times as it can bog the game down.

Prep what you're going to run. This can take anywhere from 2 hours up to 6 hours. Depending on what you end up running. Then expect the Players to do something completely different leaving you wondering what the heck to do.
Some times a simple dungeon crawl is the best to get started as there isn't much there for the Players to *break* the mod.

Start out running low levels. Allows you to get experience on all the different stuff monsters can do. I still get nervous when I'm running a high level caster as a NPC against players....so much stuff...

[rainzax]

Preparation, preparation, preparation.

When that fails, improvise.

Ask yourself "are they having fun" a couple times each scene - make sure everyone gets the "spot-light" at least once each session.

Recruit a player or two to track things like initiative and statuses - this frees you up to do other important thinking.

Have fun!

[thecursor]

I recommend playing PFS for more than a year and then asking yourself that question. It's different for everyone but after a year straight of playing I began to get more confident that I could GM.

[Snowlilly]

I got my start with DMing. It was years before I got my first turn as a player.

[Vatras]

Same as Snowlily. I had the role as DM for 6 years before I was allowed to roll a character :)

As rainzax says....prepare a lot and especially for the old adage that the first casualty on the field of battle is the plan. The important thing is for everyone to have fun - and what that is depends entirely on the group - everything else will work itself out, if you get that right.

(And don't stick too much to every little rule. Rule as much as needed but not more than necessary. Making diplomacy contests, if someone can order beer in bar goes a little too far...don't ask where I got that example.)