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I see a lot of new GM's asking for general advice, so I wrote up a little ditty. Here it is.
The golden rule of GMing is this: Give your Players What they Want. Before the campaign begins, ask each of your players a series of questions regarding play style and campaign preference. Then adjust your plans as much as you can bear to meet these needs.
Your players want to be Super Powered Gods? Lower the difficulty. You players want a gritty experience? Raise the difficulty. Your players want an open world? Give them an open world. Your players want great roleplaying? Encourage character development and shush people who aren't focused.
Here is the questionnaire that you should send out to your players: New Campaign Questionnaire. Make sure to fully absorb and analyze the results!
Bonus Points: Make adjustments in game. If a player has expressed interest in thievery, then draw up some thieving quests. If the players want more combat, then give them more combat.
Have a list of random encounters and NPCs ready before the game. These do not need to be fully developed - they are just something to quickly draw on when put on the spot. Sketch up two or three encounters that your players are likely to stumble into, be it a fight with a gang, an assassin come to kill a PC, or a random fight with an owlbear in the woods. Get the statblocks of each of these enemies and a general gimmick for the battleground (on rooftops, plenty of trees, overlooking a cliff...). This way you will be able to quickly and seamlessly move the game forward.
Similarly, generate a list of about 10 NPC names and choose one distinguishing feature about each (missing left hand, persistent cough, drunk). Next time you are put on the spot for a random NPC, you have something to pull from. The heroes want to go to a shop? The shopkeep is the first NPC on the list. The guards come to arrest the PCs? The captain is the next NPC. By having a simple list of names and attributes, you can make your players believe that they are in a real world inhabited by real people. If you respond quickly enough, you can even make them think you have planned for every contingency!
Bonus Points: Prepare one shop, one tavern, and one guard in detail, as your heroes are likely to encounter one of these each session.
As GM you must not only run the game, you must be the expert on it. Carefully read and digest all information that could be pertinent to the session. If you only memorize one section, make sure it is Combat. Combat is where play tends to get bogged down, and it is the most rules oriented. Make sure you understand actions, movement, and attacking.
Make sure that you always have the rules handy. For Pathfinder, I highly suggest d20pfsrd.com, as looking things up online is as simple as a search function. For the first few sessions keep combat simple, but feel free to quickly look up rules you don't know. For the rest of your time GMing, if you don't know a rule come up with something on the spot and look it up after the game.
Bonus Points: Understand the grapple rules. Just kidding, that's impossible. Instead, fully understand the classes of your PCs.
For all GMs there is a struggle: Railroad vs Sandbox. Railroading is subtly forcing the characters down a set story path. When done correctly they will never know it is happening, and it can allow for more intricate plots. Sandboxing is allowing your characters free roam over the world, and permitting their actions and choices to have a great effect on the story and setting. When done correctly the players feel liberated and gain a strong connection to the world.
Most GMs will tell you to run a Sandbox game. Most players will explain that they would like a Sandbox game. However, if you are a new GM, then don't be afraid to Railroad a little bit. Sandboxing requires a lot more work than Railroading, and you have enough on your plate already.
Bonus Points: Allow your players two or three game altering choices, and have at least a vague idea where each path goes.
There are A LOT of resources out there. Plenty of people play your game, and 99% of them will help the new guy. Besides the forums, which you should frequent, there are random generators, map creators, character creators, art databases, campaign hosts, virtual tabletops, forums, and player finders. Here is a link to the Resources you should check out:
Bonus Points: Make an account on the Paizo Message Boards, and ask any questions you have in either the Rules forum or the Advice Forum.
For the most part, people come to games wanting to game. Keep players focused, limit irrelevant conversation and, if you are feeling particularly Machiavellian, ban electronics. Move the game forward by directly engaging players. New players will often be in a rut if the obvious path does not present itself. Always give your players something to do, but be ready when they do something else.
Similarly, keep combat moving. Get an initiative tracker and place it within easy view. Make sure people know if their turns are coming up so they can prepare ahead of time. Know the rules. If you don't know a specific rule, use your best judgement and look them up afterwards.
Bonus Points: If a player is not ready on his turn, delay him. It might seem a little mean at first, but the next time he will be ready and everybody will thank you for it.
It is vital that the players understand they are in a living breathing world. One bad habit of new players is to treat campaigns like a plaything. By performing ridiculous actions, killing random people, and referencing things his character couldn't possibly know, a player can take away from the game world - as long as you let him get away with it.
Make sure that players understand that there are consequences for actions. If they make some snide remark to a king, they will suffer the king's wrath. If they attempt and fail to steal something, they will go to jail. If they randomly murder somebody in the street, they will get a price on their head. Ban any in-game references to things like computers, cell phones, or electric guitars. Unless everybody at the table is okay with it, these actions will detract from the game and completely prevent good roleplaying.
Bonus Points: Reward good roleplaying. If a player takes the world seriously then make sure his character is rewarded. Spend more time on the players spending more energy and everybody will catch on.
Homebrewing (creating your own material) is great, but for new GMs you will probably want to run something somebody else wrote. This will allow you the breathing room and time to learn the rules and basics of game mastering. When running other people's work, you have two options: Modules, short three or four session adventures, or Adventure Paths, immense adventures that take dozens of sessions to complete. Usually, you will want to start with Modules. And always start at Level 1.
What to play? For modules, check out the Beginner Box. It is made for introducing players and GMs to Pathfinder. The PDF can be purchased for $10 on the Paizo website, and the print addition costs $35. If you are on a budget, there are a number of free modules on the Paizo website as well. We Be Goblins is great fun, but it may not be what you are looking for. Hollow's Last Hope is great and well rounded, but it can be a bit long and intimidating for a new GM.
If you want a fun one-session exploration of the combat system, then check out Level 1 of Jacob's Tower. It has virtually no roleplaying, but it is a great quick intro that covers plenty of concepts. Since it only takes one session to run, you should then be able to quickly jump into whatever you want to run afterwards
Bonus Points: Modify your Module! Feel free to make tweaks and changes to your module based on the results of the New Campaign Questionnaire. Rule Number One should not be forgotten even when running other people's creations.
Roleplaying games are improvisation with dice. If your players have a cool or creative idea, let them run with it. Never let rules or your own plan for the session prevent excellent play. Never say no to an action or attempt. You can say no to the intended result, but never the attempt.
That's not to say that your players should succeed just because they try something cool. If a Level 1 Paladin in full plate is trying to leap from vine to vine in a jungle, let him try - but make sure his failure is spectacular, interesting, and moves the session forward.
Bonus Points: Replace "Yes" with "Yes, and..." You succeed, but something unforeseen happens. Replace "No" with "Yes, but..." You attempt and fail, but something interesting happens.
Rule 10 goes hand in hand with Rule 1. After every session get feedback from your players. Make sure your players are enjoying the game, and find out how you can improve it. Ask for high points and low points. Ask what they want to see more, and what they want to see less. Proper communication is vital to successful GMing, and you will be amazing at how much you improve by simply asking how.
Bonus Points: Send out an e-mail to get the feedback in writing. That way you can always look over what you have improved upon and what you consistently need to change.
This list will be updated and revised here: 10 Tips for New GM's. What have I missed?
I love this.
- Have spare loose leaf paper and pencils available.
- Don't be afraid to discuss possible tactics with the players, especially the newer ones who may not understand all of the mechanics of their characters or might forget about a domain power or other special ability that even older players may forget they have.
- Watch out for metagaming, a lot of players, especially newer ones don't have a grasp on the fact that their character doesn't understand the mechanics of certain aspects in game and will make decisions based on things they know, but the chracter should not.
- Don't try and reinvent the wheel too much, house rules that are too intensive may hurt the game more than it helps; and last but not least:
- Don't ban anything without reading it first.
- Communicate with your players
- If you are not sure to allow something or not, give it a try but
- Be willing and able to reverse a descision you had made.
The last one only really works if you talk with your group
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Don't ban electronics if their character sheet and rulebooks are on it.
I've seen this happen before, so let's be clear.
Be willing to ban electronics, even if their character sheet and rulebooks are on it, if they are on Facebook, or playing Angry Rocs (or other games).
Be willing to make snap in game decisions on the rules. There is always time after the game to look things up and make sure that you get it right the next time.
Be sure to remember that you are not competing with your PCs. Your goal is not to defeat them. Your goal is to ensure that everyone is having fun.
Be sure to remember that you are not competing with your PCs. Your goal is not to defeat them. Your goal is to ensure that everyone is having fun.
This. This is the biggest evolution the game has seen since its inception, I think. In the early days of D&D, DMs tended to see themselves as being in an adversarial relationship with the players, and that caused all sorts of friction and was a standing temptation to abuse one's power as DM. D&D is a cooperative story-telling project, so the DM's job is not to destroy the PCs, but to offer a world and a set of boundaries (rules) that enable the players to cooperate with the DM in developing a story. The DM is in fact God within the context of the game: ultimately you get to decide everything that really matters. So if D&D were in fact an adversarial game, it's a really bad game: the DM holds all the cards. If he wants the players dead, they're dead. So your job is to challenge the players in a way that's going to bring out their creativity and encourage them to immerse themselves in the game world as much as possible. The threat of serious in-game consequences like character death ought to be real in most cases (maybe not with young kids? YVMV) because that tends to increase player engagement when they're in trouble and satisfaction when the trouble is escaped, but you should never set out to do characters in. If you're setting the difficulty level right, that will happen from time to time without your helping it along, and it will feel like an organic outgrowth of the game's development, not an act of cruel DM fiat.
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Thanks for all the feedback guys! I'll keep the list updated here, but remember we are talking mostly about tips for New GMS.
I would suggest modifying rule #1 and eliminating rule #9 if you’re giving advice to new GMs.
Instead of “Find out what your players want to play” I would instead recommend “Make sure that you are your players are willing to play the same type of game you want to run”. This is especially critical for new GMs who are playing with more experienced players or players who are also experienced GMs. It’s one thing to encourage an experienced GM to try to expand their repertoire a bit by trying something different, but a new GM should pick a theme and style they feel comfortable with and go with that. Managing expectations is important, but it’s the GM (especially a new GM) that’s putting in most of the work and trying to get the delicate balance of the type of story they are envisioning. This is not to say that player input isn’t important, but if a new GM has done hours research and work on his campaign and is inspired to run a low-magic campaign world with only a few non-human races focused on seeking out an artifact before a great evil can become manifested upon the world and a player wants to play a undead illithid GlitterBoy Pilot they should feel it’s ok to say “not in this campaign, maybe the next”.
Bonus advice: I always recommend that the first “session” actually be everyone sitting around talking out-of-game about character concepts, background and the GM being able to give advice about what will work best for what they envision. Trying out accents & talking over concepts to see if it’s something they will want to stick through for more than a session or two is also important. Bad accents and annoying personality traits may grow stale rapidly and it’s best if it’s resolved before game-on.
This doesn’t mean that there can’t be some work around, but new GMs should never feel they have to cater to their players’ every desire. If they try, they may find themselves rapidly sinking into a morass of confusion and misery through no fault of their own and eventually may just give up GMing.
Instead of “Always say ‘yes’ or the ‘Rule of Kool’ “
Not all games are run the same and some games attempt a bit more verisimilitude than others.
In some games wuxia attempts at random badassery of spinning back kicks from your concealed position under the water to snap a guards neck while you wearing 150 lbs of sodden equipment and full plate armor are just “Cool”.
In other games and other groups people will just tell you that you’re cut off from the adult drinks for the night.
Neither is bad, in and of itself, but it is important to realize what sort of game you are running and how consistently you want to maintain the style and theme of the game.
The real question to ask yourself is “how can I make this either fun … or engaging?”.
I see a lot of advice about how everything has to always be “fun” on the boards, but this does some disservice to certain types of games – especially games that want a darker theme or an emotional investment with potential loss. Sometimes you want to play a game where you are engaging themes of worry, loss, despair or anxiety. The pay-off for success is (arguably) greater when you have come from defeat or despair.
The key is making sure that your players are on board and that they are engaged in the story and that the story remains focused on their actions and the results of their actions.
Actually, the most important rule I can think of for new GMs is “It’s ok to say no”.
New GMs are having to absorb more and react to more information that they are likely used to. They have 3-6 other people attempting to outthink and outwit their scenarios using specialized skill sets and probably a more expansive knowledge base. And that’s just out of game.
Over the years, I’ve seen many new GMs get flustered or frustrated when they did not say “no” in time and then feel obligated to allow players to continue to play things that are disruptive to their game (this was by far the worst in Rifts, to be fair). Especially when you are a new GM, it’s ok to say “no”, but be sure to communicate your reasons for saying “no”. If someone wants to come in with a psionic character and you’ve barely managed to start to understand the magic rules, it’s ok to say “no, I’m sorry, I’m not currently allowing psionics or other 3rd party material. I may allow it in the future.”
Good stuff to try to get out there, though.
-TimD
P.S. My top 10 for new GMs would be:
1. Expect the unexpected – and embrace it, don’t fight it.
2. It’s OK to say “no”
3. The game is about the PCs – don’t “Mary Sue” with NPCs.
4. Play to your strengths to start, expand to your weaknesses as you progress (especially combat, vs. social, vs. world building)
5. Remember the game is supposed to be fun for the GM too.
6. The game is not a competition, it’s cooperative (even when it’s PvP) – it’s always best to work WITH your players.
7. Don’t change rules unless you have to, and if you have to make sure the players know AHEAD OF TIME.
8. Know the PCs – make sure that you know what your game sessions will (or won’t ) have to offer them.
9. Remember some things can ONLY be resolved OUT OF GAME.
10. Respect – if everyone doesn’t show it or have it your game WILL suffer (see rule #9). Not all players are appropriate for all gaming groups.
Just a little note broken zenith, I was looking over the player desire questionnaire, and the sidebar on you blog is hiding parts of your questionnaire.
Otherwise, I will keep an eye on this (although I will take the advice with a grain of salt).
One thing I've gleaned as a general purpose rule is that the goal of the game is to have fun, and that counts just as much for the GM as the players. Pay attention to the players to make sure they're having fun, but also be aware of your own fun; there's no shame in shutting down a campaign where the players and the GM have WILDLY different desires/expectations. It's connected to your # 1 point, but it's important to remember the GM should take the quiz too. In the 4 months I've been on this site, I have seen quite a lot of GMs either complaining that they where hating how the game was playing out, or about how the players behaved/treated them. The GM is a player too, and fun should not be had at their expense.
Although for those who REALLY want to push a GM vs Players agenda, I reccomend the board game "descent".
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- Get your Perception out of my _______ skill
I have seen GM's and published material use perception as a catchall for all observational skills. ie; finding an oddity in some form of architectural structure, that's Knowledge (Engineering); to notice tracks or a path, that's survival; too notice odd or suspicious behavior, that's Sense Motive, etc...
Don't forget rule 1: It's a game and is supposed to be fun, if you're not enjoying it then you're doing it wrong.
Why was this not in the original list? Someone give this man / woman / brain-sucker a cigar.
It might sound like a stupid statement or a generally 'given' or 'duh' when you hear it, but it's one I think that a lot of people overlook or forget after a while. I know I have once or twice. Ultimately, your there to have fun and enjoy yourself. If your not, then why the heck are you doing it? EVERYTHING else in this list should be folding into that. It's not about winning or losing or being the baddest or a god mage or a DPS fighter of doom, or the best healer cleric or proving that the alignment system works (or doesn't).
It's about having fun.
Expectations of the group aren't meshing? This affects fun. Unresolved 'out of game' conflict (remembering that PVP or other 'in party' conflict can quickly bleed into 'out of game')? This affects fun. EVERY decision you make as a GM (or a player for that matter) should be cavet-ed with a final check of 'Is this going to make it more fun for me? The other players? The GM?"
If the answer is 'No', then why are you doing it again?
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Do not attempt to solve in-game what should be solved out-of-game.
