Hello fellow Pathfinders! Mr Clint here with a curiosity question.
I am currently running a homebrew game, my first one on the PBP, and it has been a lot of fun. I hope that my players would say the same.
I have a few APs from Pathfinder 1st edition and I am toying with the idea of possibly running one. Not confirmed, just toying with. I will need to pick one out, read through it and make notes, etc... etc... etc...
My question is for people who have or currently are DMing more than one game.
What tips do you have for running two (or more) games?
I am always looking to learn and help sharpen my skills as a DM, but especially as a PBP DM.
Thank you in advance, looking forward to our discussions.
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At least to start with, don't try running multiple tables of the same game--too easy to get them confused.
I would also suggest that you start with something small for the second game--don't jump directly to an AP. If you're bound and determined to run an AP eventually, try to set up a lead-in for it: either a homebrew or a commercial module that's set in the same general area as the beginning of the AP. That gives you an offramp if it turns out you don't have the time/attention for two.
My advice may only work for me, but I'll put it out there just in case.
I only DM using my own homebrew setting. I personally find it easier to run PbP 2 games in the same world (same gods, same magic, same politics, etc) rather than going between wildly different settings
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I know that a lot of folk will not agree with this, but in my 30+ years of DM'ing, I would recommend,
1) Use Google Drive or Slides for maps. I personally like Drive.
2) Limit character creation books. Since you are looking at 1st edition, I would only allow the Core Rulebook and the Advanced Players Guide.
(digression, I was DM'ing Wrath of the Righteous and had mistakenly allowed anything Paizo. By the time we got to the last battle at the end of book three, it was taking me, the DM around 90 minutes to do one combat round, because of all the different actions the PCs and NPCs could take)
3) Unless you are a very experienced DM, don't start with Kingmaker or Wrath of the Righteous as the addon systems (Kingdom management, Mythic) make it very complicated.
4) Limit the group to 5 players, and have someone step up to be the party "spokesperson" for when to move on when others are not moving the group forward.
5) Have a set schedule of posting and keep to it baring "real life" issues.
-- david
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I know that a lot of folk will not agree with this, but in my 30+ years of DM'ing, I would recommend,
...
2) Limit character creation books. Since you are looking at 1st edition, I would only allow the Core Rulebook and the Advanced Players Guide.
(digression, I was DM'ing Wrath of the Righteous and had mistakenly allowed anything Paizo. By the time we got to the last battle at the end of book three, it was taking me, the DM around 90 minutes to do one combat round, because of all the different actions the PCs and NPCs could take)
IME, you can add more source books than that, but don't let people take more than one archetype per character without a lot of consideration. Also, watch out for alternate racial features.
3) Unless you are a very experienced DM, don't start with Kingmaker or Wrath of the Righteous as the addon systems (Kingdom management, Mythic) make it very complicated....
-- david
WRT running Kingmaker, the kingdom management system doesn't come in until the second part, and if your players aren't interested in it you can abstract it--let the players essentially be troubleshooters/legates for the real kingdom managers, and run that in the background.
That said, the same guidance applies to Jade Regent and the caravan subsystem, and there are probably others.
So I am specifically looking to go down the Strange Aeons road. I played the first 2, maybe 3 books years ago. I like the theme of it, but would probably lean more into the survival horror aspect of it
1) Use Google Drive or Slides for maps. I personally like Drive.
So, what does "Drive" mean for you? My understanding is that Drive is Google's storage feature and also what they term their full suite of Office-equivalent apps (Docs, Sheets, Slides, etc.)
Slides on the other hand is one of the apps within Drive, designed for presentations (a la PowerPoint).
Do you perhaps mean "Drawings" instead of Drive? I ask because I've been thinking of making a post in this forum to talk about Drawings vs. Slides (with the intent to encourage people to use Slides over Drawings).
I use Google Drive to store NPC, creature, and other game images that will help build ambience.
I use Google Slides for maps.
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Some of these are applicable to any campaign, but I have found them even more important while I have been GMing multiple ones:
• Run published content, so you can keep the posting pace even when you have less time (and it is easier to find a GM if you are forced to transfer the campaign).
• Balance the party (allowed material, number of characters/cohorts/companions, level) rather than the encounters (and if having to do so, favor adding foes from bestiaries and codex rather than advancing NPCs)
• Give at least a light but full read to the adventure before starting it (background, events development, and NPCs/monster origins and motivations are the most important at this point)
• Give yourself some time before launching, it is easy to let yourself be carried by a new adventure when you have read or seen something inspiring about it, but assess if this is temporal or long lasting inspiration and available energy. You can for example launch a small scenario or short module, and see how you deal with the extra work
• Keep it simple, favor the rules you are familiar with
• Avoid unnecessary tasks like calculating XP, having to go back for item identification or share the burden like making the players responsible of tracking the treasure
• Work with the players to use in their backgrounds NPCs, villains and mysteries that are part of the AP, rather than having to add NPCs, events and sidequests later to keep their goals aligned with the campaign
• Plan ahead: take a few notes of ideas that might help link the PCs to the future adventures or how their actions might alter future encounters, so when you arrive to the chapter you remember about it and make it more interesting for them. When taking notes of current events, include links to the relevant posts so you can reference them later for your players to remember. Keep the notes schematic so they are quick to read when you need a refresh. Abuse the thread search tool, it is your friend.
• Plan ahead 2: when you have time and energy, prepare maps in an alternate Slides document so you can easily import them into the campaign maps when needed; identify if the adventure might require a battlemap that it does not provide; you can also look for foes tokens and images when you have spare time; this way when you play and have a busy day (or the two tables get very active the same day) you can fetch from your previous work and go through without stress and burnout
• But do not plan too much ahead, because life changes and the players have a tendency to break all plans, so last thing you want is having to throw away a full campaign detailed planning. One or two books ahead is ok.
• Take track of time invested: it is a long run, the most important is you have fun through it, and that requires not burning out. Be conscious if you are investing too much time in one of the campaigns and adjust accordingly so you still have time for other hobbies, social relations, exercise, eating healthily and resting. Your mental and body health is paramount in the enjoyment of everyone involved.
Good luck!
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To add to the last point Balacertar mentioned: GM burnout is a real thing. You can absolutely run two (or even more) PBP games simultaneously, but you really need to consider if you can do that over a longer period of time consistently without being stressed out by it.
And if you find that you bit more than you can chew, you absolutely need to be willing to lose some weight (aka end one of the games) because if you don't this will cost you so much energy that in the end the other game(s) will start to suffer for it as well. And yes, this can seriously impact your own health as well.
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To add to the last point Balacertar mentioned: GM burnout is a real thing. You can absolutely run two (or even more) PBP games simultaneously, but you really need to consider if you can do that over a longer period of time consistently without being stressed out by it.
And if you find that you bit more than you can chew, you absolutely need to be willing to lose some weight (aka end one of the games) because if you don't this will cost you so much energy that in the end the other game(s) will start to suffer for it as well. And yes, this can seriously impact your own health as well.
This is excellent advice, and I'd only add: be transparent with your players, and let them know if/when you have trouble. It may be that they'll accept a slower pace, if the choice is that or no game at all.
+1 for that.
I have a long standing campaign and we had wildly different pacing depending on my current life situation - because life happens.
Anything from 10+ posts a day to once a week and even a couple of breaks. Despite that all, we are still doing great and have an average of 3 post / day over a nearly 5 year span.
Talk to your players, explain what is going on, promise to come back and hold true to that. Pretty easy all things considered. And if you have player drop after all of that - nothing could have kept them for the long run anyway...
Good points here.
Id like to add 2 more.
1. Make use of the Campaign Tab to track things like NPC's theyve talked to., plot developments, conditions you need to track etc...
When youre running 1 campaign its pretty easy to remember things..when you run two or more...dont trust your memory.
2. Be organized. The more you are, the easier itll be on you posting in multiple games.
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I am running seven long-term campaigns here on the Paizo boards and my home campaign. Keeping track of them is not a problem. And no, I'm not some basement-dweller who is online 24 hours a day. I run two businesses and I raise two small kids, too.
Not unlike those businesses, success in running multiple games is about planning, preparation and consistency. I rarely spend more than an hour a day on my PBP games, but I do it -every- day like clockwork to help ensure my players stay engaged. When I'm driving to work or to pick up my kids from school, I'm often planning the next interesting thing I can do in one or more of my games. PLUS, I run published modules and APs for the most part so that I don't have to fret much over where the plot is going, just how to make the published adventure work well for my actual group.
The one campaign I'm actually writing as we go takes a LOT more time. WAAAY more time.
Using easy-to-access tools like Google Slides is a must and I set these up before the game begins to be easily accessible and useful.
I have two cardinal rules:
1) KEEP IT MOVING. If someone doesn't post, don't wait. Either bot them or do what I do: I write "Anyone, give me orders for Player Character X" and move on.
2) TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE MEDIUM. Everyone knows that Play-by-Post is slow. But many fail to recognize the advantage that provides: You can craft just the right words to convey the scene. Your villains can monologue beautifully, saying just what you want them to say. You can even go back and edit if you think of better words. I -love- this, often taking time to really craft just the thing I want to say for real narrative impact. My face-to-face game is a lot of fun but I'm not nearly as eloquent when I have to think on my feet as I am when I have to say it just right.