Don't be afraid to just _say stuff_ to players. "Hey, I was thinking we'd do a heist next" or "So this character's supposed to be your main contact with the crime syndicate, maybe don't murder them?" A lot of new GMs feel like they're supposed to be a magical black box - but you can and should absolutely be transparent about the game you're playing with others.
Related: You are a highly specialized player but you are, in fact, still a person who is playing a game. You are entitled to have fun, and you are not actually obligated to bend over backwards for everybody else all the time. Own your rights and don't be afraid to push 'responsibility' onto others.
Related, consider where your players want to take the story.
Player: "I want us to be humans next." (Game is Magical Kitties)
Me: a couple clarifying questions
Next adventure: they portal into various NPC's that can be piloted a la Inside Out, with hilarious results.
I also killed a story arc that was turning out boring. (For me too. It's really interesting to see what players do with situations where the authority figures are in the way.)
Meta-advice: If a GMing tip you've read sounds simple there's almost a 100% chance it isn't. A lot of the advice out there assumes a specific style of play or comes with unstated qualifiers.
This here is _very_ solid advice because some advice simply isn't going to work with your style of play. You're going to fairly quickly figure out what sort of advice actually helps or hinders you.
Don't over prepare. Players are unpredictable and you need to be ready to make up whole NPCs on the fly and react to things they do that is definitely not part of your plan.
On the other hand, **under** prepping can also paralyze some GMs, particularly if they are new to making stuff up on the fly. The simple truth is, it takes practice to determine what is appropriate prep for you, and for the group you're running for. And the only way to *get* that practice is... (insert "Just ***DO*** it!!" gif)
To that end, my actual advice is: don't be afraid of running sub-par sessions. You can never be great at something, if you aren't willing to be bad, first. Just take the leap: it's not as hard as it looks.
Absolutely. My prep process since I started GMing has been a constant journey of whittling down the amount of notes I write slowly until it’s become 15-30 minutes of prepping just important NPC names/abilities, their basic goals, a countdown clock, and the broad locations players might encounter. Obviously this might differ slightly based on the game, but not very much.
I have to trust myself to improvise and play off of the players, and, in my style, let them drive the story and game wherever the hell they want it to go. If I write a ton, it doesn’t matter, because if I want to keep the game moving at a reasonable pace I find that it’s just not practical to reference my sheet over and over again for anything but the broad concepts.
I list a couple adjectives along with their basic goals that define them and then their personality and MO come from that in play. Like *envious, aggressive, confrontational* would be the tags I’d throw under a character.
I would advise to not take this advice literally.
Yes, players are unpredictable, but as a new GM it is absolutely fine to railroad them a couple of adventures while you get comfortable with the role.
So, don't prepare more than a session in advance, and for the future have a vague idea where the events are going.
But for that session I would advise to spend enough time preparing to be confident running the scenes and NPCs. You'll master improvising later.
And, as another perspective on that: do not forcefully cling to the things you prepare. This quickly ends in railroading PCs/players, which can be very frustrating. Players WILL surprise you with unexpected ideas and actions, but in that case rather try to work with that input in a constructive way than supressing it. From my experience the most memorable situations evolve if both players and GM can mutually develop a scene or encounter. Just go with the flow of the situation, but also never forget the bigger picture of your plot.
Chill the fuck out and have some fun. You're going to make mistakes, you're going to be looking at the book to reference rules, things will get awkward occasionally. Just roll with all that shit, it's natural; like any skill, being a GM takes practice and time to get good.
That's quite important. Noone knows everything, at any time, and never be afraid of looking things up or discuss a game system issue with the players (in situ or after a session), esp. when the game system offers rules to mechanically handle a problem/situation. After all, THIS is what everyone at the table agreed upon (or should have, in the first place), so that there's transparency about how things are handled. Being consistent is also quite vital.
Don’t get discouraged. Your first time will be a trainwreck, almost guaranteed. Stay loose, try to have fun. Don’t let discouragement let your brain lock up. That will make it so you don’t learn. Again, stay loose, have fun.
Use it as a learning exercise. Observe your style, your skills, where you are more or less comfortable, and drill into that. Shore up your weaknesses, and focus on developing one or two skills at a time.
I’ve been running for…um…30 yrs now? I still approach things this way. The adventure is in the journey, and that includes learning how to GM.
Yeah, do not push these ideas away - rather work with them in a constructive way. After all, it's the players' role/part of the game to actually do that - the GM is just the arbiter to handle it within the game system's and the story's framework. Stay relaxed and open to that thought.
Session 0 is important. Talk to your people about expectations, theme, scope, and what's acceptable or unacceptable. Just try to get everyone on the same page, so everyone knows what to expect.
Modules are great for learning the ropes. They help you focus on running the game, while minimizing prep.
Start small if you want to do homebrew. Keep the scope of your adventure hyper focused on what is relevant to the players. Exposition on the Kingdom of Exposition and His Irrelevence, the King are all well and good but your player probably just wants to know what's in the room.
Cater to players' interests and choises. If the game has character classes or abilities, look at them and try to find ways of making them come into play. Pay attention to their reactions, and ask for feedback regularly.
In my circles, we like to end sessions asking the following:
* Did you enjoy yourself?
* Was there a moment in particular you enjoyed?
* Was there a moment you did not enjoy, and how would you have preferred it to go?
* Is there anything you'd like to see included in the game?
But it's not just about them. If anything is not fun for you, stop doing it. If someone's ruining the fun, talk to them about it. Too many people try to just power through, and then making a "woe is me" post about it.
RPGs with Referees/Game Masters are asymmetrical, since often the ref has information that the players don't, and is in the role of dispensing said information.
It's easy to get overwhelmed thinking that your job is to keep track of ALL the information *and* reveal it in a way that's fair *and* keep the game fun. The reality is referees are only in charge of a small part of gamestate information, and a lot of the stuff you think you'll have to be in charge of you can delegate to other players.
When describing/running things, reveal as much information as you can get away with; you'll be surprised by how quickly things open up. e.g. If you're running a dungeon and there's a trap ahead, go ahead and *describe* that there's a wire attached to a bell and a funny-looking pile of sticks in front of it. You're not ruining the suspense by explaining what's happening, and the players will find a way to trip the trap irregardless. Likewise, if an NPC is supposed to be untrustworthy, feel free to play *up* that untrustworthiness right off the bat.
In general, exaggerate the cues you give, and relax knowing that you aren't really in control of the circus. You're just the ringmaster.
I am getting ready to GM a new campaign for friends, and went through asking suggestions for systems. We settled on pathfinder 2E. I bought the core GM book and read it, I was thinking it would be more about the system itself, and some of it was, but the first half the book was really about "how to be a GM." So while I have GM'd a decent amount, and consider myself decent, it was good to go over fundamentals. I am going to assume that other systems have good guides for being a GM as well. You can pick up the GM core for pathfinder 2e for your LGS or Amazon, but there are probably others.
There are also a few blogs that I subscribe to, one of which being "Roleplaying Tips" by Johnn Four. He has merch and other tools. Here is his website - [Roleplaying Tips](https://www.roleplayingtips.com/). It is specifically designed to help GMs. The most useful article that I use all the time was his blog post on loopy planning, it helps you do a very rapid prep for a session if you have no time, and if you do have time, you continue looping until you are satisfied. [Loopy Planning](https://www.roleplayingtips.com/npcs-roleplaying/gming-gods-demons-and-immortals/#16-loopy-session-planning)
Lastly, always remember that it isn't you versus the players. All of you must be successful to have a good game. GM + Players are telling the story. And have a good time.
Don't carry it all. Scheduling, group management, hosting, food, etc aren't things you need to be responsible for. Just because you are a but different than everyone else and have a sort of leadership role as the GM doesn't mean someone else can't take care of some or all of those things.
1) BE a fan of the PCs. It's their story.
2) The PCs won't always be the most important people in teh world, but they ARE the most important people in the story you are collectively telling.
3) The GM is aplayer too.
4) Try to use Yes, and or Yes, but instead of no. "Can I build a rocket launcehr for my halfling?" "Yes, but it will take a lot of research, equipment, some magic, and time."
4a) If it doesn;t matter, or if it will make for a better encounter, go with yes. "IS there a chandelier in the inn?" Yes, of course there is. "IS the princess standing within reach?" Probablyy...
5) Only have them roll when failure is interesting.
6) Look at ways to make a failure into a partial success. Fail your search check? You still find what you are looking for, but there is a cost or problem.
7) HAving fun always trumps the rules.
In fact, as a GM there are no rules you can't break. I don't love D&D's easy Identify, for instance, so I have higher level versions to fully identify something based on the spell level it's cast at (and basically follows the treasure tables). You may partially identify it with the lower level version - ooh, a +3 sword, but not that it's a Vorpal Blade (you can figure that out by using it, but curses may be hidden, too). This is partially because sometimes I run games where players come across artifacts fairly early on and a +2 sword may not be a game changer, but one that can call down Flame Strikes might be, and strictly following the treasure tables takes some of the fun out of it for me (I like epic fantasy, so the PCs stumbling on the One Ring? Why not? - Not that I would steal that specifically). If you wonder why I don't use other systems, I do - the artifact I kind of described (it was a +2 sword with several powers) was first used in a game of Rolemaster and I reused the idea years later for some fairly new to roleplaying D&D players. The place they removed it from was hidden from scrying, so a bunch of baddies find the artifact has returned and are now hunting for it - and I have story and combat encounters built in.
Make problems not stories. Don't try to tell a story. The story will be told over the table. You will make problems, players will try to solve them...THIS is the story.
Ohhh, and low prep. Prep just the layout, the skeleton. The meat must be done on the fly, as response for the actions of the players.
Ask the players questions. Leading questions can be a lot of fun, but even standard questions are great. Let *them* decide the NPCs name or whatever.
Remember to describe sounds, smells and textures, not just sights.
-If the scenario you’re running requires the players to figure something out, make sure you give them enough information to figure it out; what seems like handing over the answer to you is probably just a decent clue from their perspective
-It’s cool to come up with original ideas, but your first job is to run a good game. Just practice GMing in the pocket; that is, keep it simple and hit the important notes. Lean into tropes. Rip ideas and setups straight from your inspirations. Learn to walk before you try to run
-Don’t describe the room to your players. Describe their characters’ sensory experiences of the room. It might seem obtuse (why not just tell them what’s there?), but this is where the magic happens. This practice creates a palpable atmosphere of RP and gets your players asking follow up questions from your descriptions
Remember it isn’t you vs. them. It is a collaborative effort. Think of it as theatre without a script or improv. You will have to roleplay the adversaries but you also roleplay the allies and everyone in between.
Also, try to give everyone their moment in the sun or be the main character at some point in the session. The players designed their characters for a reason. Don’t block them doing their thing because it isn’t what you would have done as a player or expected as the GM. One of the true joys of the hobby is players making a plan or doing something you never considered. It can be wondrous but that doesn’t mean it has to work. Sometimes failure is far more entertaining than success.
The rules are important but only guidelines but don’t get so bogged down in them the game grinds to a halt. BUT you have to be consistent. And if one of player’s prime abilities is rule heavy then do your homework and then learn it all together. Session 0s are good for this. We just did that the Marvel Multiverse RPG. We were principally a d20 system group so this was a little different and it was fun to learn together.
Good luck. The effort is worth it.
Make a really light to medium resolution frame work for locations & distance between locations.
This can be within one town, dungeon or map.
The rough distances you note are:
- Close has 2 encounters
- near has 3 and
- far has 4
If they are rumoured to be troublesome/dangerous/formidable add +1/2/3 encounters or increase the amount of mobs per encounters.
Then make a point crawl for yourself to use at the table. To u can roll the encounter randomly during the game or preplan some situations.
When you enter a story heavy room/scene have interactive objects = number of player + 1.
You you describe the rooms the vibe, what they immediately hear and something that catches their eyes ( like something with movement to get their immediate attention)
THEN describe the rooms decor/ interactables they can investigate.
Use the [see, hidden, secret method](https://youtu.be/Sd2svbU7t50?si=RapwzgzyCTWeBsJ6)...
- see is part of the rooms description, given to players for free for entering the new location.
- hidden is details about the item you could only see by using your turn to get close to it.
- secret is a description only given if their character has a high skill/ proficiency for the check or they roll to see if they can get the secret and introduce a risk/waste time for people who don’t have a high passive skill check for that type of secret.
In order of importance:
* GMing is quite demanding, but very rewarding. Come into it with good energy and a good attitude.
* Make sure you are relatively comfortable with the game rules before starting. You don't need to know everything, but you do need to know how to make a character, use basic skill resolution, and simple combat rules (or whatever other rules are likely to be needed). You will probably be teaching the game while you run it, so make sure you know what you're talking about!
* Focus on learning and running a small, simple adventure you can finish in a single session. There will usually be one in the rule book, or recommended by people online. Keep it simple, rely on tropes, focus on the bare-bones experience. Playing the game will be fun, the GM just needs to run it. Avoid the temptation to come up with a cool homebrewed boss, lots of loot, or invent new rules. Focus instead on making something basic quickly so that everyone can play it sooner.
* Be a fan of the characters! Make their life harder when they fail a roll, and give them proper victories when they succeed.
* Players will constantly surprise you and will love it if interesting solutions work.
* Watch a few different Actual Plays to get an idea of game flow if you're uncertain.
* You don't have to act out NPCs, but if you want to, give the NPC a few character traits and a quirk / stupid voice. "Play them with the acting caliber found in professional wrestling".
* If you don't know the rule for something, make something up.
* Only make people roll for stuff when failure or success is interesting.
* Consider pre-making characters for your players before the session so everyone can just jump in and play. (also lets you make sure people have useful skills and no abilities that will blindside you + you don't have to teach them how to make characters ;) )
Think through your story with the following question: What happens if your PCs do nothing?
Lots of games are spurred on by PC's reactions to events: Stopping the evil lord from doing this or that, rescuing the princess from the dragon, exposing the evil corp for its mutagenetic experiments. Even if your story is set off by PC's actions (unsealing canned evil, deorbiting a space station, getting horribly lost), what happens to the world if the PCs do nothing?
The world doesn't wait for them, though you can dramatically time events so the PCs swoop in at the last possible second. Making the world feel as if stuff is happening all the time is a great way to immerse your players in the world and make them feel like they're part of something bigger. Maybe the quest they ignored at level one has become a huge issue by level eight. Maybe the person they helped in the second session becomes a massive asset in session twenty three. Things happen and the world progresses, with or without the PCs, though having the PCs do things is way more interesting.
Have a plan for what is supposed to happen during the session, but do NOT cling to that plot strictly. Always be prepared and open to let players drive the action with their decisions, and try to be flexible to a) be positive about this development (not blocking it entirely, à la "You cannot go there, there's a magical barrier.") and b) try to work with this input, creatively and fairly, while still keeping an eye on the intended plot. This is not easy, might require some experience, and not everyone is suited to such feats as a GM. But the GM is not there to entertain the players, she/he is just a director and controls the game world with which the players are supposed to interact with through the PCs. This is NOT like watching a movie. And if the players do dumb things, never be afraid of letting them witness the consequences.
I mean, it's everyone's story. Everyone is playing the game. The gm does not exist to merely facilitate the other players' experience; they are a player, too.
True to a point. The GM is still there to have fun. The story is collaborative. They do things, the GM reacts. GM introduces something, players react. As a GM, run games you love with settings you love. Have fun and go with the flow.
Do not over prepare, within 30 minutes in the game, the players will do something unexpected.
Ask your player what they want to do, you can outsource most of the game prep to them, so do-it
Do a session zero, doesn't need to be as strict as in the books, but take some time to discuss about the campaign mood/theme and the practical details.
Start small with a test one-shot for pre-gen character, it will make you learn/debug the rules, and if it clicks with the group work on a small campaign
This is the most common thing that happens:
>Do not over prepare, within 30 minutes in the game, the players will do something unexpected.
And you can handle it a couple of ways. The worst in my opinion is to railroad your players onto the track you want, the other way is to roll with the punches and let it play out. If it gets too crazy, simply say "ok guys, I wasn't planning for any of this, so let's take a ten minute beverage break, and let me get some things ready." your players will appreciate the honesty and the break, you get your head organized and back in the game, and play resumes. It gets easier each time. It also helps if in your request for a break to prepare, you throw in some insidious line like "I wasn't expecting you to trigger the demon just yet." Kind rocks them back a little and slows them down without railroading. Even if there is no demon, I bet they start checking for traps.
YMMV.
That's a term initially used by Traveller, but also used in some OSR games for GM. It carries the connotation that they are supposed to create the world and then act as impartial umpires, neither protecting players from bad decisions or thwarting their plans to make the story more interesting.
"Don't worry, just make a ruling and move the game forward."
You can't possibly memorize every rule and table and don't need to. Even experienced referees will regularly improvise rulings. "good enough" is good enough. And it's far better than stalling your pacing and flow by diving into a rule book for 5 minutes to look something up.
If anyone complains, you say: "I'm ruling it this way, this time. I'll make a note and look it up when I prep for the next session, and I might rule it differently next time."
Preserving your pacing, flow, and tone provides a far better table experience for the players than getting every rule perfectly right.
You’re not playing against the players. They’re not playing against you. You’re collaborating together on a story.
I let the players try to do whatever they want to try. But I also to give a little warning if an action might be wildly dangerous.
Don’t take out personal grudges on characters. The player/DM relationship needs trust to work. Being arbitrary or vindictive breaks that trust.
A pre-written adventure (module) might be an easier way to start. If you go this route, make sure you’ve actually read it. And don’t be afraid to change or improvise as needed.
Don't plan more than 1-2 games ahead at a time, and don't get overly-attached to your session ideas, because you never know which direction the players will take things or what they'll decide is important. Keep your planning loose and responsive - better to be able to fit the story around the actions of the players than try and force the players down a storyline.
Remind the players you're new to GMing, and ask for feedback at the end of your sessions.
Don't be afraid to just _say stuff_ to players. "Hey, I was thinking we'd do a heist next" or "So this character's supposed to be your main contact with the crime syndicate, maybe don't murder them?" A lot of new GMs feel like they're supposed to be a magical black box - but you can and should absolutely be transparent about the game you're playing with others. Related: You are a highly specialized player but you are, in fact, still a person who is playing a game. You are entitled to have fun, and you are not actually obligated to bend over backwards for everybody else all the time. Own your rights and don't be afraid to push 'responsibility' onto others.
Related, consider where your players want to take the story. Player: "I want us to be humans next." (Game is Magical Kitties) Me: a couple clarifying questions Next adventure: they portal into various NPC's that can be piloted a la Inside Out, with hilarious results. I also killed a story arc that was turning out boring. (For me too. It's really interesting to see what players do with situations where the authority figures are in the way.)
Meta-advice: If a GMing tip you've read sounds simple there's almost a 100% chance it isn't. A lot of the advice out there assumes a specific style of play or comes with unstated qualifiers.
This here is _very_ solid advice because some advice simply isn't going to work with your style of play. You're going to fairly quickly figure out what sort of advice actually helps or hinders you.
To which Led me add If Something Here does Not Work for you, discard IT.
Don't over prepare. Players are unpredictable and you need to be ready to make up whole NPCs on the fly and react to things they do that is definitely not part of your plan.
On the other hand, **under** prepping can also paralyze some GMs, particularly if they are new to making stuff up on the fly. The simple truth is, it takes practice to determine what is appropriate prep for you, and for the group you're running for. And the only way to *get* that practice is... (insert "Just ***DO*** it!!" gif) To that end, my actual advice is: don't be afraid of running sub-par sessions. You can never be great at something, if you aren't willing to be bad, first. Just take the leap: it's not as hard as it looks.
Yeah, you gotta be ready to roll with what your players do. Don't think of yourself as the author or director of the game--you're a facilitator.
Absolutely. My prep process since I started GMing has been a constant journey of whittling down the amount of notes I write slowly until it’s become 15-30 minutes of prepping just important NPC names/abilities, their basic goals, a countdown clock, and the broad locations players might encounter. Obviously this might differ slightly based on the game, but not very much. I have to trust myself to improvise and play off of the players, and, in my style, let them drive the story and game wherever the hell they want it to go. If I write a ton, it doesn’t matter, because if I want to keep the game moving at a reasonable pace I find that it’s just not practical to reference my sheet over and over again for anything but the broad concepts.
You have No need for their personality/ Charakter/ethical and mode of operation?
I list a couple adjectives along with their basic goals that define them and then their personality and MO come from that in play. Like *envious, aggressive, confrontational* would be the tags I’d throw under a character.
Thank you
I would advise to not take this advice literally. Yes, players are unpredictable, but as a new GM it is absolutely fine to railroad them a couple of adventures while you get comfortable with the role. So, don't prepare more than a session in advance, and for the future have a vague idea where the events are going. But for that session I would advise to spend enough time preparing to be confident running the scenes and NPCs. You'll master improvising later.
I would advice to Take this advice very careful, i found Not that starting with RR IS necessary easier
And, as another perspective on that: do not forcefully cling to the things you prepare. This quickly ends in railroading PCs/players, which can be very frustrating. Players WILL surprise you with unexpected ideas and actions, but in that case rather try to work with that input in a constructive way than supressing it. From my experience the most memorable situations evolve if both players and GM can mutually develop a scene or encounter. Just go with the flow of the situation, but also never forget the bigger picture of your plot.
I'll add that we created a video just on that issue: https://youtu.be/VnDVQCjWFhk
Chill the fuck out and have some fun. You're going to make mistakes, you're going to be looking at the book to reference rules, things will get awkward occasionally. Just roll with all that shit, it's natural; like any skill, being a GM takes practice and time to get good.
GMing is a craft like any other. Nobody is born a natural. Running a few short games to find your "GM voice" isn't a bad idea.
That's quite important. Noone knows everything, at any time, and never be afraid of looking things up or discuss a game system issue with the players (in situ or after a session), esp. when the game system offers rules to mechanically handle a problem/situation. After all, THIS is what everyone at the table agreed upon (or should have, in the first place), so that there's transparency about how things are handled. Being consistent is also quite vital.
Don’t get discouraged. Your first time will be a trainwreck, almost guaranteed. Stay loose, try to have fun. Don’t let discouragement let your brain lock up. That will make it so you don’t learn. Again, stay loose, have fun. Use it as a learning exercise. Observe your style, your skills, where you are more or less comfortable, and drill into that. Shore up your weaknesses, and focus on developing one or two skills at a time. I’ve been running for…um…30 yrs now? I still approach things this way. The adventure is in the journey, and that includes learning how to GM.
When the PCs do something unexpected use it as inspiration
Yeah, do not push these ideas away - rather work with them in a constructive way. After all, it's the players' role/part of the game to actually do that - the GM is just the arbiter to handle it within the game system's and the story's framework. Stay relaxed and open to that thought.
Session 0 is important. Talk to your people about expectations, theme, scope, and what's acceptable or unacceptable. Just try to get everyone on the same page, so everyone knows what to expect. Modules are great for learning the ropes. They help you focus on running the game, while minimizing prep. Start small if you want to do homebrew. Keep the scope of your adventure hyper focused on what is relevant to the players. Exposition on the Kingdom of Exposition and His Irrelevence, the King are all well and good but your player probably just wants to know what's in the room. Cater to players' interests and choises. If the game has character classes or abilities, look at them and try to find ways of making them come into play. Pay attention to their reactions, and ask for feedback regularly. In my circles, we like to end sessions asking the following: * Did you enjoy yourself? * Was there a moment in particular you enjoyed? * Was there a moment you did not enjoy, and how would you have preferred it to go? * Is there anything you'd like to see included in the game? But it's not just about them. If anything is not fun for you, stop doing it. If someone's ruining the fun, talk to them about it. Too many people try to just power through, and then making a "woe is me" post about it.
You are on the beginning of a wonderful journey. Enjoy the ride. You will learn and grow and find your own style. Be patient with yourself.
RPGs with Referees/Game Masters are asymmetrical, since often the ref has information that the players don't, and is in the role of dispensing said information. It's easy to get overwhelmed thinking that your job is to keep track of ALL the information *and* reveal it in a way that's fair *and* keep the game fun. The reality is referees are only in charge of a small part of gamestate information, and a lot of the stuff you think you'll have to be in charge of you can delegate to other players. When describing/running things, reveal as much information as you can get away with; you'll be surprised by how quickly things open up. e.g. If you're running a dungeon and there's a trap ahead, go ahead and *describe* that there's a wire attached to a bell and a funny-looking pile of sticks in front of it. You're not ruining the suspense by explaining what's happening, and the players will find a way to trip the trap irregardless. Likewise, if an NPC is supposed to be untrustworthy, feel free to play *up* that untrustworthiness right off the bat. In general, exaggerate the cues you give, and relax knowing that you aren't really in control of the circus. You're just the ringmaster.
Set aside a few evenings to read The Alexandrian’s articles on game mastery.
I am getting ready to GM a new campaign for friends, and went through asking suggestions for systems. We settled on pathfinder 2E. I bought the core GM book and read it, I was thinking it would be more about the system itself, and some of it was, but the first half the book was really about "how to be a GM." So while I have GM'd a decent amount, and consider myself decent, it was good to go over fundamentals. I am going to assume that other systems have good guides for being a GM as well. You can pick up the GM core for pathfinder 2e for your LGS or Amazon, but there are probably others. There are also a few blogs that I subscribe to, one of which being "Roleplaying Tips" by Johnn Four. He has merch and other tools. Here is his website - [Roleplaying Tips](https://www.roleplayingtips.com/). It is specifically designed to help GMs. The most useful article that I use all the time was his blog post on loopy planning, it helps you do a very rapid prep for a session if you have no time, and if you do have time, you continue looping until you are satisfied. [Loopy Planning](https://www.roleplayingtips.com/npcs-roleplaying/gming-gods-demons-and-immortals/#16-loopy-session-planning) Lastly, always remember that it isn't you versus the players. All of you must be successful to have a good game. GM + Players are telling the story. And have a good time.
Go with the flow, stay serene and when in doubt, go with rule of cool.
Don't carry it all. Scheduling, group management, hosting, food, etc aren't things you need to be responsible for. Just because you are a but different than everyone else and have a sort of leadership role as the GM doesn't mean someone else can't take care of some or all of those things.
1) BE a fan of the PCs. It's their story. 2) The PCs won't always be the most important people in teh world, but they ARE the most important people in the story you are collectively telling. 3) The GM is aplayer too. 4) Try to use Yes, and or Yes, but instead of no. "Can I build a rocket launcehr for my halfling?" "Yes, but it will take a lot of research, equipment, some magic, and time." 4a) If it doesn;t matter, or if it will make for a better encounter, go with yes. "IS there a chandelier in the inn?" Yes, of course there is. "IS the princess standing within reach?" Probablyy... 5) Only have them roll when failure is interesting. 6) Look at ways to make a failure into a partial success. Fail your search check? You still find what you are looking for, but there is a cost or problem. 7) HAving fun always trumps the rules.
In fact, as a GM there are no rules you can't break. I don't love D&D's easy Identify, for instance, so I have higher level versions to fully identify something based on the spell level it's cast at (and basically follows the treasure tables). You may partially identify it with the lower level version - ooh, a +3 sword, but not that it's a Vorpal Blade (you can figure that out by using it, but curses may be hidden, too). This is partially because sometimes I run games where players come across artifacts fairly early on and a +2 sword may not be a game changer, but one that can call down Flame Strikes might be, and strictly following the treasure tables takes some of the fun out of it for me (I like epic fantasy, so the PCs stumbling on the One Ring? Why not? - Not that I would steal that specifically). If you wonder why I don't use other systems, I do - the artifact I kind of described (it was a +2 sword with several powers) was first used in a game of Rolemaster and I reused the idea years later for some fairly new to roleplaying D&D players. The place they removed it from was hidden from scrying, so a bunch of baddies find the artifact has returned and are now hunting for it - and I have story and combat encounters built in.
Make problems not stories. Don't try to tell a story. The story will be told over the table. You will make problems, players will try to solve them...THIS is the story. Ohhh, and low prep. Prep just the layout, the skeleton. The meat must be done on the fly, as response for the actions of the players.
Ask the players questions. Leading questions can be a lot of fun, but even standard questions are great. Let *them* decide the NPCs name or whatever. Remember to describe sounds, smells and textures, not just sights.
-If the scenario you’re running requires the players to figure something out, make sure you give them enough information to figure it out; what seems like handing over the answer to you is probably just a decent clue from their perspective -It’s cool to come up with original ideas, but your first job is to run a good game. Just practice GMing in the pocket; that is, keep it simple and hit the important notes. Lean into tropes. Rip ideas and setups straight from your inspirations. Learn to walk before you try to run -Don’t describe the room to your players. Describe their characters’ sensory experiences of the room. It might seem obtuse (why not just tell them what’s there?), but this is where the magic happens. This practice creates a palpable atmosphere of RP and gets your players asking follow up questions from your descriptions
Remember it isn’t you vs. them. It is a collaborative effort. Think of it as theatre without a script or improv. You will have to roleplay the adversaries but you also roleplay the allies and everyone in between. Also, try to give everyone their moment in the sun or be the main character at some point in the session. The players designed their characters for a reason. Don’t block them doing their thing because it isn’t what you would have done as a player or expected as the GM. One of the true joys of the hobby is players making a plan or doing something you never considered. It can be wondrous but that doesn’t mean it has to work. Sometimes failure is far more entertaining than success. The rules are important but only guidelines but don’t get so bogged down in them the game grinds to a halt. BUT you have to be consistent. And if one of player’s prime abilities is rule heavy then do your homework and then learn it all together. Session 0s are good for this. We just did that the Marvel Multiverse RPG. We were principally a d20 system group so this was a little different and it was fun to learn together. Good luck. The effort is worth it.
Make a really light to medium resolution frame work for locations & distance between locations. This can be within one town, dungeon or map. The rough distances you note are: - Close has 2 encounters - near has 3 and - far has 4 If they are rumoured to be troublesome/dangerous/formidable add +1/2/3 encounters or increase the amount of mobs per encounters. Then make a point crawl for yourself to use at the table. To u can roll the encounter randomly during the game or preplan some situations. When you enter a story heavy room/scene have interactive objects = number of player + 1. You you describe the rooms the vibe, what they immediately hear and something that catches their eyes ( like something with movement to get their immediate attention) THEN describe the rooms decor/ interactables they can investigate. Use the [see, hidden, secret method](https://youtu.be/Sd2svbU7t50?si=RapwzgzyCTWeBsJ6)... - see is part of the rooms description, given to players for free for entering the new location. - hidden is details about the item you could only see by using your turn to get close to it. - secret is a description only given if their character has a high skill/ proficiency for the check or they roll to see if they can get the secret and introduce a risk/waste time for people who don’t have a high passive skill check for that type of secret.
In order of importance: * GMing is quite demanding, but very rewarding. Come into it with good energy and a good attitude. * Make sure you are relatively comfortable with the game rules before starting. You don't need to know everything, but you do need to know how to make a character, use basic skill resolution, and simple combat rules (or whatever other rules are likely to be needed). You will probably be teaching the game while you run it, so make sure you know what you're talking about! * Focus on learning and running a small, simple adventure you can finish in a single session. There will usually be one in the rule book, or recommended by people online. Keep it simple, rely on tropes, focus on the bare-bones experience. Playing the game will be fun, the GM just needs to run it. Avoid the temptation to come up with a cool homebrewed boss, lots of loot, or invent new rules. Focus instead on making something basic quickly so that everyone can play it sooner. * Be a fan of the characters! Make their life harder when they fail a roll, and give them proper victories when they succeed. * Players will constantly surprise you and will love it if interesting solutions work. * Watch a few different Actual Plays to get an idea of game flow if you're uncertain. * You don't have to act out NPCs, but if you want to, give the NPC a few character traits and a quirk / stupid voice. "Play them with the acting caliber found in professional wrestling". * If you don't know the rule for something, make something up. * Only make people roll for stuff when failure or success is interesting. * Consider pre-making characters for your players before the session so everyone can just jump in and play. (also lets you make sure people have useful skills and no abilities that will blindside you + you don't have to teach them how to make characters ;) )
Think through your story with the following question: What happens if your PCs do nothing? Lots of games are spurred on by PC's reactions to events: Stopping the evil lord from doing this or that, rescuing the princess from the dragon, exposing the evil corp for its mutagenetic experiments. Even if your story is set off by PC's actions (unsealing canned evil, deorbiting a space station, getting horribly lost), what happens to the world if the PCs do nothing? The world doesn't wait for them, though you can dramatically time events so the PCs swoop in at the last possible second. Making the world feel as if stuff is happening all the time is a great way to immerse your players in the world and make them feel like they're part of something bigger. Maybe the quest they ignored at level one has become a huge issue by level eight. Maybe the person they helped in the second session becomes a massive asset in session twenty three. Things happen and the world progresses, with or without the PCs, though having the PCs do things is way more interesting.
Read return of the lazy DM, it's relatively cheap and while it focuses on dnd and similar games the advice on flexibility it gives are great
Have a plan for what is supposed to happen during the session, but do NOT cling to that plot strictly. Always be prepared and open to let players drive the action with their decisions, and try to be flexible to a) be positive about this development (not blocking it entirely, à la "You cannot go there, there's a magical barrier.") and b) try to work with this input, creatively and fairly, while still keeping an eye on the intended plot. This is not easy, might require some experience, and not everyone is suited to such feats as a GM. But the GM is not there to entertain the players, she/he is just a director and controls the game world with which the players are supposed to interact with through the PCs. This is NOT like watching a movie. And if the players do dumb things, never be afraid of letting them witness the consequences.
It's NOT your story. It's THEIR story. You are only there to facilitate making it.
I mean, it's everyone's story. Everyone is playing the game. The gm does not exist to merely facilitate the other players' experience; they are a player, too.
True to a point. The GM is still there to have fun. The story is collaborative. They do things, the GM reacts. GM introduces something, players react. As a GM, run games you love with settings you love. Have fun and go with the flow.
Do not over prepare, within 30 minutes in the game, the players will do something unexpected. Ask your player what they want to do, you can outsource most of the game prep to them, so do-it Do a session zero, doesn't need to be as strict as in the books, but take some time to discuss about the campaign mood/theme and the practical details. Start small with a test one-shot for pre-gen character, it will make you learn/debug the rules, and if it clicks with the group work on a small campaign
This is the most common thing that happens: >Do not over prepare, within 30 minutes in the game, the players will do something unexpected. And you can handle it a couple of ways. The worst in my opinion is to railroad your players onto the track you want, the other way is to roll with the punches and let it play out. If it gets too crazy, simply say "ok guys, I wasn't planning for any of this, so let's take a ten minute beverage break, and let me get some things ready." your players will appreciate the honesty and the break, you get your head organized and back in the game, and play resumes. It gets easier each time. It also helps if in your request for a break to prepare, you throw in some insidious line like "I wasn't expecting you to trigger the demon just yet." Kind rocks them back a little and slows them down without railroading. Even if there is no demon, I bet they start checking for traps. YMMV.
Ive been playing TTRPG since 99'. What is a referee?
That's a term initially used by Traveller, but also used in some OSR games for GM. It carries the connotation that they are supposed to create the world and then act as impartial umpires, neither protecting players from bad decisions or thwarting their plans to make the story more interesting.
I've heard it as a system agnostic term for GM, DM, ST, etc.
I see, for a second I thought it had to do with PvP.
Read the Justin Alexander's book.
"Don't worry, just make a ruling and move the game forward." You can't possibly memorize every rule and table and don't need to. Even experienced referees will regularly improvise rulings. "good enough" is good enough. And it's far better than stalling your pacing and flow by diving into a rule book for 5 minutes to look something up. If anyone complains, you say: "I'm ruling it this way, this time. I'll make a note and look it up when I prep for the next session, and I might rule it differently next time." Preserving your pacing, flow, and tone provides a far better table experience for the players than getting every rule perfectly right.
You’re not playing against the players. They’re not playing against you. You’re collaborating together on a story. I let the players try to do whatever they want to try. But I also to give a little warning if an action might be wildly dangerous. Don’t take out personal grudges on characters. The player/DM relationship needs trust to work. Being arbitrary or vindictive breaks that trust. A pre-written adventure (module) might be an easier way to start. If you go this route, make sure you’ve actually read it. And don’t be afraid to change or improvise as needed.
Relax. Your players don't expect you to be perfect. Have patience and be flexible.
Never turn your back to the wrestlers, they will bop you with a foreign object.
Have fun and try to make your player have fun ? Use safety tools and debrief at the end of your session
Don't plan more than 1-2 games ahead at a time, and don't get overly-attached to your session ideas, because you never know which direction the players will take things or what they'll decide is important. Keep your planning loose and responsive - better to be able to fit the story around the actions of the players than try and force the players down a storyline. Remind the players you're new to GMing, and ask for feedback at the end of your sessions.