How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love to GM

Well, I GMed my very first session of Pathfinder last night. I was nervous as well as tired due to having worked all day, but it went better than I could have ever hoped for. Turnout was not what I had hoped for but there were still enough players to make for an enjoyable night. I was happy to do it and I hope to do it more in the future. However, I also learned a lot and I wanted to share with you what I have learned.

1. Prep is not a big deal.  When I was first tapped to GM 2 Quests, I was a bit panicked. I was obsessed with getting everything absolutely right, convinced that I had to basically had to remember everything. I printed everything. Quest sheets, character sheets, pregens (I couldn't print out the level 5 Iconics as the printer ran out of ink and they weren't needed for last night anyway.) I learned that this was overkill. The pregens proved to be quite useful and was a good bit of foresight on my part. However, I learned that all you have to do is read through the story once to familiarize yourself with the story and the characters. Printing everything was overkill as it led to a convoluted mess. In the future, I will only print the sign in sheet, chronicle sheets, and handouts and use my phone for the rest. In short, don't obsess over the scenario because everything is right there, and I likely would have been fine even if I had not read everything ahead of time.

2. Arrive well in advance. My original plan was to arrive 15-20 minutes early. I was advised to make it 30 minutes. In the end, I came to the store directly from work because work was closer to the store and going home would have been a waste of time and gas. Despite taking my time and stopping for dinner, I was at the store two hours early. This wasn't bad as I had plenty of time to do some last-minute prep and set up. Two of my players arrived an hour early and one of them was brand new. He was familiar with Pathfinder 1e but not 2e, so I was able to go over with him basic concepts of the game as well as hand him a pregen and explain various things. It was a fun and productive conversation, and it made the remaining hour go by quickly. In the future, showing up early will be a must for me.

3. Bring a notebook. One problem that I did not foresee but probably should have was keeping track of initiative order. Many GMs use index cards or some other method. i wrote it down on the back of one of my sheets. Next time, I will bring a notebook to better keep track.

4. Carefully read the instructions. My biggest blunder from last night was when I failed to read the instructions for a skill damage. While the damage was negligible and it did not negatively impact the game, let this be a lesson to carefully read the rules so as not to confuse the players.

5. Winning is not your job. One reason that some players make poor GMs is that their competitive instincts take over. They want to win. Your job is not to win. It is to provide a fun experience for the players. You winning should be as rare as the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series. You should have as much chance of winning as Glass Joe does of beating Mike Tyson. This is especially true when you have novice players, as building their confidence is important. While I did try to make the battles challenging, I got curb-stomped. I did not mind this one bit because I saw how much the players loved it and I know that I did my job.

Overall, running a game was fun for both me and the players. I hope to make it a monthly thing. I find it just as enjoyable as playing. Follow these tips and you will too. Don't forget to comment and share! Class Dismissed!