Advice for a new GM

[AznVille]

So, I've been contemplating for a while now and I'm wondering if I should invest the time and effort to try and start GMing myself. I was wondering if the community has any advise or lessons learned from their own personal experience and what I could do to make a better experience for the players while staying within the confines of PFS ruling. I've only gotten 1 FG game in and only 2 PFS games, so I'll be very fresh to all of this. Any and all advise will be welcomed.

Note:
- I've read through the "Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play" but am far from memorizing it.
- Familiar with paizo's additional resources
- Have little experience with the GM interfaces of FG

Lastly, if people are interested in looking out for my games, please list general preferred play times so I can understand what the community is looking for in the game calendar.

[Trenloe]

I'd recommend running at least one, possibly two, non-PFS game first. Whereas PFS games are specifically designed to be run as one-off sessions, there can be a lot to get through in a limited time frame, so if you're still getting used to GMing in Fantasy Grounds this could mean your session lasts 8 hours rather than 4 or 5, which could be an issue for the players expecting to end at before specific time and can result in overload on your part and potentially frustration all round.

Run one or two short one-shot Pathfinder (not PFS) games first to allow you to get used to the FG interface as GM. As they won't be PFS games you can easily skip more than just the optional encounter and keep the session within 3-4 hours so that you have a chance to learn, ask questions of the players, get used to how you want to use the interface, etc. without getting burned out in a long session with information overload and possible frustration with the learning process.

Some ready-to-go adventures are available in the store:

Crow's Rest Island (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/store/product.xcp?id=AAWFGA00) An introductory adventure to the AaW campaign world. I've ran this at conventions a couple of times, you should be able to play this in around 4 hours. View an electronic version of this scenario here: https://adventureaweek.com/adventures/a-series/a0-crows-rest-island/
BASIC-1 (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/store/product.xcp?id=AAWBASIC1) or BASIC-2 (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/store/product.xcp?id=AAWBASIC2) are designed for beginner GMs, come with pregens, and are well put together. You'll probably have to cut things a little short in both of these to get them in around 4-5 hours, or perhaps run them over two sessions.
Crypt of the Sun Lord (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/store/product.xcp?id=AAWFGA01) is also another possibility. It's a quick dungeon crawl with some interesting features.

[AznVille]

Sounds like a good idea, I was wondering if there is an interest in one shots like that though. I guess I won't know till I post something like that. Thanks for the links, I'll check them out.

[damned]

Sounds like a good idea, I was wondering if there is an interest in one shots like that though. I guess I won't know till I post something like that. Thanks for the links, I'll check them out.

I think you will find there is enough interest. Give the session enough notice and if you end up with a couple less players it will prolly be easier on you and you can just scale the encounters down a little.

[Blackfoot]

There is plenty of interest in games in general and as far as time slots go... pick one that is good for you... there are lots of players out there. Relax and have fun with it.

[crb31]

Keep in mind as in the "real world" there are more players that GMs. You will find plenty of players.

[AznVille]

That all sounds fairly promising. I'll have to force myself to place something on the schedule just to get the last bits of motivation moving. Thanks for the encouragement.

[Trenloe]

That all sounds fairly promising. I'll have to force myself to place something on the schedule just to get the last bits of motivation moving. Thanks for the encouragement.
Run something at FGDaze2 next month... (See my signature).

[AznVille]

Run something at FGDaze2 next month... (See my signature).

I was feeling that might be a good time to give it a shot. Funny that you mention it as I was just checking out the thread that popped up about it lol.

[HoloGnome]

Don't forget to seek an advanced degree in Cat Herding.

[damned]

Don't forget to seek an advanced degree in Cat Herding.

And bring 3 cattle dogs and a big electric prod!

[HoloGnome]

Sometimes, even those won't work.

[AznVille]

I feel like I'm going to hear the dogs and cattle prod in the background of a session soon from now.

[cmdisc]

The soundsets I use definitely have dogs. Not sure about a cattle prod. I guess the closest I could get to that is either a thunder strike or a lightning bolt spell. :p