Advice for a new society GM

[curbry]

Hello all!

I currently run a starfinder campaign (dawn of flame) here on FG. There has been a learning curve coming over from Roll20, but so far I think I'm starting to get the hang of it. In anticipation for the upcoming PaizoCon online, some of my group were interested in taking a shot at society play. I've played first edition Pathfinder Society, even run a couple scenarios- but nothing for Starfinder yet, and nothing for FG. My thought was try to run something for my players who were interested/available, and any other willing guinea pigs for the table spots remaining.

I have purchased the Commencement scenario as it seems a good place to start for the lore, and it is replayable. What advice, if any, would you society folks have for me? Organized play always is a bit intimidating for me as people come in with all levels of game mastery. But I would hate to miss out on the opportunity for online paizocon and I really am interested in giving this a go. I did a search to see if I could find a thread, but I might have missed it. If folks could either point me in the direction of an already existing conversation thread, or share some simple tips here, I would definitely appreciate it.

Specifically regarding how to be set up for new players and their characters, FG interface tips, and general society suggestions.

Thanks guys!!

[Talen]

To start, I would stay away from scenarios with the ship combat tage. Fg is much better at it with recent development work, but it is still another area to master both fron a rules and FG mechanics perspective and players tend to not be as crisp with their roles so it can slow the game down.

Insists on getting a Chronicle before the game for players....tracking that down after the game can be a slogfest, especially with new players who are past the initial motivational high of trying something new.

And finally, use the pre made scenarios in the fg store....it saves HOURS of prep time.

I hope you have fun with it!. Running a regular campaign has proven too challenging for me with work and the open ended nature of society gameplay has really saved my gaming life!

[Malkavian_Andi]

The Commencement sure is a good point to start, both for the players (it introduces the factions within the in-game Starfinder Society, so players new to Society play get to know this part of the campaign) and the GM (it's tier 1-2, so there can't be too many surprises character-wise).
If you are not familiar with some sourcebooks, be sure to tell your players to point you to any weird stuff they use from the various sourcebooks so you can read up on it before the game.

The Commencement does have one mission that is notorious for being a bit complicated, especially when it comes to visualizing (the scenario doesn't give a map for it, and I've seen some complicated solutions that require a lot of scrolling.
I have once put together a map for that mission, which is attached to this post. Feel free to use it for your game if you want.

[stephan_]

FG pregens: Be aware you will have to fix proficiencies and skills.

[curbry]

Thank you guys- this is precisely what I was hoping for. I did end up getting the commencement for my first scenario. Speaking of chronicle sheets- how do you give those to players after the game? Or do you fill them out separately and email them?

[Saqcat]

Usually people email a google sheet by email with instructions about how to connect to the game and in it each player introduces the relevant information like this one:

34786

You can include in this sheet information like starting gold or fame or you can email them the chronicle sheet with only the gold and fame gained.

[stephan_]

I usually ask for either an email or Discord handle, in the absence of both I'm attaching it to a forum post.

pdf is the recommended format.

[Malkavian_Andi]

Also note that FG has a Society tab (it's a small button on the bottom of the character sheet). You might want to encourage your players to fill that out. There's room for all the relevant data for the chronicle in there (including a space for an email address). If everybody fills it out, you can simply take all your information from there anytime after the game.