New to DMing

Seltyiel

Hello, I've played a few Pathfinder campaigns and have decided to start a campaign with the Reign of Winter adventure path. However, I'm nervous about being a DM because I just want people to have fun and I'm not 100% certain that they will by having me as a DM until I get used to the role. Any advice or suggestions for a newbie?

ketherian

HI Seltyiel.

Welcome to Obsidian Portal. You've picked a fun adventure to run. Are you using the new hardcover version or the old D&D 3.5 adventure path modules? I ran the former many years ago. My logs are still up here: "Rise of the RuneLords":https://rotrllegacy.obsidianportal.com.
I made a few changes to the game as I went, mostly in response to player's decisions.

: Wow. Serves me right for reading your post without my glasses! Sorry. I completely misread Reign of Winter as Rise of the RuneLords. I think I had RuneLords on the brain. I'm currently playing in Reign of Winter and really enjoying it.

My best advice to a new GM is to be flexible but fair. You've got the right attitude - to let your players have fun.
I look forward to reading your logs.
--
Ketherian
"Signs & Portends":https://swtwc.obsidianportal.com/dashboard

NikMak

Hi Saltyiel. Here is a couple of tips that work for me...

Do your prep - make sure you know your next few scenes in advance, read the module, make notes etc.

Have a back up plan - if the players get stuck or suddenly decide to go to a different country, have the plot keep interacting with them some way (did they witness something? Bad guys hate witnesses!)

Remember your not the DM to 'win'. your job is to help the others play out a cool story from their point of view

If your stuck on a rule, or what happens next in the story, don't be afraid to take advice / help from your players - they will have great ideas to

DM ing is fun, once you get used to it, relax and enjoy it. Everyone at the game should be having fun and that includes you!

Listen to your players talk amongst themselves, it will give you hundreds of ideas for stuff to happen next

Read DM / GM advice - try googling "gnome stew":http://www.gnomestew.com/ for example.

cgregory

Reign of Winter is a fairly decent adventure path to start DMing with. It doesn't have too many new rules added to it like Kingmaker does. It does have an unusual setting for a fantasy game however. That can be hard to pull of with some groups, but Reign of Winter did an excellence job of it.

In addition to NikMak's advice I would strongly suggest reading all 6 adventures in the adventure path before running the first adventure and having decent understanding of how the major NPCs are involved in the story line.

Feel free to add hooks to your player's backgrounds involving some of these major NPCs. Defeating an NPC that a player has had a grudge against since the beginning of the campaign is always more satisfying.

You may even wish to foreshadow the trip to earth's first world war with a old news paper article that players find when they encounter Rasputin or one of his minions. Of course it will be in a language they can't understand.

NikMak

great suggestion from cgregory there - intertwine elements of the PC backstory with elements of the plot driving NPCs back stories, and dont feel to worried about being subtle about it, especially in your first few games as a DM - for example (obviously you will need to adapt this to your adventure but I'm sure you will get the idea) ...

" ... didnt you [ player 1] know that your characters father actually was one of the enraged villagers that killed the wife of the main bad guy and sent him mad? I cant believe dad never told you about that... and you know how everyone says you look exactly like your father... " [cut to chase scene] :D

cgregory

This doesn't apply just to NPC villians but some NPC allies might work.

Ratibor the Bold could be an ancestor for any barbarian (or character from a barbarian culture). Will that character believe his ancestor was rightly imprisoned? And if so, is 200 years long enough?

Vsevolod serves as a good enemy to integrate into a background as a centaur cleric leading Frost Giants would be a fairly recognizable character. Plus the adventure path provides some ideas about his return even after his death.