Just DM'd for the first time. Nothing special...

youtube.com/watch?v=e-YZvLUXcR8
Has some good general advice. The is the intro to a series all about running DnD. Also premade adventures can be an easy in and a good place to start.

You're probably at the stage where you have no idea how to string a bunch of good sessions together. There was a thread a long time ago where someone had a nice and easy way to run character-centric games. Here's the thing with a link to the archived thread.

This is obviously different than running a world-centric game. Adventures can revolve around interesting locales and sights just as much as the characters, which this set of tips won't really help with. For that I recommend finding something that makes you want to come up with worlds, like a book for inspiration or a friend to bounce creativity off of.

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>how would I go about it?

By never doing it ever again. Seriously. It's fun at first, what with seeing everyone interact with the things you made and bringing them entertainment but the months will turn into years. During that time you'll get better and better but get drained, you'll want to play for once but no one wants to in the group since you've grown to be so good at it. Then on the off chance one of them does want to DM it'll be so terrible and low quality when compared to your tempered DMing skills that the others will likely make them feel a little down with non-intentional hurtful jabs and you'll have to hold in the criticism and lie on how you're enjoying the session and how happy you are to finally play. Just to end up DMing next session.

Y'know how in 2e, the MU had shit health, shit AC, shit THAC0, limited casts, and spells themselves had a casting time which allowed people time to interrupt you and if you got hit, you lost both the spell you were casting and the spell slots you were spending to make the Spell work?

Imagine if you suddenly a) gave casters the ability to use weapons/armor through the expenditure of a feat, b) boosted their HD from a d4 to a d6, c) gave Wizards extra spell slots based on INT, and d) made most spells cost a standard action (which btw is about as fast as a Fighter swinging a sword at you) in addition to a concentration roll to keep the spell even if they're damaged (assuming they don't spend a movement action to shift 5 ft. out of melee range before casting a spell at somebody).

That's basically PF once you get past Level 5-7, and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Also, the community is rabid as hell.

However, with that being said, if you really want to get into it, the best mindset to go into is that you're both a shepherd, a director, and a judge.

Your job is to guide the players from point A to point B, but your players also have agency that they want to do as well. So the best course of action is to point them in a direction and allow them to wander, while also making sure that they're making progress towards something substantial.

Your job is also to describe what happens in the world. The party can only go off of information that you tell them and the information they already know. So if something important is in the area, mention it. If something isn't important, focus on it briefly. A description should only be as long as it takes to get the point across.

Finally, your job is to be impartial, but also be willing to compromise on the best courses of action that will ultimately allow everyone at the table (including yourself) to have fun.

Do what you did to organize the game. Then repeat for repeated game. Regular repeats lead to a campaign. Success!

Finally, as far as the logistics of the game goes, figure out a good time and place that suits everyone's schedule.

If you or your players cannot host at their homes, try meeting at public venues such as a mall, a park, a library, basically anywhere that's comfortable, spacious, and accessible to the bulk of your playgroup.

Also, if you're playing in public, I'd highly recommend downloading a dice roller app and getting character sheets that you can store on a phone, simply because it lessens the chance of your dice being lost from careless rolls flying off the table into god knows where and because it's much less conspicuous doing everything from a smartphone than it using physical dice/sheets.

Plus, having everything in your pocket for easy access is incredibly convenient since it also means you can host a session any time you and your group are in the same place together.

>just a generic dungeon crawl
Fuck, I wish my current DM had done this for his first adventure. He took over from our foreverDM because he didn't want his character's story to end which means she's now showing up as an NPC every now and then. He doesn't have nearly as good of a grasp of the rules as our old DM who's now a player and went in over his head in creating a campaign that doesn't work very well with the system with some pretty rough balance issues (like revealing that this one guy who had shown no real combat prowess before was actually capable of basically one shotting the party if we hadn't had some extreme luck with our roles) and letting another player put together a way OP character that can pretty much destroy anything in one hit at the cost of 1/4th of his mana equivalent. It's still fun to play but the main issue is how hard it is to get everyone together to actually play with our new DM not being too great at gathering everyone and not really putting in that much of an effort in gathering all five of the players. We're getting one game per month at best right now and maybe only half of those games are IRL instead of over roll20 where people often "have to go" in the middle of it or call it off an hour before we're supposed to start which leads to the DM wanting to do a solo game with them to represent what they were doing instead of being with the party.

Any tips on how we could overcome these problems?

Pathfinder's fine, stop being so melodramatic.

It's kind of a bad time to admit to playing PF around here, especially with how rabid the PF fanbase has become since the announcement of PF2e.

user, they've been posting "we hate paizo" threads for YEARS.

I'm not talking about the trolls, I'm talking about the fanbase.

At this point, I'd like to think that most people on Veeky Forums know that the 3.PF community is rabid and can go off at the slightest provocation, whatever, it's generally harmless fun that rarely gets too insane and it's usually contained to just a handful of threads.

However, since PF2e has been announced, I've seen two thread reach 500-600 posts based on both the trolls shitposting and the fanboys angrily spitting vitriol at anyone who shat on their system while, for some odd reason, blaming the 4e community for all the trolling going on as well.

It got so bad at one point, a dude actually invaded the /4eg/ we had at the time just to throw shade at the 4e community out of spite until people came in to say "hey, this guy's from the PF2e thread, please ignore him, he's just here to start shit."

It's not a good time to admit to playing PF right now, especially with the current state of the community on display.

What's so bad about new pathfinder edition? People still can play the old one if the new one turns out to be shit

You realize the trolls are cherrypicking a dozen or so posts out of hundreds to give the impression the whole fanbase hates it, when that's not at all even slightly true if you bother to do your own research instead of believing what trolls post? And you realize that other trolls are getting them riled up by pretending to be PF defense force? You are literally not bothering to research anything and in fact making the problem worse by doing so.

God damn, I don't remember Rydia being this thicc.

>3.PF community is rabid
Sure. They're the ones posting "hate Paizo" and "PF is bad threads" constantly.

Look at his OP picture. He was born for pathfinder

This. The anti-3.PF shitposters are some of the saddest people on Veeky Forums. They literally can't even see "D&D" or "PF" without making sure everyone knows how upset they are, like this guy

From what I understand, people have the mentality that once someone stops printing the books, it means that they can no longer use their libraries, which may not even be anything more than a loud minority screeching about change.
>You realize the trolls are cherrypicking a dozen or so posts out of hundreds to give the impression the whole fanbase hates it
And I'm not talking about those images, I'm talking about the behavior I've seen in threads trying to discuss PF2e and the upcoming playtest.
>And you realize that other trolls are getting them riled up by pretending to be PF defense force?
Even if that were true, it wouldn't explain why people were trying to invade the /4eg/ when everyone knows that 4e players are practically non-existent on Veeky Forums.
Yet they choose to post in those threads anyway, knowing that it'll make them upset. I mean, we have filters for a damn good reason.

>people have the mentality that once someone stops printing the books, it means that they can no longer use their libraries
So warhammer fantasy shitfest all over again?

I guess, like I said, it's most likely a loud minority looking for excuses to hate on the newest edition of their favorite game because they can't stand change or some shit like that.

Except that's one of the biggest points of the threads. Not only that they can continue to use the libraries, but also that 3pp will still be printing PF compatible books - through Paizo, as well as other publishers. That's what makes your claim so retarded - you're using troll threads as aa basis of actual information, and instead spewing misinformation as a result. Congrats, your the "they" you're complaining about!

>Yet they choose to post in those threads anyway
You mean the troll threads that have people pretending to defend a game the trolls hate to troll the trolls? You're more delusional than you claim PF players are if you think PF players actually post in those threads. Do you also assume the 4e and 5e troll threads that rarely show up have 4e and 5e players rabidly defending their game as well rather than trolls pretending to do so? I would bet you don't.

>Except that's one of the biggest points of the threads.
The biggest points of those threads is the fact that PF2e is coming out and may or may not fall for the same trappings as PF1e did. People complaining about libraries only becomes a footnote when trolls pretend that there's outrage and the 3rd edition community become outraged at the thought of people stating that they're outraged. Hell, the last PF2e thread was pretty amiable by 3.PF standards until people fell for the usual trappings.
>You mean the troll threads that have people pretending to defend a game the trolls hate to troll the trolls?
So wait, you're implying the that people zealously defending the system are also trolls who pretend to defend 3.PF in order to troll the people hating on 3.PF? I find that hard to believe, simply because the 3rd edition community comprise such a large portion of Veeky Forums and the fact that you'll find outspoken fanatics in any community.

>see you next week

>So wait, you're implying...
Two things.
1: the /pgg/ thread doesn't go into flames when PF2 is brougth up. Like, at all. There's some mild discussion, a couple of 'wait and sees' a couple opf trolls post the usual collage of nonsensical hate, and yet it doesn't get those 500+ counts that the troll threads do.
2: /ppg/ threads will actually suggest people go play 5e and 4e respectively if they think those games would suit the requested critea better. This is the exact opposite of what you see in the troll threads and wouldn't happen at all if the Pf community was even half as rabid as has been claimed in this thread.

Even in this thread, I'm not defending Pf - I'm pointing out misinformation that can easily be corrected by actually going into the forums and lookign at what's actually going on rather than relying on "they say" and "these threads" on Veeky Forums that are clearly bait threads that get trolled into oblivion. It's so easy to do that you can post "PF is successful because 4e players made PF successful and that alone will cause the troll thread to implode - for precisely that attitudes being practiced here, "it must be a rabid PF player, no troll could possibly use that kind of bait".

Even so, who is to say that there isn't any overlap between the people who post in /pgg/ and the people who vehemently defend 3.PF from trolls in the threads outside of it? Also, you have to consider the possibility of posters who are fans of 3.PF who don't actively participate in the general as well.

Maybe you're right and this is all some sort of plot to make the 3.PF community lose reputation with the rest of the tabletop gaming community, but I'm skeptical to believe that simply because outspoken fanatics have always been a side effect of a large community since fanbases became a thing.

Which is fine. But at the very least take a look for yourself before you fling around blatant misinformation that a simple scroll through the forums could prevent.

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Isn't it a far greater source of misinformation to imply that trolls are the fault of all your problems when most of the problems seem to come from your own community?

Like I said, I doubt that trolls are responsible for all the shit being said for or against 3.PF and trying to deflect blame based on the behavior of one general (which can vary based on the time of day and generally comes with its own unique problems) only makes you marginally better than the people you claim to be trolls since they engage in the exact same behavior.

....wow. Way to completely ignore everything I said. Well done. I don't think you could have missed the point harder.

All I've seen since the 2e announcement around here is interest, skepticism, and frothing anti-pf autism. Mostly anons declaring the fan base was going to chimp out, aaaaaany day now.

And what point was that?

The threads I'm even referencing weren't even troll threads, they were threads that began as discussion for PF2e until it got derailed into the same vitriol that most of us have seen time and time again.

So if it was all the fault of trolls who were trolling other trolls "pretending" to like 3.PF then how exactly did the community get targeted by trolls in the first place and why is this only really seen in threads that reference the faults in 3.PF, as opposed to other systems that carry similar flaws in either its design or its community?

I've made my case, user. There isn't any point in discussing it further - you've made your stance very clear, and I made my arguments as clearly as possible. If your critera for how people view PF2 is a couple of troll filled threads and a few image collages of cherry picked 'PF players hate PF2' images, and you're not willing to take the few minutes to take a look for yourself and see what is actually being discussed in places where the discussion actually happens, then that's that. Good luck in your games.

They totally chimped out, all 20 of them. There are image macros to prove it you know!

First off, and I'll say this again in case you missed it here the PF2e threads I'm referencing were not troll threads, at least they weren't at first.

Second off, I never based my observations on collages or whatever the fuck you're talking about, I'm speaking purely from the perspective of someone who tried to discuss the new edition until people on both sides started going apeshit.

I mean, I don't know why you're being so hostile. If anything, you're only proving how difficult it is to discuss 3.PF around here due to the community being so sensitive to anything they perceive as a controversial opinion.

Posting replies like this also doesn't help your case either, unless this too is the work of trolls who only exist to simultaneously shit on 3.PF and viciously defend to ruin the community's credibility.

>ppg/ threads will actually suggest people go play 5e and 4e respectively if they think those games would suit the requested critea better. This is the exact opposite of what you see in the troll threads and wouldn't happen at all if the Pf community was even half as rabid as has been claimed in this thread.

I don't necessarily disagree with you as GITP's d20/3.PF community will do the same thing, /pfg/ is kind of abberant among Pathfinder players as they use so much third party stuff and houserules in their games that you could make the argument that they aren't really playing Pathfinder anymore.

Like I got my pf group from there, 3 years ago and I earnestly can't remember the last time someone played something straight from a 1st party Paizo book.

That's not a kitsune.

>I'm speaking purely from the perspective of someone who tried to discuss the new edition until people on both sides started going apeshit.
You're basing your opinion on two whole threads on Veeky Forums. That right there says a whole lot about how reliable your information is.

As opposed to you, who bases your entire perspective of the community on a single general? Yeah, that's surely a more accurate representation of the community and surely doesn't make you look like a hypocrite at all.

What makes you presume I haven't actually gone to other forums and looked at what was being said on them?

Why? My original post talked about how difficult it was to discuss PF here, on Veeky Forums, specifically. I don't care about what's happening in the Paizo forums when I a) don't go on there and b) never referenced screenshots taken from there in the first place and the only one who even brought up the collages at all were either you or a 3.PF fan who tried using them as a means of deflection from the actual point I was trying to make.

It feels like the same tactics the 3rd edition fanboys used in the thread that I mentioned earlier; never accepting viewpoints that differ from your own, deflecting from the points actually being discussed, engaging in ad hom, and blaming someone else for your failings when it's clear that the only clear correlation in this equation is you.

Why even bother responding if you're just going to act like the fanboys you claim don't actually exist?

Why are you so defensive about someone correcting your misinformation about how PF fans are actually reacting to PF?

>At this point, I'd like to think that most people on Veeky Forums know that the 3.PF community is rabid and can go off at the slightest provocation, whatever, it's generally harmless fun that rarely gets too insane and it's usually contained to just a handful of threads.

>However, since PF2e has been announced, I've seen two thread reach 500-600 posts based on both the trolls shitposting and the fanboys angrily spitting vitriol at anyone who shat on their system while, for some odd reason, blaming the 4e community for all the trolling going on as well.

Your claims are not realistically how PF fans have been reacting at all. But you wouldn't know that unless you only judge them based on two troll threads on Veeky Forums. The fans aren't flippign out or acting rabid at all - but those two threads were filled with what you claim were rabid PF fans. If the fans are that rabid, why are they nod acting so in /pfg/ or on GitP or even (especially) the Paizo forums? But you won't look into those because you've clearly made up your mind to make a judgement on all PF fans based on two troll threads, and you refuse to see any other possibility.

So, nothing more to discuss, right?

>Why are you so defensive about someone correcting your misinformation about how PF fans are actually reacting to PF?
Why are you accusing me of being defensive when you're the one trying to claim that all the bad behavior is caused by trolls trolling trolls?
>Your claims are not realistically how PF fans have been reacting at all.
But a single general is?
>But you wouldn't know that unless you only judge them based on two troll threads on Veeky Forums.
And what made them troll threads? Because they got derailed? If that's the case then most threads on Veeky Forums nowadays would be troll threads now wouldn't they?

Hell, this thread is a troll thread based upon your own criteria.

If you want to learn how to DM, Matt Colville's Running the Game series is a good start. youtube.com/watch?v=e-YZvLUXcR8&list=PLlUk42GiU2guNzWBzxn7hs8MaV7ELLCP_

Search for "Roleplaying game [city name]" online and check out links that seem relevant: game store forums can have a looking for players section, meetup.com for your city might have something for D&D or other RPGs, there are cafes and pubs that organize games where you might meet other people with such interests, you can check if you're in a large city if there is a dedicated forum for tabletop games, there might be a subreddit for your city where you can ask for how to find players and places where play is organized.

If you want to see a GM at work I suggest you join other games as a player for one-shots or small campaigns. This will let you see a variety of GMing styles. Try to branch out from D&D-style games to see if you have an interest in anything else, the rules affect play a lot, you may pick up some tricks that make playing more enjoyable that you can bring back to D&D/PF or whatever you decide to play.

You can also check out podcasts/streams/etc of people playing, but these tend to be huge time-sinks, there's just so many of them and they're so fucking long. If you really want to I'd suggest the Critical Role campaign 2, its got good production but don't force yourself to make peculiar voices or accents, you're probably not a voice actor.

Good luck OP, roleplaying games can be a great hobby if you find a good group to play with. I've had so much fun over the years playing RPGs, I just wish the group I was with still had time to play, but with people getting older and having kids and careers its harder to keep it going.

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Shut the fuck upbfaggots, we're trying to discuss DM'ing. I don't give a single fuck about your version autism.
t. OP

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Colville is alright but he's too much of sjw and 4e fag.

Go back to /wbg/ and take your autism with you.

If you like to have tactics-heavy encounters, cribbing from 4e doesn't seem like a bad idea from what I heard of it.

If you don't like SJW stuff its easy enough to ignore, most of his advice doesn't touch on those subjects. I assume anyone who wants to GM has enough judgement to decide how they want to run their own games.

Another source of tactical encounter advice is Runehammer. I don't like his presentation much, his videos are too long, and it seems like a lot of his encounters could easily lead to a TPK. But even if you don't like those things, his idea of the 3 Ts (Threat, Timer, Treat) can be worth understanding even for a game with lighter combat (although I don't suggest slavishly following his style). youtube.com/watch?v=AIFxPXlTzlQ&list=PLlSmiQ728Xr2Pf3pGa3s6-zhhqpiw7hj_

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