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[kilakan]

It's an unnecessarily aggressive warning was my point.

[NullForceOmega]

Okay, open for business again.

[Gentlefish]

Gonna start running my very own pathfinder game probably starting next week. the prime material plane is comprised of a chain of islands much like oceania stamped across it. There's a north and a south but an infinite east/west. And no other planets. That would be strange.

Any tips for a first-time GM? I have a few adventure ideas lined up, one shamelessly ripped from the web and some homebrew ideas as well. The campaign itself is establishing a new colony on a distant-ish island. Lots of risen and fallen civilisations over the span of millenia in the game, plenty of chance for more modern tech, but their civ is gunpowder. No steam -quite- yet.

[NullForceOmega]

My advice would be to be ready to wing it.  Even the best prepared scenario can fall apart at short notice, so you have to be able to move the story along despite it.  Don't be afraid to say no to something (character design, unworkable plan, excessive cheese), you are the final arbiter of your game, it works according to your needs (and those of the players but you are the one who decides where the cutoff is.)  If you have to cheat, cheat in favor of the group, not against them.  Also, your setting sounds like a lot of fun, I hope you and your players enjoy yourselves.

[Twinwolf]

Gonna start running my very own pathfinder game probably starting next week. the prime material plane is comprised of a chain of islands much like oceania stamped across it. There's a north and a south but an infinite east/west. And no other planets. That would be strange.

Any tips for a first-time GM? I have a few adventure ideas lined up, one shamelessly ripped from the web and some homebrew ideas as well. The campaign itself is establishing a new colony on a distant-ish island. Lots of risen and fallen civilisations over the span of millenia in the game, plenty of chance for more modern tech, but their civ is gunpowder. No steam -quite- yet.

I don't have any tips, but if it's play-by-post I'll join up.

[SquatchHammer]

My advice would be to be ready to wing it.  Even the best prepared scenario can fall apart at short notice, so you have to be able to move the story along despite it.  Don't be afraid to say no to something (character design, unworkable plan, excessive cheese), you are the final arbiter of your game, it works according to your needs (and those of the players but you are the one who decides where the cutoff is.)  If you have to cheat, cheat in favor of the group, not against them.  Also, your setting sounds like a lot of fun, I hope you and your players enjoy yourselves.

Pretty much what he said. Dont say yes to the group all the time. It will lead to overwhelming situations you probably didnt want in the first place or it was too soon. I only have very little experience in GMing and it can be rough but it is rewarding if you do run with it (and yes you have to be able to run with the oddities).

[highmax28]

I would say cheat rolls, but only to make does appear more daunting and so players don't get killed so quickly. Knocking them out is not good early on in battle because it means more death saves. That also means players can lose their character quickly. But try not to cheat rolls to have them hover at 3hp for the entire encounter.

Next thing, PLAN FAR AHEAD. Like write down and plan out your first few encounters and have one ready for the next one. This keeps it at a brisk pace that keeps less waiting involved and keeps the party's attention. don't do like my 5e DM and have nothing prepared when he wants to start an encounter and take almost a week to prepare it.

Third, know your players thouroughly. From alignments and stats to the smallest detail in their backstory. This will help you know the characters and give you ideas for quest hooks. It also tells you when you can call a player out on something they should/shouldn't do (such as feel wary around X or Y)

Fourth, don't restrict your players; and don't let them bicker out of character. If they have a problem with someone in game doing something, tell them to settle it in game. I had a player who talked all the time out of character asking in character stuff, and he always talked like: I say something to the wolf with talk to animals and ask him to tell me anything he knows about X. I told him to tell me what he said he'd say instead, because if he doesn't get a result he wanted, he would back out. Which leads me to another thing:

Fifth, don't let players act based on the roll. They roll a 2, they have to deal with it and suffer it, they can't say "oh, I'm going to stay behind because I bunked my roll", they have to go in, stealth and trip and make a loud fart or something to alert everyone.

Sixth, BE VERY CAREFUL WITH HOMEBREW. I almost caused a total party wipe in my 4e game because the final boss could gain maxHP and got stronger to the point he caused the new player to get insta killed. Same with items, and make sure if you do it, keep track of it. Rules you Homebrew should be maintained since you made or edited the rule.

Seventh, don't be afraid to push your characters in the right direction, but don't hold them by the hand. Give them a clue if they can't figure out what to do, or drop an NPC group talking about something.

Lastly: have fun. that's what it all comes down to

Hope this helps

[Glacies]

The party is crawling a dusty tomb filled with undead. Things aren't going well for them and they get trapped in a dead end fighting skeletons. The party is still fairly relaxed and confident. One particular smart ass looks over to another player and quietly says "We won't die, he's fudging the die rolls."

I cock an eyebrow. Evil grin. Screen is lowered. Dice on the table. Then they start sweating.

They did make it out alive, though.

[Bohandas]

Guys, I very literally just effing told you not to discuss Alignment.  No alignment discussion, it's in the effing OP rules.  Don't do it again.

If I made a seperate thread specifically for alignment discussion could you put a link to it in the op?

EDIT:
This thread.

[highmax28]

My players are trying to continue their hunt for the werewolf.

The paladin has managed to sneak past my ideas and talks to animals all day to gather info. So far, he has gotten as much info as the bard Faen has gained lore and history of the wolf. Meanwhile, Tyson-Chan the Gnome Barbarian and Carl the DM controlled rogue take a look at the farm on the outskirts of town. The owner kindly told him to get the hell off his property and then I made a huge mistake: I forgot I told the party the farmer (this guy) had a kid, and the house is only built for one person. I had to make a quick save, but now everyone thinks he's the wolf. How they figured that out, however, was Tyson-Chan tries to bluff her way into searching for wolf prints around his land, and when the guy tells her to piss off, Carl tries to talk (me playing as I would as a player) and then Tyson-chan, completely losing it because she has no idea how to react says she is hunting the great owlbear in a Tutu. Just before the farmer chases them away with a scythe, she offers him alcohol, and he's been working now all day so he takes a drink and because of the page I use for alcohol, he drank a 13 strength alcohol at 4x strength since he downed the whole thing in one go, and has to make a con save against it. Needless to say, the guy was out like a light.

Tyson-chan then decides: I gotta do this more often. To cover it up and get some espionage going, Tyson-chan is hiding in his storage shed that isn't used right now since it's not harvest time yet, Carl puts the drink and him in his bed, and leaves a note saying "We came by to say hi, but you were sleeping."

And during this night, aka night 2/4, the party now has to deal with the one person who aboslutely detests them...

[Bohandas]

Seventh, don't be afraid to push your characters in the right direction, but don't hold them by the hand. Give them a clue if they can't figure out what to do, or drop an NPC group talking about something.

Or straight-out have the cleric's god appear to them in a dream or give them a sign something.

[highmax28]

Seventh, don't be afraid to push your characters in the right direction, but don't hold them by the hand. Give them a clue if they can't figure out what to do, or drop an NPC group talking about something.

Or straight-out have the cleric's god appear to them in a dream or give them a sign something.

That too. Or have the seer see something. That works. Worse comes to worse, madmen with maps usually work

[Neonivek]

My advice is to have a foundation

Have cities, have primary NPCs, and have a sort of background information. Heck have impromptu dungeons prepared in advance. Just take the time to find ways to put the instant creation skills off yourself. As well this kind of information and maps also helps the players feel more there. Nothing makes a room feel more fake then there being absolutely nothing inside it except the walls.

Second is to delve right into the PC's stories, motivations, and gimmicks. The reason people play pen and paper RPGs over just RPGs is because they want to feel their input their characters changing the world their way. Take special attention to their skills and abilities and match your designs to it, make their skills seem special... to a degree.

Third is don't forget yourself. Some DMs might not feel like they need any input to feel fulfilled running a game, but if you do... do it. Put your spin on things, be creative, just don't forget to involve the PCs. Sure not all people will enjoy your game but most importantly some will and you will... and you can just find players who are fine with your style. Certainly you need to temper your creative impulses but to forget them would basically make DMing a job... and no one is paying you to do it.

Fourth: Problems happen, problem players happen. Generally speaking I go by the two retort argument limit. If someone brings up an issue and they counter argue you twice... End the argument by saying we will discuss it after the game.

Fifth: Set the mood. If you are goofing off, the players will goof off. I am extremely guilty of this when I am on voice, but you don't have to be the same. If you want the players to do some A grade roleplaying, you need to meet them halfway.

Sixth: Your going to make a lot of mistakes, you are going to have bad games, people are not going to have fun, characters are going to die, people are going to botch their roles, the world is going to end. Things happen.

[NullForceOmega]

Link to Bohandas' alignment thread added to OP, thanks Bohandas.

[highmax28]

I like Neon's more then mine. Mines for the rules and balence, Neon's is the fun aspect of it all