Learning How to Be a DM

Goal
I want to learn how to be a Pathfinder RPG Dungeon Master.


Experience
Roleplaying Games (table-top): None.
D&D-based RPGs (video games): Baldur's Gate II: Shadow's of Amn, Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Baal, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and Neverwinter Nights.


Notes
- I understand many of the concepts of being a DM.
- I've played many rules-heavy Eurogames (Caylus, Through the Ages), Wargames (Combat Commander Pacific and Twilight Struggle), and Ameritrash (Twilight Imperium III). Rules do not intimidate me; just applying them to others when uncomfortable with them can be difficult.
- I want to do some trial runs on my own to get the rules down before bringing in other players.
- I always loved the quests and missions in an RPG but was not always one to read EVERY word that an NPC had to say. I enjoy more the interaction between the main players (PC's) and the enemies and their environment (traps, puzzles, and exploration).


Questions
[1] Are there any tips or suggestions for running a game (by myself, for practice) without emphasis on roleplaying, just to learn the mechanics? For example, are there any example quests that have smaller maps (the free D&D 4e has maps larger than a BattleMat and so does the Pathfinder Everflame module, from what I've read in a review) and have pre-setup monsters and battles for early levels.

[2] I see Pathfinder RPG as being an excellent platform in which to set up many traps and puzzles within a simple dungeon environment. Does anyone else play Pathfinder or D&D 3.5 with lower emphasis on roleplaying and more on exploration and combat?

[3] How many monsters (XP worth) should I have in each smaller dungeon (max size of a BattleMat: 22x25 squares)? All of the online random dungeon generators puts like 4 sets in the dungeon, at most, which seems a little bare (except the WotC one, which has roaming monsters as well).
the GameMastering section.

[4] When is the best time to let a player level up? At the end of the dungeon and quest (kind of like Oblivion where you level up when you sleep). Or at the time the XP is "earned" that puts them above?

[5] What are the best tools (outside of the 4 "core" Pathfinder books: Core Rules, Bestiary, GM Guide, and APG) that are best for leaning how to be a DM?


____________________________________________
I will summarize, in this post, with answers and tips for other new-comers to both Pathfinder and tabletop RPG's with tips and suggestions given by other users.


Introductory Adventures
[1] Pathfinder Module: Crypt of the Everflame (PFRPG)
"An adventure for 1st-level characters"

[2] Pathfinder Module: Master of the Fallen Fortress (free PDF available)
"A dungeon-based adventure for 1st-level characters"


Thanks in advance for any help!

baconcow said:

[1] Are there any tips or suggestions for running a game (by myself, for practice) without emphasis on roleplaying, just to learn the mechanics? For example, are there any example quests that have smaller maps (the free D&D 4e has maps larger than a BattleMat and so does the Pathfinder Everflame module, from what I've read in a review) and have pre-setup monsters and battles for early levels.

Click to expand...

To get the feel of the rules it can be beneficial to setup a short scenario to run a group of PCs you build against some monsters, an example combat. This will help you get experience building PCs which can lead to answering some rules questions and letting you see what PCs can do and learn about their abilities.

The test combat will let you get the feel for how combat flows, even if it is just you running the PCs and the monsters. Take the time to look up anything that is confusing as you go through this exercise. Also make sure to do more than just swing and attack and do some of the special attacks that need CMB/CMD checks to get familiar with that mechanic.

Modules can be helpful to get started, either as something to read to get a feel for how one is laid out or to actually run it. There are pros and cons to both approaches. Reading through a few doesn't hurt though to see what a typical adventure and encounter looks like.

baconcow said:

[2] I see Pathfinder RPG as being an excellent platform in which to set up many traps and puzzles within a simple dungeon environment. Does anyone else play Pathfinder or D&D 3.5 with lower emphasis on roleplaying and more on exploration and combat?

Click to expand...

Every group is different - some will want to be roleplay heavy, some focused on combat and others somewhere in-between. There are groups that will be very exploration and combat focused, just make sure the group you form knows that will be the focus and their expectations are set accordingly and you should be fine!

baconcow said:

[4] When is the best time to let a player level up? At the end of the dungeon and quest (kind of like Oblivion where you level up when you sleep). Or at the time the XP is "earned" that puts them above?

Click to expand...

Different DMs will do it differently. Some want the PCs to be back in town or at least out of the dungeon to level up. Some will let them level as soon as they hit the right XP amount. It's really up to you and what you think fits the feel you are after.

baconcow said:

[5] What are the best tools (outside of the 4 "core" Pathfinder books: Core Rules, Bestiary, GM Guide, and APG) that are best for leaning how to be a DM?

Click to expand...

If you have all of those you have everything you need to get started for sure. Maybe a module to either run (Crypts of the Everflame is a good one) or use for an example of building your own adventures.

After that one of the best ways to learn to DM is practice, practice, practice. Or in addition to that if you have a game store near you that plays Pathfinder Society Games you could join some of those as a player and get an example from a GM in action. Local conventions can work for that as sell.

Thanks for the excellent response, Iron Wolf (seems it won't let me give you another thumb).

baconcow said:

Questions
[1] Are there any tips or suggestions for running a game (by myself, for practice) without emphasis on roleplaying, just to learn the mechanics? For example, are there any example quests that have smaller maps (the free D&D 4e has maps larger than a BattleMat and so does the Pathfinder Everflame module, from what I've read in a review) and have pre-setup monsters and battles for early levels.

Click to expand...

Take a standard battlemat, draw some trees and walls on it, and run a battle between three PCs and three PCs, or between a group of PCs and a few goblins and wolves.

[2] I see Pathfinder RPG as being an excellent platform in which to set up many traps and puzzles within a simple dungeon environment. Does anyone else play Pathfinder or D&D 3.5 with lower emphasis on roleplaying and more on exploration and combat?

Click to expand...

Sure. Being based on 3.5, it will do a lot of things.

[3] How many monsters (XP worth) should I have in each smaller dungeon (max size of a BattleMat: 22x25 squares)? All of the online random dungeon generators puts like 4 sets in the dungeon, at most, which seems a little bare (except the WotC one, which has roaming monsters as well).
the GameMastering section.

Click to expand...

That depends. What leveling scheme are you using, fast, medium, or slow? How many encounters to level? How many times would you like them to level in one area?

[4] When is the best time to let a player level up? At the end of the dungeon and quest (kind of like Oblivion where you level up when you sleep). Or at the time the XP is "earned" that puts them above?

Click to expand...

In fast-paced games, we level up at the end of the session. Otherwise, I handle leveling in "town" if I want to enforce training times and so forth.

[5] What are the best tools (outside of the 4 "core" Pathfinder books: Core Rules, Bestiary, GM Guide, and APG) that are best for leaning how to be a DM?

Click to expand...

Actually, the 3.5 DMG II remains very relevant and is quite good. I would also recommend hanging out on message boards, especially ones that discuss actual play and out-of-character problems (such as DM-player conflict, player-player conflict, absences, etc).

Thanks for the extra suggestions pawsplay. I don't know where I would find another copy of the 3.5 DMG II (not in-print, is it?).

I don't know if this will help you given that you live in Nova Scotia, but here's the link to the DMG II on Amazon: [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Dungeon-Masters-Dungeons-Roleplaying-Supplement/dp/0786936878"]DMG II[/ame]

Best of luck.

i've been a DM for several editions for more years than i'd care to admit, but here's a few bits of wisdom i'd like to pass on, if i may:

1. it's just a game. i know you're the ref and in most sports, the players hate the ref, but remember you're all there to ultimately have fun while telling a shared story.

2. stop, relax and take a breath. if you ever get the feeling like you're panicking, or aren't sure what you should do, just relax and gather your thoughts, or...

3. ask your players. more often than not, they've missed all of the "obvious" clues you've carefully laid out for them, and have their own ideas about where they'd like to go. you'd be surprised how they'll carry a story to new and unintended areas.

4. if you can't remember the rule, just make something up, "for now". it's that simple. if a PC wants to try something but you're hesistant about letting them because you can't find the rule (ie: pole-vaulting with a longspear, or firing a short-sword from a jerry-rigged crossbow), roll on it. you both roll a d6 and whoever rolls higher gets their way, "for now".

5. have a short list of interesting names handy, because when the PCs want to know the name of the captain of the guard, or the high priest of the temple, you can just roll and compare it to your list.

6. ask for their feedback. sometimes, players will have absolutely no desire to trapse off into the brush to save the town. they may want to explore the ruins, or open up their own bank to lure would-be thieves (and their loot and precious XPs) to them. get a feel for what they're after and then tailor your campaigns toward that.

7. have fun! as i covered in pointer #4, if you honestly felt that everyone would enjoy and get a laugh out of shooting a short-sword from a crossbow, let it slide. sometimes the most memorable stories will come from the most spontaneous, if not silly things in this game.

8. don't take it personally when they beat "your" dungeon, or "your" monsters. they're the heroes and they're supposed to win, or at least attempt to. if they beat your carefully constructed uber-wizard, with a really unique idea, like a wyvern-poisoned twinkie in his lunchbox, let them. after all, you can just "make up" more bad guys later on. let them have their victories, because you control everything else in their entire universe!

9. try to let each PC show off at least once during a session. although it might not seem the most logical, letting the bard out-sing a harpy, the rogue occasionally "strike it big" when he tries to pickpocket drunks at a bar, or the barbarian get into an arm-wrestle with a half-draconic beast will really make everyone feel appreciated and will usually stamp out the infighting and petty bickering that can result from jealousy.

i hope this list really helped. if you've other questions, feel free to reply or message me. good luck!

You may want to look around to see if you can find Dungeon Master for Dummies - while written for 3.5 most of it, especially the tips and pointers, are still quite useful.

It can be found, used and pretty darned cheap, on [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Dungeon-Dummies-Dungeons-Dragons-Roleplaying/dp/0471783307]Amazon[/ame].

The Auld Grump, you find a ten foot by ten foot room. In the room is an orc, and a pie....

Join Pathfinder Society whether it be online or at your local FLGS, they will help you learn the rules. While playing, take notes when a player does something you don't know the rules about and look them up or ask the DM afterwards if he/she can explain them to you. Also, krupintupple's advice is very sage and every single one is dead-on (kudos to you sir!). I would like to stress his points 1, 2 and 4. Being a newbie Pathfinder DM myself, I ask my players at the end of the session, what I could have done better, what was fun and what area of the rules I should read more on. I would also suggest getting the Pathfinder SORD as it has helped me alot with rules and such. As for leveling, I personally have my players do it after they rest for 8 consecutive hours.

Check out the videos that Sean Connors posts on youtube, hes got around 40 different game master-tip videos posted. Dont know the guy, but some of the tips are good, especially for new GM's. YouTube - TheOutsiders68's Channel