Pathfinder 1E [Newbie] Creating a Campaign, Resources and Tools for a Mac/PC?

[LedgeTheOrc]

I'm trying to DM for the first time, I've got plenty of plot and story, though I've never actually played Pathfinder (I've played D&D 3.5e a long time ago, though never DM'd) I've got the books and of course know of the SRD but I was hoping on suggestions of reference for how you guys create your Campaigns? I'm guessing most just use Notepad or some basic word editor, though I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions as to any tools (Aside from generators, like I said, Story and plot is no problem, it's apply it to mechanics and determining how to pace encounters, or what CR to reference, how many creatures for each encounter...).



The biggest problem: I don't know who my players are at the moment, I'd like to be under the assumption of a minimum 45 Minute session, varying longer to 2 hours (Or more, Once I get how long an encounter takes down I'll have randoms set aside). Getting things accomplished, having them flow well without things getting dull is my main worry, I love dialog and I'm pretty wordy, the players I know will most likely attend like story but also like regular action, I've gotten the suggestion of 3 encounters for this time frame, I'm thinking a Party of 3 - 4 to start out without NPCs (I will compensate with items if say, No one rolls a healer type, or something which can mend the parties wounds).

Any suggestions, hints or resources welcome.

 

[Gilladian]

My suggestion is that you keep your scenario pretty loose; go with something like a 5 room dungeon, and since you don't know your PCs yet, have plenty of different hooks to get them involved. Since you have such a short time to run the scenario, if you intend to be able to one-shot the whole thing, I suggest you be ready to drop out any given room(s) that you don't have time for, and move directly to the big bad guy, if things start dragging. Just give a quick narrative blurb to cover "what happened" between point A and point B to move things along quickly.

Here are the downloads of 5 room dungeons: http://www.roleplayingtips.com/5-room-dungeons/
and an explanation of what they are: http://www.roleplayingtips.com/readissue.php?number=156#1

 

[Traveon Wyvernspur]

If you haven't GM'd PF before then I suggest you check out some of the free modules out and get the hang of it beforehand. These are pre-written adventures that are good for 1 or 2 shots and are level appropriate. The other thing I also recommend is that you check out some of the Adventure Paths which are designed to take characters from level 1 to level 16. There are plenty of them out now and offered as official products by Paizo.

After you are comfortable running games then I suggest you go on and do your own home-brew worlds. I've even used modules and APs to steal stuff from and incorporate into my games. I'll take some of the ideas/encounters and place into my worlds, but not run the adventures as written.

A couple of good resources for helping you run games are:
Combat Manager - Free and makes running combats easier.
Hero Lab - I have this and love the program, but it's not free. It has a lot of available add-ons that you can purchase for each and every official Paizo product.
Obsidian Portal - Free and paid subscriptions. An online site to keep track of your campaign.

I know I'm probably missing a few good ones, but these are the ones I've used in the past and have worked well for me.