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GameMastery Guide / Getting Started / Preparing to Run a Game

Seven Essentials for Good Preperation

Source GameMastery Guide pg. 16
Exactly what kind of preparation is needed varies from game to game. If you follow this checklist, however, you’ll be ready for just about anything.

Know the Characters and the Players

Source GameMastery Guide pg. 16
Sit down with all the character sheets and look them over carefully. Consider what each character can do in the game—major powers, secondary powers, special abilities, and inherent traits. This helps you anticipate what your players might do in any given situation.

Pay special attention to powers that work automatically or passively—for example, an ability to detect impending danger or notice concealed doors. It falls to you to make sure such abilities work when and how they should.

Knowing your players can prove as important as knowing their characters. Many players develop favorite tricks and stunts with their characters’ powers, or wellingrained misconceptions about what their characters can or cannot do. Knowing these quirks can help you keep the players engaged and challenged and can deflect problems before the dice hit the table.

Know the Scene

Source GameMastery Guide pg. 16
Get familiar with the scene where the action will occur. If you’re running a published adventure, read through it carefully. Not only should you know the answers to basic questions (“How high is the ceiling here?”), but you should also be able to convey sensory details.

Next, take a moment to get familiar with each adventure site’s layout. Note the major features and where they lie in relation to each other. Pay special attention to entrances, exits, stairwells, and other features that the characters will use to move around.

Know the Story

Source GameMastery Guide pg. 16
Some games don’t have much story—the characters simply endure whatever you decide to throw at them. But even such straightforward adventures will run a little better if you take time to consider how the adversaries came to be in the party’s way, what they’re doing when the party appears, and how they might react to intrusion.

Other games place the characters within an unfolding story. Before running such a game, stop to consider the story’s beginning, middle, and end. Note the key events and turning points in the tale, and pay special attention to events and developments that turn on character decisions or actions. Consider how you will present those turning points so that you can create a seamless narrative that flows naturally from the party’s actions.

Know the Adversaries

Source GameMastery Guide pg. 16
Think about the foes your characters must face and any other obstacles they must overcome. Consider how those adversaries will act toward the characters.

Creatures and NPCs can often react to characters when they’re still some distance away, thanks to their hearing, sight, or other senses. How these foes respond depends on their nature, temperament, and intelligence, as well as why they’re on the scene and what they’re doing when the party arrives.

Animals and creatures with a similar level of intelligence are usually present simply because they live in the area or because someone else has brought them there; they often don’t pay much heed to the characters unless they perceive them to be some kind of threat. Many animals would rather flee than fight, but even a timid animal can become ferocious when cornered, and some are highly territorial and aggressive.

Any creature smarter than a common animal generally tries to assess the situation before acting. Very few simply sit in rooms or lairs waiting for the party to come and attack. What they do depends on the weaponry and powers they have available, and what they have at stake.

Creatures that have something to defend (property, livelihood, family, reputation, and so on) likely won’t hesitate to confront the party in some fashion. That doesn’t always mean an immediate attack. Consider how the creature thinks of intruders or visitors. Is it curious or prone to negotiation? Does it think of the group as a threat or an opportunity? Has it made plans for dealing with intruders? Also think about how well the creature knows its ground, what risks it’s willing to take, and how quickly and accurately it can assess its situation.

Not all responses need to be tactical. The creature might just want to chat with the newcomers or might send someone else to do so. Alternatively, it might try to scare away intruders or perhaps misdirect them. A creature with nothing to gain probably won’t fight at all if it can avoid doing so.

You should also think about what might make the creature surrender or flee. Few creatures fight to the death if there’s an alternative available.

Know the Rules

Source GameMastery Guide pg. 17
You don’t need encyclopedic knowledge of the Pathfinder RPG rules set to run a quality game. You do, however, need to be comfortable with those parts of the rules that come up frequently in play. This means the rules for determining initiative, how creatures attack and defend, and how to resolve noncombat challenges like skill checks (such as picking a lock or noticing bad guys sneaking up on the party’s camp). It doesn’t hurt to mark your rulebooks to help you find your way around—a few self-adhesive tabs can prove indispensable.

Also be on the lookout for any character ability that uses a complex, difficult, or unfamiliar game mechanic and take a moment to study it. Do likewise for any creatures, traps, or hazards the party might encounter.

If you can’t quite figure out some aspect of the rules, and time permits, consult another Game Master, or the messageboards at paizo.com, which contain a wealth of helpful information and rules discussions. If all else fails, decide how you want the rule in question to work and use it that way—such decisions have a way of working out if you think them through ahead of time.

Don't Overdo it

Source GameMastery Guide pg. 17
Remember that you’re preparing so that things proceed smoothly at the game table. Over-preparation can ruin that. Instead, prepare just enough so that you can quickly deal with situations that you expect to arise, and so that you can handle the unexpected. Don’t script your game so tightly that the players lose their sense of freedom or that your game’s whole structure falls apart if your players fail (or refuse) to accomplish what you expect them to.

Likewise, don’t create so many notes that you can’t keep them organized. One page for each major encounter, event, or personality is generally plenty, and often less will do.

Lay a few Alternate Plans

Source GameMastery Guide pg. 17
There’s an adage in military circles: no plan survives contact with the enemy. Sometimes players head off in directions you didn’t anticipate, defeat your primary villain with a few rolls, miss an obvious clue, or lose a key battle. You can take such developments in stride by considering a few contingencies that can set your plot back on track. Start by thinking about how things might go astray. Does some key individual drive your plot? Do the characters need to learn something before they can succeed? Is there a danger that, if overlooked, can defeat your party? Once you’ve identified the key stumbling blocks, think of plausible ways to repair the damage if the worst happens.

Of course, sometimes you still won’t be able to prepare for player actions. When things go astray, it’s generally the most fun for everyone to play along, exploring the new story and using it to gently nudge the game back onto the original track. Sticking without exception to a prepared plot makes players feel powerless, and part of the fun of being a GM is being surprised by your players. Go with it.

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