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Thread: New dm

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    Pixie in the Playground
     
    NecromancerGuy

    Join Date
    May 2016

    Default New dm

    Our dm moved away, and I have opted to pick up the reigns. I have the basics of a campaign, but am not great at running. Any advice is great. The story is a human empire with a new leader started a war against dwarfs and elves 20 years ago. The party is a part of the resistance against the oppressive government, it is a steampunk style world with airships, steam tanks and power armor. I'm just not sure how to actually start the game. It is level 1 and core book pathfinder. We have 3 new players to the pathfinder system, 1 of them is new to role-playing all together. Any ideas for a level 1 first mission for a resistance party against a steampunk Nazi style government? All help and advice appreciated.

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    Default Re: New dm

    Raid a weapons shipment. The resistance has already done the heavy lifting in diverting most of the guards away, the PCs need to go clean up what's left and make off with the guns.

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    Ogre in the Playground
     
    SolithKnightGuy

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    Default Re: New dm

    As much as it sounds like you've already spent some time building your world, I would suggest starting with a module.

    Modules are great at two things.

    1. Keeping prep-work to a minimum. (admittedly doesn't appear to be a major issue for you)

    2. Training wheels for a new GM. (*Ding Ding Ding!*)

    I know that my first decent session was a module. (Technically my 2nd session GMing - but my first was pretty bad.)

    If you want it to fit your magi-tech steampunk vibe, just grab an Eberron module as the baseline.

  4. - Top - End - #4

    Default Re: New dm

    I suggest against a module, really. They tend to teach bad GM habits if you're not experienced enough to know how to mine them for inspiration without railroading.

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    Troll in the Playground
     
    Lvl 2 Expert's Avatar

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    Default Re: New dm

    Quote Originally Posted by Koo Rehtorb View Post
    Raid a weapons shipment. The resistance has already done the heavy lifting in diverting most of the guards away, the PCs need to go clean up what's left and make off with the guns.
    Alternatively:

    Get a message across. Depending on the state of technology in the setting and the amount of secrecy involved there might be a need for runners to contact other resistance groups or a friendly invading army behind enemy lines, getting a report one way and orders the other. They're not crossing an active battlefield, but there are still patrols.

    The resistance has managed to save the crew of a downed allied bomber. (On second thought, that could be a mission in and of itself.) But they need a doctor to treat them and some medical supplies. Doctors in general are nice, life saving people, but you still need to know you're not contacting one with strong nazi sympathies.

    The resistance is moving fugitives. The operation in this city is starting to draw their attention, but if we get this group over the former border to Belgium and split up heading for three different cities they could still hide under the enemies noses for a good amount of time. We know where the roadblocks usually are, this leaves us an option where a several miles wide patch of forest needs to be crossed on foot. The enemy cannot get wind of the large group of refugees.

    The mayor is being way too friendly with these nazi's. It's demoralizing the people, and soon there will not be a resistance left. Take him out.

    Our radio man has intercepted a transmission of the local nazi police chapter, they've tracked down one of our safehouses and are raiding it tonight. This gives us a unique opportunity, but just five hours to prepare while the house is being watched.

    An enemy bomber has been downed. The nearest nazi base is three times as far from that site as we are. Go there, see if they were carrying any useful information or equipment. Deal with any resistance.

    We need more food. The guy running the local cheese factory is a good lad, but we now need his inventory more than he does.



    I think I like this setting idea, it allows for a really low level feel. You're outnumbered and outgunned everywhere you look, fair fights are out of the question, but you still need to get stuff done.
    Last edited by Lvl 2 Expert; 2017-06-29 at 11:48 AM.
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  6. - Top - End - #6
    Pixie in the Playground
     
    NecromancerGuy

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    May 2016

    Default Re: New dm

    Quote Originally Posted by Lvl 2 Expert View Post
    Alternatively:

    Get a message across. Depending on the state of technology in the setting and the amount of secrecy involved there might be a need for runners to contact other resistance groups or a friendly invading army behind enemy lines, getting a report one way and orders the other. They're not crossing an active battlefield, but there are still patrols.

    The resistance has managed to save the crew of a downed allied bomber. (On second thought, that could be a mission in and of itself.) But they need a doctor to treat them and some medical supplies. Doctors in general are nice, life saving people, but you still need to know you're not contacting one with strong nazi sympathies.

    The resistance is moving fugitives. The operation in this city is starting to draw their attention, but if we get this group over the former border to Belgium and split up heading for three different cities they could still hide under the enemies noses for a good amount of time. We know where the roadblocks usually are, this leaves us an option where a several miles wide patch of forest needs to be crossed on foot. The enemy cannot get wind of the large group of refugees.

    The mayor is being way too friendly with these nazi's. It's demoralizing the people, and soon there will not be a resistance left. Take him out.

    Our radio man has intercepted a transmission of the local nazi police chapter, they've tracked down one of our safehouses and are raiding it tonight. This gives us a unique opportunity, but just five hours to prepare while the house is being watched.

    An enemy bomber has been downed. The nearest nazi base is three times as far from that site as we are. Go there, see if they were carrying any useful information or equipment. Deal with any resistance.

    We need more food. The guy running the local cheese factory is a good lad, but we now need his inventory more than he does.



    I think I like this setting idea, it allows for a really low level feel. You're outnumbered and outgunned everywhere you look, fair fights are out of the question, but you still need to get stuff done.
    Great ideas, thanks.

  7. - Top - End - #7
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    Planetar

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    Default Re: New dm

    Quote Originally Posted by Rkoskubar View Post
    Any ideas for a level 1 first mission for a resistance party against a steampunk Nazi style government? All help and advice appreciated.
    Cheat: ask the players what kind of mission they want to carry out, and prep that.

    As far as the details of prepping for steampunk Pathfinder, that's outside my experience, but maybe someone else can point to appropriate stat blocks?

  8. - Top - End - #8
    Pixie in the Playground
     
    NecromancerGuy

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    Default Re: New dm

    Quote Originally Posted by BayardSPSR View Post
    Cheat: ask the players what kind of mission they want to carry out, and prep that.
    I plan on doing basic prep on three different missions, each needs to be acomplished, but order and difficulty scale to player choices

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    Orc in the Playground
     
    GnomeWizardGuy

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    Default Re: New dm

    Biggest advice: look up all of the past DM tips and such threads. Learn from history or you WILL be doomed to repeat it!

  10. - Top - End - #10
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    Devil

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    Quote Originally Posted by icefractal View Post
    Abstract positioning, either fully "position doesn't matter" or "zones" or whatever, is fine. If the rules reflect that. Exact positioning, with a visual representation, is fine. But "exact positioning theoretically exists, and the rules interact with it, but it only exists in the GM's head and is communicated to the players a bit at a time" sucks for anything even a little complex. And I say this from a GM POV.

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