The Essential GM Tips

No fluff, just the tips!

Written by Vincent Baker

Hi my name’s Vincent. Are you nervous about running your
first tabletop RPG? Well, don’t be! Read these tips below Materials
and you’ll wise like a crisp Yoda. *Welcome to step #2!
Below is a list of all materials you should consider when
forming your first campaign. All of the materials can be
Set Up supplied entirely by you or in combination with your
players (ask them for help if it’s needed). Some players will
*Follow these steps BEFORE all others. Continue working
like to bring their own, it’s especially common with dice.
your way down, one step at a time.
Pen and Paper: Despite the common phrase, you’ll likely
Forming a group: Ask friends, family, and coworkers if
want pencils because there will be erasing. Paper is good
they’d like to join your campaign that you’re working
to have to keep track of notes.
on. If you still need more people, then ask those same
friends, family, and coworkers if they have family, friends
Dice: You will need dice for all players. You can acquire
or coworkers, who are interested. If you still don’t have
these at your LGS or online on eBay, Amazon, etc. The type
enough people, then go to a local game store (LGS),
of dice you need depends on the system, D&D requires
and ask them to help! You or them can use fliers and/or
polyhedral dice (which is basically all of them), systems like
bulletin boards to promote it. Many stores would be happy
Otherworlds, just need six-sided dice.
to help!
Character Sheets: These are for your players to keep up
Tone: Something that’s crucial for every group will be the
with their character’s stats, abilities, gear, level, and more!
tone of the game. Is character death going to be okay for
Google “*name of RPG* character sheets. Print out 1 for
your players? Will they handle it well? Do they want an
every player in your group x2. The extra will be nice to
easy and fun escapism or a gritty, dark tale, filled with
have for when you need them!
horror and tragedy? Does your group want tons of cussing
and dark themes? Consider this and make sure you’re
File Folders: Useful for keeping up with everyone’s
on the same page with your players. Remember, if they
character sheets, papers, notes, and more. Be sure to
are ever not comfortable, make sure they know it’s okay
label your folders with masking tape or file folder labels
for them to speak up and discuss the situation with you.
(available in the stationary section at Dollar Stores).
Usually if the group are friends, then it’s likely this won’t
be an issue, because you’ll have similar mentalities on
Miniatures?: Whether you should use miniatures depends
what you want the game to be, but regardless, this step is
on the group and game you’re running. Many games can
important!
use either. Many new players prefer miniatures, but you
can always ask them for their preference.
Where to play: If you or one of your players don’t have
a spot to meet for your campaign, try a LGS. If neither of
Where to get miniatures: Miniatures can be expensive.
these options work, discuss playing at a local library (with
You can find bulk lots on eBay. Getting a Pathfinder set that
their permission), or at fast food joint or diner (especially if
comes with 100’s of cardboard standees work wonders for
there’s 4 or less players total, and you can keep the volume
beginning GMs, giving a lot to work with for little cost.
reigned in).
Battlegrid: Only required if you’re going to use miniatures.
How long should each session be?: This varies between
You can get a Chessex Battle Grid here or my preferred grid
groups and should be discussed among your group. A
in this set. 
standard amount of time is around 4 hours. The time will
also vary depending on your players and what works best
Wet Erase Markers: Works a lot better than dry erase.
with your availability.
These come in handy for drawing boundaries on the grid,
symbols, or other forms of indication.
How frequently should we play?: Again, this varies, but
the standard amount is once a week or once every two
Music?: Use your favorite music from your favorite games
weeks. Some groups prefer meeting once a month, while
and series. I’d recommend using more abstract titles unless
others prefer meeting multiple times a week, this will
you want your players calling out each track and disrupting
depend heavily on availability.
the game flow. Of course if you’re making content (i.e.
Twitch or YouTube), then you’ll need to use music that you
own the rights to or otherwise, have the rights to use. You
can find music by Google searching, “music for tabletop
RPGs.”
Food & Drinks: These can be an issue at the table,
especially if the GM is worried about their materials
getting grease on them or having liquid spilled. This should
be discussed with your group. For me, we allow drinks with
caps at the table and no food. We eat afterwards.
Campaign Prep
*These are applied when you’ve gotten the players on
board!
The World: Come up with an interesting world for your
players to play in. Think of a compelling hook, such as the
world is wrought with zombies, in a fantasy setting! Or
perhaps there are several guilds of magic, but one guild
has declared war on the others. Or perhaps your setting
doesn’t have much magic, but those of rare bloodlines
have the capabilities of performing magic, because of this
they are hunted and killed. Think of the dynamics this
would introduce into your world and expand on it!
The Premise: Have a cool world? Consider an introduction
to your world that you can share with your players to
give them a good idea of the type of world, they will be
involved in.
The Overarching Story: Now create a story to tie your
player’s characters in! When creating a story, largely
consider where you want things to begin, and where you’d
like things to end. Don’t get discouraged if the end goal
changes, it likely will, at least a little! Having an end goal in
place however, will give your campaign a sense of direction
and purpose.  candles, you must consider your players. Some of them
Writing Adventures: Your campaign will comprise of
several adventures. Adventures are a session you and your
players will participate in. When writing an adventure,
consider your idea for the beginning and end (much like
the overarching story). Then fill three pivotal middle
“beats” that will likely happen in the story. My goal is to
have these 5 things happen, but have the players decisions
change the journey, circumstances, the details, and even
sometimes the order. Sometimes your players may even
do something you absolutely love, even if it’ll drastically
change what you have in mind, that’s A-OKAY. Go with the
flow and start making alters to your future ideas that you
had. NEVER get married to your campaign’s stories and
ideas.
Culture: Map out what races, creatures, and habitats are
present in your world and story. How do they all interact
with one another. Some conflict can make some interesting
interactions, such as dwarves not being fond of gnomes,
because maybe in your world, dwarves used to have access
to magic, that is, until the gnomes stole it centuries ago!
Kind of a crazy premise, but it’s your world, your rules! 
Weapons: What type of weapons do many people use in
your world? Consider what their biggest threats are and
what would work best against them! For example, if your
world is plagued with demons, then perhaps many town
guards wield light imbued weapons to combat them! 
Locations: What are notable towns, cities, and areas in
your world?
Writing NPCs: What types of people will be apart of your
world for your players to interact with? Consider their
physical appearance, something distinct about the way
they look or act. Are they an adventurer or just a civilian?
What profession do they have? Are they friendly or mean?
Feel free to loosely jot down names for NPCs with some
details and then begin improving the rest. It’s also helpful
to keep notes of “personality references” for each NPC. For
example, your note might say, “Tony Stark,” so when you
act as that NPC you have a foundation to go from.
Planning Music: For each of the five points in your
adventure, take note of which specific tracks you’d like to
play. Having this picked out before you begin the game
session can drastically help you from having to fiddle
around your device, trying to find a fitting song! 
Burning Candles: While, far from mandatory, generally
the more senses you can tap into the more immersive the
experience for your players. HOWEVER before considering
may be sensitive to candles or certain scents. 
Gameplay
*These are applied DURING your adventures.
Combat vs. Story: Some players want all combat. Some
want all story. Some want a mixture of both. Unless your
players have a preference, I advocate for a balance of both.
Some sessions are all combat, while others are all story
based. Most however alternate in the session during the
“five points” discussed in ‘Writing Adventures’ above. I go
from story, combat, story, combat, story or the inverse of
that for combat, story, combat, story, combat. 
Difficulty: Depends on your group. On average you’ll want
your players to face a moderate challenge. Though for me,
after I have my players face a really difficult boss, I like to
give them some easy encounters. This way, they have the
time to feel like badasses, the other half the time, they are
sweating and focused on not dying - which is great!
Door #1 or #2?: Many DM’s make the mistake of detailing
their “plot points” too much. For example, if your players
are traveling a road that splits two ways and you give
them the option to go other way, but you want them to
encounter highway robbers, then you shouldn’t have in
your notes, “highway robbers on the left path.” Instead,
have them choose which way they want to go and BAM,
there’s highway robbers there! Of course, if you fully
detail both roads and every branching area they can
travel to, then more power to you. Alternatively, you can
always “roll with it” and have whatever they encounter be
more spontaneous. It’s based on how you feel, what you
think your players will enjoy, and what you want. In any
case, this “illusion of choice” of Door #1 or #2 can prove
very useful in making your players feel like everything is
happening naturally in a spontaneous way, but maintaining
a sense of direction.  
Roll with it: Your players make up something unexpected
and fun? Consider “rolling with it.” Or those from the 70’s
might say, “go with the flow.”
Not 100% sure on the ruling?: Refer to the point above,
“roll with it”. Go with what makes sense to you. Make a
note and look into it later. Then, if you were wrong on a
rule and want to change it, discuss it with your players that
you goofed and will fix it from this point forward.
The End Goal: Of course the ultimate goal is for everyone
to have fun, but that’s a boring answer, so instead I’d like
to leave you with this. I want my players to not know what
was planned and what wasn’t. This takes using the steps
above of “Writing Adventures,” “Door #1 or #2,” and “Roll
With It.” If you achieve this, your players will experience an
extreme sense of wonder and feel like they have a lot of
control in a very compelling narrative.
Other Issues
*Apply these after your first adventure (and those
thereafter)
Problem Player?: These are players who cause problems.
They come in many shapes and sizes. Some are incredibly
stinky. Others are always on their phones and some get
angry and make everyone uncomfortable. The through
line is the same though. Sit them aside (usually after your
session, unless it’s REALLY bad) and have a talk with them.
Doing this outside of the session, also shows respect
towards them, as it’s not “calling them out” in front of
others. However, if you let this problem behavior persist,
then you’ll be disrespecting your good players and that’s
not cool either. If you talk with the problem player and
they seem to understand, then continue playing with
them, otherwise if they persist, politely tell them they are
no longer invited to your game sessions. It’s simply not
worth the stress and damages it’s causing you. You work
hard to prepare a fun session for everyone. You deserve
better. 
Angry players?: Do you have a player who gets mad when
they take damage, doesn’t get the final kill, or something
else that’s arbitrary? Well, refer to the point above
“Problem Player?”.
Quiet players?: It’s easy to keep riffing with players who
are excited and engaged, but after hearing their ideas and
giving them something to “chew on” be sure to ask the
most quiet player at the table what their thoughts are on
the matter. This is a great way to improve their experience! 
The “I’m not going to play, I’m just going to watch
‘players’”: I personally don’t allow this at my table. What
this turns into is either A. Everyone ignores them and they
are unhappy and my empathy can’t handle that, because
I’m constantly worried about them or B. People chat
with them, breaking immersion from the game, causing
distractions, and forcing you to repeat yourself over and
over again, since people’s attention is now divided. If that
sounds okay with you though, then by all means, let them
sit and watch. Overall, I think it’s much better to encourage
them to give the game a try. You can have them sit in on
a shorter session with a character you’ve pre-generated
for them, that fits them well (in your mind). Then, if they
end up enjoying the game, then they can start with their
own character or decide to stick with the pre-generated
character that you’ve made for them.
Don’t have a session written?: Use a random scenario
generator OR just make one up on the fly! Do a ‘one-off”
session with all new characters created on the fly, or a
“beach episode” as anime weebs will understand. The
session doesn’t have to be serious or heavily written, it’s
just about having fun with friends!
Need Inspiration?: Watch some of your favorite shows!
Listen to your favorite music! Try to keep them within the
genre you want to work in and see what they do that you
love and try and apply some of those elements into your
campaign!
Have more questions? Receive help from the man himself
and many others in our ever growing Discord channel, right
here.
and here’s a the code if the link didn’t work!
https://discord.gg/KkjmRn3
The Campaign Template
Name of Your Adventure
Written by: Some things to add!
(fill in your 5 plot points!) NPCs (write on your paper here, if this character is based or
I: Introduction inspired off of character fresh in your mind, this will help you get
II: ??? quickly into character)
III: ??? Name: (The character’s name.)
IV: ??? Appearance: (What’s their most notable physical features?
V: The Resolution! (Where would you like this Adventure Are they tall and lanky? Have a scar running down their
to end? Think of a big hook, if you’re planning multiple eye? That goes here.)
sessions!) Personality: (what’s their most defining personality traits?
The good, the bad, and the quirky, all go here!)
Introduction Weapon(s): (if any.)
put text here. put text here. put text here. put text here.
put text here. put text here. put text here. put text here. Recreation: Note some of the drinks, food, sports, and
general entertainment people in your location participate
Plot Point II in! If you get stuck on this, have your player’s come up with
put text here. put text here. put text here. put text here. some things during the session, which is a great way to
put text here. put text here. put text here. put text here. immersive them in the collaborative story telling process!

Plot Point III

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Want more RPG tips?
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Plot Point IIII
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The Resolution!
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Enemy Stat Blocks
Place all of your enemy stat blocks here together, in the
order they are likely to appear in your adventure!
Also, you can always follow our Patreon (for free),
OR support my work and get access to several RPG
documents, so you can see exactly how I’ve set up my
games after doing this hundreds of times!
http://www.patreon.com/vindicatedentertainment
As always, stay awesome!
Vincent Baker