Hey Krom!

I'm not sure if you mean for gm'ng in general or specifically for the adventure....so I'm gonna do in general

1)You don't need to use all the rules the first time you play. The combat rules are complicated and hard to implement at first. Just go around the table in combat and give everyone a turn not worrying too much about phases and such. Leave out the advanced combat rules at first adding them in slowly as the campaign progresses.  
2) Don't feel like you need to know everything.  Sorcerers should be in charge of their spells and implement them correctly. The different classes should be able to tell you what they can do with their various abilities.  Print out specific monsters to make referral during the game easier.
3) Your pace with a new system as a new gm will not be as quick, it's ok have fun.  If you need to look stuff up at first then do so. You're in a learning stage. Later you will be comfortable with adjudicating vs looking everything up.
4) Read the module pretty thoroughly and discover the hard-points i.e. those situations that must be done correctly to move the adventure forward.  The other details of the adventure are more fluid so if you drop a monster or non essential treasure or something don't sweat it.
5) Give everyone a job, like mapper, session scribe, treasurer, etc. this helps folks pay closer attention.
6) All those things that your other gm's previously did that really irritated you? Don't do those! (assuming you have played before)
7) Don't be adversarial, do hold on lightly to NPC's even your favorites, include everyone, allow more than the one solution to challenges.  Let your players be geniuses, heroes, wise people, or rogues supreme!
8) If everyone has fun you win!

 

mabon5127 wrote:

8) If everyone has fun you win!

 

In my mind, this is really the key point. How good or bad of a night you are having as a GM is irrelevant, as long as the people at your table are having fun. 

Mabon's list is spot on, and he's a great GM, so he knows what he's talking about. ​

All excellent and pertinent advice. I'd rank them in importance of:
1. Everyone have fun.
2. The PCs are the geniuses, heroes, sages, and rogues of note, even at 1st level.
3. Rules: just have the basics of combat, saving throws, attribute checks (tests and extraordinary feats) and my favorite, the non-standard task, down; make rulings on the rest, based on role-playing.
4. I ran Ghost Ship for my group, having read through it once to get an idea of the situation, then had to adjust as my players went off in a random direction: it's a fantastic adventure, with some very flavorful Hyperborean elements, so play those up.

Chainsaw wrote:

When I run first games at home, it can also sometimes be helpful to use the first session to roll up characters and then do a kind of “test run” through an arena style combat (something that doesn’t count). This can often address a decent number of basic issues before they arise in a more meaningful context.

Yup this is a good way to get everyone tuned up for the real adventure.