This is maybe a little over-ambitious as I've only GM'd one game and it was using the Age of Rebellion beginner's set, but to be honest I have been so, so very excited about starting this game and leading a group of friends through their own Star Wars story that I can't help myself.

I came up first with a generic outline of the beginning of a story I want to tell -- I have a villain, I have my heroes, I have an ultimate goal for them to build up to, and tried to throw in a few twists and turns along the way. But as I've been writing the adventure, I've come up with some new ideas, some other characters, and I'm hoping that I'm capturing the feel of the beginning of a Star Wars film for this first adventure. I'm planning on turning it into my own campaign, but I'm trying not to get ahead of myself, either -- at the end of this adventure, my players are going to be able to make a really big choice for themselves, which will influence how the rest of the campaign will go.

Anyway, I'm really only posting because I'm excited to be a part of this now!

One good piece of advice I could have used when I was first starting out as a GM. Don't get married to your story. If the PCs choose to go another way, that may mean that that other thing is more interesting than your story. Shrug. Laugh, and re-work your story if possible or just scrap it all together and throw something new at them.

I've posted this elsewhere, but it could do a moment here too:


My Tips to new GMs:

1 - No Adventure ever survives contact with the enemy Players. Be ready to drop your glorious plans of having them fight an epic battle filled with awesome when they decided "herding Banthas sounds more fun".

2 - If you have an easy to solve puzzle that Players are meant to hit, beat, and breeze on past they will spend all night failing to figure it out even after you've given them every hint and all but solved it for them. Conversely if you have long detailed, hyper convoluted plot full of intrigue and political maneuvering meant to last half a campaign and engage their every fiber they'll shot the Main Villain in the first 5 minutes because "LOL, it's always teh Evil Vizier".

3 - Be prepared for the Players to run off in whatever direction you didn't draw on the map. Yes, even that direction that doesn't actually exist.

4 - If you give the PCs a throw away McGuffin meant to be pawned at the first opportunity they'll spend all campaign dragging it around waiting for the "right time to use it". Conversely if you give the Epic Sword Of God Slaying in the Kill The Evil God campaign it'll get traded for a hot meal and beer in the next tavern...

5 - See the above and repeat as necessary.

I have to type this only because this cliché is posted all the time. In spite of what people say, Adventures CAN survive encountering the players.

The trick to making your story not get destroyed by your players is to learn a few things about Role Playing.

1. It isn't the GM versus the players. It is an interactive story that includes player characters and the GM filling in the rest.
2. If you want to present only a single method to go through a story (aka a linear story) you have to manipulate the PCs so they think they came up with the idea. The Rule of Three goes into this. Basically the Rule of Three states you need to give at least 3 clues towards the idea/plot device/path you desire.
3. If you plan for multiple methods of completing the same thing, the players can be more creative and wont break an idea you have.
4. Never design just 1 Bad Guy. If you have a long story and the first meeting the characters destroy that baddie, plan for that and create the reason the next guy has the same motivation. Don't give up and complain the characters are "too good". NOTE: Anytime you think the characters are "too good" it is a sign you are designing things too easy or too lazy. It is a GM failing not a Player over powering.
5. Imagine fun ideas. Ask your players to imagine fun ideas. Explore those fun ideas.
6. When things are fun, you are doing everything right.

Why people continue to quote a 19th century Prussian General I have zero idea, but it is wrong and lazy to assume your story will be broken no matter what. Plan, Plan for that to be different, and Plan for the second plan to be even more different. It will survive and thrive.

Edit: Added a comment.

Considering the group I'm with, I'm already prepared to have to go off-script, but for the introduction to the particular story I'm telling I'm railroading them just a little. At the end of the adventure they'll have a lot more freedom, but I wanted to throw them right into the action. It's sort of like the beginning of ANH -- Imperials taking captives and escape is necessary, but since they're level 1 on a Star Destroyer, it's probably not a good idea to try taking over. I'm going to try to be prepped in case they do something silly like that, but at that point I'll throw legions of Stormtroopers their way or something.

I do appreciate all the advice, and I'm trying to take it all to heart. It's really just this beginning game that's going to sort of guide them where I'd like them to go, but after that I'm going to write more of the campaign based on the choices they make.

Just FYI, I will be posting about my adventure here starting in the near future, should you be interested in following at all

So as I've been writing this it has turned from the PCs simply starting as Imperial captives to being contracted and saved by a Hutt who is probably going to attempt to control their lives, not to mention having them run into Rebel operatives who are going to try to get them to join up. This has grown remarkably complicated, and I've only written one episode of a three part adventure.

This pleases me.