So my friends and I have just started into the rpg scene and none of us have any experience so I tried to gm the beginner game of FaD and let's just say it didn't go to well it was slow,messy, and we constantly argued over the rules. I did some research before about gm-ing but I should have done more but that's why I'm here I could use help getting started I'm not sure how much authority to wield as the gm for example when the pc's were engaging the gatekeeper they weren't satisfied with the responses and got to the point where I just had to say ''i am the gatekeeper I have spoken'' and they still argued with me but now it's our running joke but I digress.

So i know there's beginner tips for gm's but any virgin/first timer advice would be greatly appreciated.

Learn how to use punctuation. It won't help you for GMing but it will help you write readable text on this forum.

You judgemental sob... I look for genuine help and all you care about is punctuation??? Thanks for supporting the community. If you can't figure out where it goes then maybe your the one who needs help. Here's your punctuation,.?,";"?:?";'??",,,";":::'',";";":";",

1 hour ago, WolfRider said:

Learn how to use punctuation. It won't help you for GMing but it will help you write readable text on this forum.

Come on man. Seriously? This is how you welcome a new GM?

It sounds like you're in a tough spot. TBH, it doesn't sound like your GM style was the problem but rather your players. I'm a little surprised that your players would argue with you, that's sort of against the spirit. They don't sound like very mature RPGers.

This system doesn't require a huge knowledge of the rules and mechanics and should be about joint storytelling. I would recommend that you try to set expectations with your players before the next session. Something like: "My goal is to have fun telling a good story. I'm not going to screw you guys over, but if I don't know a rule, I'll make a call and I expect that we can just run with it. If I'm trying to play an NPC, just know that this is tough and I'll get better with time." or something to that effect.

As far as portraying an NPC, well this is hard. If you're players don't get how tough this is, then have them try to GM a game. My best advice is to think about your NPCs a bit in advance. Especially if there's dialog. Try to answer a few things, like "what do they want?" "where did they come from"? Sometimes just knowing your NPCs a bit will help you act them out. If you have more time to prepare, you can also pre-script some of the dialog but that can be a big time commitment. I think it's tough with the beginner game because you don't have as much ownership of the NPCs. When I first played the Gatekeeper I had really similar thoughts and felt uncomfortable giving answers. Now that I have played for a while I realize that the NPCs say whatever the ____ I want them to. The books are just a guide. Make them yours. If you do, you will have a much easier time playing them. Another thing you can do is to make them an actor that you think would fit them, you don't have to do the voice if you don't feel comfortable but it does guide how and what they say.

Again, I think it sounds like your group was not cool in the way they responded to you and your portrayal of an NPC. That is probably your bigger problem. Maybe others have advice on how to deal with the group dynamic.

@player3585709 , I know some of this is already echoed above, but this is my thoughts:

When I ran my first campaign I killed it in two sessions for similar reasons. Before I started my second one I literally read the core book from cover to cover to help me learn the rules and stuff. It was basically like revision, and it really helped me because a decent amount stuck with me. If you don't have a gm screen they can help massively, or failing that I use this: https://www.thealexandrian.net/creations/misc/star-wars-force-and-destiny-cheat-sheet.pdf This has most of the basic rules and stuff you'd need, I use this for my sessions.

Regarding player and gm relationships, it really depends on your personal relationship with them. If it's close mates it can be tricky to wield proper authority because they know you from outside the game. Sometimes you do have to say 'look, I'm running this game, I'm making a ruling on this', and usually people will accept the gm's word when they put their foot down.

At the same time, if they are a veteran player of that system however they may know a few rules you get wrong, so don't go in too hard too fast on rulings. One of my players owns his own core book and the other read through as well, so if I forget something or get it wrong, they point it out and it works quite nicely.

If the players compliant in the example is ooc, then that would be a case I'd say 'this is what the gatekeeper is doing, it's up to you guys now'. If it's ic it's not necessarily a problem. People will argue in ic stuff a lot, npc's just have to work with it however you think they would. Maybe the gatekeeper tells them to shove it, or call for some back up. Or maybe with a few good coercion checks from them he caves in and lets them pass? That's up to you nd how you want that npc to work.

Hope that helps!

First off, Wolf brings nothing to the table, so don't worry about him. He's fallen to the Dark Side.

A first time Gm with a group of first time players is going to muddle their way through rules, so don't worry too much about that. If they want to argue rules and how-comes, just tell them, "Guys, I'm learning as I go, the same as you. For now, lets do it this way to keep the game going forward. When we are done with this session, we'll take a deeper look into the rules and figure it out."

As far as them grilling the gatekeeper, I tend to look at gatekeepers like computer programs. They know their programming, and thats it. So if your guys are bugging the gatekeeper for, say, the location of the Infinite Empire's lost home world, and it doesn't know, its going to tell them as much. Think of the hologram in the movie 'I, Robot' as a good example of a gatekeeper. It can mimic intelligence and even hold conversations, but ask it the wrong thing and you'll get "I'm sorry. My responses are limited. You must ask the right question.'

One of the best things you can do as a GM is sit down and read the module you are going to run before you play it. That gives you time to sort out what rules may pop up, and give you time to study them, as well as familiarize yourself with how various NPC's will react to what the players do or say.

Be ready to wing it. I've run games for many, many years, and one thing has always remained constant: The players ability to go right off the rails. You can plan and plot your game down to the smallest detail, and next thing you know, the players are attacking a gazebo.

To get a feel for how to run the game, listen to podcasts of people playing the game. Heroes of the Hydian Way is a great one. You'll learn a lot about GMing and have a lot of fun along the way.