You’ve decided you want to try to be a GM in the new year. YES. Great choice. We’re here to support you in that journey! The Kobold Press game of choice is the Tales of the Valiant (ToV) RPG. It’s completely compatible with D&D (both 2014 and 2024), so you could jump between the games easily or even mix and match from both.
Tales of the Valiant Quick Intro
ToV has two core books: Player’s Guide and Monster Vault. The Player’s Guide includes rules for 13 heroic base classes, lineages including elves and dwarves, and more from classic fantasy roleplaying. It has all the rules for being a player or GM in one volume. The Monster Vault includes more than 400 dungeon-crawling fantasy creatures any GM needs to craft compelling encounters.
Together, these two books make an excellent set. And to GM well and truly, you’ll want to get them both. However, you can also get up to speed with the FREE Black Flag System Resource Document (BFRD) here. It’s got all the rules and everything you need to play online.
Let’s Get Started
Let’s focus on basic preparation for becoming a game master, starting with choosing the adventure, planning, and light reading.
Choose an Adventure
Prewritten adventures can help new GMs guide the gameplay. With structured story ideas and game rule reminders, these adventures mean less prep time and more time for gaming. If you want to follow along, we’re using the adventure, the Impregnable Fortress of Dib from the Adventures of Dib PDF.
We selected this adventure because:
- It’s a great introductory adventure for new players.
- It’s fun, quirky, and short.
- It features Dib, the iconic Kobold Press goblin.
- It comes ready with a map and all the necessary materials to make it easy to prepare.
- There’s a follow-up adventure for your second game session!
Of course, you can choose any adventure! Plenty of additional Tales of the Valiant adventures on the Kobold Press store and DriveThruRPG await. But we’re going to reference the Impregnable Fortress of Dib here.
Wrangle Your Players
Identify some people you’d like to run the game for. Maybe you already have some people in mind. Each game needs a single game master (that’s you) and three or four more players. You could go up to six or more if you have enthusiastic players, but a larger number of players can get a little slow.
Consider inviting people that you’ll enjoy spending several hours with and who will enjoy each other’s company. Ideally, they’ll be the same kind of people you’d want to hang out with any time, game or no game. They don’t need to be “gamers” or have familiarity with ToV.
Here are a few suggestions for finding players:
Draw inspiration from related movies, TV shows, and pop culture, such as:
- Lord of the Rings
- Game of Thrones
- The Witcher
- The Elder Scrolls (Skyrim)
- World of Warcraft
- Elden Ring
- Stranger Things
If your friends are new to tabletop RPGs, remind them you’re new too! It may take a little time to find your players, so give yourself some runway.
Choose a Time and Place
Decide where and when you’ll hold your first game session. Most people play where they live, on a big table or sitting on couches and chairs in a living room. A game store, library, school, or church building are also places that have the space and furniture to accommodate. Wherever you choose, pick a space that can accommodate a good-sized table and chairs, allowing for natural conversation and easy movement.
You might also want to play online. There are many virtual tabletop (VTT) programs you can use to play with anyone who has an internet connection. Owlbear Rodeo is simple and free. We also recommend Shard Tabletop, which has a free option and works very well with ToV. Two great choices!
As far as when, be prepared to be flexible. Give yourself about a four-hour block at a suitable time for both your players and you.
BONUS EXERCISE: Light Reading
Read the introduction in the Player’s Guide. This section begins on page 7 and continues through page 10. This reading gives you a foundational understanding of the world of the Labyrinth and the Tales of the Valiant game system.
You’re on your way! Once you find your players and complete the reading exercise, you’ll have taken your first steps toward a Tales of the Valiant game session. Don’t panic: It’s going to be great!
It’s Dangerous to Go Alone
You can even bring a friend or two along on the journey, so you can compare notes as you go. If you’re an experienced GM, consider helping someone in your group who wants to start GMing by sharing this information and mentoring them.
We’ll take our next steps tomorrow to dive deeper into the rules of Tales of the Valiant!
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