How do I build up the courage to run a game?

>>53290468
Dont need to build up just ask some people you know if they want to play a game

If you dont know anyone then you're beyond the help of this board desu

>>53290468
Depends what you need courage for. Is it social anxiety? Is it having no friends? Is it having friends who you think would make the experience shitty?

>>53290468
Beat up 5 other guys. Once you've beaten them physically, you'll know you can beat them mentally in any game you choose. Once they have accepted their defeat and your superiority, they will be unswervingly-loyal players, forever welded to your iron GM frame.

>>53291499
Clearly the best option.


In all seriousness though it would probably be a good idea to start with some small steps. Try running a oneshot session in a fairly simple system to start out. That should remove a decent amount of the pressure.

Take some liquid courage and go for it.

>>53290468
I can't give you tips for dealing with your specific brand of confidence issue, anon, but here is some advice that will take some pressure off you.

Get a good audience. Pick your players carefully. They must be enthusiastic and willing to forgive your newbie mistakes, not whine and throw shit fits.
They must accept the deal: you will run bunch of bad games in order to get good at it eventually. (Before anyone bitches about it, I do not commend playing with utter sycophants.)

It's okay to say:
>alright guys, that's unexpected, give me a moment to figure it out
>sorry guys, I can't handle something this complicated, this is only my first/second game
>hey, i told you guys the game would be about x, so please don't do [off-rails shit]
>uh, let's retcon that.
If they aren't dickwads, your players will understand.

Start with a really light improvisation one-shot. Something silly, with shit you can make up on the fly, not much roleplaying, and even less mechanics. I recommend Everyone is John. The less serious it is, the less pressure on you.

(Optional step: Run a 1 or 2 session, slightly serious, 1-page-system game like Lasers and Feelings or The Witch is Dead)

Now move on to a short game. Get a simple system you're familiar with, study the GM's handbook until you can more or less respond to player actions, answer basic setting/mechanics questions, etc.

Run the starter adventure as written. Stick to pregens (make your own if you can, to practice character creation). Railroad if you need to. End the game after X sessions. Five tops. DO NOT MAKE IT A CAMPAIGN. Your players must know this before you play. If it goes to shit you'll be starting over anyway.

Finally... it's okay to be nervous. Your first game will probably suck. You'll fuck up. But if your players are good people, they won't mind. They will probably have a good time anyway. They may not care about, or even notice your game's issues. So don't sweat it. You'll get better with time.

Remember you have balls or ovaries and use them. It is worth it to try, and failure is experience to learn from, not something to be ashamed of.

>>53290468
there is no perfect game and no perfect GM

run a game, do your best to make sure people have fun

learn from what happens and improve on it

that's literally it

>>53290468
It's like popping your cherry. You're gonna suck and it's not going to be great for everyone involved, but the sooner you get it over with, the sooner you can start getting good.

Two shots of vodka

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>>53290468

Spend time writing a setting, plot hooks, creating NPCs, theorycrafting items, and fantasizing about climactic battles until the itching need to show other people outweighs the fear of showing other people.

A campaign in your head is just something you'll eventually forget to do something with until you actually run it. Or convert it into a book idea and start writing, I guess.

By having fucked up so many times I'm immune to shame and ridicule.

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>>53297950
>when you try to support the GM by offering advice for weird situations and inexperience instead of berating them but then there's always that one fucking self-deserving, over-critical loudmouth that you have to stand up to

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>>53290468
Realize your life is fleeting, there is no inherent meaning in anything you do, that justice and mercy are lies and that inevitability dictates all our eventual demises.

Then realize that's nice and all, but some fantasies are worth having so that they might become more than mere figments.

>>53290468
If you have setting ideas you really want other people to play then courage will come.
If you don't have any ideas I suggest you either stop there or just run premade settings

>>53290468
if you lack the courage to DM a game, you should get into a more tame hobby, such as vidya