whatever you do, at the very least change the canned adventure, and if you write your own, players have the uncanny ability to solve things in ten minutes. Roll with it and move on. If you are running pathfinder or DND, become familiar with the SRD more than the players handbook.

Ask the players what *they* want to do, then adapt.

You’re supposed to be a fan of the players, not their enemy

relax, running a game isn't as hard as it looks

Be a fan of the characters. Make them shine. Don't necessarily give them everything they want (that would be boring) but always root for them no matter the odds.

rules are a (imo very weak) social construct, and the most important thing is everyone has fun. The players are the ones who bring the main characters, conflicts, and determine the general direction of the story. The role of the GM involves a lot of improvisation to make it all work, and provide all the parts between (like the world).

If you have the urge to GM then you’re already more than qualified. Learn the rules well enough to keep your table moving (especially in combat) but don’t try to know everything. Try to be in the moment and improv as you go - it’s more fun to make stuff up on the day then sweat about keeping them on a determined or prepared path.

don't say no to anything a player wants to do.

nobody knows when you're making shit up, nobody knows when your overly-complex plan for the session has fallen apart, nobody knows if you think you're not prepared at all. And if they did know, they *wouldn't care*. They're just glad to be playing with you!

99% of any problem you face at the table can be solved by talking with your players. If something needs to be cleared up, clear it up.

Always remember that this is meant to be fun for you as well.

Comedy Improv training is quite helpful, even the online stuff.

Use a tiny RPG system[1] with a tiny environment ready-made environment[2].
Familiarise yourself with how others[3] run the same environment, then make it your own! You got this.

[1]: System (free). https://yochaigal.itch.io/cairn
[2]: Environment (free). https://v6p9d9t4.ssl.hwcdn.net/html/6466170/BotEk/index.html
[3]: An actual play of the environment (free). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3N4pqHIEwQ

1. Change the rules when they don't fit what you want the world to be like.
2. Don't stress about balance. Throw too much danger (monsters, traps, big untracked wilderness) at the players, just leave them some room to run if they can't handle it.
3. Let them hire help, but don't give them anyone more powerful or flashy than they are. They gotta do it themselves.
4. Don't tolerate behavior you don't like. In-party fighting, etc. you can just shut it down.
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