GBR was my first time running any kind of RPG too. If you’re worried about a plot, just steal one that you like. Any movie, comic book, tv show, or video game will do. If you look at Season 1 of GBR, it’s pretty much the first Ghostbusters film (if it was episodic). At the time, I just wanted to give my players the feeling and experience of going from a bunch of nobody’s, to heroes of the planet. And the first Ghostbusters film was a perfect template to adapt.

It sounds like you’ve already started playing, so there isn’t much else I can tell you but to ask for feedback from your players. What’s the mood in the room like when you finish a session? Are they anxious or excited to play again? Ask if they had fun, or if there was anything they were frustrated by. You can always change or fix things between games. Heck, there was one time I sent my players on a bust, and when they got there the client said they wanted them to RELEASE a ghost instead of capture one in order to scare someone else away. Easy money, right? They said “That goes against everything we stand for. We’re not doing that.” And then they left. Since that whole bust was all I had planned, I said “Okay. Well, that was all I had, so let’s take a ten minute break while I prepare.” I got out my notes, quickly rolled up a few foes using the Investigation Randomizer Chart, and the result was Episode 7 of Season 1.

No matter what you do, make sure they’re having fun. If you see a player getting fidgety, or playing with their dice, give them something to roll for! Don’t stress about if the overall story structure makes sense. You’ll have plenty of time between episodes to make it work. Not to mention that your players will unintentionally be giving you ideas all the time.

I hope this was some help. But if I misunderstood your question, or if you’d like something more specific, please let me know.

@spinstrike Oh, in that case, have a discussion with your team and see what kind of campaign they’d like to run. Do they want something light and funny like The Real Ghostbusters cartoon? Or more dark and dangerous like Constantine or The Exorcist? Are they playing themselves? Or new characters they created? Based on what kind of story they want, your plans will need more jokes or more scares from you, but keep it loose. Like Max said, don’t get too attached to the NPCs or villains. Ideally, you want to cheer on your players as they go around savin’ the day.

@dagrik, The main villain is always who I start with. Depending on the kind of game you’re running, you may not need one. I personally would grow tired of a non-stop “monster of the week” with no story tying it all together. But I’m more inclined to tell “cinematic” stories.

If you have a main villain in mind, it’ll help add structure. You just need to know what their goal is, and how they’re gonna go about getting it. Every single bust doesn’t have to be connected to the big bad. There are many episodes in Season 1, and a quite a few in Season 2 that have nothing to do with the main villain’s plot.

My recommendation is to figure out who your main villain is and what the final confrontation is likely to be, and plan backwards from there. Just don’t stay too “locked” in on what the order of events must be. The most important thing is to make sure the players are having fun. Your story is secondary to their enjoyment. Plus, if they’re having fun, you will too.

At the risk of being long-winded, I feel like I could answer in more detail during our upcoming Live Q&A. Once the next episode hits on Monday, we’ll start planning for that.

@dagrik, we don’t have a list of questions yet. But we’ll announce a time and place to post them once we get a date locked in. Until then, feel free to keep posting here. I just can’t guarantee how fast I’ll be able to answer.

@hattiemcsandwich, Most of the time I just stick with fixed amount of Ecto Presence as planned. But I have on several occasions changed it up while playing. It really depends on how your players are handling it. If they’re having a blast, just let it play out. But if it’s just the same thing each round, and they all look like they’re getting bored, shake it up! Shave some Ecto Presence points off of it, and describe how beat up it looks. Maybe it tries to get away, but is just too weak. No matter what happens, try to make your players feel like heroes. Not just human “dice rollers” who need to “roll right” a set number of times to “win.”