How to tell or make people to learn basic rules and their character sheet, and not sound like an asshole
We're playing Pathfinder 2E. I like it. The players were excited. They had wanted to play it for a long time with someone who knew the system. I often hear them talking about how bad their last GM was and how he made game-breaking rules on the spot because he didn't know the actual rules. I play with all of them in Dark Heresy as a player.
I thought, sure, I wanted to play some more PF2, and they have known each other for a long time. They are friends (I think?). What could go wrong?
Even before session 0, I knew something was off. They had more than a month to create their characters. I didn't receive any backstory or character information until the day before session 0, even though I had been hearing for such a long time about how much they wanted to play. I just assumed that they had one or two characters they wanted to play as.
Bear in mind that we were still playing weekly in another campaign, so they could have talked to me or messaged me. They only asked me about class interactions or asked if this class guide was good.
Session 0 went well. I told them what they could expect from me as a GM. They wanted to be sure that I would not be like their last PF2 GM. They told me which classes they wanted to play. No one talks in the group chat. I think my biggest mistake was telling them, "Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it while playing". I mean, I did, and the players I ran a campaign with before did too.
Now we're three sessions in and I'm already tired. They seem to be enjoying it. They all participate in RP and no one dominates. That feels good. But when it comes to the actual mechanics... I've run campaigns in this system before, but never with a group that makes me this tired.
All the names are fake.
There's Mike, who introduced me to these folks. I played with him in Vampire and Mage. He was the GM and I was a player. He's cool, but he just can't read. He reads text and assumes he understands it. Recently, he sent me screenshots from the book to argue with me about how my ability in Dark Heresy works, but the same screenshots prove him wrong. The same goes for PF2: he sends me part of an ability and says, 'It works like that'. He just can't accept he is in the wrong and need to prove that he is the smartest in the room. Thank goodness we like him, because... oh man!
Derek is a clever player with a good imagination, but he overthinks his turns to the point that combat with three low-level enemies took over an hour. His turns can take up to 13 minutes. It was probably my fault too. I wanted to give them as much time as they needed, and give tips mid way. But if they all take 3–13 minute turns, combat could take two sessions. He and Spike constantly complain about their last GM in PF2 and say that he taught them the wrong, imaginary rules. But they both read guides on which class feats to take. They have already planned what they will take at level 10 (they are level 2) and what they will respec into. They also seem unable to listen and make the same mistake after I have just explained why it is a mistake. They ask for explanations of rules or advice that sometimes take up a lot of sessions. But they never send me anything between sessions.
Josh is really weird. He still hasn't given me his backstory or even image for his character. I understand. He is busy. But while some people put in any effort, Josh doesn't.
At this point, if three enemies took that long, what would happen if I dropped more? Or someone with unusual interactions? I initially found it amusing that in Session 2, there were numerous enemies, mostly engaging in combat with other NPCs for the sake of the cinematic. Enemy turns were fast and automatic. They mostly walked, attacked and threw DC. Mike didn't even know how his class ability worked (he was sending cropped screenshots on discord, in the middle of the fight instead of sending them to me in Foundry), he told me that I should have a backup plan in case combat takes too long... Now? I'm not so sure. Do I just give them one enemy?
It's been a long time since I've had doubts about how I run games. On the one hand, I understand them. I've already explained multiple times how something like grapple works to other people. But for them it's the first time. I get it. I want to be compassionate. And I know sometimes I might even sound annoying. But I've never encountered people say they don't rules, yet who think they know. And before session 0, I given them basic rules to read and cheat sheet.
Should I tell them to learn the basic rules? Or at least what their character can do? How to do that so they don't feel... stupid(?) Should I run a Beginner Box inside one of the cities for them? Or should I just be chill about it? Should I skip their turns if they take too long?
At this point I hide my ego and just ask for advice so my players and I can have fun.