Suitable for a Mindless Diversions post — some friends have asked me to gamemaster a tabletop RPG to see if they’d like it, and I agreed to do it. For a small group only of friends who saw their kids playing Dungeons and Dragons many years ago, and wondered what all the fuss was about, but stepped away because, you know, playing D&D with your parents can’t possibly be cool.
I’ve opined earlier on these pages about what I’d look for in a tabletop RPG and have got about 75% of the way through putting together a set of basic rules. I’ve done mini-tests of my combat system (spreadsheet-aided) and I’m reasonably pleased with where it’s at. What I need to finish on the books this week I can take inspiration from other existing systems and that shouldn’t be a problem.
And I’ve managed to concieve of a reasonably rich background with a plot arc for a whole campaign if they like it, one that I think will give my players flexibility to decide their own fates but still tell an interesting story.
But I haven’t actually done any RPGs since Ronald Reagan was President. Here’s what I’m going to the audience for — given that I’m going to have a bunch of complete RPG newbies, I have no way of anticipating if my players are going to like the role-playing, the dice-rolling combat, or what. And I’m likely to be a bit rusty myself. So how tightly clamped to the rails should I keep things? I know the ideal is to have them stick within the rails but feel like they’re choosing these paths on their own. But that’s a tough balance to reach. Too much freedom and newbies will paralyze from overchoice. Too little freedom and I might as well call it “storytime with Burt.” When you indulge in RPGs, what sorts of things do you like to see left up to the roll of the dice, and what do you like to see given “special care and handling” for plot purposes?
Oh, and should I invest in some little lead figurines? Back in the day, I found ultra-detailed combat and movement rules tedious, but the visual aid for combat mechanics might be useful. TIA, RPGers.
“The first time make it fun. The second time make it difficult.”
My suggestion for the first session would be to take a page from the Harry Dresden RPG and talk with your players about the world they want to inhabit. Let them talk about the city they’re in and the various nearby places of historical interest.
If you’ve got a handful of people who talk about a nearby tower with monsters, you know that they’ll want combat.
If you’ve got a handful of people who talk about King Rat in the sewers and his balance of power against Bard the Mayor the Bard (“call me Mayor”) in town, you’ve got yourself a handful of storytellers.
Once you’ve hammered out the town you’re in, *THEN* have them create their characters. The environment that you all create together will tell you what kind of game they’re hoping to play.
And, from there, I’ll tell you that if they’re hoping to dice-grind and smash orcs, you should let the dice tell the story. If they’re hoping to tell a story, you should let the dice be story enhancers (rather than rolling to hit, roll to succeed at something… and a failure will make them think on their feet).
If that makes sense.
This is all good.
A ringer helps. A full party of newbies is hard. An experienced gamer can keep the action going on the player side without it coming across as too much GM hand-holding.
More information about the system and whatnot would be necessary to provide additional advice.
Oh, last: you’re probably going to get pitched out of the saddle a few times. Don’t lump yourself too much for it, keep at it, don’t let it wear you down.
My apprehension that your last paragraph is totally inevitable was the motivation for the post.
RPG info: Fantasy setting, wizards and swordsmen and orcs and such, with cultural norms inspired freely and unapologetically from European high middle ages, particularly the Byzantine Empire; very low level magic (start small fires in lanterns, repair torn clothing) relatively common but knowledge of how to do serious stuff (lightning bolts, conjure undead) jealously guarded by a few factions that the players will have to ingratiate themselves with to learn. Combat system variant from Rolemaster 2d edition, so mechanics are 1-100 rolls with a small possibilty for the occasional sexy big damage hit. Base character traits (strength, agility, etc.) start out below average but should increase over time as characters have freuqent level ups. Classless; skill rolls (to hit with sword, cast fire magic spell, pick locks) are derivative from base character traits and past experience at similar tasks, modified by situation-specific difficulty factors. Frequent level-ups reached by successfully completing skill rolls, but only small incremental bonuses for each level up (looking to roughly simulate level-ups in computer RPGs like Elder Scrolls).
I have no real experience with the RPG thing. But I’m going to go out on a limb anyway and say that if these are a bunch of adults that are not necessarily enthusiasts, a key to your success will be a bottle or two of nice scotch.
Depends on the players.
This is probably good advice, but one stupid drunk can mess everything up.
“but one stupid drunk can mess everything up.”
I’d have thought that that would just make his warrior role playing that much more realistic.
This is tabletop playing. A bottle or two of nice Robotussin will get you a lot farther.
With this crew, it will be tequila.
Figurines seem lame.
Give ’em a bit of both dice and roleplaying…
But let the world mold itself around them. don’t make one story, make fifteen, each of which might touch them… or not. Weave a complex world — and deal them into it. Let them be the novice, the noob, in the world. Dredge up a street-rat, a paladin, a druid — someone to tell them what’s what. Of course, it won’t all be the truth…
A quick mechanic: Testing to see if you’ll fit in their group. Seems to fit a thieves guild quite well, maybe not so much for a buncha paladins (but maybe If they pull that stick out of their collective arse, I can see it).
Watch if they get bored. Watch if they’d rather do more fighting, or if they’d rather roleplay the aftermath.