RPGaDAY 2022 - Days 4 - 6

 

Day 4 - Where would you host a first game?

Probably at my place. It’s where all my stuff is at. I have a dedicated gaming space with a BIG table and comfy chairs. 

I guess I could run something at a convention, or my FLGS. 

Or not… 

A lot would depend on who I was running it for - a group of complete strangers totally new to role-playing!? Just a new campaign with old friends? I'm guessing they mean something closer to the former...? 

I guess I might be willing to invite a group of complete strangers over to play a new game if I was desperate enough to play a role-playing game and was having a hard time finding enough COMMITTED players among my current pool of friends. 

I don’t know… the idea of inviting a bunch of complete strangers over is a little anxiety causing… 

Now that I think about it, though, just a few years ago I wanted to try out Wrath & Glory. None of my friends were interested or available, so I put out a call for players on the local 40K clubs Facebook group and a half-dozen people responded and I think five showed up to try out the game? Two or three of whom I don’t think I’d ever even met or engaged with in the group before!? It was a bit terrifying. It could have been a disaster. But it worked out. 

Maybe I need to remember THAT and try it again sometime!

Day 5 - Why will they like this game? 

Who? Which game? An introductory game? At my house? 

I guess this question assumes that I had a concrete answer for Day 2 Great Introductory Game) and Day 4 (Where To Host a First Game)…? 

Thinking more about this idea of introducing people to games over the last few days.. I’m not sure the system matters. I don’t think there are ANY that would be the BEST in all situations. I do think it needs to be SIMPLE and accessible and most importantly it needs to keep moving and be exciting. 

I think far more important than what system is being used in how prepared the GM is and how well THEY KNOW the system. 

I could very well see an introductory game with a bunch of total newbs playing a very complex game going quite well, IF the they’re playing with pre-generatetd characters (so they don’t get bogged down in trying to make one - and also the characters can be tailored to have something they can all contribute to the team and that first adventure!) AND person running it knows the game, the adventure, and the characters everyone is playing inside and out and can allow the players to focus on the role-playing - so they can describe what they want to do and the GM just says - well you have X ability or Y Skill so roll the red die and one blue one and then can narratively interpret the outcome of that roll. No one playing has to know a single rule or mechanic, they just need to tell me what they want to do. This requires a LOT of preparation.

So, if people come to play a new game at my house, they will like it because I WILL BE PREPARED and the game will be fast-paced and fun and everyone will be involved and feel like they contributed something and it didn't bog down with mechanics and looking things up or long explanations of how rules work. 

When I ran Savage Worlds I was passionate about it and knew it inside and out and brought a complete set of dice for everyone that was colour-coded (d4 was red, d6 was orange, d8 was yellow, d10 was green, d12 was blue, and the wild die was a translucent sparkly die). so I didn't even have to say  "roll your d6", I'd say, "roll the orange die with your sparkly blue wild die". I also used a set of the same dice - to help with learning which was which faster and also immediately see how much better or worse their foe was at whatever they were doing.

I knew the system well enough to balance things to be a challenge but not end up with a TPK - if things were too easy, I knew how many more baddies I could throw in. If it got a little overwhelming I usually had a way to add in allied extras or provide ways out. If I didn't remember how something was supposed to work, I made shit up on the spot. 

Day 6 - How would you get more people playing RPGs?

I don’t know that I particularly feel the need to…? 

I’m assuming when they are asking about “get more people role-playing” they mean “people that haven’t played RPGs before”… 

I guess if I was feeling like I really wanted to run a game but couldn’t find ANY committed players among my own friends. I’d probably just try to find some players among a few local game groups on Facebook… They might already be role-players, thought.

It could also just mean “People that are not currently playing a role-playing game” - which there are a lot of us, because… y'know... life… and COVID…!?!

In that case just ORGANIZING A NEW GAME - whether I run it or not, or whether it’s for complete neophytes or old grognards… starting a new game is literally getting more people playing that weren’t previously playing…. 

So… Do THAT I guess…?