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Running a game for almost new players


jps

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Ok folks,

So a former co-worker of mine asked me about this "role-playing thing a mine", he's been asking for quite a while and I told him (and his brother), let's do it, and I'll show you what it's all about. Okay, so far it's a classic. The thing is: I'm a grognard (I've been into the roleplaying games from Cthulhu, RuneQuest, Vampire the Masquerade, Vampire the Requiem, the World of Darkness and God only knows into what many others) since I was 18 and now I'm 53. I've been running for my regular group (crew, homeboys ... see I'm not that old) for decades (or maybe I am). So, the pitch is: my "new" players are around 70-year-old (yes they could be my fathers ... but they ain't ^^) and it's a one-shot scenario, plus I really want to show them RPGs are cool. I have one session to do it. I'm thinking about running the games I love the most (RuneQuest, Call of Cthulhu, Vampire Masquerade/Requiem). I think I'll create characters upfront since it takes one session to create those.

Well, that's it, I'm asking for advice. Glorantha is a very complicated world but I think I can pull it off. They don't know anything about RPGs or gaming in general.

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I will suggest one other notion -- find out what stuff/stories/etc (novels, movies, TV, etc) they are into!

Sometimes your best bet would be to engage them where they're ALREADY engaged.  So if they love e.g. Star Wars, find a good SW hack for one of the mechanics YOU love, etc.  For Sherlock Holmes fans, you might run a Mythos-lite investigative CoC scenario; etc.

If they LIKE that classical/mythological vibe, sure:  RQ and Bob's yer uncle!  But if that ain't so much their jam, you might want to widen the net you're casting ...

C'es ne pas un .sig

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I think sci-fi would be too much for them (and sci-fi universes are often not easy to get into). So I'm more with Cthulhu or Vampire (easily described for a first scenario) or RuneQuest (easily described if you start small and say: Celtic culture but the gods exist and then describe the area. 

I asked them about their favorite genres but, right now, they are more intrigued about RPGs in general than about anything else ^^

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Keep it simple, keep it quick and keep it exciting.

Don't get bogged down in minutiae of rules, don't spend 4 hours on Character Generation, don't use a beginning scenario that has a lot of complexity and needs experienced roleplayers. Don't put things into the scenario that need them to search every inch of a wall, for example.

If they are used to playing Video Games, then use some of that imagery. If they like certain styles of TV Show then use that imagery as well.

Be gentle with them. There is nothing more off putting than "You get an arrow on your eye and are killed" in the first scene. If a PC dies, then make it memorable.

Simon Phipp - Caldmore Chameleon - Wallowing in my elitism since 1982. Many Systems, One Family. Just a fanboy. 

www.soltakss.com/index.html

Jonstown Compendium author. Find my contributions here

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