"gleichman" <Fox1_217NoSpam@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> writes:
> "Ben Finney" <bignose+hates-spam@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> > Erol K. Bayburt <ErolB1@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> writes:
> >> Are the "new players" new to gaming, or are they more-or-less
> >> experienced players who are just new to you as a GM?
> >
> > Most of them are new to RPGs completely
>
> Given this answer, I think most of the advice you're getting is just
> too much. It's like asking someone who's never seen color if they
> like blue better than red.
This is, indeed, one of the main areas of concern. I think the
questions that ask about non-RPG-mindset stuff will be the most
useful, and especially the ones that get them to describe what they
want rather than rank things against each other.
> I'd be more interested in asking them what they expect from the game.
My problem is that I'm the one defining what an RPG is to these
people; they've never experienced anything like it. I've played
various modern board games with each of them, so have enough of an
idea about what they like that I'm proposing they play an RPG, but if
they don't know what an RPG is, how useful will it be to ask them what
they want from it? Presumably they want out of it what I've said they
can expect from it.
> It may not be what you expect.
Regardless of my above concern (which I'm hoping someone can address),
I will take this advice on faith and ask them plainly what they want
from the game, to see what they come up with. They will no doubt
surprise me.
> For those looking to live in an existing world, I often give them
> exactly that. If the like Marvel Comics, I hand them the characters
> from there and run them an adventure. This allows them to see if the
> reality of the game matches their expectations- instead of forcing
> my game to match theirs (which would never work anyway).
This has been a common theme in the responses, even though my initial
post presumed that we'd already picked a setting. I'll take that as a
strong indication that I should present, for their first game, only
familiar settings from which to choose.
> If they like it, then there's time to dig in questions such as those
> posed here. But even then, I would in general advise against
> them. Frankly, more rpg players are no where near as demanding as
> posters here- and by running wild with the advice given, I fear you
> will only confuse and over-complicate.
Yes, I don't plan to ask every single question that's been proposed in
this thread :-)
--
\ "Many are stubborn in pursuit of the path they have chosen, few |
`\ in pursuit of the goal." -- Friedrich Nietzsche |
_o__) |
Ben Finney
|
