I finally, after a long drought, have found some people who are interested in PnP gaming with me - mostly co-workers who I've gotten to know better in recent months. Anyway, most of them are new or pretty green when it comes to PnP stuff, and so I've been put in the DM/ST role sort of by default. Though I'd rather be on the player end as it's less time-consuming, I do have a lot of fun running things as well.
But my problem is this: I need a good, lighthearted game to start off with or I know they're going to be turned off pretty quickly. Preferably something with a light enough tone that some humor can be worked in, and with plenty of action to keep things moving along. A very streamlined, easy-to-understand ruleset is also a big plus. Do you all have any recommendations?
Thanks in advance!
MundaneSoul on
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Mike Danger"Diane..."a place both wonderful and strangeRegistered Userregular
Genre is pretty much open. I can't see anything being shot down unless it's some sort of butterfly magic world full of kissing bumblebees and grasshopper aristocrats.
Actually, that sounds pretty good. Somebody recommend an RPG with that stuff. :winky:
MundaneSoul on
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UtsanomikoBros before DoesRollin' in the thlayRegistered Userregular
edited October 2008
I found my first game of D&D 4th to be straight-forward. PA's D&D podcast showed it's an easy game to get into and play light-heartedly. Find a dungeon to crawl in and let them go at it.
Although I always have to reccommend the old D6 Star Wars by West End Games; it should be everyone's first RPG.
Utsanomiko on
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El SkidThe frozen white northRegistered Userregular
edited October 2008
You can always try Amber. It's diceless, so you aren't going to get much simpler than that from a player mechanics point of view.
Genre is pretty much open. I can't see anything being shot down unless it's some sort of butterfly magic world full of kissing bumblebees and grasshopper aristocrats.
Actually, that sounds pretty good. Somebody recommend an RPG with that stuff. :winky:
Well, Paranoia(if you haven't heard about it) is pretty much a dystopian big-brother style game, where The Computer controls everything, and you work for the computer trying to stop communists and mutants from doing Bad Things to the Computer.
The downside is that you're also a mutant and/or a communist, as are all your teammates. Lots of player conflict, lots of bizarre schemes, and played in the Straight-up style, it can be viciously awesome with moments of hilarity.
Genre is pretty much open. I can't see anything being shot down unless it's some sort of butterfly magic world full of kissing bumblebees and grasshopper aristocrats.
Actually, that sounds pretty good. Somebody recommend an RPG with that stuff. :winky:
Well, Paranoia(if you haven't heard about it) is pretty much a dystopian big-brother style game, where The Computer controls everything, and you work for the computer trying to stop communists and mutants from doing Bad Things to the Computer.
The downside is that you're also a mutant and/or a communist, as are all your teammates. Lots of player conflict, lots of bizarre schemes, and played in the Straight-up style, it can be viciously awesome with moments of hilarity.
That sounds like it could work really well. I'm checking it out right now. Thanks Rainfall and the rest of you!
You can always try Amber. It's diceless, so you aren't going to get much simpler than that from a player mechanics point of view.
Unless they like things dictated by dice. Unfortunately, I don't have too much experience with RPGs other than D&D, but I know a few people that are a little more put off when they don't have to roll dice (more of the hack-and-slash types).
crimsoncoyote on
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UtsanomikoBros before DoesRollin' in the thlayRegistered Userregular
You can always try Amber. It's diceless, so you aren't going to get much simpler than that from a player mechanics point of view.
Unless they like things dictated by dice. Unfortunately, I don't have too much experience with RPGs other than D&D, but I know a few people that are a little more put off when they don't have to roll dice (more of the hack-and-slash types).
Some people expect their RPGs to be more 'tabletop' gaming than pen & paper, expecially those new to the concepts of being in-character, 'meta' and using attributes. Dice gives them something concrete to learn and grounds everyone's fickle whims to some solid rules, while hack & slash style games provide a straight-forward objective to play against and a purpose to their character designs.
It really depends on the type of gaming they want to do. If your friends sound really pumped for battle and leveling up, look into going with the latest D&D or something similar. If they seem to get the concepts of playing a role and participating in a story, there's several different systems with varying levels of complexity that can focus on those aspects of roleplaying.
You can always try Amber. It's diceless, so you aren't going to get much simpler than that from a player mechanics point of view.
Unless they like things dictated by dice. Unfortunately, I don't have too much experience with RPGs other than D&D, but I know a few people that are a little more put off when they don't have to roll dice (more of the hack-and-slash types).
Some people expect their RPGs to be more 'tabletop' gaming than pen & paper, expecially those new to the concepts of being in-character, 'meta' and using attributes. Dice gives them something concrete to learn and grounds everyone's fickle whims to some solid rules, while hack & slash style games provide a straight-forward objective to play against and a purpose to their character designs.
It really depends on the type of gaming they want to do. If your friends sound really pumped for battle and leveling up, look into going with the latest D&D or something similar. If they seem to get the concepts of playing a role and participating in a story, there's several different systems with varying levels of complexity that can focus on those aspects of roleplaying.
Yeah, you said it like a million times better than I did.
If your friends sound really pumped for battle and leveling up, look into going with the latest D&D or something similar.
This is the general impression that I get from them at the outset. I might be able to get them to do something more serious as they settle into it, but right now I need to hook them in with loot, gore, and ridiculous situations.
Well, 4E is damnably easy to DM, from what I've heard, so you might be able to get good results there. Loot, gore, and XPz are great for new people to gorge themselves on.
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Actually, that sounds pretty good. Somebody recommend an RPG with that stuff. :winky:
Although I always have to reccommend the old D6 Star Wars by West End Games; it should be everyone's first RPG.
Well, Paranoia(if you haven't heard about it) is pretty much a dystopian big-brother style game, where The Computer controls everything, and you work for the computer trying to stop communists and mutants from doing Bad Things to the Computer.
The downside is that you're also a mutant and/or a communist, as are all your teammates. Lots of player conflict, lots of bizarre schemes, and played in the Straight-up style, it can be viciously awesome with moments of hilarity.
That sounds like it could work really well. I'm checking it out right now. Thanks Rainfall and the rest of you!
Unless they like things dictated by dice. Unfortunately, I don't have too much experience with RPGs other than D&D, but I know a few people that are a little more put off when they don't have to roll dice (more of the hack-and-slash types).
Some people expect their RPGs to be more 'tabletop' gaming than pen & paper, expecially those new to the concepts of being in-character, 'meta' and using attributes. Dice gives them something concrete to learn and grounds everyone's fickle whims to some solid rules, while hack & slash style games provide a straight-forward objective to play against and a purpose to their character designs.
It really depends on the type of gaming they want to do. If your friends sound really pumped for battle and leveling up, look into going with the latest D&D or something similar. If they seem to get the concepts of playing a role and participating in a story, there's several different systems with varying levels of complexity that can focus on those aspects of roleplaying.
Yeah, you said it like a million times better than I did.
This is the general impression that I get from them at the outset. I might be able to get them to do something more serious as they settle into it, but right now I need to hook them in with loot, gore, and ridiculous situations.
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Picked up the book today on the way to work. Haven't had a chance to read it yet, but it looks delicious.