How to get younger players into PnP RPG's

[Dannyalcatraz]

You must not be as loud as our Geek Clan was, then I'm pretty sure that the neighbors of the two guys who hosted our LAN parties hated us with the firey passion of a thousand burning suns.

Its a biiiig 2 story house- with computer volumes cranked up just halfway you find yourself not being heard by those farthest away.

 

[jdrakeh]

Its a biiiig 2 story house- with computer volumes cranked up just halfway you find yourself not being heard by those farthest away.

Oh, yeah, that explains it. . . we had like 20+ people crammed into two bedroom condos

 

[S'mon]

However, you can't hope to compete with computer RPGs on things they do better than PnP RPGs by their very nature- like handle combat.

To keep the PnP bloodline flowing, you have to offer things that computer gaming simply can't match...namely, true roleplaying outside of combat, and if you've got the skills, a sandbox-type environment.

Even the best computer RPG has boundaries, but the best PnP RPG campaigns don't.

You have to show the camaraderie that exists at the playing table. Yes, you can network a computer RPG, but its not the same as sitting around the table and socializing with your fellow gamers face-to-face...even if you do it with the same people.

I agree, three good points - tabletop RPGs can offer a better social experience, they can enable free exploration without CRPG's boundaries, and they can enable freeform character-interaction with NPCs.

This being the case, it seems odd to me that there's a tendency in 3e & 4e for D&D to get more like computer RPGs, with a strong emphasis on combat, tightly defined scenarios ("delves"), and the possibility of abstracted character interaction (roll your Diplomacy) - the latter being advocated by some "So you don't have to roleplay" or "So I can play a Bard without being charismatic"

These approaches may have certain advantages when it comes to selling lots of miniatures, but it seems to me they're playing to tabletop RPGs weaknesses rather than their strengths.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

...it seems odd to me that there's a tendency in 3e & 4e for D&D to get more like computer RPGs, with a strong emphasis on combat, tightly defined scenarios ("delves"), and the possibility of abstracted character interaction (roll your Diplomacy) - the latter being advocated by some "So you don't have to roleplay" or "So I can play a Bard without being charismatic"

I think that 3Ed and even moreso 4Ed have rules that are set up to make for a nice combat game, but I also think the "combat-centricity" of a campaign really depends upon the DM and his interaction with his players.

Personally, I've even played in 3.X campaigns in which we have had 5-6 combats in quick succession over a couple of sessions- no "15 minute day" for us!- and gone 2-4 sessions without rolling an attack roll...in the same campaign.

IMHO, the shortest and truest answer to Joe's question is that you have to run them through a game. No youtube video will capture their interest in the same way as a session or 2 of actual PnP gameplay might.

Yes, its a "one gamer at a time" type approach, but its bound to be the most effective.

 

[ProfessorCirno]

The problem with trying to market things to high schoolers is that they're high schoolers and are, as such, almost all inherently dumb. They'll also change almost all of their opinions on everything after four years.

The secret to making D&D more popular is, quite frankly, video games. RPGs on the vidya make people interested in RPGs off the vidya. I got into D&D in part because of awesome cRPGs. I'm far from the only one to do so.

Look, it's time to put our cards on the table. D&D has never been and will never be something that mainstream popular. The closest you're going to get is fantasy football. Instead of trying to inject directly into the mainstream, start on the fringes and work your way inward. Maybe tabletop gaming isn't that widely recieved, but "geekdom" sure has, and with it, has come a lot more creativity. Online RPG vague simulators like NWN (the bioware one) or NWN2 are pretty damn popular. On WoW RPG servers it's not uncommon for people to make their own branching storylines and such completely divorced from the game's storyline - they use in game mechanics and set up their own "quests" based around storming an instance with their guild, for example. City of Heroes/Villains is making a new in game mechanic that lets players make their own quests completely.

I disagree that tabletop gaming is dying. It's just been shifting. And I also think it's not out of the question that many people in all those above examples would go to a table top session if one was made available.

I think what tabletop gaming needs is for more tabletop gamers to be more social. If you have friends who don't game but seem like they might be interested, bring them to a game! And who cares what the over-macho dopes say. They're the ones that never leave high school. Give them those four years, nobody remembers them or their stupid opinions.

 

[jbear]

I don't think it's fair to say high schoolers are inherently dumb.

I know a lot of very clever kids. When I was at high scholl I certainly was not inherently dumb. Actually as i've got older I find myself feeling dumber every day.

Teenagers are just as varied and complicated as adults. they are dealing with massive waves of changing hormones and trying to find where they fit into the world.

I don't think crass marketing techniques on the internet is going to work. However, taking Nintendo for example, they have been very clever bring video consoles to a female market, a gold mine previously untouched and largely ignored. Wii, and games like Brain Training or even Playstations Sing Star have changed that.

If Dnd were to bring young women interested into the game, I'm sure that would have a snowball effect, after all one of the beautiful things about dnd is its a fun, socially interactive game.

I don't know the best or most effective way to do this, but lewd videos doesn't seem like a good place to start. I can just imagine a table full of horny boys, wondering where all the hot chicks they were promised are going to arrive.

I can say that with 4e I have introduced 7 new people to the game, 3 of them women. None of us are young (in our 30's), but the women are very quick on the uptake, and very clever in the resolution of problems, and social interaction.
Amongst them is one of the strongest motivators in the group, always encouraging to meet as regularly as possible.

The comments from all the players at the beginning was all very similar. Curiosty, always having wanted to try it but never having the opportunity. And certainly misconceptions, comments on the assassins way back all those years. Problems that we now see proyected onto violent young men and video games.

What needs to be done is that old stigma needs to be removed and a new positive image given. Improvised theatre games with dice and death, laughter, tension and overall fun.

 

[GnomeWorks]

What needs to be done is that old stigma needs to be removed and a new positive image given. Improvised theatre games with dice and death, laughter, tension and overall fun.

I don't know if the D&D name will ever be able to be freed of that stigma.

 

[Jdvn1]

I wouldn't be surprised to find that the decline in PnP gaming is going right apace with the decline in reading books for pleasure.

Hm. Should WotC push eReader/Kindle versions of D&D?

 

[Jdvn1]

The problem with trying to market things to high schoolers is that they're high schoolers and are, as such, almost all inherently dumb.

IME, D&D appeals to people of higher intelligence, on average. As a result, you wouldn't market D&D towards high schoolers, but towards intelligent high schoolers. Didn't you know this is a niche market?

 

[Piratecat]

I'm running two groups right now, and one consists of four women and two guys (the other is four guys and two women.) I know lots of attractive folks who have gotten laid and/or married through D&D. Geek sexy, baby! Although you'd never have proven it to me if you'd seen my high school group.

When teaching the game to younger players, I think it's important to concentrate on fun instead of rules minutae. That helps keep them coming back.