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<blockquote data-quote="Crazy Jerome" data-source="post: 5677180" data-attributes="member: 54877"><p>Were I in charge of producing a product to teach new DMs, I'd put some effort into replicating what happens when an experienced DM teaches you. It really does put you on a fast track to understanding, even if you mainly swim on your own. Case in point, the way I got my start.</p><p> </p><p>I had the Red and Blue boxes. I had Keep on the Borderlands and the example of play. I had studied the rules, made characters, and fooled around with it some. So picture me circling around the main idea, but not quite pinning it down. (I had Keep on the Borderlands. So I had a module, but I still had to write my own adventure. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" />)</p><p> </p><p>I was asking an older cousin who had played for awhile for a few pointers. He wisely did something more than give advice. He wrote a quick adventure, on my graph paper. Took him 20 minutes. It was a tower with three levels, one room per, a wall around it, and a 3 room dungeon underneath. It had a giant scorpion, some goblins, a big spider, and a gargoyle in it. There was one trap, and several treasures, including a +1 dagger to give us a shot at the gargoyle. </p><p> </p><p>Then he ran several of us through it. Took two hours. Then while the rest of the players wandered off, he showed me what he had written, why it was there, and how he had adjudicated things we had tried. Then I got to take it home with me. The next adventure I ran was that one. My group was off like a shot.</p><p> </p><p>So sure, have a module to help teach people. Include a guide with the module that shows how it was put together, why it was done that way, and actually show the messy steps. Use scratch graph paper and hand-written information. Then provide a link to a website where the author is on a video talking about it. And then a link to a forum where people can discuss it amongst themselves--preferably with a few older hands.</p><p> </p><p>Don't try to teach them the rules in this product. Or how to make a character. That is what the main books are for. If you want to supplement that information with advice elsewhere, by all means. But teaching someone how to DM is not, "fast play adventure dumbed down so that everyone can get started playing within 30 minutes of opening the box." At least it shouldn't be that, even for D&D. </p><p> </p><p>In game design there is often "smoothing" done to things, that can conceal how it was done. (Well really in most design. This is endemic in software design.) This is great for the users who just need their application to work. It is rather lousy as a teaching tool, as it creates an illusion that Element X sprung whole from the head of Zeus. To make a module a good teaching tool, ruthlessly destroy that illusion for the wannabee DM. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Crazy Jerome, post: 5677180, member: 54877"] Were I in charge of producing a product to teach new DMs, I'd put some effort into replicating what happens when an experienced DM teaches you. It really does put you on a fast track to understanding, even if you mainly swim on your own. Case in point, the way I got my start. I had the Red and Blue boxes. I had Keep on the Borderlands and the example of play. I had studied the rules, made characters, and fooled around with it some. So picture me circling around the main idea, but not quite pinning it down. (I had Keep on the Borderlands. So I had a module, but I still had to write my own adventure. :D) I was asking an older cousin who had played for awhile for a few pointers. He wisely did something more than give advice. He wrote a quick adventure, on my graph paper. Took him 20 minutes. It was a tower with three levels, one room per, a wall around it, and a 3 room dungeon underneath. It had a giant scorpion, some goblins, a big spider, and a gargoyle in it. There was one trap, and several treasures, including a +1 dagger to give us a shot at the gargoyle. Then he ran several of us through it. Took two hours. Then while the rest of the players wandered off, he showed me what he had written, why it was there, and how he had adjudicated things we had tried. Then I got to take it home with me. The next adventure I ran was that one. My group was off like a shot. So sure, have a module to help teach people. Include a guide with the module that shows how it was put together, why it was done that way, and actually show the messy steps. Use scratch graph paper and hand-written information. Then provide a link to a website where the author is on a video talking about it. And then a link to a forum where people can discuss it amongst themselves--preferably with a few older hands. Don't try to teach them the rules in this product. Or how to make a character. That is what the main books are for. If you want to supplement that information with advice elsewhere, by all means. But teaching someone how to DM is not, "fast play adventure dumbed down so that everyone can get started playing within 30 minutes of opening the box." At least it shouldn't be that, even for D&D. In game design there is often "smoothing" done to things, that can conceal how it was done. (Well really in most design. This is endemic in software design.) This is great for the users who just need their application to work. It is rather lousy as a teaching tool, as it creates an illusion that Element X sprung whole from the head of Zeus. To make a module a good teaching tool, ruthlessly destroy that illusion for the wannabee DM. :D [/QUOTE]
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