On playing new game systems

[Nebulous]

I think that having something ready to go for the occasion that not everyone can make it is he best way to intro a new game. That way the people who can’t make it don’t miss anything, and the people who are there still get to play something.

I have plenty of pre-made characters as well, so it would be easy to hand them out. There's a boxed starter set too. Actually, I have all the 7e CoC stuff, I just haven't been able to dig up more than one dedicated player so far. He purchased the core book and Pulp CoC too.

 

[lordabdul]

You gotta be careful when taking people out of D&D for the first time and dropping them in CoC. If it's for a one-shot, then it's perfect. Go for it! I'm a big CoC fan. Get the totally amazing Starter Kit box and have fun! However if it's for a campaign, you're facing 2 paradigm shifts:

The first one is learning a new rule system with so many new or different concepts... for example, for some obscure reason, many D&D gamers have a lot of trouble getting used to a "roll under" system because "roll high" is so ingrained into their brain as what TTRPGs are about. But on top of that you have separate skill scores (as opposed to a unique proficiency bonus), extra stats (SAN, etc.), meta currencies (if you're using Luck rules), etc... that's a lot of brain power used up for groking the system. In my experience it goes OK in the one-shot, but in a campaign, on session 3 or 4, some people start mentioning/complaining that they "still don't quite get it" (although in my experience they're still engaged and trying).

The second one is the one to be most careful about. Horror gaming is IMHO unique among TTRPGs in the sense that it's usually the first game that actually changes the relation between player and character. In "traditional" RPGs, your character is something you care about, which becomes better with time, making you feel awesome and heroic. PC death is a big deal and a major event. In horror games however, characters get worse with time. The predicaments they get into are supposed to make you afraid. Because of corruption mechanics like SAN, and the general trope of things being hopeless and grim, there's no way you can have the same power fantasy relationship you'd have in D&D. That's a vastly different way to look at the game. As with many many other things in RPGs, it's all about managing players' expectations, but this aspect of horror gaming is IMHO often overlooked in favour of "let's check if the players are OK being scared with spiders and human sacrifice" (which is also important to check, mind you). And yes Pulp Cthulhu kind of addresses that but I haven't played with it yet.

 

[Zhaleskra]

To address the Tarrasque in the room, one reason people avoid learning new games was WotC deliberately alienating the idea while pushing the d20 system and then again with D&D 4e. Having "other games are automatically harder" shoved in the faces of newbies is going to sour them before exposure.

I have a lot more time than I claim to do. How I use it is what matters. As it is, I'm working on slimming down my RPG collection whether by selling, donating, or simply recycling.

That said, I have to agree with not as much free time nor as much disposable income. Conventions are a good place to try new (to you) games in a noncommital environment.

 

[Don Durito]

I'm somewhat jaded about new systems these days.

Too often they get glowing reviews initially but after actual play turn out to be undeveloped and unplaytested.

 

[Thondor]

I love trying out new systems. It is one of my chief reasons to go to conventions (that and running my own game.)
They are the best way to capture that amazing feeling you first got when you played your very first game - - you see a horizon of new possibilities opening up before you.

 

[Morrus]

that's a lot of brain power used up for groking the system.

It's not, really, though. Not compared to, say, driving a car or cooking a meal, or the many other things people do each day. I think this myth that learning a new RPG system has to be a lot of work could do with some pushback.

Sure, some RPG systems have the unholy combination of being complex and badly explained, and that can make for some difficulty. But that really is the exception, not the rule.

 

[hawkeyefan]

Even with complex games, you can ease into it and incorporate the more involved rules as you play.

No game is played 100% as described right at the start.

 

[Arilyn]

And exposure to a variety of systems give you techniques to steal.

And could cut down on arguments. "Yes, I have read your favourite system, and I understand the philosophy. Not one I wish to adopt, but I understand your enthisiasm." Never mind!

 

[dragoner]

There is more to it than learning the rules as well. Someone must run it, thus some sort of system mastery is expected from a GM. These things dovetail into "why?" Where a decent portion of that question is answered by setting. Even afterwards, there are other ancillary considerations, such as adventures? Accessibility? Not touching on quality either, which has it's own host of considerations.

 

[Reynard]

There is more to it than learning the rules as well. Someone must run it, thus some sort of system mastery is expected from a GM. These things dovetail into "why?" Where a decent portion of that question is answered by setting. Even afterwards, there are other ancillary considerations, such as adventures? Accessibility? Not touching on quality either, which has it's own host of considerations.

If a regualr game group is trying a new game, someone still has to to run it but everyone can help get over the hurdle of learning it. If you have to stop to look up how autofire works in the middle of combat, as an example, then you stop and look it up. If you have to wait for a few minutes while the wizard/psionicist/whatever player tried to grok her spells, you do.

Running a new game at a con can be tougher for sure. Luckily, one of the best tools we have is YouTube. Almost any game you can think of has at least a few videos of people playing it, and the better known ones will have explicitly designed "how to play" videos.