D&D 5E A Victorian-Era, Minimal-Steampunk, Dead Magic, Mainly Roleplaying, Tabletop Game for a friend's girlfriend.

[SingleCelledPsyk]

I will say this: mysteries are not necessarily easy for a novice GM to run. If you do a mystery adventure, I strongly recommend reading "The Three Clue Rule."

Things have changed and we're no longer going with this setting. The boyfriend has tamed her quite a bit and she's looking forward to playing (like I said she's reasonable but sometimes biased). I'm still going along with this idea though but with a new group of people, maybe including some of the old. I have no problem in writing, I've already gone through several courses for writing, whether it be novels, screenplay or otherwise. I do tabletop RPGs for the practice and the unique people's minds, it's great inspiration.

 

[Herobizkit]

I'm not 100% sure this is relevant, but Geek and Sundry has some great articles about D&D's roots and how its writers pulled away from the 80's, uh, concerns with the subject matter.

 

[jayoungr]

Things have changed and we're no longer going with this setting. The boyfriend has tamed her quite a bit and she's looking forward to playing (like I said she's reasonable but sometimes biased).

It might be better that way anyway. If you played the no-magic setting, she might think you were just hiding all the demon-summoning bits from her and trying to lure her in with a false sense of security.

When she does play, will you be running, or does she still insist on the other DM?

 

[GameOgre]

Make then run into a witch who summons demons and steals their souls and then after the game inform her she has lost her soul to the Devil! She feel victim to the classic Never play D&D with a demonologist blunder! Then cackle and do your best vampire impression while the other players writhe on the floor screaming.


Please youtube this or it didn't happen.

For extra points have all the players get those cheap temp tattoo's with the number of their characters level on the bottom of their left foot and have the boyfriend levelup because he brought in a new soul to corrupt! Place a plastic knife and a bowl of fake blood on the table for the leveling up ritual.

* It never pays to humor the crazies. Ok well,it might pay or some weak personal level but it certainly doesn't provide anywhere near the same level of entertainment value for the rest of the world as my idea.

 

[S'mon]

Simon Washbourne's Backswords & Bucklers is for slightly earlier period but could be adapted and is a nice easy to use old school D&D variant. http://www.lulu.com/gb/en/shop/chri...k-one-basic-rules/ebook/product-17402084.html

Or there's A Ghastly Affair - she'll love that, she can play a True Innocent.
https://engineoforacles.wordpress.com/downloads/

 

[Quickleaf]

[MENTION=6849612]SingleCelledPsyk[/MENTION] Have you seen Radiance? It's a sweet little d20-lite RPG with a free player's guide chock full of steampunk goodness. Certainly stuff you could adapt for your own games. Also ENWorld Publishing is converting their great Zeitgesit Adventure Path to 5th edition, if that's your jam.

 

[Dragonmoose]

Wow...the magic and demons thing sounds like a buddy of mine's mother back in the 1980's. I had successfully convinced her the game was not the work of the devil and her son would not commit suicide if something happened to his character.

I guess I question her apprehension with magic-is she a fan of any fantasy or better yet, Harry Potter? Not that I'd advise any sort of confrontation but just to get a good idea on how your friend should run the game. If she likes said genres that contain magic, it kinda susses out a double-standard which could lead to the real crux of her issue with D&D. It could pull back the veil on any other potential "gotchas" on this next game.

 

[S'mon]

Oh, for steampunk Victoriana there is Engines & Empires.

 

[Guang]

Maybe avoid the term "dungeons and dragons" itself? Might help, as that seems to be what people like that (including my mom) fixate on. Play Pathfinder or FATE core or Traveller or something?