First Adventure Advice, given to me from my dad:

[erikagal27]

hello,so glad to visit in this thread.

 

[Mark CMG]

I agree with your second two points but I would question whether the game as presented challenges the players. Each player gets a magic item irrespective of player skill. One PC dies no matter what the party do. A villain always escapes. The PCs always get to do something cool.

But, as you say, the advice wants the PCs to treat the game world with respect, to stay on their toes, to act as if the world threatens them and, by their actions, they can avoid or mitigate those threats - point #7. It looks like, not gamism, but the illusion of gamism, and I wonder how prevalent such play was in early rpg-ing.

That said, I suspect an actual game run according to this advice would be a mix of elements - some real gamism, and some illusion.

If we look at this as a single session then I would have to agree with you but I suspect that Wik's dad was teaching a lesson in longterm GMing that de-emphasizes the leveling and the material possessions in favor of keeping an eye on the story that could unfold if the PCs/players follow the RPing threads that are presented. In this way the GM is challenging the PCs to know that some can die, to know that there will be leveling and wealth, but to know that if they choose to follow up on the story threads there is even more to be had from the game. That's my take on this style of setup. A GM going on this advice might be seen as handing over the short term perks but he is also dangling the real carrot of RPGs, the actual potential to be part of a big picture through RPing. It's a good way to focus new players or even a group of players who are new to the GM and/or one another.

 

[Mark CMG]

Honestly, I agree with this. But when I was younger, I was very much a "don't ever let PCs die" story-teller type GM. These days, I'm much closer to my dad's "Let the dice fall as they may" sort of guy.

To be honest, though, these rules only applied to the first session. He generally felt that after that session, you could kind of steer the game the way you wanted to play it, which for him were mega-dungeons with a bit of RP thrown in.

Ah, I should read on beyond being quoted before responding. This seems to bear me out in some ways.

 

[Oryan77]

That's a lot to say to a 6 y/o.

(I know, I'm sure that was advice spread over the years)

A problem that I have with the "kill off a PC" advice is that by doing so, I feel like you're telling the players not to get attached to any PCs.

I know some people see that as a good thing, but I hate playing with people that don't care if their PC lives or dies and are quick to roll up a new one & let the old one rot. At the same time, I don't want a player to throw a tantrum about a PC death and then go hang themselves in their bedroom. I prefer a middle ground. I like to see a player care a lot about a PC, get bummed if the PC dies, and then hope someone can resurrect him; all without being childish about it.

Caring about a PC shows me that they are invested in the game world, the storyline, & the game. Not caring makes me feel like there is nothing special about the game. I could be totally off base, but that's how I feel.

 

[ExploderWizard]

1) Reward at least one magic item. Prefereably one item per player - even if it's a scroll, a healing potion, or something else like that.

2) Leave at least one mystery, even if it's just a locked door that the PCs couldn't open.

3) Kill one PC. If you do it now, when nobody's really emotionally tied to the PC, the players won't suspect you're fudging things when you bend stuff to keep a PC alive later. Also, it shows them that death will be a factor in the game.

4) All PCs should level up at the end of the session, provided they surprise. This will make new players eager to come back for more.

5) Have a villain escape. Preferably the one the players hate the most. Let the players know where he went to hide - and let them know that chasing him is definitely an option.

6) Have the PCs do something cool. Players are more likely to be emotionally invested if they start off doing something heroic, rather than getting their butts handed to them in the first few sessions.

7) Throw a fiendish trick at them. A rust monster, a cursed item, whatever. Throw something relatively minor at the group that will remind them, later on, to be careful.

8) Include stuff that the PCs might not be able to bypass. Throw in traps, even if there's no thief. Throw in a tracking challenge, even if they don't have a ranger. If you start off catering to your party, you will always cater to them. Let them suffer for those missing roles in the party. Because they conversely know that when their roles shine, these weren't "tailored" encounters, but their character being perfectly suited for an environment.

9) Put in something that will make your group fight. If everyone wears chain mail, put in a suit of magical chain mail - but just one. This one is just because it's fun for the GM to watch.

10) Introduce potential PCs early on. My dad likes this rule - basically, if you died in game, you got to play one of the pregenned characters in the GM's binder. So his idea was to introduce these pregenned characters, at least one or two, in the first adventure, even if they're just sitting at the tavern.

***

Those are his ten points, tabulated from a few different conversations we've had on the subject. Thoughts? Opinions?

1) Possible but not mandatory.

2) Unresolved issues are the meat of campaign play.

3) Wow! I thought I was harsh. I would never do this with that kind of intent.

4) Provided they suprise what?

5) It happens if it happens.

6) This is up to them. Provide the opportunity yes. I don't see how to do otherwise without playing the characters for them.

7) Always a classic.

8) Good stuff. Let the PCs come up with solutions to their shortcomings. This ties in with #6.

9) Sadistic but sometimes amusing.

10) Pretty good solution to quickly replace lost characters.

 

[Twowolves]

Excellent advice all around.

Regarding #3: Kill a PC, I have only this to add: do it to the guy who did the most half-arsed job making his character. Not the guy that wrote 3 pages of backstory and already painted a mini to represent him. And if that means EVERYONE writes 3 pages of backstory and paints a custom miniature.... is that so bad?

 

[Living Legend]

Dude, is your dad a marketing guru or maybe movie producer?

He thinks like a dealer and his players are potential addicts... which is awesome, and in a good way