On playing new game systems

[Morrus]

People often say it’s too much work to learn a new RPG. But people time sit down all the time to one-shots & demos at conventions with no work/prep. Learning a new RPG is super easy. The core mechanic of many games can be described in under 30 seconds, especially if somebody at the table knows it.

You can often just describe the core mechanic and start roleplaying. "To do something roll 2d6 and add your ability and beat the target", for example. Other stuff can be added in gradually if needed later.

While it's true you can technically do most things with any given rules system, different rules systems definitely provide different experiences, and they're worth checking out. Especially if the system is specifically designed for that genre. Different rules emphasize and incentivize different types of play.

As a super simple example, Dread does suspense really, really well. D&D does high fantasy about as well as anything could.

It is harder for the GM, but if you have a GM who knows the system, playing it is a fairly negligible difficulty compared to many things we do every every day. And so worth it!

System mastery isn't needed. You don't need to be an expert to do something.

So this is just me saying that if trying a new game system seems like too much work to you, give it a try! You may find it's a lot easier than you expected! And as a bonus, you get to have fun!

 

[hawkeyefan]

I've been all about trying new games lately. Not only has it been fun to play new games and try new mechanics, but I also think it's kind of helped me improve at gaming overall. Maybe that seems odd, but that's how it feels.

Everyone should try something new in their gaming sessions now and again.

 

[lordabdul]

So this is just me saying that if trying a new game system seems like too much work to you, give it a try! You may find it's a lot easier than you expected! And as a bonus, you get to have fun!

Yes, trying new games is a lot of fun! (I'm the GM 99% of the time so the work and money spending is on me anyway)

From my experience, people who don't want to try a new game are reluctant because of a mix of various reasons:

1. They're the kind of player who likes to buy the rulebook themselves so they can make characters or learn the rules on their own. If they don't have the time or money to do that, they would feel like they're missing out somehow, so they'd rather play what they know and own.

2. They're the kind of player who want to know the system well enough to make highly tactical decisions in both character creation or during adventures. Often, I find that these are the people who reason in terms of rules and not in terms of narration (i.e. they're choosing to flank the goblins not because it makes sense in-world, but because it gives mechanical bonuses). These players will often tell me that, sure, this 7th Sea one-shot was fun but let's go back to playing Pathfinder or GURPS or whatever. But hey at least they tried!

3. Rarely, it's not that they don't want to learn a new system, it's just that they're not interested in a new game premise. They might be OK playing the same genre with different mechanics, but they're not interested in trying anything else than dark and broody vampires, or medieval fantasy, or whatever.

(I've had all 3 types at my tables)

 

[Arilyn]

Yes, there are a lot of fun games out there. Trying to stick to one rule set for all genres means you are probably not getting the best experience. D&D is not well designed for Lovecraftian horror for example.

I don't quite get why people don't want to learn new game rules. Gaming is our hobby, and absolutely the more systems you learn the better you get at game design, even if you don't plan on actually designing games.

Plus, right now, there are so many gems out there waiting to be discovered.

 

[hawkeyefan]

Yeah, I have to agree with the sentiment that learning a new game is not as tough as we often think.

Honestly, I find it much harder to remember all the different nuances amongst editions of D&D and related games because the differences are minor. So it’s easy to forget that there’s no need for a 5 Foot Step (or a Shift) in 5E, but I’d never mix up elements of Tales From the Loop with D&D.

 

[MichaelSomething]

Would any of you be interested in a game of the Maid RPG?

 

[Reynard]

My RPG New Year's Resolution is to try games -- old or new -- that I haven't but have meant to. I run a weekly D&D Descent into Avernus game but we are going to use the first Wednesday of the month to play something we haven't tried before. It's starting with Modiphius 2d20 Fallout because Beta, but we are looking forward to trying Monster of the Week, N.E.W., and other games

 

[dragoner]

I play new games all the time, right now I'm playing in a game with the brand new revised T5 rules that were released recently. If it's fun, I'll play it again, and if it wows me, I will probably buy and run it. Nevertheless, there are caveats: don't like the designer or publisher, mechanics are overly fiddly, or the setting doesn't appeal to me, the desire is low.

 

[lordabdul]

right now I'm playing in a game with the brand new revised T5 rules that were released recently

Did you like the T5 rules? How did they compare to Mongoose Traveller (if you've played that)?

 

[Zardnaar]

3 reasons.

1. Time
2. Money
3. Finding players.

Hypothetically play anything, reality has different opinion.