![[OMENRPG]Ben](/data/avatars/m/6677/6677983.jpg?1565264961){kind=avatar}
[OMENRPG]Ben
First Post
I think one of the primary contributing factors to the deteriorating market of RPG players is that the rules books are daunting. When I was 9 years old and played my first D&D adventure, DMed by my brother (8 years older than I), the rule books were so intimidating that I thought one must be a genius to understand all of the content in such a book.
I remember trying to get some of my friends to play in high school, friends who weren't unintelligent mind you, and told them they should read the PHB (3e had just come out) and they scoffed in incredulity at how much text there was. "If I want to play a game I'd rather not read a text book."
As I've GM'd various groups and tables over the years I've found that maybe less than 10% of the players read the entire PHB, ever. And even less read the DMG. Most of the players I've known (not grognards mind you) were introduced to the game by me and me alone.
The appeal of an RPG video game, even one as complex and massive as Skyrim, is that you can pick it up and learn as you play. That's something that RPGs, in their current state, have a hard time accomplishing. Most people are in the comic shop/FLGS, see the RPG books, peruse through the pictures, say "Neat" a few times, and then put it down. It is just information overload. This generation and younger are so used to instant gratification that the very slow learning curve (or rather, the perceived slow curve) are an instant turn off to many.
The other day I persuaded my group of younger cousins and their friends to play, ranging from around 14-18. They had a blast, but I gave them pregenerated characters, a single sheet of paper with basic rules, and essentially taught them to play as they went along. I think that the learning barrier and pick up the book to play speed should be less than 30 minutes, tops. I'd like to get it under five.
For my own system, I've tried to streamline the rules as much as possible to accomodate this, while still allowing enough flexibility for a game as in-depth as D&D and others. Now, D&D has a lot of sacred cows and a lot of historical crunch things, but I could explain teh gist of how to play in about 5 minutes, so why can't a book do the same?
I think it can. I think what you really need is a single laminated sheet of paper right otu of the box/book, or a single page that doesn't even really have any words on it, more instructions on how to play similar to current app games like angry birds.
On this sheet/basics page I would put:
-What is an RPG
-Rolls
-How to interact with the world
-Acting in character
-Rules/combat/spells overview
You could then have your 120 page rule book with references to spells, skills, feats, themes, character creation, etc. This would put less pressure on the players and slightly more on the DM, but I think D&D is generally started by whoever is going to DM and that DM is usually more experienced with the system than the rest of the group.
If you really wanted, you could release the Advanced Modules book simultaneously or later, and it would be more of a set piece for the serious and more experienced gamers, but wouldnt' be necessary for the "sampler" audience that this hobby so desperately needs (in my opinion.)
Another thing to consider is cost. If the group wants to play and game together quickly, they really should have a PHB per player, running around 30-40 bucks, that's quite a bit of money for younger folks. I would even further break it down (other than cheap PDFs/ePubs) and create a super condensed, novel sized soft back book that didnt' have any art, small font, and mostly reference for the rules in case a player forgets exactly how a feat works. This book could be like 10$ instead of $40, and everyone could buy one and keep it in their backpack.
Tl;dr: Include basics sheet (1-2 pages), <150 page PHB, <150 page DMG, an Advanced Module book with all of the other crunch the super-players want, and a super condensed cheap version for samplers to buy.
I remember trying to get some of my friends to play in high school, friends who weren't unintelligent mind you, and told them they should read the PHB (3e had just come out) and they scoffed in incredulity at how much text there was. "If I want to play a game I'd rather not read a text book."
As I've GM'd various groups and tables over the years I've found that maybe less than 10% of the players read the entire PHB, ever. And even less read the DMG. Most of the players I've known (not grognards mind you) were introduced to the game by me and me alone.
The appeal of an RPG video game, even one as complex and massive as Skyrim, is that you can pick it up and learn as you play. That's something that RPGs, in their current state, have a hard time accomplishing. Most people are in the comic shop/FLGS, see the RPG books, peruse through the pictures, say "Neat" a few times, and then put it down. It is just information overload. This generation and younger are so used to instant gratification that the very slow learning curve (or rather, the perceived slow curve) are an instant turn off to many.
The other day I persuaded my group of younger cousins and their friends to play, ranging from around 14-18. They had a blast, but I gave them pregenerated characters, a single sheet of paper with basic rules, and essentially taught them to play as they went along. I think that the learning barrier and pick up the book to play speed should be less than 30 minutes, tops. I'd like to get it under five.
For my own system, I've tried to streamline the rules as much as possible to accomodate this, while still allowing enough flexibility for a game as in-depth as D&D and others. Now, D&D has a lot of sacred cows and a lot of historical crunch things, but I could explain teh gist of how to play in about 5 minutes, so why can't a book do the same?
I think it can. I think what you really need is a single laminated sheet of paper right otu of the box/book, or a single page that doesn't even really have any words on it, more instructions on how to play similar to current app games like angry birds.
On this sheet/basics page I would put:
-What is an RPG
-Rolls
-How to interact with the world
-Acting in character
-Rules/combat/spells overview
You could then have your 120 page rule book with references to spells, skills, feats, themes, character creation, etc. This would put less pressure on the players and slightly more on the DM, but I think D&D is generally started by whoever is going to DM and that DM is usually more experienced with the system than the rest of the group.
If you really wanted, you could release the Advanced Modules book simultaneously or later, and it would be more of a set piece for the serious and more experienced gamers, but wouldnt' be necessary for the "sampler" audience that this hobby so desperately needs (in my opinion.)
Another thing to consider is cost. If the group wants to play and game together quickly, they really should have a PHB per player, running around 30-40 bucks, that's quite a bit of money for younger folks. I would even further break it down (other than cheap PDFs/ePubs) and create a super condensed, novel sized soft back book that didnt' have any art, small font, and mostly reference for the rules in case a player forgets exactly how a feat works. This book could be like 10$ instead of $40, and everyone could buy one and keep it in their backpack.
Tl;dr: Include basics sheet (1-2 pages), <150 page PHB, <150 page DMG, an Advanced Module book with all of the other crunch the super-players want, and a super condensed cheap version for samplers to buy.
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