D&D General Running D&D Games for "Non-Gamers"... your experiences?

[Mezuka]

I never start with D&D. You don't need rules to initiate people to roleplaying.

To begin with, I just tell them a short story involving a disappearance. They are the heroes and must find and rescue the person. No character sheet. At first, I describe the situation and give them a few choices. Once they understand the concept I ask them 'what do you do'.

If something is uncertain I tell them the odds of success on 1d6. Odds vary with the degree of difficulty. Same for combat.

Once this short story is resolved, usually in 30-45 minutes (keep it short), I ask them if they like it and if they want to play D&D. Then and only then do we create characters.

 

[overgeeked]

I never start with D&D. You don't need rules to initiate people to roleplaying.

To begin with, I just tell them a short story involving a disappearance. They are the heroes and must find and rescue the person. No character sheet. At first I describe the situation and give them a few choices. Once they understand the principale I aks them 'what do you do'.

If something is uncertain I tell them the odds of success on 1d6. Odds varying with the degree of difficulty. Same for combat.

Once this short story is resolved, usualy in 30-45 minutes (keep it short), I ask them if they like it and if they want to play D&D. Then and only then do we created characters.

This is the way.

The trick is to keep on playing that way.

 

[Mezuka]

This is the way.

The trick is to keep on playing that way.

This is the way!

You could actually. A character is just someone who is good at a specific set of things. The party assembles, ideally, a group of people who complete each other.

The ONE rule should be, if you are attempting something in line with your character concept, roll 2d6 use the best result. If you are attempting something outside your concept roll 2d6 and use the worst result. For all other instances use 1d6.

 

[Mind of tempest]

Yeah, if non-gamers play D&D (or any other RPG) they tend to have a blast. There's usually the initial hurdle of "what can I do?" because they're more used to games with boundaries. It takes a little bit for them to grok the idea that they can try anything.

In my experience running games for non-gamers is pure joy. They simply don't know about, and therefore aren't hung up on, all the minutiae that hardcore gamers obsess over. None of the arguments about precise wording of rules. None of the nagging for an extra +1 or advantage on checks. None of the ridiculous optimization. No murderhobos. No grinding for levels. No endless arguments. Non-gamers seem to jump right in with both feet, have no fear of character loss, injury, or death. They are cavalier about what they want their character to do (once they grok the try anything mindset). Everything that makes RPGs fun is there and all the things that makes RPGs a tedious bore are absent. It is pure gaming joy.

man, I wish I had been like that when I started.

 

[overgeeked]

This is the way!

You could actualy. A character is just someone who is good at a specific set of things. The party assembles, idealy, a group of people who complete each other.

The ONE rule should be, if you are attempting something inline with your character concept roll, roll 2d6 take the best result. If you are attempting something outside your concept roll 2d6 and take the worst result. For all other instances use 1d6.

Welcome to Free Kriegsspiel Renaissance.

 

[overgeeked]

man, I wish I had been like that when I started.

Same. My intro to RPGs was less than ideal. A real sink or swim crowd. "If you want to play with us read this whole book and figure it out for yourself".

 

[Guest 7034872]

I've not brought in non-gamers as a DM yet, but as a player I've done it and always had great experiences with it. Even those who ultimately don't stick around have a lot of fun traipsing around, swinging swords, and casting weird magic. Idunno--maybe I've just been lucky in this so far.

 

[Burnside]

I've run 5E for easily more than a hundred non-gamers/first time players. Actually probably close to 200 at this point. They almost universally love it.

It's often good to start people off with pre-gens, as character creation is way harder than playing. Character generation is very easy after a few sessions with a pre-gen.

One of the most enjoyable things about playing with people new to the game is that they don't view everything through the lens of their character sheet. They don't approach a haunted house, for example, with the immediate attitude of "how am I going to Dungeons & Dragons this house using my specific optimized abilities." It can lead to more emotional engagement with the game.

 

[delericho]

My general policy is that anyone is welcome at my table provided:

1. They actually want to be there, and actually want to play, and
2. They make the group better by their presence.

I have played with non-gamers on several occasions. I've generally found that provided they meet criterion #1, they have no problem with #2 - it has usually been a very positive experience for me.

 

[Li Shenron]

Yeah, if non-gamers play D&D (or any other RPG) they tend to have a blast. There's usually the initial hurdle of "what can I do?" because they're more used to games with boundaries. It takes a little bit for them to grok the idea that they can try anything.

In my experience running games for non-gamers is pure joy. They simply don't know about, and therefore aren't hung up on, all the minutiae that hardcore gamers obsess over. None of the arguments about precise wording of rules. None of the nagging for an extra +1 or advantage on checks. None of the ridiculous optimization. No murderhobos. No grinding for levels. No endless arguments. Non-gamers seem to jump right in with both feet, have no fear of character loss, injury, or death. They are cavalier about what they want their character to do (once they grok the try anything mindset). Everything that makes RPGs fun is there and all the things that makes RPGs a tedious bore are absent. It is pure gaming joy.

Absolutely the same experience I've had, every single time I ran the game for non-gamers.