Top Three RPGs to Run at a FLGS?

[Gorgon Zee]

I’m not going to suggest systems, but rather genres.
I’ve run for a lot of non-gamer people, at comic conventions, in churches and at boardgame cons. My observations:

• People know D&D and some will want to play it by name. There is no difference to their signing up if it is 5E, PF2, 13A, Whatever. Run the system you like and call it just D&D
• Anime systems are killer good for many people, because you can run a party with super-heroes, ninjas, pokemon controllers, whatever. Much like D&D allows many fantasy tropes, an anime system can cope with a very diverse set of characters.

With one group I ended up running an adaptation of Red Hand of Doom using Big Eyes Small Mouth 2E. Because for newcomers, system makes little difference unless it restricts them. So choose something you enjoy that allows new players to play a wide variety of characters.

 

[Hex08]

That's tough to make a recommendation since tastes seem to vary from place to place. Since Covid I have probably stepped foot in my FLGS only two or three times. Pre-COVID mine was dominated by D&D once 5E came out and Pathfinder fell from the most common game being run to a distant second. The last time Iwas in I don't think anything that was not D&D was on the board.

If you are looking for recommendations, I am currently reading the rules to Scum and Vilany and might recommend it. It has a real Star Wars/Firefly feel so that may draw people in.

Savage Worlds is another one since it's not that hard to teach.

 

[Retreater]

I ended up suggesting D&D 5e, "Monster of the Week", and "Mothership."
Of course, he pointed out he doesn't carry "Monster of the Week" or "Mothership" (and "Mothership" isn't available for retail yet). So he can't sell the products - and that's an issue.
Then I suggested we replace "Monster of the Week" with "Call of Cthulhu" and "Mothership" with "Alien" - even though in my mind both replacement systems are more complex than what I initially suggested (not to mention I have a slight distaste for anything HPL-related.)

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

So he can't sell the products - and that's an issue.

This is what I was going to ask: what game systems does the store normally stock and hope to sell to all these new players?

D&D 5E is always a starter these days, though too bad the new starter set is Target-only for now. Not starting with AL games would also maybe be better, as AL rules do vary some from RAW, and saying "AL does it this way, but the book does it that way" will chase off some new players.

The New edition of Hunter: the Reckoning may work and tap into the still-ongoing vampire/werewolf craze, and would definitely be a better choice than V5 as an intro to the current World of Darkness.

And then a 3rd one would really depend on what the owner wants to stock. Maybe something superhero-themed?

 

[aramis erak]

I ended up suggesting D&D 5e, "Monster of the Week", and "Mothership."
Of course, he pointed out he doesn't carry "Monster of the Week" or "Mothership" (and "Mothership" isn't available for retail yet). So he can't sell the products - and that's an issue.
Then I suggested we replace "Monster of the Week" with "Call of Cthulhu" and "Mothership" with "Alien" - even though in my mind both replacement systems are more complex than what I initially suggested (not to mention I have a slight distaste for anything HPL-related.)

Alien's more HR Giger than HPL... and it's a solid space opera game. Use the colonial marines mode of play, and it's able to be monster of the week. But you're going to need to add some...

I added some vorpal bunnies as a planetside encounter in my merchant ship campaign...
The players, 2 years later, still brag about surviving those. And they aren't even infectious... Just carnvore eaters with a 5m jump and 10 self-sharpening teeth... and a taste for flesh, fresh or not... It did result in a PC chasing the last one down by crawling through the vents....

 

[Retreater]

The store put a vote of the three systems on social media 24 hours ago. So far only three people have voted (all for D&D).
To me it doesn't seem like there's enough interest to even start doing a game, regardless of system. (If folks won't even click a Like button, I don't see them coming to the store and committing to play a game for a few hours.)

 

[hawkeyefan]

The store put a vote of the three systems on social media 24 hours ago. So far only three people have voted (all for D&D).
To me it doesn't seem like there's enough interest to even start doing a game, regardless of system. (If folks won't even click a Like button, I don't see them coming to the store and committing to play a game for a few hours.)

Do you have one friend you can bring with you? If so, I’d do that and shoot for one more player to get a game started. Do that for a bit and hopefully, you pick up another player or two. And then maybe word spreads and interest grows.

 

[thullgrim]

If you can get three to show up regularly that’s a group. Structure your game organized play type scenarios savage pathfinder would be perfect for this it will scale for three people just fine. Commit the time. Sit at the table and play games. Eventually I think you’ll build a group. I really do unless you live in a nerd wasteland.

Make sure the game is visually exciting, whether that’s maps and minis or terrain or whatever. Your trying to get people who come into the store interested. They will ask questions. You tell them I’m here every other Friday or something and then show up to play. If one person shows you run one for one person. Make sure they have a good time. Odds are they have nerd friends.

It’s HARD to build an in person community. If I recall you work at a library. Pay attention to anyone reading genre fiction. Hit up the high school and see if they have or are interested in a game club.

Meet up. Facebook groups, coffee houses, game stores, book stores, advertise relentlessly.

Many gamers are insular. We have ‘our group’ and ‘our game’. The challenge is fighting through that. The gamers and players are there. You just have to wrangle them.

 

[Campbell]

In my experience Cortex games (Marvel Heroic, Leverage) make for great pickup games. Tales of Xadia also looks super promising. Extremely easy to learn. Character writeups that have everything you need to play so now rules lookups required. If I have the datafiles printed out I can get a game of Marvel heroic going in about 5 minutes.

 

[aramis erak]

In my experience Cortex games (Marvel Heroic, Leverage) make for great pickup games.

Firefly as well. But those are Cortex Plus.

"Cortex" (later Cortex Classic) is a different engine, with different stat ranges (null, d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d12+2, d12+4) while Cortex Plus is explicitly only to d12.
Cortex Classic games include Sovereign Stone, Serenity, Supernatural, [New] Battlestar Galactica.

Cortex Classic System - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Note: all Cortex Classic games are OOP, as well. Cortex Plus are OOP, as well, but being so mechanically close to Cortex Prime that it's a useful draw towards it.