66 thoughts on “Peeps of all kinds, what’s your favourite gateway TTRPG?”

  7. Blackbird is awesome. Psi*run, too!

    Also, as long as the mechanics are relatively straightforward, any game that covers a genre/theme they’re interested in and you know well and are passionate about can work. If in doubt, err towards lighter mechanics – you want them to get that rules are instruments that they can use to make choices and push their game forward, rather than something that seems opaque and requires you to “translate”.

  8. Blackbird is awesome. Psi*run, too!

    Also, as long as the mechanics are relatively straightforward, any game that covers a genre/theme they’re interested in and you know well and are passionate about can work. If in doubt, err towards lighter mechanics – you want them to get that rules are instruments that they can use to make choices and push their game forward, rather than something that seems opaque and requires you to “translate”.

  15. Usually any PBTA is good for beginners, but Masks: A New Generation looks pretty intuitive and character creation is fairly simple and straightforward.

    I would also second Dungeon World for the same reasons.

  16. Usually any PBTA is good for beginners, but Masks: A New Generation looks pretty intuitive and character creation is fairly simple and straightforward.

    I would also second Dungeon World for the same reasons.

  19. Masks – as well as most PbtA by Magpie – is really cool, but definitely on the more rules-complex side of the PbtA spectrum.

    Avery Alder’s Dream Askew is very simple.

  20. Masks – as well as most PbtA by Magpie – is really cool, but definitely on the more rules-complex side of the PbtA spectrum.

    Avery Alder’s Dream Askew is very simple.

  27. My suggestion is to choose three games you absolutely adore, no matter how complex or weird they are, and ask your friends to look them over and choose one. Your enthusiasm is infectious and they will be intrigued and excited by their choice – the rest will take care of itself.

  28. My suggestion is to choose three games you absolutely adore, no matter how complex or weird they are, and ask your friends to look them over and choose one. Your enthusiasm is infectious and they will be intrigued and excited by their choice – the rest will take care of itself.

  29. Cheat Your Own Adventure and The Final Girl are really great for this – especially if you have some specific scenarios in mind. Dia de los Muertos in Codex Blood 2 is great for this.

  30. Cheat Your Own Adventure and The Final Girl are really great for this – especially if you have some specific scenarios in mind. Dia de los Muertos in Codex Blood 2 is great for this.

  33. I just did this (clarification — I just introduced a new player and I happened to do it the way Jason suggests!). A lot of complete beginners want to try D&D simply because they don’t have the vocabulary and comfort explaining “well, it’s this game like D&D, but not, because it’s about high school students, and you don’t fight monsters, because you are the monsters, and there’s romance instead of dungeons, and it’s really not like it at all…” So what I did was introduce the player to D&D, Apocalypse World, and Misspent Youth and let him choose. He picked D&D, because it was the one he could talk to other people about.

    That kind of made sense to me. The first time I have an ethnic food, I order the most popular thing on the menu so I get a sense what the buzz is about. I don’t go to Thai restaurants for the pizza. D&D is maybe the pad thai of RPGs.

    But that doesn’t make it the best game for beginners. I think that honor probably should go to Monster of the Week. And honestly, I wonder if I should have skipped the whole D&D thing and just pushed MotW.

    MotW has several perks:

    – Not too demanding on the player (I love Fate, but it can really tax your creativity)

    – Accessible premise. Just point at popular books and TV shows.

    – It’s not pushing you into a dark place. It’s pure escapist fantasy.

    – The book is written to be very beginner friendly. The book teaches the game very well.

    – PbtA advantages like playbooks, static difficulty, light on the math, no tactical combat, etc. You don’t have to know the game in depth to play it well.

    – Point them at The Adventure Zone, where they’re playing Monster of the Week right now. It’s a really easy way to sell the game. The McElroy brothers are kicking butt at making this game seem like the most fun thing since water slides.

    – It’s a great PbtA “gateway drug” – once they grasp MotW, you can branch off all over the place with “well, this game is almost the same system, but with a different premise…”

  34. I just did this (clarification — I just introduced a new player and I happened to do it the way Jason suggests!). A lot of complete beginners want to try D&D simply because they don’t have the vocabulary and comfort explaining “well, it’s this game like D&D, but not, because it’s about high school students, and you don’t fight monsters, because you are the monsters, and there’s romance instead of dungeons, and it’s really not like it at all…” So what I did was introduce the player to D&D, Apocalypse World, and Misspent Youth and let him choose. He picked D&D, because it was the one he could talk to other people about.

    That kind of made sense to me. The first time I have an ethnic food, I order the most popular thing on the menu so I get a sense what the buzz is about. I don’t go to Thai restaurants for the pizza. D&D is maybe the pad thai of RPGs.

    But that doesn’t make it the best game for beginners. I think that honor probably should go to Monster of the Week. And honestly, I wonder if I should have skipped the whole D&D thing and just pushed MotW.

    MotW has several perks:

    – Not too demanding on the player (I love Fate, but it can really tax your creativity)

    – Accessible premise. Just point at popular books and TV shows.

    – It’s not pushing you into a dark place. It’s pure escapist fantasy.

    – The book is written to be very beginner friendly. The book teaches the game very well.

    – PbtA advantages like playbooks, static difficulty, light on the math, no tactical combat, etc. You don’t have to know the game in depth to play it well.

    – Point them at The Adventure Zone, where they’re playing Monster of the Week right now. It’s a really easy way to sell the game. The McElroy brothers are kicking butt at making this game seem like the most fun thing since water slides.

    – It’s a great PbtA “gateway drug” – once they grasp MotW, you can branch off all over the place with “well, this game is almost the same system, but with a different premise…”

  35. My main go-tos are Dungeon World (or some variation thereof) for the people who specifically want to know “what playing D&D is like” and Fiasco with me as a pseudo-GM/facilitator to make sure things move along at a reasonable clip.

  36. My main go-tos are Dungeon World (or some variation thereof) for the people who specifically want to know “what playing D&D is like” and Fiasco with me as a pseudo-GM/facilitator to make sure things move along at a reasonable clip.

  37. I talk with them (or know them) and figure out what genres they like. Then I figure out what games I like in those genres, and pick one, or pitch them if I can’t decide.

  38. I talk with them (or know them) and figure out what genres they like. Then I figure out what games I like in those genres, and pick one, or pitch them if I can’t decide.

  41. Jon Lemich I’m always a bit hesitant to suggest Fiasco myself – I feel like you need to be very comfortable with improvisation to play it – specifically acting in character. I am much more comfortable coming up with plot stuff on the fly (you do this, then that, etc.) which is why Cheat Your Own Adventure is always my go to. There isn’t any pressure to do scenes.

  42. Jon Lemich I’m always a bit hesitant to suggest Fiasco myself – I feel like you need to be very comfortable with improvisation to play it – specifically acting in character. I am much more comfortable coming up with plot stuff on the fly (you do this, then that, etc.) which is why Cheat Your Own Adventure is always my go to. There isn’t any pressure to do scenes.

  43. For “complete beginners” who might be hesitant or even intimidated by the idea of roleplaying, I like Fall of Magic. It’s presented as a board game, you can start playing without reading any rules, and it teaches everyone how to roleplay and tell good stories by its design.

    Another one I’m interested in right now but haven’t yet had the chance to actually play, is To Serve Her Wintery Hunger by Stephen Dewey . You can almost take it to the table and and suddenly find yourself playing it simply by reading it out loud, and it’s contained within a strong framework that supports players through prompts similarly to FoM.

    If they’re already familiar with DnD and want the character sheets and the spells lists etc. etc. then the best one is probably the one the GM is most comfortable running, and agreeing to a setting that interests everyone. New players are better off with a good GM than a hundred rulebooks.

  44. For “complete beginners” who might be hesitant or even intimidated by the idea of roleplaying, I like Fall of Magic. It’s presented as a board game, you can start playing without reading any rules, and it teaches everyone how to roleplay and tell good stories by its design.

    Another one I’m interested in right now but haven’t yet had the chance to actually play, is To Serve Her Wintery Hunger by Stephen Dewey . You can almost take it to the table and and suddenly find yourself playing it simply by reading it out loud, and it’s contained within a strong framework that supports players through prompts similarly to FoM.

    If they’re already familiar with DnD and want the character sheets and the spells lists etc. etc. then the best one is probably the one the GM is most comfortable running, and agreeing to a setting that interests everyone. New players are better off with a good GM than a hundred rulebooks.

  47. I never suggest anything that is going to take more than two hours start to finish, beyond that you are asking for something very weird and intense. But you can pitch two hours easily – it’s like watching a movie or playing a board game together, and if you don’t like it we will never speak of it again.

  48. I never suggest anything that is going to take more than two hours start to finish, beyond that you are asking for something very weird and intense. But you can pitch two hours easily – it’s like watching a movie or playing a board game together, and if you don’t like it we will never speak of it again.

  49. Carys I am definitely a fan of Too Serve Her Wintry Hunger – if I know the people well enough to know they would be fine with the subject matter and the tone I think that is a great option.

  50. Carys I am definitely a fan of Too Serve Her Wintry Hunger – if I know the people well enough to know they would be fine with the subject matter and the tone I think that is a great option.

  51. I do like Fate as a gateway into indie games. Fate has enough that is familiar to people (roll plus you skill) that they don’t feel entirely out of water but the paradigm shift in Fate is pretty huge and it does a good job altering people’s perspective as far as what a game can do.

  52. I do like Fate as a gateway into indie games. Fate has enough that is familiar to people (roll plus you skill) that they don’t feel entirely out of water but the paradigm shift in Fate is pretty huge and it does a good job altering people’s perspective as far as what a game can do.

  55. Tails of Equestria doesn’t get enough respect. My friend couldn’t convince his wife to try roleplaying for years, until I offered to run Tails of Equestria for them. She had a blast.

  56. Tails of Equestria doesn’t get enough respect. My friend couldn’t convince his wife to try roleplaying for years, until I offered to run Tails of Equestria for them. She had a blast.

  57. More often than people agreeing to invest an evening I have people curious about what this is in the middle of a conversation.

    So if they are fine to I invest 15 to 30 minutes straight away I play Happy Birthday Mr President with them (which is Happy Birthday Robo but with President and FOX anchorwoman).

    If it’s more than two people I go for a Cheat Your Own Adventure with rock paper scissors instead of dice.

    If there is a Jenga tower around I play a superhero story with the tower as resolution mechanic and me slightly GMing but also with a character in play.

  58. More often than people agreeing to invest an evening I have people curious about what this is in the middle of a conversation.

    So if they are fine to I invest 15 to 30 minutes straight away I play Happy Birthday Mr President with them (which is Happy Birthday Robo but with President and FOX anchorwoman).

    If it’s more than two people I go for a Cheat Your Own Adventure with rock paper scissors instead of dice.

    If there is a Jenga tower around I play a superhero story with the tower as resolution mechanic and me slightly GMing but also with a character in play.

Comments are closed.