OK so here’s my conundrum. I’ve been running DCC for a group of absolute RPG newbies. They like it but I would like to get them to try out looser less traditional games.. I used DCC because it’s got the traditional elements people associate with a roleplaying game which some people have enjoyed and others not. There also less actual need to get into a character if a new player feels a little nervous about putting it out there too.
We are a fairly new bunch of friends and long in the tooth but I think a little roleplaying could be the next step. I thought dungeon world but I don’t want them to think all roleplaying games are fantasy based.
I’m basically looking for the post ‘what is a roleplaying game’ game that will introduce more dialogue between the players… I thought thematically Apocalypse World could be a winner but the it might be a big step… Not sure… Suggestions… Should I just hit them with fiasco and see?
If you’re all a bunch of good friends, do you think they take to Monster hearts, or monster of the week? Possibly run a game of inspecters as well.
I know when our Wednesdays run those games we always get a good turnout and a good response.
If you’re all a bunch of good friends, do you think they take to Monster hearts, or monster of the week? Possibly run a game of inspecters as well.
I know when our Wednesdays run those games we always get a good turnout and a good response.
Friends but monsterhearts would be waaay to much. I thought about monster of the week but have never run it.
Friends but monsterhearts would be waaay to much. I thought about monster of the week but have never run it.
Ferrell’s suggestions are awesome. I think Fiasco would be so far afield they’d just classify it as something else altogether; that seems to happen a lot.
I’ll especially recommend Monster of the Week; the “find the monsters, hunt them down” schtick makes it an easy sell for traditional-minded groups. (They may also not be onboard with the focus of Monsterhearts, but I don’t know your group. I love it, but the “so this is a game largely about teenage hormones” bit can be an unsell if you hit people with it right off of traditional games.)
I haven’t played Inspectres, but it also sounds like it’d be a brilliant choice.
Ferrell’s suggestions are awesome. I think Fiasco would be so far afield they’d just classify it as something else altogether; that seems to happen a lot.
I’ll especially recommend Monster of the Week; the “find the monsters, hunt them down” schtick makes it an easy sell for traditional-minded groups. (They may also not be onboard with the focus of Monsterhearts, but I don’t know your group. I love it, but the “so this is a game largely about teenage hormones” bit can be an unsell if you hit people with it right off of traditional games.)
I haven’t played Inspectres, but it also sounds like it’d be a brilliant choice.
We’re fairly new friends and old(ish) so less adaptable I guess I saying…
We’re fairly new friends and old(ish) so less adaptable I guess I saying…
Selling point for Monster of the Week: you can be Buffy, Harry Dresden, Velma, Olivia Dunham, and Frankenstein’s Monster all teamed up to fight an eldritch horror.
Selling point for Monster of the Week: you can be Buffy, Harry Dresden, Velma, Olivia Dunham, and Frankenstein’s Monster all teamed up to fight an eldritch horror.
Everyone stole my thunder. I was going to suggest MotW, InSpectres, or 44. Each of those still has a GM, which I think is going to be critical.
Fiasco is very hard to introduce to players who already role-play a certain way.
Everyone stole my thunder. I was going to suggest MotW, InSpectres, or 44. Each of those still has a GM, which I think is going to be critical.
Fiasco is very hard to introduce to players who already role-play a certain way.
Fiasco is a good way to introduce the GM-less story gaming most of us are familiar with at this point I think. Still structured enough to not scare them off but amorphous enough to give them a stage
Fiasco is a good way to introduce the GM-less story gaming most of us are familiar with at this point I think. Still structured enough to not scare them off but amorphous enough to give them a stage
Big trouble in little China monster of the week it is then I think… Thanks to the #synthwave mood I am now in.
Big trouble in little China monster of the week it is then I think… Thanks to the #synthwave mood I am now in.
They have literally (and I use that in the literal sense) played my DCC game and that is it. I worry with fiasco they’d just stare at each other for 10 minutes and go… ‘Err what now?’ I fear I’d have to drag it kicking and screaming and I’d rather not.
They have literally (and I use that in the literal sense) played my DCC game and that is it. I worry with fiasco they’d just stare at each other for 10 minutes and go… ‘Err what now?’ I fear I’d have to drag it kicking and screaming and I’d rather not.
HOLY BLAZES WHY DID I NEVER THINK OF BIG TROUBLE AS A MOTW GAME. That’s…perfect. And Jack Burton is the Mundane.
HOLY BLAZES WHY DID I NEVER THINK OF BIG TROUBLE AS A MOTW GAME. That’s…perfect. And Jack Burton is the Mundane.
So, hey–while we’re (sort of) at it, I bought the original edition of Monster of the Week. Naturally, several months later, the new Evil Hat version came out. Anybody have any experience with both? Or at least know how much I’m missing if I choose to just run the older version?
So, hey–while we’re (sort of) at it, I bought the original edition of Monster of the Week. Naturally, several months later, the new Evil Hat version came out. Anybody have any experience with both? Or at least know how much I’m missing if I choose to just run the older version?
Only difference is some content and some cleaning up of stuff. There’s new playbooks (IIRC it’s Divine, Spellslinger, and Crooked) that you can download from http://www.evilhat.com/home/monster-of-the-week-resources/, a new mystery or two, and they tweaked a rule or maybe two.
I know they changed stat highlighting to XP-on-a-miss, but that’s the biggest rules tweak I remember there being.
Basically, it’s mostly a way to get MOTW into bigger distribution.
Only difference is some content and some cleaning up of stuff. There’s new playbooks (IIRC it’s Divine, Spellslinger, and Crooked) that you can download from http://www.evilhat.com/home/monster-of-the-week-resources/, a new mystery or two, and they tweaked a rule or maybe two.
I know they changed stat highlighting to XP-on-a-miss, but that’s the biggest rules tweak I remember there being.
Basically, it’s mostly a way to get MOTW into bigger distribution.
Alright, thanks! Sounds like no big deal. I won’t miss XP from failures anyway.
Alright, thanks! Sounds like no big deal. I won’t miss XP from failures anyway.
And you can totally just download the new playbooks for free, and that’s the biggest content increase. I do recommend that.
And you can totally just download the new playbooks for free, and that’s the biggest content increase. I do recommend that.
Final girl. It is an easy one because it is a one shot, and you will expose your friends to playing a whole table of characters, enabling them to experiment with characterization. It’s fun and light hearted(at least every session I’ve been in is), maybe even go so far as to call it a “beer and pretzels” RPG, perfect for a new RPGer.
Final girl. It is an easy one because it is a one shot, and you will expose your friends to playing a whole table of characters, enabling them to experiment with characterization. It’s fun and light hearted(at least every session I’ve been in is), maybe even go so far as to call it a “beer and pretzels” RPG, perfect for a new RPGer.
David LaFreniere Also, good luck finding it.
David LaFreniere Also, good luck finding it.
All I read was the last comment by Jason.
I knew exactly what game he was talking about.
All I read was the last comment by Jason.
I knew exactly what game he was talking about.
Aaaaaaand I found myself in a game store and bought the new Monster of the Week anyway.
Damnit! It’s pretty. I might see if I can run it for friends Wednesday.
Aaaaaaand I found myself in a game store and bought the new Monster of the Week anyway.
Damnit! It’s pretty. I might see if I can run it for friends Wednesday.
Just ordered it
Just ordered it
Steve Mains That sucker is definitely chocked full of art. Also, I know you don’t fancy “XP for failure,” but having played a ton of MotW, the traditional AW way of stat highlighting makes almost no sense in the context of a game that is almost exclusively dedicated to investigating, and then killing, monsters. I feel like the further afield you get from interpersonal drama, and deeply developed characters (like in AW and MH), the more sense XP for failure makes.
Steve Mains That sucker is definitely chocked full of art. Also, I know you don’t fancy “XP for failure,” but having played a ton of MotW, the traditional AW way of stat highlighting makes almost no sense in the context of a game that is almost exclusively dedicated to investigating, and then killing, monsters. I feel like the further afield you get from interpersonal drama, and deeply developed characters (like in AW and MH), the more sense XP for failure makes.
It’s also really not a game where the PCs are supposed to be eyeing one another with one hand on their weapon of choice. Teammates may have squabbles and a bit of falling-out, but they’re largely on the same side.
Though I do like the idea of “I want to see you emphasize this ability” in a PvE game, it creates a neat social dynamic. But I don’t think there’s really a good way to implement that in AW games without reinventing how advancement works or whatnot. There needs to be a reason for the players to do something other than highlight the moves that their ally will be using most frequently.
(I’d love stuff like “I want to see you try to manipulate and charm people this session, so I’ll highlight this attribute”.)
It’s also really not a game where the PCs are supposed to be eyeing one another with one hand on their weapon of choice. Teammates may have squabbles and a bit of falling-out, but they’re largely on the same side.
Though I do like the idea of “I want to see you emphasize this ability” in a PvE game, it creates a neat social dynamic. But I don’t think there’s really a good way to implement that in AW games without reinventing how advancement works or whatnot. There needs to be a reason for the players to do something other than highlight the moves that their ally will be using most frequently.
(I’d love stuff like “I want to see you try to manipulate and charm people this session, so I’ll highlight this attribute”.)
I’m fine with getting away from highlighting for XP. It’s just that XP on a failure doesn’t do anything other methods methods of advancement handle better except, I guess, take the sting off a failure. And I’m not convinced that’s something these games need, especially when it comes packaged with randomly paced, asynchronous advancement among the characters. I’d much prefer something like: 3XP per session, plus an end of session checklist (ala Dungeon World) and the usual XP-granting moves.
Andy Hauge Have you not encountered behavior-encouraging highlighting in Apocalypse World (or whichever hacks stick with highlighting)? I saw that all the time when I ran AW.
I’m fine with getting away from highlighting for XP. It’s just that XP on a failure doesn’t do anything other methods methods of advancement handle better except, I guess, take the sting off a failure. And I’m not convinced that’s something these games need, especially when it comes packaged with randomly paced, asynchronous advancement among the characters. I’d much prefer something like: 3XP per session, plus an end of session checklist (ala Dungeon World) and the usual XP-granting moves.
Andy Hauge Have you not encountered behavior-encouraging highlighting in Apocalypse World (or whichever hacks stick with highlighting)? I saw that all the time when I ran AW.
Steve Mains: Oh, yeah. But I feel like it works a lot better in the style of game where the PCs are sorta at one anothers’ throats. When you’re on the same page and teamed up against threats, it makes less sense to highlight their suboptimal stats.
Steve Mains: Oh, yeah. But I feel like it works a lot better in the style of game where the PCs are sorta at one anothers’ throats. When you’re on the same page and teamed up against threats, it makes less sense to highlight their suboptimal stats.
Played revised MotW last night. The new XP system is much better than the old. In the old one, whoever was fortunate enough to have Cool highlighted would advance much faster than everyone else. That wasn’t the case last night. Advancement was fairly even, and I felt like less of a dick for walloping them on a 6-.
Played revised MotW last night. The new XP system is much better than the old. In the old one, whoever was fortunate enough to have Cool highlighted would advance much faster than everyone else. That wasn’t the case last night. Advancement was fairly even, and I felt like less of a dick for walloping them on a 6-.
Is Cool the god stat?
Is Cool the god stat?
Act Under Pressure is the game’s equivalent of Defy Danger, which means Cool gets rolled a lot.
Some of the newer AW hacks are using the Defy Danger/WoD Take a Risk approach, which I think is better, since it allows more stats to come into play.
Act Under Pressure is the game’s equivalent of Defy Danger, which means Cool gets rolled a lot.
Some of the newer AW hacks are using the Defy Danger/WoD Take a Risk approach, which I think is better, since it allows more stats to come into play.
Maybe I just need to see more failures in action with this sort of XP system. As it is, I just can’t see any benefit that isn’t overshadowed by the negatives.
Maybe I just need to see more failures in action with this sort of XP system. As it is, I just can’t see any benefit that isn’t overshadowed by the negatives.