First of a few things that I (and I think the players too) found fun and satisfying...
For the transition from 0th to 1st level, I wanted something more than a sudden revelation of class abilities which seems rather abrupt to me. So I had them return to their hometown where they went back to their normal lives, until they collectively discovered that they were restless. Combat characters and the halfling were practicing, the elf was visited by parents with the heirloom iron-free gear and introduction to patron, clerics were chosen by their deities (I chose them based on the player's personalities and the setting), and the wizard met with the creepy town hag who it turns out is a witch/wizard who's been helping the town for decades, behind the scenes. She helped train the wizard (I know, that's anti-DCC but I wanted the story) with the expectation that the wizard would take on the role when she passed. The only drawback to this was that it was too detailed and role-played, so it dragged for the characters not involved in the vignette. I would like to keep the concept but improve on it (maybe montage it more?), and adapt for other settings like 'in the wild without a return to town', and perhaps a patron or object conducting the wizard's revelation.
What went well here, is that the characters all got a small taste of what they could do - skill, spell, and combat demos - as well as a nicely-wrapped justification and context for everything. It just felt - whole - for lack of a better word. I think it could be even more fun if it were condensed a bit more.
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Introduction
Let's start with a "soft open" - an introduction to my RPG history and other influences.
I received the Holmes Basic Set with B1 in '78 (based on research - I don't recall the year, just the contents). My first experience was with running a session with my parents as they humored me as I ran BX at 10 years old. I didn't play again for a while after that, though I 'ran' characters through it. I eventually got the Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide, found a gaming group consisting of a friend who was 2 years younger and his little brother, and we played while I 'babysat'. I usually GM'd and played a PC following the lead of the others, and they played one or two characters each. I also found friends at Jr. High School who played, but they didn't live close enough to join. I didn't have the money for all of the books, so when MM came out, I transcribed entries by hand (yeah, during class).
When I moved away and went to high school, well, that's when I found my clan. I gamed all the time with my friends and on holiday with my cousin. I recall designing dungeons (my dad had tons of engineering graph paper) and writing up stats for the Sandgorgon from The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, and a slew of weapons for Top Secret based on stats from from the backs of "Men's Fiction" (War Porn) books. We alternated playing and running (75/25 for me) AD&D, Gamma World, Paranoia, Star Frontiers, TMNT, Twilight 2000, Top Secret, and then in college added Champions.
Post-college included 2E, Champions, Call of Cthulhu, and then a decade-long spell of playing, not running, 3E, 3.5E, and Pathfinder. My current passion for the last couple of years has been Dungeon Crawl Classics, which has been sparse but fun.
Non-Gaming:
I was a Space Program and Sci-Fi kid, raised with plenty of Star Trek and Planet of the Apes, as well as a solid library of classic Science Fiction and later, Fantasy as well. I was also in the prime age bracket for seeing Star Wars. I was a voracious reader from elementary school through college.
I'm a second-generation geek, and though I intended to be a physics major (astrophysics!), I ended up as computer engineering with a BSCE.
Some time after graduation, I found Renaissance Faire (RPFN), performing as a parade drummer. Even though I didn't act much, I always took improv workshops which were great fun, especially never having been in theater. I eventually joined a musical group that performs nautical and maritime music - music from and inspired by the age of sail.
I received the Holmes Basic Set with B1 in '78 (based on research - I don't recall the year, just the contents). My first experience was with running a session with my parents as they humored me as I ran BX at 10 years old. I didn't play again for a while after that, though I 'ran' characters through it. I eventually got the Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide, found a gaming group consisting of a friend who was 2 years younger and his little brother, and we played while I 'babysat'. I usually GM'd and played a PC following the lead of the others, and they played one or two characters each. I also found friends at Jr. High School who played, but they didn't live close enough to join. I didn't have the money for all of the books, so when MM came out, I transcribed entries by hand (yeah, during class).
When I moved away and went to high school, well, that's when I found my clan. I gamed all the time with my friends and on holiday with my cousin. I recall designing dungeons (my dad had tons of engineering graph paper) and writing up stats for the Sandgorgon from The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, and a slew of weapons for Top Secret based on stats from from the backs of "Men's Fiction" (War Porn) books. We alternated playing and running (75/25 for me) AD&D, Gamma World, Paranoia, Star Frontiers, TMNT, Twilight 2000, Top Secret, and then in college added Champions.
Post-college included 2E, Champions, Call of Cthulhu, and then a decade-long spell of playing, not running, 3E, 3.5E, and Pathfinder. My current passion for the last couple of years has been Dungeon Crawl Classics, which has been sparse but fun.
Non-Gaming:
I was a Space Program and Sci-Fi kid, raised with plenty of Star Trek and Planet of the Apes, as well as a solid library of classic Science Fiction and later, Fantasy as well. I was also in the prime age bracket for seeing Star Wars. I was a voracious reader from elementary school through college.
I'm a second-generation geek, and though I intended to be a physics major (astrophysics!), I ended up as computer engineering with a BSCE.
Some time after graduation, I found Renaissance Faire (RPFN), performing as a parade drummer. Even though I didn't act much, I always took improv workshops which were great fun, especially never having been in theater. I eventually joined a musical group that performs nautical and maritime music - music from and inspired by the age of sail.
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