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Monday, July 12, 2010

Looking For a Good First RPG

I started a thread pretty much asking for the same on ENWorld.

I'm looking for a good RPG to introduce a first time player to roleplaying. They want something they can read first, so it shouldn't be too huge and should include an easy to follow sample of play.

The vast majority of my 30 years of game collecting assumes prior knowledge of roleplaying games. I'd like to hear some suggestions if y'all if possible.

Thanks :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

9 comments:

  1. Risus? http://www222.pair.com/sjohn/downloads.htm Doesn't have an example of play, but it has examples. I've used it camping and it can be a lot of fun and its easy.

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  2. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. I figured it out at 12 years old. The real question is: what does the prospective roleplayer's interests lie?

    Sorcery? Superheroes? Starships? Supernaturals?

    They'll be more likely to learn & play what they already enjoy.

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  3. S&W Whitebox - 24 page Brave Halfling book ("Characters")... combat example, but no game play, but there's a dungeon gameplay example in OD&D book 3 if you have it, which is pretty much the same thing.

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  4. jim: i've heard of risus, maybe even dl'ed it, but dont think i've read it. will need to take a closer look

    muryland: i figured it out at 13 myself, but i dont think my g/f want to read something quite that... dense... as for genre, i think fantasy or dresden files would suit here, but we will see

    ze bulette: S&W Quickstart is what i put in her hands last nite, so we shall see

    thanks for the ideas fols... keep 'em coming

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  5. er, folks... not fols.. damn typos! heh

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  6. Hi Tenkar! Could you resend that email. Never got it. Thanks:) dmkastmaria@gmail.com

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  7. u got it... the google friends email is flaky at times...sending in 2

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  8. I'm going to suggest something a little different, but it only works if the person has an interest in horror role playing.

    Dread from The Impossible Dream - http://www.tiltingatwindmills.net/dread/index.html is (in)famously known as "That Jenga Horror Game"

    It's the game that helped us take the leap from board and mini's to RPG and the crunch is all about story crafting. There are no stats to worry about and no complicated dice mechanics.

    When someone needs to do something their character normally wouldn't be able to do, they have to pull a Jenga block. A game couldn't be simpler.

    There's so much good advice in the book for playing and hosting a successful horror game and general tabletop etiquette that I would feel comfortable pitching to anyone simply as a group party game.

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  9. dread may be an option... need to pick up jenga tho ;)

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