Introducing a New Game to Your Group: A 10-step Guide

1) Volunteer to GM. There's nothing worse than suggesting a game to a group and then asking someone else do the heavy lifting. If you're interested in a system buy the book/PDF, pitch it to the group, and run the game.

2) Read the rules. Take notes. Write questions that arise and cross them off as they get answered. At the end of your read through, read the relevant sections necessary to answer any remaining questions.

3) Do not make your players read the rules. This may seem counterintuitive, but it's not. Most people learned how to play at the table and requiring players to consume a tome of information is a quick way to turn the players off from the game. This bring me to my next point.

4) Read the rules. Cover to cover again, repeating the same process in step 2.

5) Make a sample character. Character creation is the first interaction most players have with the system and one of the first opportunities to establish buy-in. You want this to go as smoothly as possible. If the game you're suggesting uses multiple sub-systems, make a character that covers each major archetype. You need to be able to answer any questions players have, preferably without opening the rulebook.

6) Read the rules. Third time's a charm, right? Seriously, I can't repeat this enough. Reading the rules once or twice is probably not enough to impart the kind of mastery necessary to facilitate a game. Three complete readings is a minimum, in my opinion.

7) Use a module for the first game. Too many GMs arrogantly assume that because they have rules mastery in another system or have been GMing for X years, that they are equipped to run a new system. It doesn't work like that. While some skills will transfer (creating memorable NPCs, pacing, description), you cannot adequately prepare an adventure until you see how a game runs.

8) Provide cheat sheets for the players as well as yourself. No matter how many times you read the rules, you are going to have to reference them at some point. Cheat sheets tend to cut the fat from the book and present only the relevant information. If official cheat sheets don't exist, make them yourself.

9) Show players how to game the system. Every game has special rules and tricks for tipping the odds in the favor of the players. If an opportunity arises where you can do some rules teaching and affect the dramatic action happening, show them exactly how to do it. While some may frown on this kind of hand-holding, players are likely to feel helpless without it. Remember: building player agency creates player buy-in.

10) Don't be insulted if it doesn't work out. If you follow the above advice, all you can do is encourage your players to give it an honest shot. Play a few sessions, see the cycle of risk and reward from start to finish, and (hopefully) develop some rules mastery. However, no matter how much you may want to like a game system, it may just not be right for your group.

It's That Time of the Season

The summer tends to be a slow time for gaming. People take vacations, and routinely gathering to sweat around dimly lit tables with dice isn't really how we like to pass the warmer months. At the time of my last post I was running or playing three different games that all ran on different schedules. One was weekly, another bi-weekly, and the final, monthly. All except the monthly have since been dropped, but as the summer begins to wind down and the groups get re-organized, I've been thinking about how the schedule affects the game.

Weekly is too much, in my opinion. First, if you're the GM (as I usually am), its a lot of work to keep the game running at that pace. As a player, it's still demanding. Making that weekly commitment requires investment both in the story and your character, and unless you love it, you will burn out hard. But the benefit of playing weekly is (obviously) the speed at which your game progresses. Longer campaign ideas can be worked through in a matter of months as opposed to years.

Bi-weekly is what I'm used to running and remains my preference. It's regular enough that a longer campaign is still feasible, but allows enough time for GM and payer alike to recoup and also schedule other non-gaming events.

I've never run a monthly game, but I'm playing in one. I always thought that a time gap that large would be problematic. Longer campaigns are impossible on this schedule, and the first part of every session is working out the details of the previous session and picking up the thread again. However, because it is so seldom, the energy is different. Everyone shows up ready to game and every session seems more significant. The drawback is (again, obviously) that a 12-session campaign unfolds over the course of a year.

I'll be back on Wednesday to talk about Torchbearer or Shadowrun.

Torchbearer Burns Brighter

Luke announced, due to hitting 300% of his funding goal, that he will be making all the cover gold foil stamped, adding some fancy end papers, and making the overall production values better. So, kudos to everyone who is backing this. 

If you aren't backing this, you really should. Not only is this is a different kind of game, it's a different kind of Kickstarter. There are no stretch goals, which is usually one of the biggest drivers of support. So when Luke announced the above, it was because he wanted show his support for the massive response this game has received. 

The funding levels are completely reasonable. You're paying what this will cost if you wait to buy it in a retail store. What's particularly exciting is that PDFs will be available (Luke is not the biggest fan of these). Even if you don't want to spring for the full $35, you can still get in own the action for $15.

Do it.

Free RPG Day Burning Wheel Giveaway Update

The submissions are starting to roll in, but I want more. We're a month out from Free RPG day, so there's plenty of time to trim those ideas into 140 characters.

This post is also to add a twist to the contest. I will be running the best hook on Saturday as a one-shot at my FLGS. I'll either post audio or a play transcript of the session.

Magic Item Monday: The Balance Blades

Scholars of Empyrealia and Demonology may tell the tale of two brothers who could never quite see eye to eye. One day, when their disagreement snowballed, as they often did, the two brothers decided to duel to settle their differences. For every advantage gained, each brother exposed a weakness. As the final years of their age came to a close, neither would put aside the sword and fought to their last breath. How these swords found their way to the realm of men remains a mystery. 

Angelking Sword

The steel of this sword has a blue tint. For a neutral character, it functions as a +1 Longsword. For a Lawful character, it functions as +2 Weapon and has an increased threat range against chaotic opponents. Chaotic wielders still receive the +1 bonus as a neutral character, but should be treated as having the lowest luck score for the purposes of assigning hits.

Demonking Sword

The steel of this sword has a red tint. For a neutral character, it functions as a +1 Longsword. For a Chaotic characters who wield it still receive the +1 bonus, but it also heals the wielded 1d8 hit points each time a living creature is slain. Lawful wielders still receive the +1 bonus as a neutral character, but should be treated as having the lowest luck score for the purposes of assigning hits.

Those who dual-wield these weapons may get a glimpse of the true nature of these weapons. A natural roll of 1 or 20 applies to both weapons. Should both a 1 and 20 be rolled, count both swings as a miss. The luck penalty, regardless of alignment, is ignored.  Other Alignment-specific abilities still function as normal. There is rumor among bards that a way exists to forge these blades anew as a single hilted, dual-bladed weapon. 

Burning Wheel Sells Out

Today Luke Crane, via Twitter, announced that Burning Wheel Gold is sold out. I asked if we would see a reprint, but didn't hear back. Either way, with the future availability of BWG uncertain, you should pause a moment and submit a plot hook to get your mitts on a free copy. Do it!

One Year, One Hundred Posts, Time to Give Stuff Away

This is the 100th post on this blog. The 29th of April was also the one year anniversary. To celebrate this aligning of events, I'm going to give away a free copy of the Burning Wheel Gold book to one lucky internet stranger. How does one get lucky? Simple. Submit to me your best fantasy plot hook in 140 characters or less. Multiple entries are acceptable. Entries outside the US are permissible.

The winner will be announced on June 15th, 2013 (Free RPG Day!). All entries will be posted to serve as a GM resource.

You can submit one of two ways: email me your submissions at gazrax at gmail dot com or send me a tweet @earthlightacdmy.

The Torch Has Been Lit

Last week I posted about Torchbearer, which is the Burning Crew's take on old school dungeon crawl games. Things were so hectic in the unimagined world, I failed to notice the Kickstarter launch for that game. Not only has it already hit its funding goal, but it did so within the first few hours of launch. As of this writing, Torchbearer has just over $37,000 in funding.

If you're not sold on at least shelling out for the PDF, let me try and sway you. The Burning Wheel family of games is about tough decisions. The biggest drivers of play are your BITs (Beliefs, Instincts, and Traits). Those three things paint a target on your character's chest that tell the GM and the players, "This is who I am, this is what I want." Honestly, it can be a little intimidating, especially if you cut your teeth on the world's most popular roleplaying game.

The shallower end of the pool is Mouse Guard, which I jokingly refer to as Burning Training Wheels. This game cuts a lot of what might be perceived as "bloat" from the full BW game. Rather than 50+ pages of skills, there are 22-all encompassing (for the purposes of the game). Characters are made with only one belief and one instinct, as opposed to the three standard. The role of introducing complications is much clearer. And of course, you are a painfully adorable mouse on a mission: ensure that all of the Territories survive another season.

Torchbearer, based on the information available, seems to fall between the two. It retains the simplified skill systems of Mouse Guard, but introduces a resource management mechanic that will be central to your survival in the dark parts of the world. Every torch burns for an exact amount of turns, every item you add to your pack takes up precious space. And, for the first time in the Burning family of games, there is a class system.

Get the full scoop here.

The Cultural Place of RPGs

One thing I've been thinking about recently is the cultural place of RPGs. Now, being one of the new broods, I can't speak to what it was like to play these games in the 70s, 80s, or 90s. I can, based on my experience, extrapolate that these were considered kind of weird, nerdy things to do. However, even from the beginning, it was clear that RPGs had carved out some permanent location within our culture.

In spite of my age, I do feel that the's games have shifted their cultural location. In the early years it was this totally new phenomenon. Following that, it was the preferred scapegoat of those individuals who seek to explain their problems on external forces. And after that, it became one of the primary points of inspiration for computer and video RPGs, bringing a whole new group of gamers into the fold.

Even now, I feel this shifting. Shows like Futurama and The Big Bang Theory (which is terrible, and really only about "nerd" culture in this peripheral, "on the outside looking in" at a stereotype kind of way) point to reference RPGs. I hesitate to use the word acceptance, but there is at least a general, (hopefully) non-hostile way that this is a thing that people do in some form, whether it be gathering friends around a table, arranging games through message boards, Google, or Roll d20, or playing the computer interpretations of the genre.

The Doors of the Iron Tavern Are Open

If you're not reading the Iron Tavern, you're doing it wrong. If you love talking about RPGs and you're not maintaining your own blog, you're doing it wrong. Here's your chance to correct things: The Iron Tavern is seeking a guest blogger to make a post once a week. Check the full details here.