Ivellius
2011-11-28, 11:24 AM
I moved about half a year ago and have slowly been trying to build a gaming group from scratch. I know of a handful of other gamers in the area (and some of us are playing in a Star Wars RPG), but I like to grow the hobby and have tried targeting people who haven't played much before. I live in a college town, so there's a good pool of potential players.
Well, last night I wanted to have another short session in the World of Warcraft RPG--but projects have made most students really busy (including myself), so I only had two players. I tried asking around but couldn't find any others, so one dragged his girlfriend into it. And my wife, wanting to be a polite hostess and not let her feel left out, decided to join us as well. Now, the one time she'd played before she really didn't like it, and she's not much of a board gamer in general. I'd planned on running a bit more...grim scenario, but scrambled around at the last minute to adapt the "Something's Cooking" adventure found here (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20030530b&page=1). I figured a less serious adventure would go over better with the women.
And you know what? It did. (Even if they killed a helpless guy at the end...ack, don't know what they were thinking.) My wife said she had fun with it, and I think she would continue to play as long as I can keep the mood lighter. Fostering this would be a good thing, I think, but I have a couple of issues.
First, I prefer a "higher" feel to my games. I can adapt, but one of the things that pulls me into RPGs is that heroic epic sense, that I (or my players) am being a hero and making a difference in the world. Is there advice people would offer to blend the two somehow? I know that WoW is frequently a light-hearted game (Cataclysm seems darker, from what little I played of it, but ah well), so it's probably better suited to that style than some. But I like creating backstories for characters and wonder if there's a way I can slowly get players invested into theirs (we've been using pre-made ones so far).
Second, time is always a factor, and I'm not sure I'm the best person at crafting more humorous/lighter adventures. Does anyone have any suggestions for getting material? Or just general suggestions for running these kinds of games?
Much appreciated.
Well, last night I wanted to have another short session in the World of Warcraft RPG--but projects have made most students really busy (including myself), so I only had two players. I tried asking around but couldn't find any others, so one dragged his girlfriend into it. And my wife, wanting to be a polite hostess and not let her feel left out, decided to join us as well. Now, the one time she'd played before she really didn't like it, and she's not much of a board gamer in general. I'd planned on running a bit more...grim scenario, but scrambled around at the last minute to adapt the "Something's Cooking" adventure found here (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20030530b&page=1). I figured a less serious adventure would go over better with the women.
And you know what? It did. (Even if they killed a helpless guy at the end...ack, don't know what they were thinking.) My wife said she had fun with it, and I think she would continue to play as long as I can keep the mood lighter. Fostering this would be a good thing, I think, but I have a couple of issues.
First, I prefer a "higher" feel to my games. I can adapt, but one of the things that pulls me into RPGs is that heroic epic sense, that I (or my players) am being a hero and making a difference in the world. Is there advice people would offer to blend the two somehow? I know that WoW is frequently a light-hearted game (Cataclysm seems darker, from what little I played of it, but ah well), so it's probably better suited to that style than some. But I like creating backstories for characters and wonder if there's a way I can slowly get players invested into theirs (we've been using pre-made ones so far).
Second, time is always a factor, and I'm not sure I'm the best person at crafting more humorous/lighter adventures. Does anyone have any suggestions for getting material? Or just general suggestions for running these kinds of games?
Much appreciated.