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etrpgb
2012-04-03, 04:31 AM
I have two friends who want to try playing a pen-n-paper RPG.

They have no experience whatsoever (a part, possibly, few videogames), what kind of rules do you suggest for starting?

I was thinking to Dungeonslayers (http://www.dungeonslayers.com/) or some epic fantasy hack of Don’t Rest Your Head (http://www.evilhat.com/home/dryh/) (I am sure someone already did one...). The idea is: fantasy, simple, interpretation oriented.

What do you think? What do you suggest?
Thanks.

dsmiles
2012-04-03, 04:45 AM
I'll throw in my $0.02 with Dungeon World (http://www.dungeon-world.com/). The .pdf is $5, and if you post your thoughts after playing it (and send a link to the listed e-mail), you can join the Adventurers' Guild (which gives you access to the latest updates for free).

It's an amazingly simple system (2d6+modifier), damage is by class (not by weapon), and the classes are pretty much the iconic classes (cleric, fighter, thief, wizard, bard, paladin, ranger). Each class has its own abilities, and they're all pretty much balanced. (Less so than 4e, but the classes play very differently. Not like 4e, where a striker is a striker, is a striker. Also not like 3.5e where a fighter can't keep up with a wizard.) The Dungeon World Beta 2.0 is up on the Adventurers' Guild page, and there were a lot of changes, all for the better.

PM me if you want to know more.

Ravens_cry
2012-04-03, 04:49 AM
I've heard, heard mind, the Dragon Age tabletop RPG is really good for beginners. This is, unfortunately, only hear say, and i have not played the game myself.

Yora
2012-04-03, 05:39 AM
I've read the rules, but havn't played it yet, and I would agree that Dragon Age is a very good beginners game. Building a character is very easy and you don't have to learn a lot of rules to start paying.
There's a kind of preview version (http://grfiles.game-host.org/dragon_age_rpg/DragonAgeRPGQuickstartGuide.pdf) which explains the basics of the game. There's some more stuff in the actual game, but it doesn't get much more complicated than that.

However, I don't think it's a good game when you are mostly interested in fighting monsters. I think it's a lot better for games where you do a lot of exploration and talking, which is a bit more challenging for Game Masters.
For Diablo-like Dungeon Crawls I wouldn't recommend it.

Totally Guy
2012-04-03, 05:56 AM
Dungeon World and Mouse Guard do it for me with just enough complexity to the game depth.

I'd rate Apocalypse World more highly but it's a bit more controversial with all the swearing and game content.

Ravens_cry
2012-04-03, 06:14 AM
Well, I hear there is a game called Heroica (http://opinionatedgamers.com/2011/06/16/first-impressions-heroica-lego-does-a-dungeon-crawl/), which is basically a Lego based dungeon crawl game, that technically could be considered an RPG.

Hunter Noventa
2012-04-04, 08:11 AM
Well, I hear there is a game called Heroica (http://opinionatedgamers.com/2011/06/16/first-impressions-heroica-lego-does-a-dungeon-crawl/), which is basically a Lego based dungeon crawl game, that technically could be considered an RPG.

I have that game, it's pretty fun and silly, and a good introduction to basic Tabletop RPG mechanics.

It really depends on how much or how little your friend understands really.

onemorelurker
2012-04-04, 11:55 AM
There's a quick, somewhat goofy epic fantasy hack of DRYH in this RPGnet thread (http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?410815-A-DRYH-challenge-thread!/page2), but I don't know if it (or any DRYH derivative) is a good introduction for new players with videogame backgrounds and an interest in epic fantasy.

Part of that is because DRYH is a very RP-heavy system that expects players to be heavily involved in telling the story (where D&D is much more variable on that front: it certainly can be RP-focused and collaborative-storytelling-y, but it doesn't have to be). In my experience, some new players--particularly if they came to pen 'n' paper RPGs from videogames rather than, say, freeform online RPing--get overwhelmed when asked to take a very active role in telling the story.

Additionally, DRYH's central mechanical tension is that characters need to use their powers to overcome challenges, but those powers can harm them. That leads to an inevitable downward spiral, which is great for a horror game but not so good for epic fantasy. If you remove the downward-spiral aspect of the game (which the linked hack attempts for Madness), there's no reason not to just throw as many dice as possible at a problem, which, to me, wrecks a lot of DRYH's mechanical elegance.

prufock
2012-04-04, 12:37 PM
Simplest system I've seen that is granular enough to allow for distinct characters yet flexible enough to adapt to any setting is the old Ghostbusters d6 system. It's rules-light.

Building a character:
There are 4 stats: Muscle (strength), Move (dexterity and movement), Brains (obvious), and Cool (charisma).

You're given 12 points to spread among these, minimum 1, maximum 5.
In each you pick a "specialty" which must be sort of specific. Specialty in strength could be unarmed fighting, for instance.

To do something, the DM tells you which stat to use, and you roll a number of d6 equal to your score in that stat. You get one extra d6 if it's a specialty. DCs run from 5 for an easy task, 10 for an average task, 15 for a difficult task, and 20 for a very difficult task. A DC of 30 is the max - all but unachievable.

BUT WAIT! You get "brownie points." You start with 10 or so, and the DM can award you more as you go. You can spend a brownie point to add a d6 to your roll. You can spend as many as you like at a time.

There are no levels. The only things you gain are brownie points. Equipment is more or less an arbitrary decision by the DM - very special equipment might give you an extra specialty.

And that's it, pretty much. Just adapt to your setting as needed.

Ravens_cry
2012-04-04, 12:54 PM
Heh, I actually own that game. I picked it up at a thrift store.
It seemed like an interesting find, and whoever donated was kind enough to include several adventures and a splat book.
Unfortunately, I have not had a chance to actually play it.

Knaight
2012-04-04, 05:14 PM
There are a few notable free and cheap options.
Free
Warrior, Rogue, and Mage - What Dungeon World wishes it was. The core conceit is that characters are primarily defined by three attributes (Warrior, Rogue, and Mage), which is in and of itself somewhat innovative. The system is then put together well, while remaining light - plus, it has optional rules that can be added in later.

Fate 2 - I'm assuming you're already familiar with it. It handles fantasy well.

Cheap
Savage Worlds - I personally detest this game, but it is quite popular, and is fairly light. It is kind of D&D esque in many ways, and handles fantasy reasonably well - if you like D&D, but want a game that has a lot less crunch, Savage Worlds works.

etrpgb
2012-05-06, 02:44 PM
At the end we will go for Altars and Archetypes:

http://altarsandarchetypes.webs.com/

It is the non narrative rpg game with the greatest ratio fun over complexity I ever seen.