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Newwby
2014-04-01, 05:06 AM
I've been working on a sci-fi tabletop system for roughly a full year now (on and off) and it's at the point that I've organised a group of testers to playtest it with me at the end of April or during May. My problem however is that I've not actually led a tabletop gaming session before, and I was hoping to draw on the collective knowledge of the playground for the best 'dos' and 'do nots'.

Heres where I'm at/what I've already prepared;
Opening sequence, immediate action (not combat) to force the players to not just sit around
Communal backstory (using predesigned characters for ease of first testing*)
Fleshed out starting settlement plus freely available notes on culture/history
Gaming supplies for everyone in case they don't have them
Free-use sound library for common noise effects that might help immersion

*In part because aspects of the system are still unfinished so it was easier to design characters around the aspects that are finished, and in part because the majority of the players are new to gaming

So what am I missing/what should I definitely consider if I haven't already? The system's closest likeness is probably 3.5 edition DnD or maybe D20 Modern, so whilst I'd appreciate general advice anything tailored to those specific games is probably transferable knowledge.

BWR
2014-04-01, 05:24 AM
What is the point of this game? Is it a playtest of the rules or is it focused on a story. In the former case, just set up all sorts of situations, contrived or not, to test the rules to see if they do what you want them to.

In the latter, not to rain on your parade, it might be a good idea to get some GMing experience with another existing system you know before trying out this new one. Once you are comfortable with how to run a game (mostly learning the ropes about the non-mechanical aspects) you can concentrate more on the details of the mechanics.

Apart from that, this thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?76474-So-You-Wanna-Be-A-DM-A-Potentially-Helpful-Guide-%28Reposted-and-Updated%29)might be helpful.

Newwby
2014-04-01, 05:33 AM
Playtest of the rules predominantly although I'm at the same time trying to get feedback on the setting since it's a large part of the rules anyhow - I'll likely try out story this time (as I said - first time roleplayers/PnP gamers predominantly in the party) and look to setting up a bunch of one shots/situation testing in the future - it wasn't something that crossed my mind before but it's definitely a good idea.

I've been reading DM'ing stuff for years, if not a full decade or more by now, played co-DM before and I've PnP gamed a lot as well as built my own computer games, board games and even (once) a sport. I didn't mean to undersell my ability to organise and imagine, I'm pretty good at that. It's not the effort or ability involved that I'm worried about, it's making obvious mistakes.

Of course you most likely are right - I probably do need experience in other systems - but all my attempts to run a DnD game throughout this year were met by resistance or dropping out players (when attempting online). If this turns out poorly it'll definitely be the first thing I do before taking a second crack at it.

Aedilred
2014-04-01, 09:18 AM
Just do everything the DM does here (http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=612) and you'll be fine.

Really though the best way to learn is just through practice. It's quite difficult to know how to handle some situations until you're faced with them and then you can look back on what you (or your DM) did and how to do it better, etc. I'm not sure how this would work with playtesting, but if you're testing to destruction it doesn't really matter if you make a couple of DMing mistakes - in fact the playtest might be better for having a DM who's not too sure of himself, because the resulting conclusions won't assume the DM is perfect.

Platymus Pus
2014-04-01, 09:51 AM
My advice is to brutally stomp the party into the ground, let them know they are small even in this universe and let them lament.

Aedilred
2014-04-01, 10:25 AM
My advice is to brutally stomp the party into the ground, let them know they are small even in this universe and let them lament.
You sound like my kind of GM!