Adventure Game: Fun For Non-OotS Types?

[Cazaril]

So I had been contemplating the possibility of getting the OoTS Deluxe Adventure Game from the Kickstarter drive, when I noticed today that my Friendly Local Game Store has a copy for sale. Since I'm very much in favor of supporting my FLGS, I was thinking about buying it, but I'm not entirely sure yet.

I'm going to be packing off to college in the fall, and what I want to know is; would the Adventure Game still be fun for regular geeky types who have never read the Order of the Stick? I'm sure I'll end up meeting a few people who are fans, but I can't guarantee a ready supply of players well versed in the intricacies of the OoTS universe. Will people still enjoy it if they don't really know who the characters are, as long as they have a basic understanding of fantasy tropes and character archetypes?

Sorry if this ought to have been put in the Adventure Game forum, but it looks pretty dead.

[Belril Duskwalk]

I have been wondering the same thing. The Sticky Shticks inspired me to grab them while they were available but I'm wondering if my friends would find it enjoyable. They're well versed in fantasy gaming of varied schools but I think I'm the only Stick fan in the group. So, do you need to know Elan is a ditzy bard, Belkar is an amoral psychopath and such to have fun with it, or is it awesome even knowing nothing about the Order?

[Shivore]

I recently bought the OOTS board game. I'm the only person I know in RL who likes OOTS, but I've played the game once with my family, and several times with just me and my wife.

Family game: Was me (an RPG nerd and longtime follower of OOTS), my brother (videogame RPG nerd, knows nothing of OOTS), and my Dad (not into RPG games at all). Everyone enjoyed it, everyone laughed.

Gaming with Wife: She knows nothing of gaming, is not a nerd in any way (grew up in a sports oriented family actually) and she LOVES it! She doesn't get all the jokes, but that's mostly comes from not knowing about RPGs (which lets me fill her in on the hobby a bit ) But she still has lots of fun (and has beaten me 2 out of the 3 games we've played...)

tl;dr: Don't worry, anyone can enjoy the game. Even if they don't know a thing about RPGs (though I'd say being a little nerdy and liking RPGs certainly help).

[Cazaril]

Thanks for the input, Shivore.

[PePe QuiCoSE]

people need a basic idea of D&D stereotypes or fantasy type to enjoy the atmosphere the game creates. Just make sure the first game is super short since the fun wears out faster to this type of gamer than otherwise.

[Mighty]

The kickstarter event has really tempted me to try out the game as well! I know my local comicstore got the deluxe version (which is tons cheaper than the drive as it won't have to ship to Denmark) but I am still getting the extra cards from the kickstarter event, just to be sure, in case I get the game.

I'd end up playing it with my brother who's read some OotS and then.. don't know.. my sisters or gf who are all hopeless when it comes to geeky stuff

Is the game still fun when only two players?

[PePe QuiCoSE]

Is the game still fun when only two players?

It's quite unbalanced towards the fighting chars rather the supporting chars. You can get a gig out of it with some house rules, like using teams instead of one char each.
Maybe the shortening brings new stuff that pans this out, I wouldn't know though.

[Wanderlust]

I've found that I've been able to play several games with non-OotS fans, or RPG fans in general. I think the repeat play value might be lower for these folks, but you never know. Keeping the first game short is a great idea, and can be accomplished by starting with more shticks, treasure and reducing the number of floors to 3 (2 regular, plus Xykon's lair). Maybe allow all 4 of the original starting shticks for everyone, or allow the normal three and then draw the top 1 or 2 from the deck after shuffling.

I've also found that the people that tend to not dig the game are those that have really unlucky starts, so giving a little bit of a boost early on is a good way to let people see the fun of the game, rather than the frustration that can occur when you roll poorly and have to retreat multiple times. Another way to support this is to give each player one of their 'character' loots at the start of the game, such as Durkon's wand of cure light or V's scroll that boosts Magic Missile.

Yet another idea is to separate the monster piles when playing with beginners and/or non-RPGer's. This is a variable style of player where rather than giving everyone a hand of monster cards, all monsters are split into stacks of varying difficulty, depending on how many floors you play. For an intro game, many of the really nasty monsters (black dragon, purple worm, lumberhulk, etc) can be left out while the rest are arranged so that the first floor contains mostly kobolds and goblins and other creatures averaging 8 att/def power or less. Second floor kicks it up to the tougher undead and the like, and the bottom floor contains the LG characters and the other monsters you want on your high end. When going this route, deal out 3 Screw This! cards to each player, and rather than refilling their hand when they run out, allow alternate rules such as drawing 1 ST! card from the pile when a character rests, or allowing the expenditure of loot to buy new ST! cards. Durkon's WWTD card (i think that's the one... lets you flip to draw 3 battle cards) would need to be tweaked, maybe just allowing 1 or 2 cards drawn.

You can never really tell though, my wife loves the game while at the same time one of my friends that I've played D&D and several other board games for 3 years now just doesn't enjoy it. I personally enjoy the game very much and wish that it was in the gaming rotation more frequently with my friends!

PS - Got the deluxe version in the KS drive, looking forward to combining Shtick decks to make ultra-powerful play (Roy deck with 6 Greenhilt Swords? V deck with 5-6 lightning bolts and Fireballs? Yes please!). I'll be taking out the rarely used shticks and replacing with multiples of the core combat and buff shticks for a more fast-paced play experience. I'll report back on how it goes!

Edit: typo

[Wanderlust]

It's quite unbalanced towards the fighting chars rather the supporting chars. You can get a gig out of it with some house rules, like using teams instead of one char each.
Maybe the shortening brings new stuff that pans this out, I wouldn't know though.

Agreed, if you are playing 2 players it's usually best to play Roy and Haley. Keep all the other characters as NPC's that either stay on the lowest floor at all times, or pair off so that each player has one or two NPC 'buddies' that stay with them.

[Hamiltonz]

[...]
I'm going to be packing off to college in the fall, and what I want to know is; would the Adventure Game still be fun for regular geeky types who have never read the Order of the Stick?
[...]

I'm one of those rare people that found the game first and then fell in love with the comic afterward, so yeah, here is at least one geeky type that thought the game was fun without any idea there was even a comic.

I suggest two floors and then the first room expored in the lair contains Xykon. Reason: new players don't realize that leaving zombies and goblins unkilled on that last level is a very bad thing. Also, vanilla rules only. It'll take hours just getting everyone to follow the basic rules. No need to complicate things further until everyone is aware how the basics work.

[zero32483]

I'd never heard of OotS when my now ex-fiancee bought the Adventure game. I had, however, already played pen and paper Dungeons and Dragons and found the Adventure Game so enjoyable I had to check out the comic. Thus I became addicted to OotS. I definitely believe people who aren't familiar with OotS can have a blast with this game.

A word of caution, however: If there's a rules Nazi in a group setting up to play, make sure everyone has a clear as possible understanding of the rules before beginning.