How to Play RolePlaying Games.

[LansXero]

Hi there!

This isnt actually a thread to ask how to, but how to teach people. Im currently trying to get a group dedicated to promoting and teaching roleplaying games (mainly D&D as it is what I know the most) and we would like to make some sort of tutorial for it. Ive seen a few online and... well, they are frankly useless. (those on my local language at least). They either show you a stereotypical group (which isnt really something appealing, with owerweight people in cheetos-stained shirts, neckbeards and costumes :S) or have obvious shills overflowing with paid fake excitement. They go on and on about imagination and fantasy tropes and gygax did this and tolkien did that... and at the end of the video you still dont know how the frack to play the damn game.

Ive been told I have too narrow a view of things. So I thought Id ask the playground: how would YOU go about making a "How to Play Roleplaying Games" video? What would you include? Would you use a narrator, archive footage, slideshow? Would you delve in the history of RPs or get down to business with how many dice to roll for what? Please, all input is welcome, specially if you can state your angle (as in, if you recently became familiar with RPGs, or if youve been playing for years, etc.)

[Incanus Kindler]

I've never taught anyone myself, but I the only thing I have to say is that I don't think you should ever start with the rules. Start with the idea of roleplay, and slowly get them used to the idea of the mechanics.

Fear the Boot made a several part episode all about teaching people about roleplaying games. It might be useful to check out.

[smashbro]

If you're making a video, I would show a game being played, at least part, but preferably the whole thing. You could have a narrator interrupt what is going on, and tell why people are doing what they are.

The best way to learn is by doing, so the best way would be to have people play with an experiences DM and an experiences player.


Definitely don't go into the history of rpg's (good to know, but not what i want to sit through if i want to learn to play) and I wouldn't get into too many specifics about die rolling right away.


And pretty much everything Kindler said.

[Ravens_cry]

Well, if you've convinced them to play, start small, but iconic and visceral, and work your way up.
I know some people disagree with this, but I think pre-genned characters are a great way to introduce newbies to a game. I know from personal experience that, as fun as it was, making a new character is not fun when you are just starting out. You have little clue what all these numbers and rules mean, you really have no idea what's good or bad, what works what doesn't.
Then, once you've set the tone and milieu, ask them what they want to do, and explain, step by step, keeping jargon and lingo to a minimum, and explaining what is said, how to do that.
Be patient, be kind, make things exciting and fun.
Let them taste victory.

[LansXero]

Thats great advice Raven, except its not about teaching new people how to play, its about making a tutorial for people to become interested in tabletop RPGs and perhaps ask us (the group) for asistance to start their own tables, or do it themselves. A new hobby shop has just opened and through random chance Ive befriended the owner, and RPGs is one thing he wants to make active in the community, and he tasked me with gathering people and DMing and setting up groups. But there is only one me, and its bound to be a shortlived effort anyways unless people at home can find an easy way to start things with their own groups of friends.

Thats why the video idea was suggested: We could show it at the store, make perhaps small bundles of starter stuff for a couple of systems, post it on facebook, etc. and get people interested or maybe make it good enough that after watching it people can begin their own groups. So how would you guys go about that? :D

[Ravens_cry]

You seem not seeking so much a tutorial as an advertisement for tabletop role playing games.
Well, I would emphasize the things that make them distinct, like the diversity of options, the endless possibilities. That really is the appeal to me personally.

[LansXero]

You seem not seeking so much a tutorial as an advertisement for tabletop role playing games.
Well, I would emphasize the things that make them distinct, like the diversity of options, the endless possibilities. That really is the appeal to me personally.

Advertisement would be easy. But thats not the point, the point is for people to take these videos or materials and start their own groups at home. They can call-in for tips or ask questions on our group's facebook, but it should be mostly just a self-proliferating thing. Or thats the idea at least.

[Fatebreaker]

Thats great advice Raven, except its not about teaching new people how to play, its about making a tutorial for people to become interested in tabletop RPGs and perhaps ask us (the group) for asistance to start their own tables, or do it themselves. A new hobby shop has just opened and through random chance Ive befriended the owner, and RPGs is one thing he wants to make active in the community, and he tasked me with gathering people and DMing and setting up groups. But there is only one me, and its bound to be a shortlived effort anyways unless people at home can find an easy way to start things with their own groups of friends.

I used to run a hobby center in a mall. Introducing people to gaming and getting them invested in the hobby ("invested" meaning both from a mental and financial viewpoint) was what we were all about.

Here's the secret to having an active RPG community:

Have an active RPG community.

Seriously. That's it. Activity begets more activity.

Get people who already play, and have them play in the store. If your store has an area for people to play, awesome. If not, get one. Have sodas and snacks on hand. Host weekly game-nights. Post newsletters of in-game activities, and fliers detailing out-of-game activities. Make it easy for new players to see or figure out how they can see people actually doing the thing they're interested in.

Better yet, run demo nights. Pre-generated characters, simple (but fun) scenarios, and very little jargon. The more your potential players can do, and the less they get bogged down in minutia, the better.

Learn about Timmy, Johnny, & Spike. Learn more about Timmy, Johnny, & Spike. Even though they were originally designed for Magic: The Gathering, and you're working with RPGs, the T/J/S profiles are intended to describe why people play and what they want to do in order to have fun. That is valuable information regardless of what game you're talking about. Learning to identify what people are looking for is crucial. In short, Timmy's want to do COOL STUFF!, Johnny wants do clever stuff, and Spike wants to do efficient stuff. There's more to it than that, but that's a start. Heck, even if you don't use T/J/S, use some sort of system that quickly and easily lets you decide what elements of the game to play up for which players. The important part is not to highlight what you like, but to highlight what they like. It seems simple, but I've had to train a fair number of employees who needed to learn that simple concept. Practice it on your friends. And it'll help your DMing skills, too, since you'll have a better idea of what bits will appeal to what players. I can personally vouch, as an employer, a trainer, a DM, and a guy looking to hook people on our very awesome hobby, that the more you know about why people play and how to deliver on that, the better your games will be.

That leads to another important bit to remember: our hobby is actually made up a lot of smaller hobbies. YOUR hobby is not THE hobby. People will play THEIR hobby. Learn what they want their hobby to be, and guide them to it. Some people want to tell stories. Some people want to crunch numbers. Some people want to paint models. Some people want to command armies. Some people want to do off-the-wall things. Some people want to do something you never even thought anyone in this hobby did.

Now, you asked about videos and stuff. If you're doing the above, film some of that. Look in the "What is a Roleplaying Game?" section of rulebooks. They tend to provide examples of play. Roleplay out those sections, or use them to write your own script. The important part is to show people having fun, and in a clear, open fashion. Include elements that different folks can latch on to. Show someone doing something Very Cool. Show someone doing something clever. Show someone doing something very efficient. Show people roleplaying and show people rollplaying. If a potential player can identify with someone in the video, they're more likely to invest time and money into the hobby. Make the video show things that inspire the imagination without being incomprehensible.

Heck, if you're careful about how you do it, you could even take stock footage from a movie (Conan, Lord of the Rings, whatever), and intersperse it with people roleplaying. Have your actors describe what they want their characters to do, then show the movie footage of those characters doing that. DM of the Rings is a webcomic showing exactly that (although with significant alterations to character; Legolas, for example, is a hyper gamer who gets bored outside of combat). But it's a fun read, and it's a great example of juxtaposing roleplaying with visuals.

I'm not sure how you're going to handle the call-in bits. I'd encourage people to play in the store, if you can swing it, where they can receive help from employees or volunteers. The gaming-night and demo-night thing is a big help in that area. You'll also get gamers interacting with gamers they don't know, which is a great way for them to broaden their horizons. And a major obstacle to roleplaying is the whole "group" vibe. Just getting one in the first place can be a struggle. A lot of people in bad groups either don't realize how bad the group is, or don't feel they have a choice. A lot of bad players don't realize how their behavior is affecting people. A larger community helps people learn, or avoid those who won't. If you can't host games at the store, then you should look into ways of creating a virtual community, or alternate hosting locations.

Depending on how far down the rabbit hole you want to go, you could create a video for "What is a Roleplaying Game?" and others for more specific subjects. Things like, "Getting in Character," "Matching Mechanics to Story," and other subjects. The more information you're looking to put out there, the more I'd recommend breaking it up into short, easily defined videos. Telling someone, "Go home and watch this two-hour instruction" is a great way to tell them to find another hobby.

In summation:

- Host game nights in store so new players can learn.

- Encourage regular players to interact with new players to build a community.

- Maintain a virtual community in addition to your "real" community.

- Learn why people play and how to best meet that need.

- Learn the many aspects of the hobby and how to best showcase those.

- Make sure any promotional/instructional materials are short, clear, and showcase multiple aspects of the hobby.

- If you make a video, consider having players roleplay out scenes from a movie, interspersing roleplaying and movie clips to show how "I roll a 17" translates to a character succeeding at a task.

I wish you the best of luck, and I'm happy to offer more advice is you want it.

[Kol Korran]

hhhmmmm... i agree wit hsome others that a tutorial probably isn't the way to go i think, esxcept for giving the GENERAL feel of a roleplay (having a game master, a group working towards the same goal and so on). at the end of the day, many roleplay games are quite complex, at least the more well established ones, and there is no One & Right Way to play them anyway.

creating a detailed tutorial will focus people on YOUR way of playing the game. which might quickly alienate those it doesn't fit.

if you want more active players, i do think that a great advertisement is the way to go, and in this day of computer games, it should appeal more to the social and openended aspects of the games.

people come to play in 2 ways:
1) they get excited and read roleplay books
2) they join some party (often triggered by the guys in the first group) and learn to play.

all in all, roleplay games have pretty decent explanations on what is their type of RPG and how they are played. you just need to have people to try them.

i'd focus on running example games (short 3-4 hours all inclusive sessions) in the game shop and perhaps schools and so on. nothing hooks a player better than a good experience. nothing.

might not be what you've asked for LansXero, but there it is.
Kol.

[NikitaDarkstar]

I honestly don't think what you want to do can be done with a video. Yes you could make a video explaining the basics of an RPG, not a problem. But a video to get people interested? Showing them playing the game? Unless the people watching can see whats going on in the groups head it's gonna be pretty darn boring and possibly hurt more than it would help.

But I'd listen to Fatebreaker, he seems to know what he's talking about. o.o

[Jay R]

If you want your brother to learn to swim, you put him in a pool.

If you want your sister to learn to play baseball, you put a baseball glove on her hand and take her to a field.

If you want to teach people to play a role-playing game, put beginner character sheets in front of them and start a game.

Make it a simple game. A combat that they can win, a couple of encounters that their skills will conquer, and a little role-playing.

Note - designing a character is an advanced skill. Don't make them do it before they play. Reading a character sheet can be hard. A beginner's sheet should have their abilities front and center. A new player doesn't care what her strength score is; she wants to know that she can hit an unarmored person with an 8 or more on the die.

[nedz]

This is not a spectator sport, the only way to know what it is about is to try it. It is probably not for everyone, but then what is ?

So one approach would be to arrange a sample game, a one off, with pre-gens and see how they take to it. You ought to make it rules light, or at least simplify the options, or you will sow confusion.

[UserClone]

Are you talking 3.5, 4th, OSR, 2E Revised? D&D is different across different editions, and teaching it is different too.

[nedz]

Are you talking 3.5, 4th, OSR, 2E Revised? D&D is different across different editions, and teaching it is different too.

I don't think that the OP was talking about any particular system.

[UserClone]

roleplaying games (mainly D&D as it is what I know the most)

...the impression I got was that s/he mainly wanted to be able to teach D&D...

[TheOOB]

Honestly I don't like to introduce people to RPG's via D&D unless they are big into war games. D&D has a lot of rules and mechanics which alone can be very daunting and difficult to learn(A lot of new players are unwilling to read a 300 page book to learn how to play a game, and you need to read that book). Learning how to role play on top of learning the rules can be tough.

I think something rules light is a much better way to teach role playing. Personally I think Paranoia works great for that. The players don't need to read or know much(in fact showing knowledge of the game rules is treason), it's fun and irreverent, and never too serious, and it's easy to get into, and get out of. As long as you make them understand that in most games your fellow players are allies and that Paranoia is different, they should be fine.

[LansXero]

...the impression I got was that s/he mainly wanted to be able to teach D&D...

Im mainly able to teach D&D 3.5 / PF, as thats what I know the most about, but others are more familiar with other systems. BTW, there are a lot of excellent ideas here.

The thing is, the store that is supporting this is located in a mall with a ton of anime shops, with people coming in for YuGiOh and Magic tournaments. And lots of LANCenters full of MMORPG / DotA players. So its full of potential gamers, familiar with fantasy tropes, and who already half-live in fantasy worlds anyways. Would this change the aproach in any way?

[Moofaa]

If you are wanting to make something that teaches what role-playing is, the basics of rules, character creation, and examples of play, I would suggest checking out the podcast Critical Hit. You might find their earlier episodes especially helpful for ideas on how to format your tutorial videos even though theirs is audio-only.

If your really serious about putting together some video's, I'd also take a cue on editing and production value from them. Don't just stick a recorder in the middle of a table and hit the red button to record you and your friends playing for 4 hours. Nobody wants to hear Joey Ray munching on potato chips, Bobby Joe tapping his pencil for 20 minutes straight, you guys spending 30 minutes deciding what topping you want on your pizza, or your grandma yelling at the cat in the background.

(Basically, choose a clean, distraction-free place to make the video, eat and other stuff before recording, have a nice visual and audio recording setup, and make your players wear clean shirts, turn off their cellphones/laptops and keep the nerd-jokes and references to Star Wars movies to a minimum)

The rest of what to do in such videos is pretty easy. Explain what role-playing is, use the usual comparisons to acting but with rules, talk a bit about what a campaign world is, what defines the role of a GM vs a player, and only then start talking about different systems and styles of gaming.

Then you can delve into tools (dice, books, mini's, etc.) and choose a specific easy-to-learn system (I'd really suggest 4E here although certainly there are other viable systems).

You can leave more advanced stuff to a string of follow-up videos, like advice on how to be a good GM, handle conflicts with/between players, world-building, and specific game systems.

[UserClone]

If you really want to go D&D, I'd suggest the Pathfinder Beginner Box. It's really dead-simple as those RPGs go, and the character sheets are really slick, in that the sections are numbered, and in the (WIDE) margins, the numbers have concise explanations for what those parts of the sheet mean. Furthermore, the starting adventure is set up in such a way as to teach a new concept with each room/encounter. Doesn't get much less burdensome for the teacher, as far as D&D games.