OK it might look like this belongs on /tg/ but I need an outside view. I'm running a game for a group who've never played a table top rpg before. I need to know what the average person expects out of this sort of game both good and bad.
>>17011942
i recommend adding an element of horror. id also recommend keeping them in check with the 'you can do anything' cuz you will get assholes constantly going 'OH IM GONNA WHIP MY DICK OUT AND START PISSING TROLOLOLOL' or a chick going 'IM TAKING OFF MY BRA'
little jokes are going to happen but you can limit it simply by describing the situation, then looking to them and saying 'what do you wish to do' as opposed to just opening with 'you can literally do whatever you want and i have to interact with that'.
they will ask questions like 'can i do this?' just say 'of course'. trust me, you'd rather have quesitons then assholes ruining the flow.
back to the horror, turn off the lights. light a candle. red something creepy to start it off. adjust lights when playing, but turn them off / down anytime something spooky happens. demand silence during these cut scenes.
one REALLY cool thing we did to make the game more fun was we had a constellation projecter. specifically this one:
https://youtu.be/YwfdAsdqnJs?t=241
video starts at 4 minutes in. what we did was we introduced the characters to a tribe. and offered them drugs (we put pop rocks iin a bowl). each character takes the pop rocks/drugs, then sits down in the living room and looks up at the constellation. one at a time we call them over and they do a dice roll. if they score low, they just high. the higher they roll the clearer a vision they get. the visions are related to the story, and can help them solve puzzles later, or give hints / foreshadowing of the characters plot. they can do more drugs and re-roll the dice, but they risk ODing so if they roll too low they go in a coma and the gang has to find a potion to get em out before the game can continue.
another thing you can do is cohesively write a plot around their characters. have them design their characters at least one week in advance, then write your story around them.
>>17011966
for instance, my first campaign was called 'The Ritual of Abraham'. they were exploring a dungeon that was used by a cult to try and bring about a demon that will 'eat god'. how was this done? well it bastardizes the time that Abraham tried to kill his son Isaac because god demanded it. so i wrote in the characters to each unwittingly play a role by in it so that the lead female was pregnant, and it turns out the main male was the one who got her pregnant, but they didnt know it cuz they woke up wtihout memories and were trying to find their way out. then their child was killed in a forced abortion type way and the monster came out, and as they killed it it begged for its 'mother'. but each character was wrapped in here and i cant remember the specifics, but i had made them have sorta 'arcs' that they were in control of based on how they'd react (multiple endings planned).
also, puzzles. puzzles are fun. you can make them inconsequential if you want, but they help. take them from wherever you can. google 'puzzles for rpg games' to see what you find.
i stole one from yu gi oh. basically there was a guillotine with 4 hand slots, and the door wont open til they stick their hands in. then a timer starts. on the other side of the hole are 4 buttons. but no one knows which buttons the right one.
the engraving on the guiltine says "bllood'
and each hand slot has a different number above it in the following order:
10, 11, 00, 01
the correct button to press is 11. if you look closely 10 is b, 11 is LL, 00 is oo, and 01 is 01. spelling blood. but blood only has one L, so the 11 is the wrong number, and the one to press.
they guessed it right, but only by sheer chance.
>>17011942
It pretty much looks like gay RP for faggots who like playing Magic the Gathering if you want a truely outside perspective.
I was invited once, and I had trouble keeping a straight face the entire time.
But some people play it, so I guess there might be a minority group of turbo nerds who would genuinely enjoy it.
when are you running this game?
>>17012009
June so I've got ages to plan
Hey OP, fellow /tg/ here. I work with a lot of normies and the biggest difference between us and them is this:
They have absolutely no concept of fantasy outside of Lord of the Rings (perhaps now The Hobbit) and Harry Potter, which they often confuse for the same thing. They don't understand separate settings or franchises per se, it is all just "Harry Potter type stuff."
They do absolutely nothing imaginative in their lives, do not engage in fiction and anything remotely out of the ordinary is "nerd shit."
My suggestion would be to start small - try to present a modernized perspective on a medieval world, basically layman views of knights, kings, castles, wizards, etc. and trickle in more interesting elements as they adjust.
>>17012077
Nay, children have an overactive imagination, and man children continue to use their imaginary to escape their shitty lives.
Normies don't need to do this, because they're mature adults who focus on leadning productive lives.
My advice to OP: make sure he isn't a normie.
>>17012111
are you projecting?
>>17012111
>you cant lead a productive life if you play a board game once or twice a month
>>17012125
No. I don't into fantasy tier entertainment.
>>17012138
Not saying one causes the other.
Try again.
>>17012147
>not saying one causes the other
>just establishing a direct correlation cuz im obviously better than all you
I DM'd a group of folks in college who were the same way and it turned out fantastic. You have to put a little extra effort into establishing the setting and railroad a lot at first until they become comfortable.
In the group I had none had played D&D before and were only distantly aware of fantasy settings and roleplaying in general, but after two or so sessions they were super into it. One guy was a computer science dude, I barely saw him speak more than a few sentences previously and he got really into his character and talked up a storm during sessions. One of the other guys ended up putting on cursed gloves but he played the negative effects off so well that it became central to his character. People you wouldn't expect to be creative can really do well as long as you, as the DM, understand their personalities and craft a scenario they can thrive in.
>>17012159
They're correlated, yet one does not directly cause the other.
>post frogs
Threat level: ᵐᶦᶰᶦᵐᵃᶫ
