While I was at PAX East, I met a lot of fellow nerds out there who either hadn't experienced both sides of tabletop roleplaying (usually GMing), didn't know how to adapt to a new edition of Dungeons & Dragons, or haven't played in any capacity altogether. So, we'll start from the beginning, and I will try to keep this brief, as some arcanists don't have the same attention span for long articles.
Getting Started
My story may not be ideal, but I was thrown into Dungeons & Dragons as the GM in a random week in November of 2013. I was an avid Magic: The Gathering player at the time, but was still pretty reluctant to play Dungeons & Dragons. In my mind, that D&D stigma that we're just seeing lift was pretty real. I had played once or twice in a terrible introduction to the game in a group of ten people in 4th Edition, in a story that didn't make much since with a character I didn't know how to play. Effectively, at the start of my role as Game Master, it would be the first time I really played Dungeons & Dragons. DM Starhelm, who was also in this original game, was technically more equipped than I was, given his long history of his nose buried deep in R.A. Salvatore novels, having an eclectic understanding of the fantasy genre, and being able to argue Lord of the Rings like he went to law school in Minas Tirith. In fact, he read fantasy novels more than he did homework when we were in highschool. But nope! It was me; I was to be GM.
We were using not just 3rd Edition, either, but 3.5. Some of you who have played and DM'ed 3.5 may be wincing at the thought of this poor, new GM running a game of 3.5 for the first time ever. In retrospect, I wince at the thought too. So, I got myself generally acquainted with the rules, looked at character creation, monsters, magic items, and so on. Fortunately my background in Magic gave me a decent leg-up as far as the fantasy setting is concerned. After I had became passingly familiar with the rules, I dove into the story. I came up with a general setting, inspired by 16th century Europe, the characters for the story I wanted to tell, and most importantly the villain. I spent more time than anything on that villain. He's actually, in our most recent iterations of the setting, still an important character and ally these days but generally everyone's favorite companion NPC/DMPC. Creating that villain the way I did, I think saved the game overall (I'll get there). Since then, I rose to be a lot of people's favorite GM, and at least good in the eyes of others.
Key to Success
What was my secret? Well, if I can be frank, I didn't have a damn clue what I was doing, and that worked! It was because I went in willing to accept things rather than to reject them that I created a game people wanted to play. Don't get me wrong, saying "No", as a GM is important. In my first session, I butchered the concept of AC and Reflex saving throws, but it made for an awesome encounter because I at least got the scene right. DM Starhelm's half-elf rogue got into a very Jason Bourne fast paced scrap in an alleyway with a baddie, and it turned out great. It doesn't hurt if you have a group of new players, to tell them to pick up dice, establish some quick rules, and then referee. At least not at first. It is pretty proportional to experience level (player, not character). Together, the GM and players will learn the game they are trying to play. This is indicative of a different facet that wasn't attributed to me. I may have had some natural understanding based on my acting/improv background but that wasn't it. New groups, players, GMs are best suited to simpler systems. Systems that generally avoid heavy math and complex rules are best. For this I have two major recommendations: D&D 5th Edition, or Dungeon World. Some GMs say that 4th Edition is easy to run and I would agree, but I will save that argument for another time.
For those of you that don't know Dungeon World, it is a Powered by the Apocalypse system, which long story short, uses 2d6 for standard roles in place of a d20. Checks are made with three degrees of success: Failure, Partial success/ success with a compromise, and total success, all augmented by ability scores that work similar to the d20 system. This system takes the narrative or fiction of the game and makes it the driving mechanic. In fact, I have run the same 5 minute demo for people that Starhelm ran for me, and it has gotten the point across every time. Most people who have tried the Starhelm Trial, as I like to call it, usually feel much more confident about trying tabletop gaming. The secret behind this is it boils down to abstraction, which I will also get to in a later article. Essentially, abstraction is the process in which the dice roll, and the action it represents feel farther apart. Example:
Faranir, Vagabond Prince of the Wood Elves, is in a sparring match against Dagna, Dwarven Champion of Morgrath. Dagna uses a huge shield making Faranir's thrown weapons much less effective. So Faranir, being the scoundrel he is, gets an idea. He charges Dagna and full on flying drop kicks Dagna, using that shield's mass against the dwarf to knock him over. Well, as a GM how do we resolve this, is it an attack? Is it an ability check? Do we roll one roll for each leg that hits, considering what the terrain is and the weight difference between these two fighters? Is it a trip? A bull rush? Does it do damage? Are Dagna's parents proud? Why doesn't Faranir just throw Falcon at Dagna instead? Let me stop you right there. We'll resolve this in Dungeon World first:
Faranir rolls 2d6 adding his strength modifier, and he rolls a 10. Success, Dagna falls back. Faranir also hits the ground, and immediately kips up to make a follow up attack. Done.
And in 5e:
Faranir rolls a Strength (Athletics) check contested by Dagna's Strength (Athletics). As he hits the ground, he uses his Athletics feat to use 5 feet of movement and stand up, and he gets ready for another attack.
Simple. That is what makes an amazing first game. Simple rolls, simple decisions. If you keep your game simple as you start, you can slowly build momentum into more complexity. Tomorrow we'll talk more about choosing a system, and I promise it won't be what it seems. So with this simple answer think it over, and tell me what you make of it. As the week progresses, I'll start to give my two cents about how complexity can work in.
For now, enjoy this magic item:
Orb of Confounding Simplicity
Uncommon
This silver, metallic orb weighs no more than a pound hovers gently 5 feet above the surface below it as long as it is at rest and not held by a creature or put into a container. In all other respects it acts as a normal ball of its size and material.
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