Well, we've sorted out the new group and we start next Sunday. As there are new players and I'm trying to settle into a new dynamic I've decided to start simple - therefore, I'm using the D6 System. I sent out the following details of the game to my players:
'I won't be running a Star Wars game - I've done enough of them! - but I will be using the rules to run a short and simple sci-fi game set in our solar system after social and economical collapse and a system-wide nuclear war. It'll be kind of like Mad Max but with spaceships. Your characters will start on a scarred Earth fifty years after the war ended, you'll have to put together your own ship in an old starshipyard (which means the design and stats of the vessel is completely up to you) and then you'll be tasked with flying out to the other planets to see what is left and what is happening to the old colonies, but mainly you'll be finding resources for what is left of the dwindling settlements on Earth. I'll be using the colony/planet stats from TSRs XXVc game so we'll have a proper framework to work from.'
It should be simple to run and that's what I want - simplicity. Once I'm used to the group and we're all comfortable we can have a conversation about what games we want to play and we can plan accordingly. Maybe then I can run Rogue Trader. If we can attract other players we can then look at hiring rooms and starting the club proper.
It all takes time. Rome wasn't built and so on and so forth.
Your destination for fast, simple TTRPGs - home of Fireteam, Deep Space, Cyber Streets and adventures for the Those Dark Places RPG from Osprey Games
Is there not a worry that they'll get sick of starships and spacemen, so that when you're ready to run Rogue Trader, they'll be ready for something else? Or are they a more hardy bunch?
ReplyDeleteI have the opposite (potential) problem; I'm ready to start running RT, but as a "taster", mainly because we're not sure if anyone will like it, so I've got to put together something compelling that captures the flavour of the setting, but which will also come to a satisfying conclusion after three or so sessions, and can be expanded if we end up playing longer. Crikey.
As far as taster games go, I think Fantasy Flight Games still have a free introductory game on their website called 'Forsaken Bounty'. I'm sending that to my players so they get the gist of the game before we sit down to play.
ReplyDeleteI'm kind of hoping that playing in a sci-fi setting will get them in the mood and they'll want to go on to bigger and better things in that vein. There's plenty of other stuff to play if that doesn't work out - a friend wants to run Pathfinder and I want to play Dragon Warriors again.