We all have our guilty pleasures: those things that we know our friends will tease us about but can’t help loving. For me, it’s being a Gleek. For those who haven’t heard about the show that forced the American Idol juggernaut to bow out of its time slot, Glee is a show about a group of plucky high school students trying to win a national singing competition as well as the respect of their peers. Think of it as every show released on The Disney Channel with some adult themes thrown in (this is broadcast on Fox after all). While I’ll be the first to admit the show can be a bit trashy, predictable, and really lame at times, it pulls me back week after week. In an attempt to bottle the siren call and unleash it on my players, I’ve distilled out three lessons we can all learn from Glee.
As something of a collector of RPGs, I’ve long since run out of time to play everything I want to play. To compound this problem, I read a lot, and each book I read gives me ideas for new games that would be fun. The result: constant disappointment. My solution is to start running a [...]
When I set out to build a campaign, I work in large story arcs first. I try to get a vague sense of what I want to happen, where it will begin and end, what tone and themes I’m going to explore, and throw in anything I think would be cool. What I don’t do is structure the whole thing.
The level of preparation for any given session varies. Sometimes you show up late, or forget your character sheet. Sometimes the adventure isn’t fleshed out. Maybe you haven’t considered what to do about food. These things happen, and to a certain extent are expected. But not today.
When you’re introducing a new player, you want it to look like everyone is on the ball. You want the game to run smoothly. It may be a lie, but you want the newcomer to think that all sessions are as awesome as this one. Let them find out the horrible truth once they’re already addicted. As such, whether as a player or as the Gamemaster, make sure you are prepared.
Bringing in a new player to an established group can be a big challenge, especially if the new player has never played an RPG before, but even if not. The truth is, roleplaying is very intimidating. Even as an experienced player, joining a new group or learning a new game can be a source of fear. I recently joined a game of Legend of the Five Rings, and found myself overwhelmed by the depth of an unfamiliar setting and the nuances of a new rule system.