Show Posts
1
RPGs / Moving from D20
« on: March 15, 2013, 06:52:57 PM »
Want to move away from D20. It's going to be rough to talk my friends into it. I can already say Eclipse Phase is totally out of the question, too much "new" to learn for a group that never bothers with the fluff. So I'm sticking with the fantasy genre, as it will probably help ease the transition best. I need a system with rules that cover how to do all the things, I need something similar to what they're used to. I don't need narrative systems and like, they barely bother to come up with names for their characters, they're more interested in their stats and how much damage they can put out than anything else. For real, I tried giving them plot and failed hard. When I gave them 10 foot room with an orc guarding a treasure chest they loved it.
So we're keeping it nice and stupid for now. I want to angle them into a position where they pick up some better habits and maybe start thinking of their character as a character and not how they can game the system to maximize dps. They've never played with RP'ers so they don't know what to do. They're computer gamers. Something more open and less confined by class. I think more choice will make them have to think "alright, so what do I WANT to actually play?" If they realize that they need some sort of concept and aren't handed one, maybe they'll come up with an idea and even develop some sort of attachment to their toon.
When I first learned about D&D as a kid I made characters before I knew the rules, I just made stories. And in that first group that worked because they were all creative kids like me. That was a long time ago and I don't know those guys anymore. My current friends are great guys and I love them, they just haven't ever had to think about story before. They play computer games and board games and most of them are engineers (some of you just went "ah yeah I can see that") When I listen to RPPR's actual plays I frequently pause so I can heave a big sigh of longing. Even the player who makes himself into the hooded stranger who sits in the corner with his back to everyone is more than what I've been able to squeeze out of my players. I ENCOURAGE them to try to rip off an anime character they love. Even Naruto if that's what floats their boat. No dice. I'm fighting an uphill battle all alone against an enemy that doesn't seem to know there's a war.
So help me out here. I think the first step is to break them out of D20. And to be honest, they're all sick of that system. They say "I wanna do this but then I can't." So I need something that will let them do the thing and not gimp them in combat, which is what they're really afraid of. Suggestions?
So we're keeping it nice and stupid for now. I want to angle them into a position where they pick up some better habits and maybe start thinking of their character as a character and not how they can game the system to maximize dps. They've never played with RP'ers so they don't know what to do. They're computer gamers. Something more open and less confined by class. I think more choice will make them have to think "alright, so what do I WANT to actually play?" If they realize that they need some sort of concept and aren't handed one, maybe they'll come up with an idea and even develop some sort of attachment to their toon.
When I first learned about D&D as a kid I made characters before I knew the rules, I just made stories. And in that first group that worked because they were all creative kids like me. That was a long time ago and I don't know those guys anymore. My current friends are great guys and I love them, they just haven't ever had to think about story before. They play computer games and board games and most of them are engineers (some of you just went "ah yeah I can see that") When I listen to RPPR's actual plays I frequently pause so I can heave a big sigh of longing. Even the player who makes himself into the hooded stranger who sits in the corner with his back to everyone is more than what I've been able to squeeze out of my players. I ENCOURAGE them to try to rip off an anime character they love. Even Naruto if that's what floats their boat. No dice. I'm fighting an uphill battle all alone against an enemy that doesn't seem to know there's a war.
So help me out here. I think the first step is to break them out of D20. And to be honest, they're all sick of that system. They say "I wanna do this but then I can't." So I need something that will let them do the thing and not gimp them in combat, which is what they're really afraid of. Suggestions?