Good RPG to run for complete gamer newbies? Please Help.

[Setherick]

You people like CoC way too much.

What do you mean, 'you people'? 

He means the posthumans that inhabit this board. Don't worry. Just fork yourself into another body.

[JuddX]

Dread. If they have ever played Jenga, then they have already mastered 90% of the game.

[Shallazar]

Monsters and Other Childish things has a pretty low barrier and serves as a good intro to ORE.
And Wushu is good for getting people to learn roleplaying as a skill, more descriptive, creative.

My go to is CoC, super simple core mechanic and most people that I rope into roleplaying understand horror tropes and some are fans of HPL. Very few in my circle like super heroes or wizards and fairy bullshit. I might try Cthulhu dark for a more beer and pretzels game though.

But the choice between ORE and D20 for noobs, gosh I'd choose neither and just abstract to Wushu for an intro to the hobby. And then if they're committed explore the other systems.

[malkavianmadman]

Well I have found the FFG 40k games to be rather easy and I personally love the rogue trader character gen chat. But im a 40k Fan boy.

[Kemlin Dragos]

Thanks for all your suggestions! I think I have decided on Call of Cthulhu, I was going to try Wild Talents, but since this will be a one shot, the character creation seemed a little too much.

I've even got the beginnings of an idea for a story. It will be based on the now defunct Heritage USA theme park in Fort Mill, SC. I've been multiple times and is seriously one of the creepiest places on earth, I'm working through all the plot hooks and character relationships now, and I will post more once I have a definitive outline done.

Here's a link to the Wiki page for it:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heritage_USA

[Klivian]

I've used the PDQ system (core behind Ninja Burger) and Spirit of the Century (sans feats which I found a bit too fiddly) to teach RPG noobs.  I used pregens for both and tried to keep the rules explanation as short as possible and then set up the scenario to ease them into more and more advanced rules (aka skill checks before straight up combat).

My general tips:

• Make pregens
• Dumb down the system a bit if necessary.  Keep things simple and streamlined
• Make rules summary handout

[Review Cultist]

You people like CoC way too much.

What do you mean, 'you people'? 

What do YOU mean: you people?

Had to go there XD

[SageNytell]

You people like CoC way too much.

What do you mean, 'you people'? 

What do YOU mean: you people?

Had to go there XD

Thank you, I've been waiting a month and a half for someone to acknowledge that joke. 

Call of Cthulhu, divorced from the overt Lovecraftian themes, is a terrific way to introduce people to the hobby. You're in a horror movie - what do you do? Get the adrenaline pumping, get people involved, they'll dig it. Just roll these two little dice, I've colorcoded them for tens and ones already, roll under this number and you succeed, roll above bad things will happen. Freaky shit happens? People die? You get to go crazy and backstab your buddies to survive or for kicks.
My players have dug it. I ran it for some family who like the Ancient Astronauts theories on the history channel, and ran them through an Indiana Jones-esque Mayan tomb with great success. Aliens and mummies they got, they didn't need to know they let Yig out to have fun.