Beginner's Essentials

Creating game materials? Monsters, spells, classes, adventures? This is the place!
User avatar
Hywaywolf
Posts: 5271
Joined: Fri Mar 13, 2009 11:30 pm
Location: Wilmington, NC

Re: Beginner's Essentials

Post by Hywaywolf »

User avatar
SmootRK
Posts: 4225
Joined: Sun Mar 08, 2009 10:03 am
Location: Nashville, TN

Re: Beginner's Essentials

Post by SmootRK »

Like I said, the idea (adventure or quickstart document) is perhaps better suited for a GM oriented companion to this document, "Game Master's Starter Rules" or "GM Quickstart". In fact, it is probably best to have that sort of separation into 2 distinct documents... players (just starting out) need not be bothered with much of the under-the-hood stuff; they just need to get driving.
Is it really the end, not some crazy dream?
User avatar
Hywaywolf
Posts: 5271
Joined: Fri Mar 13, 2009 11:30 pm
Location: Wilmington, NC

Re: Beginner's Essentials

Post by Hywaywolf »

I started playing D&D in 1980 onboard an aircraft carrier in the Med. There were two (maybe 3 DMs) who ran a game that pretty much ran around the clock. People joined and left as their work schedules allowed. I had no books, but the DM had run off a few pages of docs from his books that he gave to new people. It worked out pretty good. That is why I love the beginner essentials.
User avatar
Solomoriah
Site Admin
Posts: 12394
Joined: Thu Nov 13, 2008 8:15 pm
Location: LaBelle, Missouri
Contact:

Re: Beginner's Essentials

Post by Solomoriah »

I don't think we need a "Quick Start" package. Those are designed to cater to people who want to try before they make a major investment... in other words, it's a money thing. We shouldn't need to worry about "money things."
My personal site: www.gonnerman.org
Sir Bedivere
Posts: 998
Joined: Thu May 27, 2010 10:46 pm

Re: Beginner's Essentials

Post by Sir Bedivere »

Well, it can also be a time thing.

Beginner's Essentials is aimed at getting the players into the game quickly. My view of a quickstart package would be something to get new GMs into the game quickly, that is, to make it as easy & quick as possible for someone who's never played BF and who doesn't have a BF GM nearby to become the local BF GM.

But then, I don't have time to work on it, so if it happens, it will be whatever the lead person on that project makes it.
User avatar
Hywaywolf
Posts: 5271
Joined: Fri Mar 13, 2009 11:30 pm
Location: Wilmington, NC

Re: Beginner's Essentials

Post by Hywaywolf »

There has been some thought given to writing a "how to DM" supplement with a BFRPG lean. I don't dm much so that wouldn't be me.
User avatar
chiisu81
Posts: 4104
Joined: Fri Aug 19, 2011 3:05 pm

Re: Beginner's Essentials

Post by chiisu81 »

I have to agree now that I think about it; it's not like BFRPG is hard to pick up and the darn PDF is free, so why not just go with the core rulebook to begin with? If there's something(s) in there that are too confusing, missing, etc. then now's the time to fix for 3E.
Hywaywolf wrote:There has been some thought given to writing a "how to DM" supplement with a BFRPG lean. I don't dm much so that wouldn't be me.
I really like both the http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/1 ... +sour&it=1 and http://paizo.com/products/btpy8ffn?Path ... tery-Guide, so I'd love to see one for BFRPG. I would certainly volunteer to be a part of writing it, but there'd be so many opinions, etc. I just dunno...
User avatar
Hywaywolf
Posts: 5271
Joined: Fri Mar 13, 2009 11:30 pm
Location: Wilmington, NC

Re: Beginner's Essentials

Post by Hywaywolf »

IMO, any book on how to DM should have multiple opinions. There is not one right way to do it.
User avatar
Joe the Rat
Posts: 1242
Joined: Fri Mar 11, 2011 12:28 am

Re: Beginner's Essentials

Post by Joe the Rat »

Indeed. The balance of pre-planning, long scale plotting, and shooting from the hip will vary between GM preference and the nature of a "campaign" and its players.
Go with a smile!
Sir Bedivere
Posts: 998
Joined: Thu May 27, 2010 10:46 pm

Re: Beginner's Essentials

Post by Sir Bedivere »

A book on how to run a game and a supplement for how to get started as a GM are really two different things. The first should be comprehensive and explore various ways to do things. The second should be quick and give the GM the essential information to get up and running ASAP. At the end should be suggestions for what to read next, but there's no need in it for an in-depth discussion of the various philosophies of GMing.
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Bing [Bot] and 10 guests