My chosen method of teaching newbies is the "make it as you go" method.
I usually hand out a blank piece of paper and say, "This is your starting
character sheet."
The stunned expressions are one of the most pleasant parts of the experience.
"You are all playing barbarians, all from the same clan. What kind of a
character do you want to play?"
They will ask what that means, and I explain, "You can be warriors,
farmers, merchants, and so on. No chiefs or priests for now. If you don't
know, it's ok for now."
Explain key words: "If you are a warrior, everything that a warrior does
is at 17."
Whenever people decide anything, I tell them to write it down.
"Do you hae any idea what *kind* of person you are? Like really brave, or
really family-oriented, or a bit cracked? Write that down."
And, "Oh yea, what gender are you? Most people follow traditional roles,
but you don't have to if you don't want. If you know, write it down. You
willhave to decide this stuff at some time."
And then, "By the way, here is the game system," and then explain the
simple resolution. Sometimes advanced reloluion doesn't come up for two or
three sessions.
And then go on in that vein. Start a story, something simple that allows
them to figure out their character concept *as they play.*
At some point, when a die roll is needed, explain that their stats are all
at 17 except they will be able to decide some specialties at higher
levels, and then explain what a mastery is.
Don't snow them under with information. Let them ask what they want to
know, and then also inform whenever something important comes up: "Oh,
well, everyone knows that hospitality is critical. Your guy knows no one
would ever do that normally, but you can kill him in his sleep if you
want. Just know that *everyone you know* will mistrust your guy from now
on."
People will ask what they want to know, other players will follow suit,
and at some point you can hand out the "What Dad said," and the other
information.
Go easy, emphasize the freedom and story-telling. Introduce concepts as
tye come up: "Oh, by the way, you can augment you know. For insance, you
said your guys is big and strong right? You can use that if you want to
augment your combat with a +2."
And so on.
I have used this at many conventions with great success. I think there are
some folks on this list who learned HQ this way. Maybe they can report on
their experience of this method.
Issaries, Inc., publisher of HeroQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha. 2140 Shattuck Ave., pmb #2030, Berkeley, CA 94704 See our site at <www.HeroQuest-rpg.com>.
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