Introducing new players

From: CJ <chris.romer_at_...>
Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2008 02:47:49 -0000


 Hi chaps

I'm constantly struggling to enthuse local players to try HQ. I run Cthulhu, Unknown Armies, Runequest, Pendragon and Ars Magica - and can always count on players for even alengthy campaign.

I try to run HeroQuest, and I struggle.

A brief history. I ran RQ2 a few years back, a very siccessful Pavis campaign, and from that we got some Gloranthan interest going. I realised the kind of stories i wanted to tell were better suited to HQ, so I made the switch and started a campaign with In Wintertop's Shawdow and Wintertop Fair. At times i had issues with the rules, and players being frustrated - but many of those issues were addressed by the alternatives offered in Mythic Russia.

Now i'm keen to try Blood Over Gold, especially as one of the issues i faced was players not wanting to have to read Storm Tribe and Thuder Rebels to get an angle on Sartarite society. My players all play in 3-4 separate games a week, so they have little prep time, or opportunity for background reading.

BoG is an excellent way to get round this.

However we also had one player who actively disliked HQ, and appeared to be trying to sabotage to get back to playing RQ. He certainly was not going to drop out of the group, but L named the game "BlagQuest", and being intensely gamist was the player who just took every possible augment he could, spending ages adding them up and generally trying to break the system.

He is a powergamer - it's what he enjoys, and there is no fun for him in a system you can't powergame, mini-max, or make a character significantly better than anyone elses. Hey, it's a common trait in some gamers, but not one HQ caters well to.

OK, so I have an opportunity to play on a night when this chap does not attend, and BoG is looking like an option. I'm certainly up for it. :) However his "bad press" is such that I feel the need to "sell" the system again, with a brief scenario.

So what kind of scenario works well on introducing new players, without requiring a great knowledge of glorantha, but can showcase the system? Any thoughts on ways to introduce gamers used to other systems?

cj x  

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