I've done this someone recently with WFRP 3.  It went over rather well.  The whole group wasn't noobs, but 3 of the 4 players were.  The noobs took to it very well.  They liked the tactile approach of the game and having all the information in front of them.   They felt a familiarity with the components due to their boardgame like qualities.  They didn't get intimidated by the tome effect since it doesn't exist.

I would probably try to give a fair overview of the major RPGs out there and let them pick the one that appealed to them most.

Quote from: Imperator;446523Again IME, this has never been a deterrent.

It seems to me that the best way to get folks interested in playing an RPG again - the best indicator as to whether or not they'll stick with the hobby - is how much fun they have during their first few sessions. Assuming, of course, they have the personality for RPGs and an interest in them to begin with.

When I say Call of Cthulhu is one of the more difficult games to be successful with for the beginning, I basically mean fun. Not successfully solving a mystery or saving the world, but having fun with the process of doing so. It seems to me that with Call of Cthulhu, it's harder to get past all the confusing bits and get to the full-throttle fun part of the session.

I think this is the case because the confusing bits of Call of Cthulhu aren't the mechanics. Those are pretty straightforward (except, perhaps, elements of combat such as who attacks when and Dodging).

As I said above, I'm not sure running a mystery is something a new GM is going to be skilled at. Or being descriptive in the right places. Or play acting out the NPCs parts and dialogue. Or knowing how to give the PCs that little nudge in just the right place to keep them moving or shift them down a better path.

These are, to my mind, the things that make Call of Cthulhu come alive.

And then there are the players. How skilled are they going to be at solving a mystery? I imagine knowing to look for clues and where to look is pretty basic, but what happens when you reach a seeming dead end? And putting the clues together to reach a decent conclusion?

It seems to me that Call of Cthulhu is a game that requires a more deft touch. I don't imagine a bunch of people staring at each other across a table, confused about what to do would be very fun...

A game like D&D, however, offers an easy and straight path. If an NPC says, "Go rescue the princess in the tower!," it doesn't take much in the way of player or GM skill to make that happen.

Seanchai

Assuming the OP means that we'd be running this new group through their first experience and not just handing them a pile of books and telling them to go at it....

I would find out what genre the potential player is interested in first: fantasy, s-f, horror, modern, etc.  From there I would walk them thru creating a character and teach them the ropes as we play.  It's a method that's worked for the majority of new gamers I've brought into my group.

As far as the specific games I've used: B/X D&D, 1e Gamma World, RoleMaster 2e, AD&D, and RPGsite member GrimJesta introduced my fiance to RPGs with Savage Worlds.

Rules weight never really seemed to be a factor (hell, I've heard pre-teens arguing over every last modifier in a Warhammer 40k game with the same passion I used to argue over LOS and hindrance DRMs playing ASL).  It was always more important to run a game the new person would be interested in, and they would pick up how the game works in play.

Quote from: SeanchaiAs I said above, I'm not sure running a mystery is something a new GM is going to be skilled at.

Enough first-timers have managed well enough to have made How to Host a Murder a success among a demographic mainly made up of people who were not "fantasy gamers".

Quote from: Seanchai;446634...
It seems to me that Call of Cthulhu is a game that requires a more deft touch. I don't imagine a bunch of people staring at each other across a table, confused about what to do would be very fun...

A game like D&D, however, offers an easy and straight path. If an NPC says, "Go rescue the princess in the tower!," it doesn't take much in the way of player or GM skill to make that happen.

Seanchai

I have never had that problem.

Most of the folks I hang around with have no interest in fantasy. I do, however, belong to a Horror Club. We meet, watch movies, book club, dress-up as monsters and every now and again I have the opportunity to introduce someone to Call of Cthulhu or another horror rpg. There is no confusion about what to do, we've already a pretty firm grasp of the tropes involved.

Quote from: Seanchai;446634...
As I said above, I'm not sure running a mystery is something a new GM is going to be skilled at. ...

I do not see anything in the OP that says I have to be a new GM. I am definitely not going to let them play without me.

For that matter, 221B Baker Street is a popular mystery-solving board game, and Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective something a bit like the old RPG gamebooks (Fighting Fantasy, Lone Wolf, etc.), with no Game Master at all. The game-mechanical algorithms handle the correlation of clues and case.

Quote from: SeanchaiOr being descriptive in the right places. Or play acting out the NPCs parts and dialogue.

In other words, being a GM for a role-playing game. This is nothing peculiar to CoC.

My goodness, if only we had known how hard it is supposed to be, we kids might have passed up Dungeons & Dragons and Tunnels & Trolls back in the day!

In the event, we -- like the people who invented the games and wrote the handbooks -- were so ignorant of the purported difficulty of the undertaking that we just went ahead and did it anyway. In fact, it just seemed to come naturally, without even much mention in the text.

Quote from: PaladinCA;446285D&D 4e.

From the player's end it is easy to understand, color coded for ease of use, and has point and click PC gen. Hard to beat.

It may not be my favorite version of D&D, but it sure is easy on the n00bs.

"Uncomplicated and dumbed down for me," as my n00b wife put it.

Honestly, I thought this too, and went with it. My fiance, however, disliked it immediately because I ran her through the Essentials Red Box and then started out DMing her, her teen son, and his friend through the intro adventure in the box and now I'm having a hard time convincing her to play anything else because her idea of "roleplaying gaming" is a tactical minis game. I should have went with my instincts and gone with S&W or LL along with a simple starter area like Larm, or even KotB.

Quote from: ggroy;446287Even easier would be the 4E Essentials "Rules Compendium" and "Heroes of the Fallen Lands" (HotFL) books.

HotFL has the classic base classes (fighter, rogue, wizard, cleric) and races (human, elf, dwarf, halfling).

The 4E Essentials fighter and rogue classes are a lot easier to play than their Heinsoo 4E versions.

Sorry for the slightly off-topic question, but I saw a copy of the Compendium for cheap at a local place, and wondered: Can you run a game out of the Rules Compendium, if you own no other 4E products?

In other words, can a guy like me (played plenty of 2E, played the video game Neverwinter Nights and its sequel) pick up that book and do some roleplayin'?

Quote from: Kaz;446659Sorry for the slightly off-topic question, but I saw a copy of the Compendium for cheap at a local place, and wondered: Can you run a game out of the Rules Compendium, if you own no other 4E products?

In other words, can a guy like me (played plenty of 2E, played the video game Neverwinter Nights and its sequel) pick up that book and do some roleplayin'?

The 4E Essential "Rules Compendium" doesn't have the class powers.

At minimum, one would also need the 4E Essentials "Heroes of the Fallen Lands" book or one of the older 4E Players Handbooks, which lists the class powers, weapons, etc ....

Ah. That's too bad.

I was kinda hoping I could make a small investment and have a pocket-esque sized rulebook of the World's Most Popular Roleplaying Game! to whip out when the mood struck.

Quote from: Sigmund;446651Honestly, I thought this too, and went with it. My fiance, however, disliked it immediately because I ran her through the Essentials Red Box and then started out DMing her, her teen son, and his friend through the intro adventure in the box and now I'm having a hard time convincing her to play anything else because her idea of "roleplaying gaming" is a tactical minis game. I should have went with my instincts and gone with S&W or LL along with a simple starter area like Larm, or even KotB.

I'm running KotB with Labyrinth Lord right now. It seems to be going pretty well. It probably would be a good intro game for people that have never played before. PC Gen was certainly simple enough.

Quote from: hanszurcher;446646I do not see anything in the OP that says I have to be a new GM.

You know what? I went back and looked, and you're right. I still don't think Call of Cthulhu is an optimal choice for new players, regardless of GM, but having an experienced GM does definitely do away with some of my concerns.

Seanchai

Quote from: Ian Warner;446362Sucking up to Pundit but Gnomemurdered.

It's a good laugh and it introduces the concept well with the simplest rules in the buisness.

I could see Gnomemurdered being a hit with the young people these days, what with their hipping and their hopping, and juvenile delinquency being what it is and whatnot.

That said, for a total newb, I would go with Rules Cyclopedia D&D; or failing that, "Forward... to Adventure!".

RPGPundit