Played with my new group for the first time today. Four people, in their mid-20s, one of them had played 5e once. The rest total strangers to rpgs. Good.

Pitched Amber Diceless to them. They didn't bite.
Picthed Lord of the Rings to them, the setting they wanted to play, but diceless. They were not interested.
Finally, I started Risus LotR with them, then dropped the dice mid-session. And lo and behold, the fights got tighter, the tension was palpable, the usual things happening when diceless kicks in.

I stopped the game with a cliffhanger and asked for feedback. One of them said she felt paralyzed because she "didn't feel the setting". To which I thought to myself: But you WANTED it! Hmgrrrrr. But she wants to play again.

Another one had chosen to play some kind of split-personality alchemist or something, and it was obvious he noticed that didn't fit, but he WANTED it so bad. He liked the game, though, and can't wait till next month.

The one I underestimated most played outrageously well. In character, good thinking and tactics. Really good. She was surprised about herself and said she would never have thought she would say the things she said in character. Cool. She wants to play again.

The one who had played 5e for one time said he was positively surprised that roleplaying could be so "fast". Fights over in a few rounds, spell cast with one roll of the dice, in Risus and OSR and FKR games, stuff happens fast, and we all like that. He wants to play again.

All of them were not really convinced Lord of the Rings is the right setting for them. I had known it from the start, but I wanted them to make that experience.

Next time: FKR Unknown Armies or Fiasco.



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Home of the FKR: https://darkwormcolt.wordpress.com

That sounds like a lot of fun! We need more GMs like you!

Thank you! 

Sounds awesome.  Introducing new folks to the hobby is just about always a lot of fun.  Two questions...

1)  I've never been in an RPG session where the game wasn't chosen and the adventure prepared beforehand.  Is there some reason you chose to do it on the fly?

2)  I've read the rules of diceless games but never actually played, so diceless looks like just another resolution mechanic to me.  What is it that makes it exciting and different in actual play?

Quote from: Matausch on September 06, 2022, 09:12:32 PM
Pitched Amber Diceless to them. They didn't bite.
Picthed Lord of the Rings to them, the setting they wanted to play, but diceless. They were not interested.
Finally, I started Risus LotR with them, then dropped the dice mid-session.

They didn't want to do a diceless game so you used a bait-and-switch to get them to play a diceless game. Glad it worked out for you, but IME, this is a terrible idea and I would advise others not to try it.

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They didn't want to do a diceless game so you used a bait-and-switch to get them to play a diceless game. Glad it worked out for you, but IME, this is a terrible idea and I would advise others not to try it.

Nope. I asked them this question: "Guys, I'd like to leave the dice aside for a few minutes so you can feel the difference between diceful and diceless gaming. Are you OK with that?" – and I got a resounding yes.

I know I have not mentioned that before. I hope this is useful for clarification.


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Home of the FKR: https://darkwormcolt.wordpress.com

Quote from: Mishihari on September 07, 2022, 03:26:32 AM
1)  I've never been in an RPG session where the game wasn't chosen and the adventure prepared beforehand.  Is there some reason you chose to do it on the fly?

I like presenting a situation to the players and let them run wild. All I have is map of relationships and a few interesting places and npcs that I can drop into the game whenever it fits. Over the years (I started GMing in 1984), I have come to really dislike modules or preformulated "adventures".

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2)  I've read the rules of diceless games but never actually played, so diceless looks like just another resolution mechanic to me.  What is it that makes it exciting and different in actual play?

This is a purely personal thing, but I think the pace and "immersion" can be much, much deeper in diceless games. Because the rules don't only get out of the way, the dice do so, as well

The only thing that comes close to diceless is FKR.

The advice I took to heart years ago was to GM the setting your players want to play.  Don't force them to play what you like.  You could make them quit if you do. 

I don't mean rules systems, though the rules you use matter a lot.  I mean the story universe.  If they want to roleplay in Star Wars, but you make them play your custom made vampire romance in the 1990's, all I'll say is, "Good luck."

Lord of the Rings is a known setting even normies should know.  But, not all RPGs need to be swordsmen doing questionable spelunking in some yahoo's terrible basement, and steal his property. 

Right. My players wanted to play LotR. Personally, I do not like it. But hey, they are newbies and potential converts, so here we go

(I'm glad that, after the session, they noticed LotR was not their thing, either.)

Sounds like an amazing session. 

I have always admired diceless rpg's but have only played Amber once.