DavidLawson
01-16-2007, 09:59 AM
Hey folks.
First off I'll be sure I cover the points set out in Luke's sticky up at the top.
I'm trying to run a BWR game based in a Norse setting. The game's called Clan Bok's Folly, and there's the beginning of a wiki for it ( I seem to have become addicted to the Wiki over the last week or so ). The Game has 4 players, in addition to myself. We are all newcomers to the system after a fashion. Our most experienced player, Sanjeev (Sanjwise on the forums) has played in one game, and run one game. I myself have just played in one game, and the three other members of the circle are entirely fresh, in terms of BW.
I've roleplayed with each of these players in different settings, and they are all experienced roleplayers. They're all friends of mine outside of the game, but I am really the common element in this troupe. After my experience in Sanjeev's Burning Shackles, I am placing a huge emphasis on character burning. So far I've sat down, one on one, with two of the players for periods of 5 or 6 hours each, really hammering into them the concept of beliefs and how they really are the center of your character's being. The results thus far have impressed me, as the two I've done this with had never played BW before.
Here come the problems. One such problems is that the general setting and plot (in very hazy terms) are those I laid down without discussing it with the players. I was working through the ancestral history of a character I have just started playing in another game, and came upon a pivotal crossroads in the clan's history, and decided that it would make a great game. So here I am. One of the players, Nick, a good friend for well over 20 years now (we played novice hockey together!), is a bit of a throwback in terms of roleplaying. When we were younger, we played AD&D. Very tactical, very hack&slash. Very braindead sit back and let the GM spoonfeed you. All of the other members of our group went on to play other, more 'mature' ROLEplaying games, as opposed to ROLLplaying games. Nick, however put down P&P gaming at the age of 16 years, and has hardly tasted anything outside of the AD&D realm of flavours. I am confident of my other players (JF, and James) to make the transition to BW seemlessly. They have played many systems and 'get' what roleplaying is.
So, to get to my real concern, I am worried about Nick's ability to step into a more demanding game such as BW. He'll be expected to do far more than he ever was in AD&D, and killing the monster by rolling a good number is no longer the point of play. I am trying to come up with cool and interesting ways to help him make the transition and start off on the right foot with BW. He is stubborn in a sense. If he decides he doesn't like the game, very little will shake the foundation of that preconception. I need to make sure that he sees the good side of the game before he sees something he doesn't like.
The greatest tool, from my limited knowledge of the game, to really get someone involved in the story, is their character's beliefs. We spent some hours last night working on beliefs, but we were inputing them directly into the wiki (I'm totally addicted to the wiki!), and the wiki puked when we tried to save the changes. We lost some of the flowery words, but the concepts were firmly lodged into our brains. Here is what we came up with:
1) Traditions are in place for a reason, and the reason is lost on our clan. I will erect a monument in the honour of our ancestors. This monument will tell the tale of Clan Bok. Disrespect unto our elders is unseemly and running rampant of late. The next fool to make a mockery of an elder will find himself strung up before the clan.
2) Every father's wish is for his sons to surpass him. I will see my son accepted as a thegn before I die. The first step in learning to be a thegn is to learn how to hold a sword. I must find both sword and trainer for my son Saku.
3) Odin has cursed me with the second sight. I must learn to control it before I am driven mad, and out of the clan. I must seek out a spirit-talker willing to teach me of this, but none of Clan Bok may learn of my plight.
So, can anybody come up with concepts and ideas they have perhaps used themselves to gently introduce a rough-around-the-edges rollplayer to BW? Perhaps it is in further refining the beliefs, perhaps it is something solely within the domain of the storyteller. Any suggestions?
First off I'll be sure I cover the points set out in Luke's sticky up at the top.
I'm trying to run a BWR game based in a Norse setting. The game's called Clan Bok's Folly, and there's the beginning of a wiki for it ( I seem to have become addicted to the Wiki over the last week or so ). The Game has 4 players, in addition to myself. We are all newcomers to the system after a fashion. Our most experienced player, Sanjeev (Sanjwise on the forums) has played in one game, and run one game. I myself have just played in one game, and the three other members of the circle are entirely fresh, in terms of BW.
I've roleplayed with each of these players in different settings, and they are all experienced roleplayers. They're all friends of mine outside of the game, but I am really the common element in this troupe. After my experience in Sanjeev's Burning Shackles, I am placing a huge emphasis on character burning. So far I've sat down, one on one, with two of the players for periods of 5 or 6 hours each, really hammering into them the concept of beliefs and how they really are the center of your character's being. The results thus far have impressed me, as the two I've done this with had never played BW before.
Here come the problems. One such problems is that the general setting and plot (in very hazy terms) are those I laid down without discussing it with the players. I was working through the ancestral history of a character I have just started playing in another game, and came upon a pivotal crossroads in the clan's history, and decided that it would make a great game. So here I am. One of the players, Nick, a good friend for well over 20 years now (we played novice hockey together!), is a bit of a throwback in terms of roleplaying. When we were younger, we played AD&D. Very tactical, very hack&slash. Very braindead sit back and let the GM spoonfeed you. All of the other members of our group went on to play other, more 'mature' ROLEplaying games, as opposed to ROLLplaying games. Nick, however put down P&P gaming at the age of 16 years, and has hardly tasted anything outside of the AD&D realm of flavours. I am confident of my other players (JF, and James) to make the transition to BW seemlessly. They have played many systems and 'get' what roleplaying is.
So, to get to my real concern, I am worried about Nick's ability to step into a more demanding game such as BW. He'll be expected to do far more than he ever was in AD&D, and killing the monster by rolling a good number is no longer the point of play. I am trying to come up with cool and interesting ways to help him make the transition and start off on the right foot with BW. He is stubborn in a sense. If he decides he doesn't like the game, very little will shake the foundation of that preconception. I need to make sure that he sees the good side of the game before he sees something he doesn't like.
The greatest tool, from my limited knowledge of the game, to really get someone involved in the story, is their character's beliefs. We spent some hours last night working on beliefs, but we were inputing them directly into the wiki (I'm totally addicted to the wiki!), and the wiki puked when we tried to save the changes. We lost some of the flowery words, but the concepts were firmly lodged into our brains. Here is what we came up with:
1) Traditions are in place for a reason, and the reason is lost on our clan. I will erect a monument in the honour of our ancestors. This monument will tell the tale of Clan Bok. Disrespect unto our elders is unseemly and running rampant of late. The next fool to make a mockery of an elder will find himself strung up before the clan.
2) Every father's wish is for his sons to surpass him. I will see my son accepted as a thegn before I die. The first step in learning to be a thegn is to learn how to hold a sword. I must find both sword and trainer for my son Saku.
3) Odin has cursed me with the second sight. I must learn to control it before I am driven mad, and out of the clan. I must seek out a spirit-talker willing to teach me of this, but none of Clan Bok may learn of my plight.
So, can anybody come up with concepts and ideas they have perhaps used themselves to gently introduce a rough-around-the-edges rollplayer to BW? Perhaps it is in further refining the beliefs, perhaps it is something solely within the domain of the storyteller. Any suggestions?