Tips on running BW demo? [Archive]

luke

03-23-2004, 02:34 AM

ok, a friend of mine asked me the same question a couple of months ago, here's what I told him:

• Don't let it bog down. I've done VGP in as little as two hours, and it absolutely shouldn't take any more than four, even for inexperienced players.

• Keep the tension with the setting sun and the imminent freedom of the orcs.

• Play the peasants for all their worth. They are a great voice in this scenario. If all else fails, THEY must convince the players to undertake the task of helping them. (If they don't help, there's no adventure.)

• Von Goten is another good voice of reason. Use him to shout warnings at the players, but take care not to be too specific.

• Don't railroad. There is no set way to accomplish this scenario, let them figure out one best suited to them. Certain things obviously won't work, like parleying with the orcs -- hell, if they want to parley, let them! Have the orcs stall till night and then rush them! Anyway, let them figure it out as it suits their style and their character.

• Discuss the demo before hand with your players. Let them know what you want to run. Get their input; how do they want to participate in the scenario? Guide them in their character choice to make certain they'll participate and have a good time in the game. This is an action scenario, therefore action-oriented characters are best suited. It is designed to showcase the game's pacing and combat styling.

But, if they insist on socials or pacificists, try it out with that spin. It becomes a whole different set of questions, then.

• Be positive, energetic and descriptive. These small things go a long way to immersing your players in the game. The cardinal sin is for a gm to be droopy, boring and full of "no"s. You wouldn't believe how many times i've seen it. Conversely I get a lot positive comments about the games I run because I seem enjoy myself (I do).

• Use the alternate script sheets i posted. they're kicking around the forum somewhere. They're easier for newbies.

• Make sure you brush up on the rules before hand, and make sure you've downloaded and read over the latest version of the demo.

• And corollary to the above, if you don't know it, FAKE IT. Burning Wheel really isn't that complicated, but sometimes we all get caught up or confused. But a long rules query by the GM can really kill a game, if you can fudge it, then do it. It's better than breaking stride, in my opinion.

• Lastly and most importantly, LET THEM WIN. It's a demo fer chrissakes. Don't put too many Orcs in the house, and feel free to pack the house early on and simply "forget" about orcs that would overwhelm or destroy the party later on. It's better to let them eek out a victory in the first go round, you can show them the grim reality of the world another time.

I've had players slaughtered by the orcs in VGP, and no matter how masochistic the group is, having to end the scenario because everyone but the inexperienced hunter has a Severe wound or worse REALLY throws water on the fires of enthusiasm.

Good luck. Let me know how it goes.

As for characters, we have demo characters posted here:
http://www.burningwheel.org/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=Downloads&file=index&req=viewsdownload&sid=1

If you want to make your own? 4 LP characters from Men, Dwarves and Elves should do you just fine.

-Luke[/list]