Barf Forth Apocalyptica

powered by the apocalypse => Monsterhearts => Topic started by: nremesis on September 23, 2013, 08:34:34 PM

Title: What do the players need to know?
Post by: nremesis on September 23, 2013, 08:34:34 PM
I'm going to be running a game of Monsterhearts soon and as MC I'm gonna be teaching the game to my players. They've never played any kind of RPG before but they're excited to give this a try. So I'd like to make it really simple for them. My question is, are there parts of the book that they really need to hear? I'll probably read them some of the introductory stuff about What This Is and Queer Content and such. Is there anything else you like to read to your players before you begin?
Title: Re: What do the players need to know?
Post by: Ishnub on September 23, 2013, 09:45:58 PM
Giving them a brief rundown on the mechanics of the system would be a good thing. At least as far as the general scheme of how the dice work. 2D6+ Stat: 6-: Failure with consequences, 7-9 Succcess but some sort of interesting complication 10+ Success!  You might also want to go over the uses of Strings and how Hold works.

I'd also hit on the "To do it. Do it" thing and the whole not saying " my character" but instead referring to their character by name of saying "I". But, that's a pet peeve of mine. Oh! and I just thoguht of something. Making your players aware that you are acting off their actions and that if they don't do stuff things won't happen. Well they might eventually when you hit them with a Hard Move from out of the blue. But I hope you get my point.
Title: Re: What do the players need to know?
Post by: arscott on September 25, 2013, 05:16:06 AM
If they like to read, give 'em the whole book.  There's a lot of stuff in there that's valuable.

I think things like "keep it feral", and "happiness always comes at a cost" can be as valuable for players as they are for the MC.  The long example is also pretty great.  None of it is something I'd necessarily read aloud, though.
Title: Re: What do the players need to know?
Post by: Tore V on October 02, 2013, 03:31:07 AM
I'd recommend a very brief demonstration of the rules (you roll 2d6 and add or subtract your bonus) and spend a lot more time talking about the genre. Mention scenes from movies to illustrate what direction yo want the game to go. It's much more beneficial than talking about the rules. Show, don't tell.
Title: Re: What do the players need to know?
Post by: DannyK on October 11, 2013, 12:37:11 PM
Something I like to do when I'm running a game that's new to the players (let alone players who are new to RPG's) is do a "training mission" like in video games which lets them try out the moves and mechanics without any lasting damage to their characters.  It works especially well if you run it with the actual characters, so they can get into character with the explicit understanding that they can see how it goes and then change things up a bit for the real game which is played for keeps. 

For Monsterhearts, I guess it could be a dream sequence or maybe a scene set in drama class where all the characters are doing improv.  The main thing is to get them trying things out and making bold moves in a safe environment.
Title: Re: What do the players need to know?
Post by: Tore V on October 21, 2013, 09:06:05 AM
Oooh, I'm so stealing the idea about drama class. That would be an excellent way of showing mechanics.