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RE: [Role-Playing Games] Chargen From the Vaults - Sorcerer and Capes (Part II)
The most intimidating part for me getting started with D&D was character creation. It requires a pretty solid understanding of the rules to generate a character that is both useful and story rich. So having an explanation of character creation, even if it may seem a little hand-holdy, is a nice jump start on understanding a new gaming system.
I've always felt the same way.
Character generation is the first place that a new player and even a familiar player comes in contact with the way the world works. Even more than the way the mechanics work, understanding the ways in which they can interact with the world of the game is that first impression that you can never get back.
Too many RPG designers and writers skimp on the character generation phase. In part, it's because they've done it so many times. When you're play-testing, you launch off characters left and right for people because you want them to be able to test the gaming get to "the good stuff." Often while simultaneously not getting that part of "the good stuff" should be the character generation phase.
Some of my favorite GM-less games obviously don't have much in a way of character generation. Some of that effort is shifted to the early phases of the active game at the table because there is no GM to be the guide. And that's okay as long as the structure of the game at that point is helping you and everyone else get an even better grasp of what you can expect from the world.
One of the more modern innovations in game design is the idea that the first session is character generation (whether it's called that or not). Bringing everybody together at the same time in order to build characters together because you need the other players to properly interweave their stories – that makes a big difference. That's often the difference between having "a bunch of characters who exist in the world" and "a group of characters who know one another and off to talk to one another."
The difference is amazing.
This is a general problem in becoming an expert at something, it's hard to re-see things except through that expert's lens.
Well, as the story plays out they can also get this feel, but I get your point. The repeated exposure before game time certainly helps to make for a richer character and a better feel for everyone else's character which can certainly enhance cooperation during the story.
That's part of why I tend to ritualize going through the basics from scratch in a lot of my projects, even if it feels like wasted energy.
It's never wasted energy.
In everything from tech support to doing a 3d design, skimp on the basics and you'll pay for it later in the process -- and you'll probably be scratching your head wondering how it came to be. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt and the commemorative coffee mug. (Which I use for chai.)
Even taking just 10 minutes before a game to get people on the same page, make sure everybody is ready to go, and to recap the story so far can make a borderline dysfunctional group into one of the best bunch of people you've ever played with.
That's not guaranteed, but if you had to bet, that's the way to put your money.
You'll notice that a lot of the GM-less modern designs that I tend to like actually do integrate everything with "as the story plays out" with character and setting design as part of the first session. I really do believe that is one of the key things for making this kind of game work.
Of course, then there's 3:16…