One thing that I've noticed about the role playing hobby is that it isn't friendly to new players. I'm not talking about the community itself, most message boards I've seen are filled with people that are happy to lend their experience. No, I'm talking about the actual state of the hobby.
Despite role playing games being easier than ever to actually obtain thanks to the wonders of digital distribution, it seems like the hobby really caters to existing players. Where are the new player guides? Where are the introductory adventures? Wizards of the Coast and Paizo may have gotten their acts together and finally published some competent introductory products, but, judging from all of the forum threads featuring people looking for a product to start with, they haven't done a great job of advertising them outside of the people that already know how to play.
WotC and Paizo aren't the only publishers to blame, though. Take a look at the introductory chapter of your favourite RPG. You know, that "What is an RPG" that you usually skip over. These chapters are almost uniformly terrible. They raise more questions than they answer, they assume the reader already knows what they are doing or they explain the wrong things. If you move on from there and into he actual "How to Play" chapters you will find that these are no better. They all assume the reader already understands the concept and structure of role playing games and from the viewpoint of a completely new player are mystifying and unhelpful.
Part of the problem is no doubt how difficult it is to actually explain in writing how role playing games work. Since the birth of the hobby this has always been something that was easier shown than told. Decades ago when TV and Film and Video Games were limited a prospective player would probably spend the time to puzzle things out for themselves, but these days? In the age of the Internet there is very little chance that someone is going to spend more than a little time trying to puzzle out your game. They're going to move on to some other form of entertainment or, if they are set on tabletop role playing, they will turn to the Internet to answer their questions. Why don't you go do an Internet search on how to play? I'll wait.
Back with me? Nothing particularly useful, was there? A few lazily written guides that cover the physical steps but don't really communicate the actual how of it. If you're lucky you will find that an out of date primer from WotC that tries to sell you products that are out of print. This is a problem. Our hobby can not grow if it has too large a barrier of entry. Programs like D&D Encounters and products like the Red Box and the Beginner Box are a good start, but they aren't enough. A new player needs to be able to type a few words into Google and get the answers they need.
What I said about the community earlier wasn't strictly true. Gamers might be willing to offer help in a friendly and welcoming manner, but that help is awful. Many of the threads devolve into experienced players arguing about which game or edition the new player should be playing. The advice is contradictory or just plain unhelpful. I'd be surprised if many prospective players leave such a thread any more enlightened than they were going in, some of them are probably more confused.
This guide needs to be something free of system bias and argument. It should explain all of the most basic elements of role playing and contain system-agnostic advice. The ideal guide will point potential players in the direction of clearly written, beginner-friendly and free RPGs. It should contain overviews of various beginner products, such as the Red Box, and links to quick-start rules for the more popular/well-known games. The very basic play structure should be explained along with advice on creating players and organizing games. All of the most frequently asked questions should be answered. Things like "How can I play online?" or "How do I find someone to play with?" need to be answered by the guide.
I'm probably not the guy to write this guide, but I'm going to do may best anyway. New players deserve something like this and the role playing hobby needs new players to thrive.
Despite role playing games being easier than ever to actually obtain thanks to the wonders of digital distribution, it seems like the hobby really caters to existing players. Where are the new player guides? Where are the introductory adventures? Wizards of the Coast and Paizo may have gotten their acts together and finally published some competent introductory products, but, judging from all of the forum threads featuring people looking for a product to start with, they haven't done a great job of advertising them outside of the people that already know how to play.
 |
| Not good enough. |
WotC and Paizo aren't the only publishers to blame, though. Take a look at the introductory chapter of your favourite RPG. You know, that "What is an RPG" that you usually skip over. These chapters are almost uniformly terrible. They raise more questions than they answer, they assume the reader already knows what they are doing or they explain the wrong things. If you move on from there and into he actual "How to Play" chapters you will find that these are no better. They all assume the reader already understands the concept and structure of role playing games and from the viewpoint of a completely new player are mystifying and unhelpful.
Part of the problem is no doubt how difficult it is to actually explain in writing how role playing games work. Since the birth of the hobby this has always been something that was easier shown than told. Decades ago when TV and Film and Video Games were limited a prospective player would probably spend the time to puzzle things out for themselves, but these days? In the age of the Internet there is very little chance that someone is going to spend more than a little time trying to puzzle out your game. They're going to move on to some other form of entertainment or, if they are set on tabletop role playing, they will turn to the Internet to answer their questions. Why don't you go do an Internet search on how to play? I'll wait.
Back with me? Nothing particularly useful, was there? A few lazily written guides that cover the physical steps but don't really communicate the actual how of it. If you're lucky you will find that an out of date primer from WotC that tries to sell you products that are out of print. This is a problem. Our hobby can not grow if it has too large a barrier of entry. Programs like D&D Encounters and products like the Red Box and the Beginner Box are a good start, but they aren't enough. A new player needs to be able to type a few words into Google and get the answers they need.
What I said about the community earlier wasn't strictly true. Gamers might be willing to offer help in a friendly and welcoming manner, but that help is awful. Many of the threads devolve into experienced players arguing about which game or edition the new player should be playing. The advice is contradictory or just plain unhelpful. I'd be surprised if many prospective players leave such a thread any more enlightened than they were going in, some of them are probably more confused.
The Solution
The tabletop RPG community needs a definitive "Newbie Guide". A guide that the entire online community can get behind and point newcomers at. It should come up in web searches so that people curious in role playing can find it on their own. Ideally, the guide would have a nice CC license that would allow anyone to customize and update it. It could birth a hundred more new player's guides.This guide needs to be something free of system bias and argument. It should explain all of the most basic elements of role playing and contain system-agnostic advice. The ideal guide will point potential players in the direction of clearly written, beginner-friendly and free RPGs. It should contain overviews of various beginner products, such as the Red Box, and links to quick-start rules for the more popular/well-known games. The very basic play structure should be explained along with advice on creating players and organizing games. All of the most frequently asked questions should be answered. Things like "How can I play online?" or "How do I find someone to play with?" need to be answered by the guide.
I'm probably not the guy to write this guide, but I'm going to do may best anyway. New players deserve something like this and the role playing hobby needs new players to thrive.
