Joel  

Well, here are my thoughts about the first time I played a #TTRPG, in this case #LandOfEem! A fantastical whimsical take on D&D that seemed quite beginner friendly and approachable!

This is day 10 of #100DaysToOffload

https://joelchrono.xyz/blog/my-first-ttrpg

#tabletop

My first TTRPG: Lands of Eem

My first ever session playing a tabletop rpg, being a game master, and figuring things out as I go! All the misadventures and shenanigans, the preparation, the whole playthrough and the aftermath!

Feb 4 at 3:56amWeb
Show threadDaveFeb 4

@joel I was reliving the quickstart session I had a week and a half ago reading your playback. You ran into some things we never did, which is awesome!

The way we handled the giant Pug was we waited until we had the skeleton join our party, then he pulled one of his ribs out and one of the players attached some of his rations to the bone and threw it in the lake with the giant leaches (the one your party skipped), and the pug chased after it and we locked the door behind him.

I like that your party used a skull as his favourite toy and just kept him distracted, even from his owner.

The beauty of TTRPGs is no two playthroughs of the same adventure will be the same. The dynamics between your players are all unique.

Welcome to Eem!

Show threadprimeappleFeb 4

@joel
Uhh, nice! Welcome to the rabbithole!

Sidequestion: Why are you calling it TTRPG? Isn't the proper term "Pen&Paper"?
No worries, I'm just confused. TTRPGS I always thought were things like Warhammer40k, where you have some kind of battlemap and figures on a table.

Show threadJoel  Feb 4
@primeapple I call it a TTRPG because that's what all the videos and marketing and websites call it, to be honest :P
Show threadprimeappleFeb 4
@joel Makes sense! In Germany we all.call it "Pen&Paper" aka #pnpde but that my be a german thing 🤷
Show threadechoFeb 5
@primeapple @joel I think that is indeed a German thing! Not exclusively, but it seems far more common to me.
Show threadDaniel, aka. CactiChameleon9Feb 4

@joel Sounds like you did a great job! We are such opposites!! I am such a prepper and you kinda just jumped into it. Was good that you kept things running smoothly and that everyone had a great time :)

Looking forward to reading more about your group's misadventures!

Show threadIrgndSonDeppFeb 4

@joel that sounds awesome! I think you did well for a first time GM. It's absolutely okay to not know everything and the most powerful move is to tell your players about it, make up something sensible and promise to read up on it for the next time.
Even with seasoned players and GMs, we sometimes run into rules questions. We usually only resolve them if looking it up takes less than a minute. If we can't find it right away, we invent a new rule for the session and read it up later.

Here are my takes on your questions (without ever having played Land of Eem).

  • If you're unsure about money or equipment, allow sensible things. If for example an armor is way more expensive than anything else on the table, your players most likely don't have it. I'm sure there's something during character generation that determines how much money a character has, but if you're in a pinch you can make a decision on the fly and roll with it. Maybe Wally just has some equipment lying around, because he used to be an adventurer himself in the past.
  • Pretty much the same. Assume the map is not complete. Or maybe Wally has another counter like in some JRPGs where he sells equipment. 😅
    Imagine he pushes a button and the walls flip and suddenly the whole room is a shop hung with sharp swords and glittering armor.
  • I prefer to have players level up after the session or at home on their own. I'm not familiar with the leveling mechanics in Land of Eem, but if it's quick enough they could do it when resting. I don't mind bending realism in TTRPGs, but I feel like characters don't just suddenly grow more powerful from one minute to the next.
  • I kinda like that you resolved the final confrontation with dialogue. If you want to raise the stakes, you can make the character more hostile. Imagine how you'd react when you're scared and faced with a party brandishing weapons at you. Would you listen to reasonable arguments? I sometimes don't even listen to reasonable arguments in real life if I don't like somebody. 😅
  • I have the same issues with OSR (old school roleplaying) that you describe. The confrontation's over, the big bad has been vanquished and now we walk back and roll and we encounter some guy with a shady diamond? I like to keep my adventures slightly more cinematic. Once the climax is done, we travel back safely and reap our reward, maybe chat a bit with Wally and enjoy waffles.
    Sometimes players get stuck playing out every action in a tavern, which I usually allow for a minute or two and then interject that they will just do whatever they want to do for the rest of the evening -- we're done for the day. 😁
    You can also encourage them to play that out in a group chat or something. We've had some really cool scenes happen out of play sessions, where somebody just wrote a very heartfelt piece of fiction for their character.
    • Show threadIrgndSonDeppFeb 4
    @joel oh, another tip that I think is valuable when you're starting out: you don't have to play out every single thing the PCs do.
    If they are looking for a shop, ask them what they want to buy. Handle a shop like a menu in a JRPG. Everything else takes away from story time and makes staying on time and keeping momentum going very tough.
    Then again, if you don't really have a story to tell or the PCs do have some free time, by all means let them chat up a shopkeep, haggle, lick the armor on display, dance with the barmaid, start a fight,...
    More than what happens on adventures or in a dungeon, I find that these little everyday interaction help me define my player character. There should be room for that, but not in every session. Sometimes the world is about to end and there just ain't time to lick a weapon. 😁
    Show threadJoel  Feb 4
    @irgndsondepp thank you for all of that feedback and advice! That's quite a lot of things hehe, but I definitely get it, I'll keep y'all updated on my following adventures!