What product would you like to see for new roleplayers?

[Rick Danger]

The basic game is great, but I feel that the text is crammed full of rules without much room for context in terms of fiction and gameplay advice. Would you imagine giving it to a first time roleplayer? What kind of product would you like to see to help promote MHR among fans of the genre that have never seen a d4?

[MidnightBlue]

I think the Basic Game coupled with the free Example of Play pdf is a perfect beginner combination.

Oh...and access to these boards where they can ask any questions they have...often answered by the designers themselves.

I think we've got the tools to play.

Now...local demos being run by people that already know the system wouldn't hurt either.

[Rick Danger]

I think it's possible to have a much more friendly introductory product, which isn't what the OM is meant to be.

[Supplanter]

One of the best introductory products I ever saw was the READ THIS FIRST booklet that came with one edition of Mayfair Games' DC Heroes RPG. I want to say 2nd edition, though it could have been 3rd. It was a thin, saddle-stapled booklet - full trim but with no cover. Maybe 8 pages, possibly 16. It was sort of (I think) written like a solitaire adventure, but a very simple one. It walked you through the elements of Batman's character card and showed you how to use those elements as the need for them came up. Pretty sure it walked you through the Joker card too, cause you needed it.

In itself this doesn't sound super-special; it's not dissimilar to the introductory section of the D&D Rules Cyclopedia. But it was extraordinarily well done. It would work for MHRP*, and I can just about imagine someone with professional experience managing to put something very like it together to guide a Watcher and player through a single action scene. Heck, borrow the concept of the "initiation conflict" from Dogs in the Vineyard and have everyone start by playing out, oh, a Danger Room scene with a specific set of X-Men - maybe paired up. Set it up within the fiction as a time trial of some kind so each pair gets two turns and only two turns. (That way real players who are waiting their chance don't have to wait too long.)


Jim
*I don't think MHRP is is put together all that badly, though I remember thinking its intro sections weren't as well organized as Leverage, which is one of the best-organized RPGs I've read.

[Lazy Wombat]

What I'd like to see is a more complex example of play, one that includes things like the use of multiple effect dice, assets, complications, scene distinctions, reaction rolls beating attack rolls, players taking advantage of Watcher rolled opportunities and the like.

[chaosnet]

Luckily, some people on these very boards post their adventures and break them down with the rule mechanics. Look at the Spiderman vs The Enforcers, or the Claire Redfield links to her posts.

Now, I know this doesnt answer your question. I think that the game, as is, is great for a beginner in that the rules are actually secondary to the narrative. If new RP'ers can think Game First, System Second it probably is a good thing. Keep in mind that rules-gluttony wasnt in role playing initially (until Traveller...ugh, was like Calculus).

I think the core of the game is:

Decide WHAT Action you want to do.
Figure out what TRAITS you have that pertain to doing it.
Roll the dice and determine if you did it.
Narrate the Die Roll in relation to your Intended Action.

I don't thing a game gets any easier than that. Now you layer the other rules in, which can be ambiguous which in turn prompts lots of activity on the boards.

[Yancy Street Clown]

What I think would be cool is an examble of play based on actual pages from a comic. Take a few pages from a fight from a well known book (X-Men, FF, Avengers) and on one side show the actual panels, and on the other a description of play...

It would show more "rules based" PRers the idea of the narative design, and help show known marvel stunts with the characters (Fastball Special, Cap's multiple takedown with the shield, Nove Flame, etc.)

Just a thought.

[MidnightBlue]

I think it's possible to have a much more friendly introductory product, which isn't what the OM is meant to be.

As I mentioned...I think that's where pairing the Basic Game with the Example of Play pdf is a great idea and learning tool.

http://www.margaretweis.com/images/stories/bonus_content/mhr_exampleofplay.pdf

It's free to everyone in the downloads section of the MWP home page.

[June Jazz]

Though it's not likely to materialize anytime soon, I'd love to see a digital app. Like, something you can use to play the game over iPad or Android devices out of the box. If it's done right then something like this could go a long way to reaching outside the usual RPGing demographic as well as easing the learning curve for new players.

[Thorguild]

June,

You might look at MapTools, with the player-designed MHR campaign. It's a solid virtual table, and the MHR campaign does an adequete job of keeping the distinctions going.

Thorguild

Though it's not likely to materialize anytime soon, I'd love to see a digital app. Like, something you can use to play the game over iPad or Android devices out of the box. If it's done right then something like this could go a long way to reaching outside the usual RPGing demographic as well as easing the learning curve for new players.