I’ve been doing this for a while, so I’ve got old modules saved in my head. I also know generally what is required to run a successful one. What I would personally do is say “Yeah, sure. But I’ll need a bit to get ready. Give me 30 minutes.” I would then use a tool like 5etools to whip up a bunch of pre-generated characters and hand them out. If I had my printer handy, I’d print them. Then I’d run them through something like the Delian Tomb that Matthew Colville made (youtu.be/zTD2RZz6mlo?list=PLlUk42GiU2guNzWBzxn7hs…), a simple orc or bandit raid on a town, or whatever else I thought was cool in the moment.
I hope that helps. I’ve been DMing for over ten years now and playing for almost twenty, so Idk how well my technique would work for you.
In Shadowrun the intro scenario was a shoot out at a convenience store. A simple one encounter with minimal story to introduce the mechanics. They called it a food fight, and it is how I introduce new plays to pretty much any system now. DnD: a tavern brawl breaks out…
Premades are great for instant play, but if they want to get more invested, the food fight is also a great way for them to get to know their class mechanics too.
I would pull out a pre-gen adventure I’m familiar with, spend a little time talking about character creation (for all its flaws I actually think how the starter kit does it with a little set of pre-gen characters they can pick from is a really good way), and just sort of wing it keeping it a little bit light on rules and big emphasis on having a strong start + giving them freedom to fuck around / not expect them to stick purely to the DND mold of behavior. I’ve had really good results with this though, as long as it’s an exciting world for them I could see it going really well.
Lost Mine of Phandelver. It’s all you need to introduce them. Pre rolled characters so that amount of time is already saved and a ready-made module to run.
I’d argue the newer starter Dragons of Shipwreck Isle is a quicker and more interesting start for new players. It’s also not as long and requires a little less imagination imo since you’d probably be playing without a map
I’d probably let them know I need a little bit of prep time, and then print off a one page RPG like Honey Heist. They’re quick to start, and a great way for people to try TTRPGs for the first time. After that, if they decide they like roleplaying, we can get into something more serious
Just to expand, I already play weekly with my established group.
But I have some non-D&D friends who have expressed an interest in the past, so what I wanted to discuss was my options for if they’re like ‘let’s go! Right now!’
When I was younger we played role played so much over so many different systems that we eventually would just “play” any world and scenario we wanted. D20 for skills and resistance, d6 and d10 for damage and percentage spreads.
We didn’t need a lot of rules because we knew how games worked.
Eventually others would join us and be playing right away because we weren’t a bunch of rule lawyers.
If approach it like that. Very simple subset of rules to get them playing without fussing over everything.
It indirectly is making me want to leave my current DND group more. I love rpgs but DND specifically makes me grind my teeth. Bg3 is a great game but honestly it would be better with a different rule system. And the fact that DND is so popular that it sucks all the air out of the hobby just frustrates me.
But at the end of the day it’s just a game, and if people are having fun they’re having fun.
I like DnD more as a video game, in BG3. A while ago, I started exploring more narratively centered systems, like Fate, or even the new Cowboy Bebop TTRPG, for actual role playing.
Fate is my current game crush I want to play more, but I haven’t had much opportunity. I got my D&D group to try it as a one-shot twice, and both times didn’t really sing.
The Cowboy Bebop TTRPG seemed easier to setup, less involved character creation, and works nicely for one shots.
The rules are not very well written imo, not a lot of support for DMs, so I had to kind of lean on my past experience, and there wasn’t really any guidance on how to use the clocks so one session was great, the other just slogged because I think I messed up the pacing since it was a lot fewer players.
Its also somewhat predicated on most people being familiar with the aesthetic of the show cowboy bebop.
Yeah, when the new Final Fantasy XIV TTRPG was announced, despite the OGL controversy that happened earlier this year the only TTRPG mentioned by name in the titles of news articles about it is Dungeons & Dragons (D&D). You would think it would cause a major shift in other properties being mentioned. Nope, it still seems it will be like the Mario Kart or Pokémon of TTRPGs, where people seemly instantly try to compare TTRPGs to D&D and mention the latter by name, but not anything else in the field, as if there were only two of that genre at a time or something.
Wanted to play DnD for years but never really had the opportunity as I didn’t have enough friends who also wanted to play so we could get a campaign going.
We’ve got a group together last year and now manage to play about once per month.
I think I’d have still been interested in BG3 even if I didn’t have a DnD group, but I’m definitely more interested in BG3 now than I would have been because of my DnD group.
Being DM is a big responsibility, and being able to do it well is a real talent, but it’s one of those things that you can absolutely improve on with practice.
Players have to take some responsibility too, by getting a grip on the core rules and mechanics, dedicating time to fleshing out their characters, and committing to the role itself. They can’t rely on the DM for absolutely everything.
There are some one-shot campaigns out there which I hear are designed for beginners which would be a good place to start. In fact I’m pretty sure if you make a DnD Beyond account, you get the basic rules and a beginner campaign for free, so that would be a good resource for you.
Also, if you haven’t seen it, go check out Critical Role, starting with campaign 1. Matt Mercer is an outstanding DM and will give you a great demonstration of how to run a campaign.
I’m in the same boat. A bunch of friends are interested, too but none of us trust themselves to be DM or has the necessary time to prep campaigns. Hence BG3 is our only option.
It’s a one-shot campaign, pretty much ready to go, to the point that I think it’s even got pre-rolled characters included.
Very little set-up required beyond the DM familiarising themself with the campaign itself, and the players reviewing their chosen character and brushing up on the core rules of the game so that they know how to actually play.
Beyond that, pretty much everything else is already taken care of, so far as I know (I’ve never played it, but I know it’s a firm favourite for beginners for these very reasons).
And as for DM experience, someone who is willing to put in the work kinda just has to bite the bullet and go for it. It’s a skill like anything else, and you only get better through practice. Start with pre-written campaigns to help keep the amount of prep required and wildly unexpected events that require lots of improv on the DM’s part to a minimum. Branch out from there into more homebrew stuff when you’re feeling ready.
Above all though, just give it a shot and see what happens. There will always be reasons not to play, but if you’ve got a group who are willing to give it a go then you’ve already overcome the biggest hurdle by far.
BG3 seems like a great primer for D&D. I’ve only played D&D a couple times in the past but BG3 showed me I was playing pretty poorly. BG3 visualizes concepts/mechanics/systems really well, if anyone I knew wanted to get into D&D I’d suggest they play around with BG3 first. I was going to pick up a bunch of D&D materials when they went on sale recently, but a lot of people were saying the new player handbook and core rulebook and stuff were due to come out in 2024 so I decided to wait til then.
BG3 has taught me quite a bit about D&D but I wouldn’t play IRL because that’s a hell of a time commitment and I’m antisocial. I can totally see it getting lots of people to play tabletop rpgs though. I’ve already but 150 hours into it.
I beat it on normal (druid, Wyll, Lae’zel, and Shadowheart) now I’m replaying it on easy (dark urge paladin, Karlach, Gale, Astarion) to see their storylines. After im done with this I’m doing it again on hard mode with a proper team comp. Absolutely (hehe) loving it.
That’s been my big hangup with dnd. Not the time commitment but the social aspect since I don’t know anyone local.
I played once through already as a bard (shadow heart, karlach, and wyll in my party) because I wanted to RP as Edgin and it was a blast. But I really suck at action management and had to play on easy. My second time im playing a fighter and I still have to play on east but next playthrough I’ll do dark urge on normal since I’ll just kill people if I fail my rolls.
I found normal mode to be “just right” but I have a ton of experience with strategy games so I imagine that made it easier for me. The story had me just as hooked as the gameplay so if story mode is your jam, more power to you!
Dark Urge has been a wild ride so far. I planned on going Oathbreaker but I kept failing (well…succeeding?) rolls so now I’m walking into Act 2 having not broken my oath. Admittedly I’ve done some savescumming, though only for Urge-related choices
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