What to run as my first adventure?

[InfinitePudding]

I've finally gotten all the bits I need to run a game for my friends I think. I have the box set, the GM screen, the Companion, a bunch of dice, a printer for character sheets, some extra tokens, and a battle mat.

What I don't have is a plan of what to run. I thought of running the packed in adventure as my first game but I don't know if it's a good choice for my friends who have never played anything to do with GURPS before. I've played a bit of it myself and the party I was in was mostly new to the game too.

We had trouble because we didn't have a wizard or a cleric. I only have four players interested in playing and I don't want to force them into certain roles, but I'm afraid if I don't they wouldn't get through the adventure.

Should I try and make my own adventure instead? This will be my first time as a GM of any system so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Anthony]

Hm. I Smell A Rat will be rather difficult for four inexperienced players.

[Dalin]

Originally Posted by West_Winds

We had trouble because we didn't have a wizard or a cleric. I only have four players interested in playing and I don't want to force them into certain roles, but I'm afraid if I don't they wouldn't get through the adventure.

Should I try and make my own adventure instead? This will be my first time as a GM of any system so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

If you're not enforcing party balance, then whatever you run needs to be balanced for the characters that the players choose. (I like it better this way, myself.) This is true for "I Smell a Rat" or any adventure you create yourself. "I Smell a Rat" is great because it comes with some maps and basic ideas, but you can and should change anything that doesn't seem like a good fit. There have been some great threads on this forum about some of the challenges that others have run into and how they overcame them. But at a basic level, I just look ahead at each encounter and imagine how the PCs might manage it. If it seems to require skills or abilities that they don't have, then I modify it. If a six armed demonic Cuisinart seems too deadly, maybe she has four arms, or weaker armor, or a weakness that someone in the group can exploit. I try to look at key skills, advantages, and disadvantages to make sure each character will have a moment in the spotlight.

Since you're new at this too, there is no way you'll achieve a perfect balance ahead of time. So just be flexible while you're running the game. You don't want to make it a cakewalk, but nobody enjoys a meat grinder when the main reason they're being ground up is that nobody knows the rules very well. DFRPG has a lot of layers of complexity, but you can safely ignore the details until everyone masters the basics.

[InfinitePudding]

Thanks Dalin, I'll read over the threads here about ISAR and see what others have said. Maybe it can give me ideas.

I guess the best thing to do might be to have them make their characters before I decide on an adventure huh?

[lachimba]

Run a three room dungeon

Call it a training room, audition, whatever.

If you finish early move onto an adventure.

[ArchonShiva]

Start with a short, simple scenario.
Lady runs to them: “My son’s been captured by <stuff>, they’re hiding in this <structure>. Please save him!”

Look at what their characters are good at, and fill the three-room dungeon with that. Scouts and Swashbucklers like opponents with eyes; bards like opponents that speak common; high damage characters can show off against an opponent with high DR; etc. Let them be awesome at what they built for. Don’t *tell* them it’s training. You should probably do 2-3 sessions, letting them get familiar with the mechanics and affording some basic equipment (such as alchemist’s fire, healing potions, scrolls, better belts and packs, etc. We’re talking $1-2k per PC) before you consider actually “running something” per se.

[InfinitePudding]

That sounds like a great idea. My four players went down to 3, one said he won't be able to play with us. I had one guy mostly make his character and another start his.

Neither could decide what to play, so I printed out the heroic background generator from that issue of Pyramid and they both rolled up nifty backgrounds to help them decide. One is a wizard, a pretty basic one. I wanted to help him as much as I could but .... he's kind of a know it all and wouldn't listen to my advice.

The other guy only got the start of a thief done. A halfling thief.
The last guy is thinking of making a knight or a holy warrior. Not terrible party makeup all considered.

[MIB.6361]

When starting with all new players, if I can, I'll have them use pregenerated characters and run a mini-adventure like what's suggested above.
Try to throw in things that will let each of them use the abilities on their sheets and learn the rules together. If one or more of them die before you finish the two or three session mini game, just have them pick up another pregen and get back in.

THEN, once they have a feeling for DFRPG (or any other GURPS), you work with them to make their own characters. If that seems daunting to them, they could pick one of the pregens again and make some adjustments to make it their own.

As long as all of you know that all of you are learning and you're all patient and work together, it shouldn't be too much pressure on you.

ALSO, GM'ing is an art not a science, but the science helps. Welcome to GM'ing. Stick with it!

[InfinitePudding]

I've been preparing for the last year to be ready for this :) I'm really excited to start. I just looked up this 5 room dungeon concept and I think it's great and I may end up using it a bit to get me started too.

[Dalin]

Originally Posted by West_Winds

I've been preparing for the last year to be ready for this :) I'm really excited to start. I just looked up this 5 room dungeon concept and I think it's great and I may end up using it a bit to get me started too.

That can be a great template.

One thing that may seem obvious, but many of us need reminding now and then, is that the GM's main job is to deliver fun. Remembering this can make planning and in-game decisions easier. Is the battle becoming a dice-rolling slog? Make it end or add a new wrinkle (another antagonist, a fight among the enemies, they surrender, the floor/ceiling starts collapsing, etc.). Is a puzzle or mystery harder than expected? Provide more clues, ideally tied to a character's skill or background. Is the adventure too dangerous (in a not fun way)? Add a new ally (powerful prisoner tied up in the closet!) or a cache of healing/beneficial magic.

Staying focused on fun can help avoid obsessing over rules or the integrity of your pre-planned plot.

Looking forward to a game report!