Comments on: D&D 4e One-Shots: Putting it into Action http://critical-hits.com/2009/11/18/dd-4e-one-shots-putting-it-into-action/ The Journal of Gamer Culture Fri, 25 May 2012 20:39:42 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Seneca http://critical-hits.com/2009/11/18/dd-4e-one-shots-putting-it-into-action/#comment-67252 Seneca Fri, 04 Dec 2009 16:52:42 +0000 http://www.critical-hits.com/?p=5236#comment-67252 The thing I never see in 4E one shots is anything that isn't combat. I know it's hard to induce RP for characters no one has an investment in but often there isn't even dialog. What I would like to fill one with is something awesome from this edition, skill challenges. To further your point, why have skills on a character sheet if you won't use them. For an introductory or demo game it's part of the system that should be exhibited. For an educational exercise such as library day its a great problem solving game. For jst a normal game though this not only breaks up the chain of combats but also can add story, RP, somethi g for the non-combat oriented players and most important an entertaining encounter the doesn't require having learned pages of rules. The thing I never see in 4E one shots is anything that isn’t combat. I know it’s hard to induce RP for characters no one has an investment in but often there isn’t even dialog. What I would like to fill one with is something awesome from this edition, skill challenges.
To further your point, why have skills on a character sheet if you won’t use them. For an introductory or demo game it’s part of the system that should be exhibited. For an educational exercise such as library day its a great problem solving game. For jst a normal game though this not only breaks up the chain of combats but also can add story, RP, somethi g for the non-combat oriented players and most important an entertaining encounter the doesn’t require having learned pages of rules.

]]> By: The Game http://critical-hits.com/2009/11/18/dd-4e-one-shots-putting-it-into-action/#comment-67251 The Game Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:19:46 +0000 http://www.critical-hits.com/?p=5236#comment-67251 That's great advice, Chris, thanks! And glad to hear that your National Library Game Day was a success! That’s great advice, Chris, thanks! And glad to hear that your National Library Game Day was a success!

]]> By: Chris http://critical-hits.com/2009/11/18/dd-4e-one-shots-putting-it-into-action/#comment-67250 Chris Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:51:19 +0000 http://www.critical-hits.com/?p=5236#comment-67250 I also ran an intro game for our library on National Library Game Day. I would definitely agree with all of the above points. One more thing - I designed the characters using the D&D Character Builder, but I customized the sheets to remove a lot of the irrelevant information. If you're trying to get people into the hobby, it seems important to not overwhelm them. They can learn all the extra crunchy bits once they've started playing in a real group. Overall, it was a great success - we had 3 game tables, with kids ages 8-15, plus a few moms & dads. Definitely worth it! I also ran an intro game for our library on National Library Game Day. I would definitely agree with all of the above points.

One more thing – I designed the characters using the D&D Character Builder, but I customized the sheets to remove a lot of the irrelevant information. If you’re trying to get people into the hobby, it seems important to not overwhelm them. They can learn all the extra crunchy bits once they’ve started playing in a real group.

Overall, it was a great success – we had 3 game tables, with kids ages 8-15, plus a few moms & dads. Definitely worth it!

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