3rdclass

When first playing this game, I decided I wanted to play a Bard. This is something that I have always done with RPGs, since my first one, when my buddy said, “Dude, Bards are hard to play…”

This is true, especially as a first timer. BUT, it MAKES YOU LEARN the game! Since you are a little bit of everything (healer, fighter, skiller, caster), it makes you figure out how all the mechanics work. That way, when you GM, or roll up another character, you don’t have to shift your thinking as much, and learn another set of mechanics, because you have been exposed to it already.

This is an expansion to Yorick’s point. What we do in our house games when all the monster slots are full is to roll a die: d2, d3, d4, d6, d8 depending on how many cards with monsters there are. In the case of 5 or seven cards, six and eight are re-rolls. That way no one person feels like they are getting ganged up on. Or you make one so hard that the rest are easy and it gets ignored. Most gaming groups have some dice lying around, even d6s will work, just need to explain what the rolls mean.

I had looked at this game for about a year, read through the rule book, and tried to get into a Demo game at GenCon in 2011. Unfortunately, only two people showed up, and the game was a bit of a flop. However, another table with 7 or 8 people at it, seemed to be having a GREAT time. Lots of interaction, vamping off one another, etc. The game is crazy detailed, but with simple mechanics, so the potential for fun is HUGE.

Just make sure you have lots of friends around your first time.

The game seems to be slanted so that those who have played MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games: World of Warcraft, Everquest, etc) can relate to it. If you are not familiar with these types of games, try one, as it will help you get into the mindset of what the publisher’s were trying to do.

Many people will say that this a rules heavy game. While that it true, it also allows for varying skill levels of game masters. Especially those who have never played a pen and paper RPG before.

So if you find you don’t understand what they were getting at when they made the rules. Go online and see how those games are played. It will open it up for you to make the connections that may not be readily apparent.

Just one man’s opinion.

If you are going to play this the first time, just play a quick game to 8 or 9, and none of the advanced rules. I played it as a demo (1.5 hours) and then with my buddies, while drinking (1 hour). Then we played a full game. Much more fun, once we understood all the ins and outs.