[DitV] Introducing Roleplaying

[Miedvied]

Oh boy. Nerves.

So, a few of my friends have expressed an interest in playing DitV. I should point out I've never gamemastered an indie game, haven't really played or gamemastered anything in a long while, and this entire group of friends has never roleplayed before in their lives.

Obviously, I'm more than a little worried about messing up and ruining roleplaying for them. I've been preparing by going over the resources on the DitV site with a fine-toothed comb, and I've read every DitV AP post I can find over here on these boards. Box Elder Canyon seems to be the town to run with, if only because I've now read so many AP posts about it that I'm beginning to feel like I'm ready for what - hopefully - are the most common eventualities.

What I need (and I imagine this will come in handy for others, those running DitV for the first time and/or those trying to convert groups to indie play):
- Any DitV-specific game mastering advice that wasn't already included in the book.
- Any mechanics hitches that hit you during play, so we can thrash them ahead of time.
- Suggestions for how to get people new to roleplaying into the system smoothly. Perhaps good explanations on how to get them into the swing of the mechanics?

And, really, just anything to help this come together smoothly for my friends. If this works out, I may very well end up with a regular group. If it doesn't, I'll screw a handful of people out of the fun of roleplaying. What has me optomistic is, when describing DitV to my friend S. in broadstrokes, I made a comment to the effect of: "it's the sort of game with thought, and emotion, theme and just heavy with character. If you're a writer, you'll love it. If you want to hack apart goblins, you'd probably be best to move on." (This was a universal "you", not directed to S. specifically). His response was "Cool!" (and for that matter, he is a writer).

I don't really know what sort of preferences they'll have. The only person I've talked to about RPGs before was S. We were leafing through All Flesh Must Be Eaten (we frequently go off on zombie kicks), and I suspect he got a small erection once he got to the part about miracles and so forth. Personally, I'd really like to play this game with the supernatural volume dial turned to low, but I have a feeling S. is going to really enjoy the miraculous/demon interaction, and I feel rather obligated to run it to the way they're going to prefer, in hopes of getting them hooked. I don't know where to draw that line between letting the players have the story they want, and bearing in mind that the game master is a player, too.

Well. Really. I've gone through all the DitV posts, trying to learn from other people's mistakes and experiences, but I still feel very nervous, as I really haven't seen any other posts about introducing people to roleplaying altogether. Any advice on the above issues would be mighty appreciated.

[Glendower]

People sometimes have problems with the way the conflict is handled.  For example, one sticking point is where someone wants to join in on the conflict while it's already in progress. Be aware of how to handle this, by either using a person as additional dice, or having someone give and setting up a follow-up conflict.

Know that you can escalate "up" or "down".  Fighting can escalate to Talking, Gun fights can Escalate to physical.  I find that if you are doing this, make sure that whenever a person "takes the blow" they immediately convert their "taking blow" dice to the fallout die type they'll use later.

Speaking of Dice, get a lot of them.  The more d4s, 6s, 8s, and 10s you have the better.  Dogs uses a pile of dice.

Don't be afraid, as the Gm, to get the townsfolk to tell them as much as they need to know.  Make the information easy to get, offered on a silver platter, the meat in play is judging the town. 

Never never never judge what they decide to do. 

Start out with at least one black hearted bad guy.  I don't know if Box Elder Canyon has one or not, but they really help the game out by allowing the players to go... "all right, not sure who's at fault, but to start let's wipe this snake out without feeling bad about it."

Have a decent soundtrack playing in the background.  I recommend some bluegrass or soundtracks, Tombstone or Unforgiven are both great ones, there's a whole thread dedicated to others.

Keep in mind that there is a learning curve.  Take it slow, and focus more on teaching the system by doing rather than talking. Take them through Accomplishment to help the learning curve along.  Bring the one - page conflict sheet out to follow the necessary steps (found at Vincent's site)

Communicate with the players, let them interact with their environment.  If they want to use something that might be in their location, I always recommend saying yes. 

That's my experiences and recommendations.  Hope they help. 

[Lance D. Allen]

A few common rules mistakes:

Escalating means getting more dice. That's pretty much it. There's no scale of escalation that affects fallout; ie, if you escalate to guns, not all subsequent fallout is d10s. Fallout is always, always based on the specific raise that caused it. If you shoot at someone, and they take the blow, that particular fallout is d10s. If you later (in the same conflict) talk to them and they take the blow, that fallout is d4s. Additionally, if you start out with shooting, then switch to talking, that's still escalation. Remember, escalating is just a way to get more dice.

This one's not a common mistake, but one I made early on; If you have already rolled a stat (say Heart because you started with talking) you cannot roll it again in the same conflict. So if you go from talking to physical but not fighting (Heart+Body, right?) you don't roll Heart again.

Relationships cannot be brought into a conflict the way traits can. Relationships can only be brought into the conflict if a) the relationship is what's at stake (Will my brother give up his sinful ways?) or b) the relationship is directly involved in the conflict.

Play Advice:

It's okay to Give. Make sure that your NPCs are not pushing beyond what they might reasonably do under the circumstances, especially if it's because you, as the GM, are trying to "challenge" your players. Additionally, help your players to choose stakes that can be given on; High stakes definitely have their place, but most stakes should be set in such a way that they can be given on, and a follow-up conflict initiated. Follow-up conflicts are a powerful device, and from my personal experience, they're sorely underused.

It's okay to "split the party". To be honest, there's just about nothing that three or four Dogs cannot face down together.. Be it a bloodthirsty mob, a whole mess of demons, or what have you. Set up situations that encourage the Dogs to go their own ways, and come back and share what they've learned. When I was a player, it became a maxim to "always go in pairs" because we had several severe injuries caused because one Dog was alone. But we always broke that maxim, because it was fun and exciting. It also caused a marked contrast when we did come together, standing united in the authority given us by the King of Life.

Fallout is GOOD. Emphasize this. Especially talking Fallout. Where they take Fallout, and what fallout they take says something about them as players, and about their characters.

When it comes to easing the players into the game.. Explain the conflict rules, read the examples out of the book. Read all of the social rules. Then start making characters, all together. Encourage them to comment and suggest on each others characters. Then try to get each player invested in every other player's initiations, and push those as hard as you can. Unless the Dog rolls horribly, they cannot lose.. And really, if they escalate, they'll probably win anyhow. Make sure they realize that escalation *means* something. And don't be afraid to Give, or let them Give if it seems most appropriate.

Really, the game will guide you on it's own. Don't second guess the rules. They're simple and elegant, and newer players seem to grasp them better than "experienced" roleplayers, because they have no previously held assumptions.

Finally: The supernatural dial: Discuss it a little bit, but avoid making decisions up front, unless you have really strong feelings about it. Just present your town as low key.. Anything could be read as bad luck, coincidence, etc. Let the players twist that dial.. They'll let you know right away where they want it. And even then, remember that you don't necessarily have to reciprocate.. Just because a player makes his hands glow as he heals someone of their wounds doesn't mean you'll have to throw materialized demons at them. Keep it low key if you want to, but make it that creepy, questionable sort of low key.

[Alex F]

Hey Miedvied, I was in much the same situation as you at the beginning of this year. First off, don't worry! Between Saying Yes and the Give option, you are given a ton of system-sanctioned ways to bypass sticky bits of play (haven't thought about how this npc would feel? Fine, Say Yes for now - she can always fizz into life later. Something about the dynamics of this conflict tripping everyone up? Fine, Give it up as you can always follow-up later).

You can make this explicit too - "You know guys, we seem to be a bit stuck here, so let's move on." I think it's healthiest to act just as another player rather than the flawless authority figure; you're all trying to get into the game together, and you've happened to have read the rules first. I would not think about it as "here is my chance to introduce them to roleplaying, which is my own thing  that I must validate" but as "I like a bunch of games, and this new one might be fun for all of us - let's all give it a try (together)".

I think the initiation is a wonderful tool for easing into play. It tricks players into playing without thinking they are playing. I use it as a playpen to introduce techniques in a 'safe environment'. That is, for the first initiation you establish the setting, and type of conflict, and show how raises introduce traits. The next one, I try and introduce a fun raise - like a "later that day..." raise, or a flashback. Another one, I might introduce some eerie spuernatural elements; if they seem uncertain how to respond you could do what I do and say "for now we could keep it ambiguous - that gypsy could have the devil's touch, or it could be just the atmospheric lighting. You could respond with words, force, or faith - it's up to you". You're basically showcasing the range of play, both exciting and empowering the other players. They'll be able to go into 'the proper game' with a bunch of fun play techniques. This takes a lot of pressure off you as they'll be more likely to contribute and be active.

[lumpley]

I'm the worst person to answer this, because everything I can think to say, it's in the book. So I'll just say that this is all great advice!

I think you'll do fine.

-Vincent

[oliof]

"Say yes or roll the dice" has another side: Never say 'No.' - roll the dice whenever you feel the urge to do so. Take care when setting stakes - it's really something that needs to be learnt. If your first few stakes are a bit shakey, don't despair. They *will* become better.

Prepare the proto-npcs as in the book. The strategy behind them is one of dramatic tension: As you set the traits of the NPCs at first conflict, you are very well able to find the perfect anti traits. In the second conflict, the player's know what/who they're handling, and will most certainly have the upper hand. Never forget to give. You might want to take a log at the DitV strategy guide at http://www.darkshire.net/~jhkim/rpg/dogsinthevineyard/strategy.html

Don't forget to tell the players what their options are rules wise. Tell them when the PCs know everything there is to know. This is important so they really understand this is no mystery/sort-out-the-red-herrings game till sundawn.

Regarding the supernatural dial: Ask they players how *they'd* like it. It really helps setting the right mood.

Regards,
    Harald

[Willow]

Always listen to your players.  Don't be afraid to explain and re-explain how things work.

I don't see any reason why Dogs can't be a gateway game.  (And there are significant reasons to believe that it's better than traditional alternatives.)