Wondering what you need to start running your first game? Start here.
Fundamentally, here’s what you need to start a roleplaying game:
- An idea that’s enjoyable
- A system to support that idea
- (Optional) Other people
Let’s break it down.
An Idea That’s Enjoyable
Most people play games because they’re some combination of fun, interesting, or satisfying. Whatever story or idea you have for a game should hit at least one of those above, ideally all three.
At the risk of being pedantic, I’m defining fun here as “providing entertainment, amusement, or enjoyment”. What provides this amusement is as varied as folk amused. Some people really like the fun of Awesome 90’s Cool, going the full trench coat and katanas route because Blade is Awesome. (I’m entirely biased; other people might be other adjectives, but no one will be as Awesome as Blade.) Some like going full sparkling Magical Girl, because Sailor Moon lives rent-free in their head. Some people genuinely like introducing Blade to Sailor Moon and seeing how that goes. Whatever your fun is, have it in your game.
Interesting games take up headspace. Incorporating puzzles, researching and building complex worlds, or creating complex combat encounters are all different ways to stretch your brain to have novel experiences. Humans are naturally curious, and one of the cooler ways we get to be curious is building weird things for each other to enjoy, including TTRPGS.
Satisfying games hit hard. Creating situations which could kill player characters (PCs) or beloved non-player characters (NPCs) hits in a way that a complex combat puzzle doesn’t, because now there’s stakes. Playing through your character’s struggle with depression and anxiety only to find the other side is emotionally exhausting, but an ending where they find peace is a memory that sticks with you. Players accomplish things, despite significant risk, making the game all the more rewarding.
If you’re seeing there’s both ways these ideas both complement and hinder each other, you’re right. Some well-timed Fun can completely undercut Satisfying drama, but can also act as padding to prevent a player from being as emotionally wrecked as their character. Interesting puzzles can be Entirely UnFun, or be intensely Satisfying to complete, and sometimes both at the same time.
Think about the balance of these elements in your game idea. A superhero game based on Constantine has a much different balance than one based on Venture Brothers, even if both are the about same genre and power level.
This will inform how to find a System of Support.
A System to Support That Idea
Most TTRPGs have Rules, which are fundamentally a System to Support the Idea.
These rules hopefully reinforce certain tropes, help adjudicate conflicts, describe what is and is not possible, and can help add spontaneity. Different rulesets help with different ideas.
Dungeons & Dragons has been the go-to system and is the originator of the table-top RPG idea. She needs no introduction. If you want to pretend to be in Lord of the Rings, here’s your system. The rules set emphasises combat as the primary way to resolve conflict through a complex series of abilities, statistics, and interactions which are balanced across player classes. Other encounters are possible through skill checks and roleplaying, though these are clearly secondary.
By contrast, let’s look at World of Darkness. WoD is a system for modern gothic fantasy that’s has been the go-to system for roleplaying angst since the 90’s. The core rules equalise character ability across Physical, Social, or Mental categories, with a fairly equal ability to overcome conflict by any of those means. The rules are not balanced for combat ability, to emphasise potential horror and interesting role-play situations.
That’s a lot of contrast without even touching the weird mechanics (and lack thereof) in many solo RPGs, bringing us to…
(Optional) Other People
Nothing is stopping you from playing through the Tomb of Horrors by yourself, with a number of characters you’ve created, and essentially playing chess against yourself through an incredibly long and challenging dungeon. As long as 1) You’re having fun, and 2) You find the system supportive enough for what you’re doing.
I personally love playing with other people. Speaking in my character’s voice to another character is fun, and interesting, and satisfying in a way journaling in their voice alone doesn’t quite reach. Collaborating on how an adventure happens, and having someone to give you and your character a surprise, can lead to an incredibly rich experience, and with the right group is life changing.
That said, if you’re playing with other people, probably you should all agree on 1) What Kind of Fun We Want to Have, and 2) What System We Use (and How).
This agreement usually gets worked out in Session 0, a session just for character creation and expectations setting. Agreeing before play whether fudging a dice roll to save a beloved character can save a lot of hurt feelings. Similarly, the amount of optimisation on each character sheet helps everyone have the same amount of fun. Building a good group takes work, and is a critical part of building a good game.
That’s It
Elementally, that’s all anyone needs to get started. That said, I might be forgetting something in my caffeine-induced haze. Comment below with more; I reserve the right to add to this post as I refine ideas and figure out how to explain them better.