I see a lot of the major issues have been hit, and I won't belabor those with a second pass-by, but something I read and I didn't catch particularly responded to in the thread thus far (I've had my head in three different systems lately so reading comprehension's gone down a bit from data overload >_>):
Quote:
4. As for "Why 3.5", well short answer: I have a good deal of 3.5 experience as a player (none playing dark heresy or deathwatch, the 40K rpg games), and when no one even knows much about the universe to begin with, that's a much harder sell to the player (in other words, if I said hey lets play a deathwatch campaign they probably would have said no, while they all talked about wanting a D&D session to get going), also I do not have any of the source books for 40K rpg, while I do have access to 3.5 books. So that is the short answer.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sgill07
@Raistlinmc 2 players a party does not make, and to be blunt this group is a mix match batch of people who have common links (half know my gf and are her friends, half are my friends), to be frank they don't exactly mesh personality wise (one group is lets say conservative and the other is much more liberal leaning side) so I think that calling them a group at this point is a stretch. More so its 7 people playing a common game of interest bc they all separately wanted to play, not really that they came together for a game. Which, yes may be one of the many larger problems at hand discussed.
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(Emphasis mine)
If the group was looking to play D&D, instead of 3.5, why didn't you run a D&D game? I get having a pet system (gods know I love Rolemaster like I have hardcore Stockholm Syndrome) and likewise a pet setting...but it seems like only you and perhaps one other really knows the 40k setting, and playing 40k wasn't what people were interested in. You have to know your audience in a situation like that, where your player base is a very defined number, and especially with a new group of mix-matched people as you said.
Get them hooked in first, getting them what they want- D&D. That assumes the things that come with typical D&D: fantasy setting, magic, wizards, the whole shebang. Of course, toss in your own flavorings to make the setting "yours," but try not to deviate so starkly in ideas that it would throw off people coming in with that kind of expectation. Once the group starts to come together, getting the cohesion and the shared experience down -- building that trust and rapport with your group --
then toss out the idea: "Hey guys, I have this setting that I think I a hell of a lot of fun, and I think you all would enjoy it; want to give it a shot? Fair warning, it's a lot different than what we've been playing so head's up."
For me, looking at this from an outsider, it seems that the group wasn't terribly keen on the setting in the first place and were just sort of forced to roll with it because that's all you were offering to bring to the table. Forgive me if I mis-interpreted, but that feels like one of the first -- and biggest! -- mistakes of storytelling: know your audience. You can't tell a story if no one wants to hear it in the first place.
I grew up around TTRPGs, literally -- my mother and step-father ran a game at home every Sunday since I was six -- and while we mostly played Rolemaster and my step-father was GM, we did change systems and GMs on more than a few occasions because
that's what people wanted to play. I never even played D&D in a real group (outside of short-lived sessions in my school cafeteria that I ran which mostly consisted of killing random things in the MM) until I moved out of the area and started playing it online at another site in college. We (the group) never considered D&D as an option of game play because
no one wanted to play it. And many had left groups and joined ours precisely because other groups
only played D&D.
If we had tried to hamfist a pet system down the group's throat, it might have lasted a little bit because of our built-up relationship at that point (our group was basically family, including some inter-group marriages so they actually
were family), but unless they had somehow gotten really interested into the system it wasn't going to last and could potentially divide the group. And considering ours was a massive group -- I think when everyone was present we numbered around 13 -- it was important to find common ground. But I digress.
Point is, it seems like no one really wanted 40k but an isolated few. And I get trying to introduce people to new systems -- my group did that for VtM, Traveler, Earthdawn, even SW d20 just for a change of pace -- but you need to make sure you have a group that's willing to do that
ahead of time rather than just a group of people all gathered to play a game you're not selling. Because in that situation, you
are selling: the story, the setting, yourself as a GM, all of it.
It's the same on this site for newcomers- you have to sell yourself and your story because
no one knows you. The only plus is you often don't have to sell the setting/system because you'll get the people that already know it and enjoy it as opposed to trying to convert people, but the same principle remains.
So, long-winded post going on much longer than anticipated coming to a close, I think (again, based on me not having mis-interpreted anything with my assumptions) your best bet at this time is to be direct with the group and ask them what they truly want, if they want a more traditional D&D setting or to stick with the 40k stuff (now that it seems like you have at least one convert to the setting! Huzzah)...and if it's for going with D&D, if you want a group to play with, I'd go with it -- for now! -- and try to come back to the 40k setting later with 1. A better system for it!, and 2. a new group now a little more open to the possibility.
EDIT:
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Originally Posted by dj2145
I say you do what they did to Spider-Man post Andrew Garfield...REBOOT! DM death spell all of the current players and come back with a newer, better game using the right system.
Ok, a little harsh. It's Wednesday, I get edgy on Wednesdays.
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Harsh, possibly, but not wrong either xD