#RPGaDAY 2017 - Day 22 - Which RPGs are the easiest for me to run?

Day 22 of #RPGaDay 2017. 

Which RPGs are the easiest for you to run?

I just noticed something about this question after seeing many other people's responses online. The question says RPGs, not RPG. That really changes things. To me, this means the question is looking for a style or genre or something like that and not a specific rule system. My original answer was going to be Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, because I know that world and system like the back of my hand, but due to noticing that s after RPG I'm going to have to change my answer.

I'm going to have to go with generic fantasy RPGs. Dungeons & Dragons. Pathfinder. Middle Earth Roleplaying. I realize this is probably the easy way out but we are looking for the easiest to run. The reason I'm going with generic fantasy is that it's well known. Fantasy tropes are common place. It's going to be hard to find someone who isn't familiar with them.

You sit me down with a table of 6 strangers and I can get them involved and active in a fantasy setting in moments. Now-a-days fantasy tropes are so common that I would not have to worry about explaining the world the players were about to enter. Everyone sitting there is going to have an idea in their mind of what I'm talking about when I say "you see an elf" or "The orc charges." What's most fascinating about this to me is that everyone at that table is probably picturing something different, and that doesn't matter. Elf = ally good thing. Orc = bad thing trying to kill the characters.

I have shown up to the FLGS in the past and asked to run a game on the spot. I was able to start a game in moments using a generic fantasy setting. That particular moment I just made up a 5 room dungeon. First room had some goblins in it and was a straight up fight. The second room had a trap. The third room had some Gnolls that could be dealt with through fighting or talking or be snuck by. The fourth room had some treasure and something wondrous (a magic fountain). The last room had a boss. The FLGS happened to have some D&D pre-gens on hand so that's the basic rules I used. I didn't have stats for the bad guys. I didn't have a module telling me what that fountain did. I just made it all up as we were playing and it worked brilliantly. That day I know that at least 3 people entered our wonderful hobby and I was able to pull that off due to the cultural knowledge of general fantasy tropes that now exists. 

---

For those wishing to play along at home, here are the topics for this years #RPGaDay. Feel free to use these cues in your tweets, facebook posts, g+ threads, blog posts and more.

Brimstone Boardgame Night October 4th featuring Dungeons & Dragons

The Windsor Gaming resource returns to Brimstone Games on Saturday October 4th as part of their twice monthly boardgame night which hits on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of every month. These events run from 5pm to 10pm and are open to all ages.

Brimstone is working to become Windsor's premier board game shop. They've got a great selection of the hottest games and tons of gaming space to play them. Not only that but all board games are currently 30% off!

You can win a board game! 

Every Board Game Night at 8pm the store will draw 1 ticket and the winner will receive a free board game!

Players earn 1 ticket for playing games, limit of 1 ticket per night. Earn 1 ticket for purchasing a snack or drink, limit 1 ticket per night. Earn 1 ticket for bringing 1 or more board games for people to play. Earn 5 tickets for purchasing a game. First time players will receive 5 additional tickets.

You can find Brimstone at 3298 Walker Rd. Parking is available on the south side of the building and on the street around back. Note that Brimstone used to be located in McGregor. This is no longer the case, they moved into Windsor just over a year ago.

Featured Game: Dungeons & Dragons

The featured game this week is: Dungeons & Dragons from Wizards of the Coast

Wizards has just released the fifth edition of Dungeons & Dragons and it's proving to be one of the best, if not the best editions yet.

After a two year playtest this new edition of D&D brings the best parts of all previous editions and puts them into one awesome game.

I will be doing very quick dungeon crawls throughout the night and giving people a chance to check out this amazing game. I'll have pre-generated characters, miniatures and everything players will need.

For the game give away we will be giving away copies of the D&D Starter Set. This great box is the perfect introduction to the world of Roleplaying and Dungeons & Dragons.

Edit: date change!

Due to a Magic The Gathering pre-release event on September 20th, this event had to be moved to October 4th

June 15th - Worldwide Dungeons and Dragons Game Day and Free RPG Day!

Saturday June 15th is a great day to be a roleplayer. Not only is it Worldwide Dungeons & Dragons Game Day, it's also Free RPG Day! Both of these events will be supported by FLGS Hugin & Munin

Worldwide Dungeons & Dragons Day

The D&D Vault of the Dracolich Game Day is a multi-table roleplaying event that brings communities of players together for a shared gaming experience.

Vault of the Dracolich is a D&D Next adventure designed for four to six 4th-level characters, in an epic quest to retrieve a magic item hidden away by a powerful dracolich. This adventure is intended to be playable in 2 to 5 hours at your local Wizards Play Network location.Players will be divided into multiple tables, each with their own Dungeon Master, with an event coordinator leading the action.

What Do I Need to Play?

This Game Day will run using the latest D&D Next playtest rules available for download at dndnext.com.

Playtest agreement sheets are included in the Game Day kit for players that do not sign up for the playtest before the event.

Deep in the forest of Cormanthor lies the hoard of the dracolich Dretchroyaster, the prize of which is a diamond staff rumored to unlock the secrets of an ancient elven kingdom. The sage Imani is seeking dozens of adventurers to launch an all-out assault on the undead dragon’s lair. The dracolich is a powerful foe—too great for even several parties to conquer—so it’s going to take all of the heroes’ courage, cunning, and speed to survive the dracolich’s deadly vault.

Vault of the Dracolich draws inspiration from the interactive format used at some gaming conventions. As part of this experience, players and DMs have the opportunity to communicate with other game tables, while the event coordinator takes on the role of the dracolich to menace each group.

Free RPG Day

Established in 2007, Free RPG Day works with participating hobby game retailers and RPG publishers to bring new and exclusive RPG quickstart rules and adventure modules into the hands of gamers.
Consumers WORLDWIDE will be able to grab brand new material for a variety of RPGs --- no overstock, retail-priced or dead product here. The goal of Free RPG Day is to inspire gamers to play a new RPG, which will in turn, create sales through local game stores.

---

Hugin & Munin is located at 1664 Tecumseh RD. E.Windsor On

The store will be open at 11AM and the Worldwide D&D Event will start at 5PM.

Players are encouraged to sign up for this event by contacting the store, commenting here, contacting +Moe Tousignant or posting on the WGR Facebook group

D&D Encounters Search for the Diamond Staff starting June 12th

Dungeons & Dragons Encounters: Search for the Diamond Staff

Wednesdays; June 12, 2013 - August 14, 2013 at Hugin Munin at 6PM

Dungeons & Dragons Encounters™ is an exciting weekly program that brings players to your store to experience a D&D® campaign that plays out one epic encounter at a time. Players will defeat enemies, solve puzzles, and perform heroic deeds.

During this 10 week season, players will adventure in the Dalelands of the Forgotten Realms®. Their quest is to recover the Diamond Staff of Chomylla, a powerful elven artifact that’s been stolen by orcs. Each session only takes 1-2 hours to complete, so it’s easy for players to fit in a game after school or work. D&D Encounters is built so that players can jump in any time. It’s easy to get involved any Wednesday night.

We will be using D&D Next rules and everyone interested in participating must sign the NDA. In addition everyone is encouraged to download the latest set of playtest rules at http://www.wizards.com/dnd/DnDNext.aspx

From what I understand so far if you play in Worldwide D&D day on the 15th you can carry your character over to this event.

You can sign up by replying here, contacting the store or posting in the WGR Facebook Group.