Pick Up Group

So me and Apples went to our local gaming store this week during open RPG night. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect, as I have rarely if ever played with someone I did not consider to be a friend or at least acquaintance with first. We got there and started setting up at a table so that I may run a public 4E campaign, and we were approached by a couple kids who looked to be maybe middle school aged. They asked if we were playing D&D, and I said yes and asked if they wanted to join in.

Before too long me and Apples found ourselves helping them make their characters. I put a lot of time and focus into helping the less experienced of the two with making his character, and he was genuinely appreciative of my help and patience. It was nice to be appreciated, but I always find it tiring to DM after the entire character creation process. I think putting the time and energy into making a character from scratch can be a huge drain on your creativity. I really appreciate a campaign where everyone is able to play the same character over and over again, but at the same time it's fun to see some of my other friends joining in the game.

The session itself was fairly bland, but it was definitely a good experience for me to play with some kids who are the age I was when I first started playing D&D. Now I just need to figure out how to get them to focus on the parts of the game that are as equally interesting to an experienced DM as they are to a younger generation of gamers. I believe that if I can formulate the encounters right, just getting through the encounter will be a lot more interesting than pulling off flashy moves. I intend on accomplishing this by testing the limits of the players, always giving them encounters that are above average difficulty. The other option is to simply explain to them that if you do something flashy and daring every turn, things no longer become flashy and daring, and eventually you just look like a fool when you fail.

Other than finding a common ground to focus on, the game seems like it will be fairly successful. If nothing else, it gives me some extra practice DM'ing with people that I don't know all that well.

-Lance of the Old People