Hello! I’ve been roped into Game Mastering for a small group of my friends, and decided to introduce them to my favorite game system Burning Wheel in exchange. However, I’ve since learned about Burning Wheel Gold’s existence and ordered a copy of both it and the Codex (I’ve owned all the books for Revised for years now, including Core and Character-, Monster-, Magic- and Adventure-Burners) so I can show them the most up to date version.
I’m not very experienced at GMing in any game system, and have played precious few BW games directly. And several of my friends are new to the hobby entirely, while others are fellow veterans of games like D&D and Pathfinder. Obviously, I’ll be going through the forums for answers, too, but I’ve got a few I’d like to try to get answers to immediately if I can:
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I’ve already had them burn up characters before as a sort of gauge on how interested/willing they are to play (did it before I knew Gold existed). My plan right now is to:
A) give them a general description of the game system’s Hub and Spokes
B) Run them through The Sword to get them familiar with those and key aspects of the Rim
C) Start working on Setting/World ideas together
D) Help them burn up characters specific to the setting.
Does that sound good, or do you guys have a recommendations for better ways to introduce people to the game? -
Based on the above plan, are there any concepts you feel I should focus on in my explanations that players would find valuable that The Sword won’t cover (FoRKs, for example)?
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I’ve coded up an excel spreadsheet that automatically tracks how many Routine, Difficult and Challenging tests left to advance for skills and stats, but it’s based on Revised’s formulas. I’ve looked over the formulas in Gold and they look the same; can someone confirm that for me or, if not, what’s changed?
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I want to use Gold’s rules for the main game, but am not sure there will be enough time for me to properly read through the Rim section before I run my players through The Sword (yes, I could delay, but everyone’s EXCITED, you know?) Are there any major differences in the main Rim portions (BoW, Fight!, etc) that The Sword covers that I should know of beforehand so I don’t teach them outdated info?
Any help on the above is much appreciated, thank you!