[RPG] What makes a good pitch for a new game

Random advice from a Paranoia GM

• Plan one to three sessions. Too much longer is not easily sustainable, at least not without toning the violence and craziness down and getting buy-in from the whole group.

• Make sure that each PC has good reasons to kill at least two other PCs. Ok, maybe not good reasons, but reasons.

• PCs' agendas will be defined by their mission, their secret society, and their service group/firm. Have these conflict for just about every PC, so that they're torn about what they should be doing. Swap them up during play via direct questioning by The Computer, NPCs during play (like their Briefing Officer), their secret societies (make their priorities known and have them change for ineffable reasons), etc.

• Give each player at least one treasonous item. Maybe even something useful.

• Explain note passing. They should be sending you notes all the time.

• Pass out Perversity Points like candy. (I use poker chips.) Any time a player does something hilarious, in the spirit of the game, forwards the basic plot (if any), takes the players out of a boring situation, blames something on another PC, sends an awesome note, or realizes just now screwed they are and rolls with it anyway, give them a chip or two. Reward firsts early to get the ball rolling. First note from a player? Here's a chip. First attempt to harm another PC? Chip. First attempt to use a mutant power? Contact The Computer? Use equipment they don't understand? Willingly talk to a citizen of higher clearance? Use their hidden, treasonous equipment? You get the idea.

• Even if using pregens (highly recommended), make them roll for their mutant power. If it comes up something boring (Uncanny Luck), offer to let them reroll. This makes it random and interesting for you, and might even give them a tiny amount of buy-in.

• Ask them if anyone wants to register their mutation. If you're feeling nice, warn them of the consequences.

• Use Mandatory Bonus Duties. I like to have them get assigned during their Briefing. Consider giving the Team Leader duty to the quietest player. Suddenly, they'll have a lot of talking they'll need to do. Have the Team Leader assign the other duties, or have you via the Briefing Officer do it. Give them their MBD equipment immediately.

From my own experiences, I would suggest three primary guidelines to follow:

1. Focus on the major concepts

When describing your world, focus on the major concepts and avoid dwelling on details. Details can and should become important during the game itself, but when the players are learning about a brand-new setting, they need to see the big picture first in order to make sense of it.

Players are usually good at filling in the blanks by themselves. For example, if there's a bitter feud between two criminal organizations in Capital City, it's often enough to devote just a sentence or two to this fact. The players will understand the implications of a large gang war without being told about specific battles fought and certain tactics used.

2. Emphasize the differences

When focusing on the major concepts, particularly emphasize those that make your setting different from similar settings. If a major concept of your D&D campaign is that there are many dungeons and dragons, you probably don't have to explain this in much detail (or at all), because it's not very different from other fantasy settings.

At times, this may in fact conflict with your idea of an in-world character giving the description: If the entire world is always covered in snow, the world's inhabitants won't find it strange but your players surely will. To avoid this, you could have an outsider of some sort give the description. In this way, the most striking differences are plainly spelled out for your players, who have no previous experience with the setting. Some type of "letter home" is a recognizable and effective way to accomplish this.

3. Keep it brief

Above all else, keep your written description brief or most players will have a difficult time following it. This is not because they are lazy or stupid; taking in several pages' worth of completely new information is difficult for anyone, especially when it's a hobby and not homework. Devoting a page or less to the description is usually enough to get your point across without giving the players too much to read.

There is an exception to this: If you know that all of your players do enjoy long written descriptions, you can ignore this guideline. However, if even a single player finds them tedious, you should keep it brief and feed the players more detail later on.

Bonus guideline: Use humor

This is not essential for writing a good description, but it can make things more fun for the players: Try to use some humor in your description. It doesn't have to be elaborate or even very funny to be worthwhile—anything that encourages a smile is usually enough. For example, in the e-mail briefings for my recent Star Wars campaign, I included short in-universe advertisements to add just a little dose of humor before every mission.

Bonus guideline: Use regional slang

If your world contains slang expressions that you intend to use in-game, a written description is a great place to introduce them. By having your narrator toss in a slang expression and explain it briefly, you're not only establishing a particular word but also the fact that you intend to use slang in your campaign.