For TTRPGs, how exactly does one sell players on an original IP as opposed to an established, mainstream one?
I mean, getting people onboard for a Star Wars, Star Trek, game of thrones, Middle Earth, 40k, or hell, Zelda seems pretty straightforward, as these are well established and likely will get players interested as they may well already be fans and thus already invested.
But there are generic systems that give prospective GMs the opportunity to build their own worlds whole cloth from scratch, which, for some, has an enticement all on its own.
Of course then the prospective GM has the problem of having to sell players on the idea of playing RP in a world that they’ve never heard of before.
So for anyone who was able to run a game in their own setting, how’d you convince your players to come to those first few sessions to get them invested in your world?
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just cater to your players, whatever theme they like, that's the kind of setting you will make, and then you dont need to upsell it, you can just develop such a homebrew setting as you guys play, dotting details you like into the mix.
"There are five Hitlers."
i don't. they can have my stuff or they can DM, and they won't, so here we are.
This is my attitude as well. When I want to run a game I put feelers out to people I would want to play, and briefly explain the setting
I don't sell people on my home brew setting, I run my home brew and people who don't like it, are free to look else where for a game. I don't like prepackaged settings, they all seem artificial and as of now they all reflect the designers real life political beliefs.
I like to run established settings like Arcem or Latter Earth and then add my own cosmos/history/lore to it. This also fricks with players who think they can be cheating shits and read all the secret lore of a setting (as well as GM's who've run it in the past so they can still be surprised by a familiar yet different world).
It's impossible.
By running the game.
>original IP
>OP is so brain broken by franchises they can't even contemplate a homebrew setting without it being an IP
lol
You just have an elevator pitch of the setting, a map and a short description of whatever is relevant for the game at hand. Be able to answer questions as they come up.
Me and literally ALL people I ever played tabletop rpgs with consider running a homebrew as the standard. I'd have to sell them the franchise world.
I just ask my players if they're feeling either high fantasy, down and dirty, comedic or evil before starting a campaign and cater accordingly.
Making the IP/world the selling/breaking point sounds wrong. A player that does not like high fantasy will have fun in my high fantasy campaign regardless, because its not about that.
Describe the theme and tone ("WW2 but in space, Terry Pratchett goofiness.) Then, describe the absolute bare minimum they would need to create a character and understand the setting ("Allies are The Federated Planets, Axis are the Galactic Dawn, AI is banned but drones are common, and you CAN start with a lightsaber.") Answer questions as they come up, maybe throw some people a bone ("Oh, you wanna be Spanish? Well, Lyone 7 is basically the Spanish Civil War, so you could be from there...")
This is assuming you dont have a decent group that'll just roll with your shit for fun, of course, which could be a biggee problem.
You offer to DM and take them on an adventure in it.
Its not fricking rocket science.
If you're playing fantasy, tell them what kind of fantasy you're aping off of, trust me you're not 100% super totally original.
If you're doing sci-fi, tell them its closer to star wars or star trek or some other sci-fi property closest to your super cool totally original setting. Same with fantasy, conan or arthurian legend?
The big thing though is to not be an absolute fricking c**t when they want to do something original and interesting themselves within said setting, embrace others ideas and add them to your own.
Pick 2 things you like from your homebrew setting. Phrase one of them normally, and the other irrationally while glossing over the context.
For example with my own I would say "there's an in-depth magic system based around concepts, combining ideas, and the power of language. Also, giants live on in hyperborea"
Swap out the latter based on people youre talking to. For example, "... Also, tall elf ladies that will rape you because consent doesnt exist in their culture" or "... Also, theres a guy who uses wind magic and the recoil of his armor being immune to magic to fly"
Just tell them they can play what I want to run or find another GM. Worked every time so far.
As others have said, running your own custom setting was the standard. Not sure when that changed.
To answer your question; I don't. I drop my players into the world with just telling them more or less what they'll be doing, rather than selling them on the setting. The setting doesn't matter as much as what they do in it. So, I begin by saying as little as "you're a moron in debt and the only way you can level up is by taking treasure from monsters and dungeons" and see them eventually form up their own goals beyond that once they experience the setting. My latest one is "you've been hired as a teacher and club advisor in the eternal dungeon-school and are in charge of a club (according to class), please try to keep them from exploding", which will be no easy task. They'll level up by capturing magic spells or swords and investing in their club, or capturing the rooms of other clubs for their goodies.
In short, just say what they'll do in it and what the game will be about rather than describe the setting.
>As others have said, running your own custom setting was the standard. Not sure when that changed.
AD&D 2e, when pre-made campaign settings were pushed as the new standard. Marketing probably realized that getting nerds hooked on the idea of "canon events" would force them to keep buying supplements so they would have an accurate official setting, rather than just selling them the basic rulebooks and encouraging them to build custom settings.
"You see that mountain on the map? You can go there."
"hey guys I am running (system) I have made my own setting for it so I will give you a basic outline, feel free to ask questions."
If you already have players and the system they won't care as long as you run it competently.
An easy way is use popular systems.
Pathfinder was in vogue in the aftermath of the OGL fiasco. So I ran a pathfinder game.
Then establish what root you are basing it off of. For mine I was sticking very close to pre-Columbian Americas, since that provides a frame of refernce, and any ignorance on players can just be accounted by "I don't know as much on the Aztecs as the GM, but I could if I really wanted to". Having an inkling for the baseline really helps step into things and really feel it.
But things like emphasizing mystery and exploration is good since a benefit of custom settings is you don't exactly know what is going to be there.
Then, the real important thing is -presentation-.
As a brief summary I wrote it in Mayan style poetry form.
“Xamumatz is like the Americas.
Old reflection of the Americas.
Great earth mounds rise off mighty rivers
Great pyramids rise out of mighty jungles.
Dwarf kings in mountain palaces work bronze.
Elf kings in floating palaces work flesh.
Ancients beasts thirst for blood.
Ancient gods thirst for blood. “
>How do you sell players on your custom setting?
I don't.
I genuinely question the premise of the question. In the scenario, I am the GM. I have no need to "sell my players on my setting". I declare that we're playing X, in Y, with Z stipulations/rules. There's very little else to do.
My approach too. I'm not selling anyone something. I do put a lot of effort in but it's because I like DMing and each session I have people laughing and scheming and having a good time.
>How do you sell players on your custom setting?
I ran a short adventure set in it and that turned into a campaign.
If your players care about playing in an 'official' setting, I think you should get new players.
Ambush them with pre-gens on game night.
My players know me (and I know their interests). Thus, they trust me that if I propose a game set in a particular setting, they're going to enjoy it. Finding randos to play is more difficult - you have to pitch your game in such a way it will appeal to people.
I find
>Hey guys want to try my custom setting
Usually goes pretty okay.
Make it into a video game first, get it popular, then sell it to players as a setting. You need them invested before you do a cold sale to them on it.
Would.