[Rq-rules] Newbie's Debut

[Bruce Mason]

The first RQ3 campaign I ever ran was a Thieves World one. Last I saw
of the PCs was them sailing off to plunder new lands on a pirate ship
they had subverted. Some of the things that worked for me were.

No PC magic. It's one less thing to worry about. However, try to
ensure that they're working for someone with magic who can heal them
in emergencies or put them on good terms with someone who can provide
healing.

Bump up the base chance for First Aid (or give everyone some extra
percentiles) on the basis that they've had to use it a lot in their
early years.

Where combat occurs try to use opponents who have 1h weapons, no
crossbows and tend not to impale.

Give the players some red shirt NPCs to control so that the first time
they charge a city guardsman with a crossbow pointing at them, the NPC
can take it in the chest. That should be an object lesson.

Although people will advise you to avoid combat, if used properly it
adds a lot of excitement and fun because it's a completely different
feeling. You will find that a percentage of players are turned off by
Rq3 combat and there's not a lot you can do but some will love it and
they will quickly learn to fight dirty to survive and to avoid a fair
fight like the plague. Once you've got to that stage you can start
bringing in PC magic and it will seem like a thing of wonder.

I suppose the main thing is that you don't really need to change the
system at this point, just run it gently for a while until the players
get a feel for it.