In this episode, we look at how to introduce new players to Mythras and consider whether it is worth playing an older character! Welcome to Mythras Matters Season 1 episode 40 - Newbie players and getting older!
Hello and welcome to Mythras Matters, a podcast dedicated to the Mythras ruleset and all its supplements. As always, I’m your host, inwils, and welcome to September
Yes, this is episode 40! I really need to ensure that I keep better notes about the content of episodes because after making forty episodes I often forget what we have actually covered. Of course, that could also be related to my age and my fading memory!
As the summer comes to an end and we start getting back to work and school, September is often when we return to our weekly sessions. Having a break from gaming can also revitalise campaigns and characters. I often feel a need for a break from creating and playing. Not because I am bored of it, but mainly because my creative juices seem to dry up and then I seem to get something that could be close to writers' block.
This is one of the reasons that we alternative the games that we play in our group. Generally, we will play one or two adventures with Fantasy Mythras before swapping to sci-fi M-space. These adventures can take several sessions to play through so by the time we swap, we are generally ready for a change of rules and a change of character. Members of the gaming group - who you will be listening to later when they talk about their experiences as a new player to Mythras - also swap what they are actually focusing on with their character Hasra a combat scout becomes Minsk, the face of the M-Space group, and Bartleby, the support and healer in Mythras becomes the hard-hitting ex-law enforcer Numen in M-space.
We have some other games lined up to play as well. These include the superhero game of Destined! the newly released Spell Jammer dnd 5e game and hopefully After the Vampire wars
You might be thinking that that is a lot of games, but our policy is as long as we are playing, that is the important thing. What we play can be anything - as long as we are enjoying it.
I have thought about setting up a play-by-mail/post/internet game after playing within Matt Eager's campaign for a short period of time but I have to be realistic about the number of games and campaigns I am running. I guess I just enjoy creating and playing RPGs too much 🙂. Does anyone else feel that they just don't have the time to spend on their campaigns? Maybe we all need a big lottery win so we can dedicate ourselves completely to our passion of "Playing Mythras!" - that would certainly be a great passion to have!
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Later on, in the episode, I'm going to talk about age and how these could be incorporated into your campaigns, but first up I am joined by members of our gaming group as we talk about the best way to support new players to Mythras create and develop their characters! So welcome players, let's start off by saying who you are and what your experience of RPG has been ... who's first!
Interview - no transcript available.
I found it really helpful to talk to the group about creating characters in Mythras as complete newbies and I hope we have provided you with some ideas and strategies if you are going to be introducing new players to your campaign.
The group will be returning again to look at combat and other aspects of the game and how to approach these when introducing new players to the rule set.
So stay tuned for future episodes!
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Remember, if you would like to contribute to the podcast then why not just drop me an email or message and let me know what you would like to cover? I am always looking for reviews or interviews with people. So if you are interested, you can email me at inwils@gmail.com or send me a message on the various forums I frequent.
We have some great episodes lined up for later in the year with new and familiar voices joining the podcast to share their expertise so do subscribe or follow the podcast on your favourite podcasting platform. Some great episodes to come!
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I have to say that I am an older gentleman who plays Mythras. I started RPGs in my teenage years and have returned to games after having a rather large chunk of time focusing on my career and work.
When we were creating characters for the first time in Mythras, I noticed that there is an opportunity for creating an older character, rather than the usual late teen, or early 20s character that we associate with adventuring.
I'm going to make a Mythras shorts rules video about age, but in this episode, I wanted to ask if the system is workable for new characters that might be on the eve of their adventuring life.
The core rules allow players to choose or roll the age of their character. These are then allocated to a range of age categories Young, adult, middle ages, senior and old. With each category, you get more bonus skills and background events to add to your character. This seems sensible - the older you are the more experience you will have. One thing that is really important to note is that from the age categories senior and old, the character starts to suffer from the detrimental effects of ageing, found later on in the rule book.
But I do feel that this touches only the start of playing an ageing character and I might argue that there might be more to consider rather than just skills and events.
First, I would like to suggest that wealth should be considered. Yes, they might have failed in their career or profession before turning to adventure but surely they gained some wealth. This would probably be tied up in property and/or artefacts, but surely they amassed some wealth.
Second, what about dependents? I am in the later years of my life (in my 50s) and have no dependents, but I am probably the exception in the world. An older character might be married, have children or have been married several times and had several children. I think it would be worth considering, what dependents the older character have and how do they provide for these dependents.
And finally - achievements. As we get older it is possible for us to climb that career ladder and gain ranks or titles. This is the aspect of getting older that I think has the most impact on the campaign. The reason I think this is because of ranks in orders and then access to spells and special items. If my theist is in their mid-fifties, what level have they reached in their order? the same would be true for any character that has progressed in their chosen brotherhood. Spell casters would have gained access to higher-level spells and combat characters might have gained prestige and honour.
This final consideration is the one I would really have to think about when a new old character joins the campaign. There could be a significant difference in their skills but also any aspects of the game that the progression allows them to engage with. But also their knowledge of the world and their natural knowledge of events. The latter being history for the younger characters but real life for the older characters that lived through the events.
When considering all the above, I start to think that playing an older character in any campaign could bring a possible imbalance to the game. And, if this is true, then I think I would actively discourage players from taking this option.
If this section had made you through up your arms as a reaction to my simplistic views or lack of gaming knowledge, then please do let me know. You can message me either on the Tapatalk forums or in the Discord. Would love to hear about success stories of playing an older character and whether it can be overpowered. Of course, if you are feeling brave about responding to anything in the podcast or you just want to pass on your words of gratitude and thanks, then feel free to leave an audio message by using the link in the show notes.
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And that’s it, another episode of Mythras Matters completed.
Don't forget you can check out all my content by following my YouTube channel and the campaign areas on World Anvil. I really appreciate your support and do check out the TapaTalk forums and the discord, there are some great people there sharing their ideas within the discussions.
And if you are pressed for time and need a quick encounter to add to your game, then please do check out my encounter sheets in my RPG shop. As always the links are in the show notes.
So, until next time have a great month of gaming and I will chat again to you all in October when we will be looking at how to start a campaign area from scratch!
Until then I hope that all our opposed rolls succeed and provide you with a well-deserved special.
Thanks for listening cya - Bye!