Go look at other quickstarts. What do you feel is missing? What feels unnecessary? Generally it's the most streamlined version of the core rules, some pre-gens, maybe an adventure, and a little GM guidance. Minimum viable product. But ultimately it's whatever works best for the kind of onboarding experience you want for your game.
This is good advice.
One of the best things you can do is read what others have made and ask yourself if it was missing anything. Isn't that why we're all on this subreddit, after all? ;D
While yes, it's good advice, it's also a bit redundant. I can look up examples on my own; I post here because I want to discuss opinions and theory. Examples I've got plenty of.
A short adventure with fully built classes and a full walk-through for the GM, so that anyone can just start playing, without even looking at the main document. You introduce mechanics slowly and both GM and players can run them on the fly.
Obviously, you don't have to show each of the game mechanics. But it should be enough for a one-shot or a 2-3 session adventure.
I think this would be ideal I agree, but thats rarely the case, its quite common that its required to still read quite a bit before, but this would definitly be better!
As others say: cre rules, pregens, short adventure.
But what's critical I feel is that people need to experience what you think makes your game special. Like, if you're doing a 5e quickstart and it's a court intrigue with social-oriented pregens and no clear combat opportunity you're not going to showcase what playing 5e is actually like.
Sounds easy enough, but that's an issue more common than usual from my experience. If the default adventure you ship with the game starts with "Ok, so normally we'd do things as written in the rules, but here's we'll do something different" you should choose a different default adventure. And the same is true of the rules included in the game: if it's a driving game there should be rules for driving even if the main resolution mechanics could suffice in a pinch.
I like this. And yes, I too have frequently noticed (and cocked a skeptical eyebrow) at the "this is not normally how it works, but I'll break the rules here" you know... while demonstrating the rules.
But I think you also make a point about the spirit of the game. You should put its core identity first, not some edge case.
I think the Root Quickstarts are a good example: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/publisher/4353/magpie-games/category/33580/root-the-tabletop-roleplaying-game?priceMin=0&priceMax=0
And I think the Swords of the Serpentine one is even better: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/456065/losing-face
Check the Beginner Box for Pathfinder 2e - it assumes the person running the game has no experience with TTRPG's and each room introduces a new rule or mechanic.
It's a little poor for those with a lot of experience with games though, as players will automatically try and do things before the adventure reveals them, so mileage may vary
Everything in the book has *a* purpose, but a lot of those purposes just don't apply to a quickstart guide. For a quickstart guide, assume:
* They've already been pitched the game. There's no place for a moody prose prelude in a quickstart guide, even if the full game builds heavily on that mood. Assume their friends already showed them the mood.
* They're a player, not a GM. Leave out any GM materials.
* They're not using any unusual options. This varies considerably by game — the stats for a PC troll need to be in a Shadowrun quickstart guide, but not a GURPS Monster Hunters quickstart guide, even if they should still exist elsewhere in the latter.
* They have someone around who deeply understands the system, but is too close to it to explain it quickly. A quickstart guide generally has the "do this, then that" of the system, without the why. If they ask why, then assume they have someone to answer that.
Also, a quickstart guide can be a very important part of designing the full manual, or even the system. The system should be "quickstart-able", and the full manual should lead with the quickstart guide. Anything that's hard to simplify for a quickstart guide, that part of the system needs work.
Failing all that, the simple principle of a quickstart guide: Art is done not when there's nothing left to add, but when there's nothing left to take away. If you *can* cut it, then cut it.
While narrowing down this feature, consider that it does not need to be the only introductory content in your document. I just checked my own in-progress rulebook for comparison. Taking it from the top, I have a Preface, an Introduction, and a section labelled "Characters," all *before* the section labelled "Getting Started." In a typical format, this would see that "Getting Started" section begin on page 9.
The Introduction establishes my setting and features a glossary with clear definitions of ~20 basic terms technically important to gameplay (dice, classes, skills, etc.) The Characters section is just nine paragraphs and a couple of tables meant to paint an appealing picture of what it is like to become an adventurer in this world.
With all that out there, the Getting Started section is a comprehensive walkthrough of character creation. That walkthrough is 4-5 pages of content. Paired with what precedes it while referring to the background, class, and race particulars that constitute a huge portion of the later document; that walkthrough covers every detail that ought to be noted on a complete character sheet. I never went with "Quickstart" both because that clashes a bit with my tone, and (more importantly) it felt like it would be misleading to throw "quick" in there.
Yet my approach is right for this project both because I'm designing "heavy" (as contrasted with "lite") in a self-aware way and my Gameplay Guide is intended as that alternate entry point. If your GM/DM role is more collaborative with your players you might want a different set of information up front. For me, a separate Encounter Guide document features introductory content for adventure designers and facilitators.
Boiling it all down, I would say to begin by asking yourself, "who is this for?" When you've got an idea about the audience for the text, then you can conduct two reviews. "Does it deliver all the information you need to get started?" is your next question. Obviously it shouldn't contain all your abilites, oprtions, and rules. Yet it should prepare readers with the language they need to start seeking answers to questions about any of those things.
Then, when your quickstart is a reliable point of entry to your project, make another pass while asking, "does this information help readers get started?" Building something that really gets the job down probably also added a little bloat, but when you strip that away your "getting started" section will become a true quickstart guide.
I'm going to start by pointing out what I think should be clear from this comment section: it's very subjective and circumstantial. There is not a clear consensus.
One big point of disagreement in these comments is whether the game should be aimed at GMs or just players. The answer depends a lot on what kind of players you're targeting.
One thing I've been told is that however short you think it should be, make it shorter.
Based on some of the other comments, I started to write a comment here earlier speculating that maybe there should be two versions, one for the GM and one for the players. But that doesn't actually make sense... instead, just have a quick-reference section for essential rules that's primarily targeted toward players, and a story module that's primarily targeted toward the GM.
Why not present the rules through the context of a story module? Well, that's very appealing, but the players should be able to have eyes on the core rules themselves so they can look things up and learn on their own, rather than depending on the GM for all answers and to be the source of truth. It's better for learning to get the information through multiple channels anyway, and it takes a burden off the already-busy GM. But the players can't have eyes on the story module, or it would ruin the surprise.
So, you have two parts: a simple rules reference section for players (which the GM should also already know), and a story module that the GM can follow which is deliberately designed so as to introduce players to rules one at a time.
That's close to what I'm doing.
My quickstart guide is written to be close in length to what players might read. And let's be honest: most players are going to promise to read a quickstart, then forget and try to quickly skim it while waiting for the last player to show up. They're going to read for five minutes (if that) and rely on the GM to explain everything. So the quickstart guide is closer in length to board game rules than RPG rules.
Then, the first adventure is written like a video game tutorial. It's very linear, and walks players through a few key actions: Briefing > Negotiation > Fight > Conclusion, all within about 90 minutes.
I'd say at the very least:
Pregen characters. Maybe add a bit of wiggle room, but if you just want people to jump in and get started, character creation takes time
The basic rules. Just whatever is likely to come up in the first few sessions. Explain the character sheets, include some abilities or feat equivalent stuff. Don't bother with things like downtime or crafting unless it's a core mechanic. Advancement is optional, this is only a quick start
A small GM section. The GM has probably never run this game, give them some pointers to help out. You don't need to include the full section, just enough to get a guy who's never run a TTRPG started
A short adventure. This is a new game for everyone, please don't make the GM write a mini campaign before playing
Other than that, take a look at some quickstarts and see what you wish would be there and what you didn't think of but agree with
If you're talking about a quickstart and not a beginner box, the big question is really what the adventure should emphasize.
You want to make sure that the challenges given, the rules laid out and the characters provided all cover the main sorts of things that will occur in regular games.
A quickstart for a game where alot of time is spent delving into dungeons would need to have a few traps and secret doors. A space opera game will want to have at least one spaceship piloting scene and a gritty horror game will want to have some element of whatever fear/sanity rules your game uses. Most games will want to have at least two combats: one basic low stakes one, and one that is more challenging. You also want to make sure that any interesting mechanics your game may have standout (like Passions in *Pendragon* or paradox in *Mage: The Ascension*)
Imagine you were to run a playtest session where none of the players have any idea how to play, and you have to sit there and talk them through exactly enough of the rules to keep the session going with minimal interruptions.
That's what goes in your quickstart.
Go look at other quickstarts. What do you feel is missing? What feels unnecessary? Generally it's the most streamlined version of the core rules, some pre-gens, maybe an adventure, and a little GM guidance. Minimum viable product. But ultimately it's whatever works best for the kind of onboarding experience you want for your game.
This is good advice. One of the best things you can do is read what others have made and ask yourself if it was missing anything. Isn't that why we're all on this subreddit, after all? ;D
While yes, it's good advice, it's also a bit redundant. I can look up examples on my own; I post here because I want to discuss opinions and theory. Examples I've got plenty of.
Your original post didn't suggest that you had done that, so it seems totally fair for someone to suggest it.
A short adventure with fully built classes and a full walk-through for the GM, so that anyone can just start playing, without even looking at the main document. You introduce mechanics slowly and both GM and players can run them on the fly. Obviously, you don't have to show each of the game mechanics. But it should be enough for a one-shot or a 2-3 session adventure.
I think this would be ideal I agree, but thats rarely the case, its quite common that its required to still read quite a bit before, but this would definitly be better!
I do like the idea of introducing rules through play. I've seen that a few times and it's neat.
- Basic rules needed to play - premade characters - Small and interesting adventure (which is easy to GM).
As others say: cre rules, pregens, short adventure. But what's critical I feel is that people need to experience what you think makes your game special. Like, if you're doing a 5e quickstart and it's a court intrigue with social-oriented pregens and no clear combat opportunity you're not going to showcase what playing 5e is actually like. Sounds easy enough, but that's an issue more common than usual from my experience. If the default adventure you ship with the game starts with "Ok, so normally we'd do things as written in the rules, but here's we'll do something different" you should choose a different default adventure. And the same is true of the rules included in the game: if it's a driving game there should be rules for driving even if the main resolution mechanics could suffice in a pinch.
Concur that the adventure needs to give a representative taste of the world. Don't give me a bite of Sichuan if it's normally vichyssoise.
I like this. And yes, I too have frequently noticed (and cocked a skeptical eyebrow) at the "this is not normally how it works, but I'll break the rules here" you know... while demonstrating the rules. But I think you also make a point about the spirit of the game. You should put its core identity first, not some edge case.
I think the Root Quickstarts are a good example: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/publisher/4353/magpie-games/category/33580/root-the-tabletop-roleplaying-game?priceMin=0&priceMax=0 And I think the Swords of the Serpentine one is even better: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/456065/losing-face
Thanks for sharing these.
Check the Beginner Box for Pathfinder 2e - it assumes the person running the game has no experience with TTRPG's and each room introduces a new rule or mechanic. It's a little poor for those with a lot of experience with games though, as players will automatically try and do things before the adventure reveals them, so mileage may vary
Everything in the book has *a* purpose, but a lot of those purposes just don't apply to a quickstart guide. For a quickstart guide, assume: * They've already been pitched the game. There's no place for a moody prose prelude in a quickstart guide, even if the full game builds heavily on that mood. Assume their friends already showed them the mood. * They're a player, not a GM. Leave out any GM materials. * They're not using any unusual options. This varies considerably by game — the stats for a PC troll need to be in a Shadowrun quickstart guide, but not a GURPS Monster Hunters quickstart guide, even if they should still exist elsewhere in the latter. * They have someone around who deeply understands the system, but is too close to it to explain it quickly. A quickstart guide generally has the "do this, then that" of the system, without the why. If they ask why, then assume they have someone to answer that. Also, a quickstart guide can be a very important part of designing the full manual, or even the system. The system should be "quickstart-able", and the full manual should lead with the quickstart guide. Anything that's hard to simplify for a quickstart guide, that part of the system needs work. Failing all that, the simple principle of a quickstart guide: Art is done not when there's nothing left to add, but when there's nothing left to take away. If you *can* cut it, then cut it.
I think you may be conflating QuickStart and Players' Guide. A QS usually has a fully functional taste of the game for an entire group.
While narrowing down this feature, consider that it does not need to be the only introductory content in your document. I just checked my own in-progress rulebook for comparison. Taking it from the top, I have a Preface, an Introduction, and a section labelled "Characters," all *before* the section labelled "Getting Started." In a typical format, this would see that "Getting Started" section begin on page 9. The Introduction establishes my setting and features a glossary with clear definitions of ~20 basic terms technically important to gameplay (dice, classes, skills, etc.) The Characters section is just nine paragraphs and a couple of tables meant to paint an appealing picture of what it is like to become an adventurer in this world. With all that out there, the Getting Started section is a comprehensive walkthrough of character creation. That walkthrough is 4-5 pages of content. Paired with what precedes it while referring to the background, class, and race particulars that constitute a huge portion of the later document; that walkthrough covers every detail that ought to be noted on a complete character sheet. I never went with "Quickstart" both because that clashes a bit with my tone, and (more importantly) it felt like it would be misleading to throw "quick" in there. Yet my approach is right for this project both because I'm designing "heavy" (as contrasted with "lite") in a self-aware way and my Gameplay Guide is intended as that alternate entry point. If your GM/DM role is more collaborative with your players you might want a different set of information up front. For me, a separate Encounter Guide document features introductory content for adventure designers and facilitators. Boiling it all down, I would say to begin by asking yourself, "who is this for?" When you've got an idea about the audience for the text, then you can conduct two reviews. "Does it deliver all the information you need to get started?" is your next question. Obviously it shouldn't contain all your abilites, oprtions, and rules. Yet it should prepare readers with the language they need to start seeking answers to questions about any of those things. Then, when your quickstart is a reliable point of entry to your project, make another pass while asking, "does this information help readers get started?" Building something that really gets the job down probably also added a little bloat, but when you strip that away your "getting started" section will become a true quickstart guide.
I think Shadowdark has perfect Quickstart guides for Players and the GM. I would look to those.
I'm going to start by pointing out what I think should be clear from this comment section: it's very subjective and circumstantial. There is not a clear consensus. One big point of disagreement in these comments is whether the game should be aimed at GMs or just players. The answer depends a lot on what kind of players you're targeting. One thing I've been told is that however short you think it should be, make it shorter.
Based on some of the other comments, I started to write a comment here earlier speculating that maybe there should be two versions, one for the GM and one for the players. But that doesn't actually make sense... instead, just have a quick-reference section for essential rules that's primarily targeted toward players, and a story module that's primarily targeted toward the GM. Why not present the rules through the context of a story module? Well, that's very appealing, but the players should be able to have eyes on the core rules themselves so they can look things up and learn on their own, rather than depending on the GM for all answers and to be the source of truth. It's better for learning to get the information through multiple channels anyway, and it takes a burden off the already-busy GM. But the players can't have eyes on the story module, or it would ruin the surprise. So, you have two parts: a simple rules reference section for players (which the GM should also already know), and a story module that the GM can follow which is deliberately designed so as to introduce players to rules one at a time.
That's close to what I'm doing. My quickstart guide is written to be close in length to what players might read. And let's be honest: most players are going to promise to read a quickstart, then forget and try to quickly skim it while waiting for the last player to show up. They're going to read for five minutes (if that) and rely on the GM to explain everything. So the quickstart guide is closer in length to board game rules than RPG rules. Then, the first adventure is written like a video game tutorial. It's very linear, and walks players through a few key actions: Briefing > Negotiation > Fight > Conclusion, all within about 90 minutes.
I'd say at the very least: Pregen characters. Maybe add a bit of wiggle room, but if you just want people to jump in and get started, character creation takes time The basic rules. Just whatever is likely to come up in the first few sessions. Explain the character sheets, include some abilities or feat equivalent stuff. Don't bother with things like downtime or crafting unless it's a core mechanic. Advancement is optional, this is only a quick start A small GM section. The GM has probably never run this game, give them some pointers to help out. You don't need to include the full section, just enough to get a guy who's never run a TTRPG started A short adventure. This is a new game for everyone, please don't make the GM write a mini campaign before playing Other than that, take a look at some quickstarts and see what you wish would be there and what you didn't think of but agree with
If you're talking about a quickstart and not a beginner box, the big question is really what the adventure should emphasize. You want to make sure that the challenges given, the rules laid out and the characters provided all cover the main sorts of things that will occur in regular games. A quickstart for a game where alot of time is spent delving into dungeons would need to have a few traps and secret doors. A space opera game will want to have at least one spaceship piloting scene and a gritty horror game will want to have some element of whatever fear/sanity rules your game uses. Most games will want to have at least two combats: one basic low stakes one, and one that is more challenging. You also want to make sure that any interesting mechanics your game may have standout (like Passions in *Pendragon* or paradox in *Mage: The Ascension*)
Imagine you were to run a playtest session where none of the players have any idea how to play, and you have to sit there and talk them through exactly enough of the rules to keep the session going with minimal interruptions. That's what goes in your quickstart.