Free RPG Day 2023

 I actually put myself out in front of other people on Saturday supporting my FLGS for Free RPG Day. I volunteered to run one of the free games for people at the shop. Hoping to avoid the horror show that was my Starfinder game last year, I thought I would try something that sounded simple and fun. Heckin Good Doggos, a game where your character is a dog.

I was allowed to pick up the module the night before the event so I could read up and get prepared. While the system was simpler and I was able to get up to speed on how everything worked, the provided scenario simply didn't hold up.

The major sin is that it didn't open with the hook. It's a little bit forgivable if you're meeting in the tavern and you have a scene of interaction or interest before you see the robed figure in the corner with your mission, or something bursts in the door that kickstarts the action. But the hook was actually hidden and had to be found to start off the story proper. Without that hook, the players spent most of the time just dogging around. One of them finally met the "questgiver" but by this time, they were all doing their own thing.

The other sin is that the scenario didn't lean into its themes. While each character sheet lists details about each dog's owner (or Best Friend in the game's terminology) and their neighborhood, both of those things are strikingly absent from the scenario. It's set in a separate place and may not even be there with their Best Friends. On the one hand, a "generic" adventure can be forgiven because the designer may not know what any individual player group. On the other hand, the characters are pregens, so that gives you a powerful tool to insert as much specificity as you want.

I think if I'm going to do this next year, I would run the system of a free game being offered, but not the adventure. Just so I have time to be properly familiar with the system and scenario and to address any problems I have with either.