I would like to test this game with my daughter and her friends. It will be their first time with RPGs, and a girls-only party!
However, they are HP experts, while I only watched the movies. I do not have the time or knowledge to create a scenario. It would be low-quality and a delusion for them. Is there any ready-made adventure available, in any language?
I know this isn't what you asked: but I hope this helps. I ran this with 4 Potter experts, I am not. Here's what I did.
The beauty of PbtA games is the agency it gives the players. Before you start, ask each one of them what three things they'd like to see in the game from the HP world. Start on the train to school and just have them encounter one of those things. They will take the story from there. You'll be there to pepper in the other wishes & help guide their mess of ideas. :)
Yes, this is not what I asked, but thank you anyway. Your suggestion is brilliant because the girls are Potter experts, but RPG newbies. If any of them finds this 'trick' a little bit obvious, I will explain that this is thought as an introduction for them. Just play along with it.
Besides, if you can share your adventure, in any format and level of detail, that will help me. :-)
I wish I could. I started on the train, as one player wanted to do. I asked one of them something along the lines of "as you walk to the back of the train which teacher do you go out of the way to avoid, and why?' this had that player talk about their potions professor whose class they failed. they hide from them, no big deal.
I introduced some house-elves acting sneaky and up to something. they were working for, yup, that potions professor from earlier.
none of it was planned and I've forgotten most of it.
Maybe dig around for some Potter fan-fiction?
Hi there! As others have mentioned, PbtA games give players a lot of agency to co-create the scenario with the GM. Note the game instructions about asking the players when you don't know something. The GM is not the ultimate font of all knowledge in this style of game.
My favorite trick is to start the game by asking each player about one rumor they've heard at Hogwarts this year. Then, use one or more of the rumors to introduce your initial unexpected event. As the players investigate what's going on, they'll start seeing mysteries to solve. And as you introduce more events based on their rumors, you'll all start to see interesting connections between them – that's the scenario.
If you're still stumped, email me at david@davidbrunellbrutman.com. I don't have any public-facing pre-written scenarios, but I can share my personal notes for the scenarios I run at conventions.
Thank you David. I really appreciate the level of collaborative support that I am receiving on this page. I plan to hold the session in October, as a present for my daughter's birthday. My birthday gift wil be her first RPG experience, with her best friends, in their beloved HP world. That's my plan.
I was an avid RPG player and master, back in old-school times. So my GM skills are rock solid - if we play the old school! But I realize that I must introduce them to RPGs in the way that they are played today. So I must re-start from scratch, and learn such a different gameplay (PBTA). Hope I find time in the coming weeks. I appreciate your availability and will contact you if needed.
Even if I don't contact you, I will take the time to 'report' about the session, if I manage to do it. :-)
Sounds great! I hope the girls have a fun time, and I’d love to hear how it goes :)
If you’re looking for more guidance on GMing this style of game, I’d also recommend reading the DM guidance in Dungeon World. It helped me a lot in moving from D&D to PbtA games.
I will take a look, thank you! In the last weeks I've listened to GM podcasts and to some recorded live sessions. I've cleared my mind up a lot. Mastering PBTA games looks easier than I thought. So, now I have a second reason to organize the Hogwarts RPG session: as a birthday present for my daughter, and to satisfy my curiosity about mastering a PBTA. :-)
