Learn to Play: Introduction
Objective - organize a Squawk game with Players and a GM
Role-Playing Games
In a role-playing game or "RPG" people play the parts of characters in a story, deciding what those characters do.
- Paper and Pencil RPGs use books, dice, and other tools.
- Electronic RPGs are played on videogame machines or computers.
- Live Action RPGs involve acting and costumes.
This tutorial shows how to play a Squawk "paper and pencil" RPG by following three freinds as they plan, prepare and play the game.
The Setting
A role-playing game or "RPG" has a background or setting that it takes place in. These settings can be anything from wild science fiction or fantasy, to modern day real-world places.
Squawk is a science-fiction role-playing game that takes place in a universe dominated by dinosaurs, birds, and other kinds of archosaurs. There are many "intellegent species" in the Squawk Role-Playing Game that have great civilizations, with very different kinds of technology, culture, and martial arts.
There are many worlds populated by intelligent species in the Squawk Role-Playing Game. The world we recommend new players to start with is the island-dotted world Peleg, because it is the world we have made the most playable. This tutorial will guide you through playing a game of Squawk on Peleg.
The Adventure
Adventures are scenarios for the game, created by the GM or a game designer. A module is a document describing an adventure. A campaign is a very large adventure.
The three friends decide to play the adventure described in the Port Thundertail module. This adventure is set on the Squawk world Peleg. It requires one person to be the GM instead of a player, so one of the freinds volunteers to be the GM.
The Game Master
The Game Master or GM can control the game world and any characters not controlled by players. There is only one GM in a game.
Characters controlled by the GM are called Non-Player Characters or NPCs.
The GM acts as narrator, keeps track of the story, and describes what happens. The GM is all-knowing, but only tells the players things their characters would know.
The GM acts as referee, using the rules - and common sense - to make the game fair and fun. In a sense, the GM is competing with all the players at once. However, he has unlimited resources, and should not murder all the PCs quickly if he wants players to enjoy the game.
The GM can also act as designer, creating his own settings and adventures or modifying adventure modules created by someone else.
As the GM studies the Port Thundertail module, he makes sure they have enough players. Two, three or four players is ideal for Port Thundertail. The GM also looks at what materials they will need to play the game. He prints out the adventure module and starts studying it.
Players
Each Player usually controls one character. Characters controlled by players are called Player-Characters or PCs.
The two freinds who did not volunteer to be the GM are named Jenni and Mike. They will be the players. Jenni and Mike will each control one character. They also look at the adventure module and start thinking about what kind of characters they want to play.