BREAKING DOWN “THE WALLS” OF TTRPGS - HOW DO WE GET MORE FOLKS INTO THE HOBBY?
What’s going on, everybody — Apprentice here!
I wanted to elaborate on some stuff Dad and I talked about in the last couple podcasts, and loop in anyone in on some stuff Dad and I have been having fun with behind the scenes of the Master of Mazes project. If you’re reading this close to when it’s published, you’ll know we just played a Session 0 for a new D&D campaign!
This is my first time playing D&D since I was a kid, and one of my buddies is playing for the very first time ever. Our other compatriot, Nathan, has played D&D before, but honestly, I don’t think he’s played in quite a while either. A lot of this project has been about tabletop games — I’ve theory crafted, tossed around design ideas, and learned a ton just through back-and-forth conversations with Dad and following industry news.
But actually sitting down to play again — even before our first real session next Friday — reminded me how much I love tabletop games. It also reminded me how much work and dedication they demand compared to a lot of other forms of media. And that’s really what I want to talk about…on the back end I've been doing a fun brainstorm write up on how to build a TTRPG that allows new players a super smooth onboarding, BUT also deep enough for veteran players to be able to have some fun too.
The point I want to make (and maybe someone out there with the power to do something about it will read this lol) - Tabletop games could be made much easier for new players to get into, and I would argue, they SHOULD be.
I want to be clear: there are a lot of fantastic tabletop games out there, and I don’t think I’m smarter or better at game design than the people who made them. However, I do think I have an interesting perspective. I’m closely tied to the comings and goings of the “industry” through Dad, but at the same time, I’m essentially a new player again. I’m also actively trying to get other new players into the hobby.
Because of that, I can see both sides of the argument. The market is huge, and I’ll never know every tabletop game out there — but many of the big, well-known ones can be incredibly daunting to approach. We’ve talked about this on the podcast before, and I think a lot of it boils down to a few core issues that make these games feel unapproachable, especially to people outside the hobby, to name a couple…
Financial Obligation:
The first major barrier is cost. If you want to play and actually understand what’s going on, you’re going to need at least a Player’s Handbook — and possibly a Monster Manual as well. Sure, if you have a generous DM like my dad, you might be able to borrow books. But if you’re trying to get into the hobby without an established group, that upfront cost is intimidating and, frankly, expensive.
Think about it in video game terms, like we discussed recently on the podcast. Many of the most popular games today are free-to-play. That removes a massive barrier to entry right away. On top of that, most of those games have systems designed to gently onboard new players — teaching fundamentals without overwhelming them.
WoTC has done a decent job with the D&D Starter Set, but I genuinely think they could go further. Given how much money they make across all their platforms, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to offer a free, streamlined Player’s Handbook — or at least a beginner version — with premade characters and a short campaign through D&D Beyond.
I can say with confidence: if I could point friends to a free, polished onboarding resource like that, the fear and hesitation around trying D&D would drop dramatically.
Prep / Character Creation:
This might sound a little whiny, so bear with me. I hadn’t played D&D since I was a kid, and back then I’m sure Dad handled most of the heavy lifting. Last Friday, I filled out a character sheet for the first time — possibly ever — and I’ll be honest: it was kind of ridiculous.
Even with Dad helping all three of us, we spent about three and a half hours in Session Zero just filling out character sheets. In my opinion, that’s unbelievable. The hardest part of making a character should be coming up with a backstory or choosing between fun, distinct classes — not figuring out where your +1 goes across fifteen different boxes.
I don’t want this to sound like I wasn’t having fun. Sitting around with my friends and Dad, talking through ideas, was still a super fun time. But even I found the wall of information intimidating — and I can’t imagine how my friend Josh felt opening a character sheet for the first time having never played a tabletop game at all.
So where is all this going…
Well., we are incredibly excited about it. Honestly, I wish we were playing tonight instead of waiting another week. But what I want to convey is this: I think there’s real room — especially in the big, well-known systems — for more leeway and streamlining when it comes to the new player experience.
I’m sure there are smaller tabletop games out there that already do this well. But that’s part of the problem — the games everyone talks about are often the ones with the most roadblocks.
Because of that, Dad and I started having fun theory crafting tabletop game systems focused on simplicity as a core design goal. We want games to be easy to get into, with a low skill floor — but also a high skill ceiling for players who invest time, strategy, and creativity into the system.
To expand on what I noted above, below are a few key takeaways from what we’ve been talking about!
Movement & Combat:
One of the biggest financial hurdles in tabletop gaming is terrain, miniatures, and maps. For a starter experience, we wanted to eliminate all of that.
Instead, we came up with a simple and intuitive way to handle movement using three ranges: Point-blank, Mid-range, and Long Range.
Melee attacks, interacting with NPCs and the map are done at Point-blank range
Most Ranged weapons or spells attack from Mid-Range
Distance specialized weapons like Long Bows, Full size Crossbows etc., and certain spells can attack from Long Range.
Each turn, a character can move one range category
So if you’re at Long range, you can move to Mid-range. If you’re Mid-range, you can move to Point-blank — or retreat one stage backward. This keeps spatial awareness intact without needing a grid, miniatures, or movement in units/feet.
It also allows for tactical play: tanks can hold the front line, while ranged characters stay safely at Long range. All of this happens through narrative positioning rather than physical props, which allows for gameplay without any additional cost, and games can be done online easily.
There would still be modifiers for things like high ground, difficult terrain, or environmental effects — but those can be handled through discussion with the DM and narrative context rather than measurements.
Character Creation & Classes:
Character sheets work — but I think, especially for a beginner centric game or a “Beginner’s Box” they can be simplified.
More importantly, I think classes could function better as templates rather than rigid boxes. For example, instead of separating Fighter, Barbarian, and Paladin classes, you could have a single “Man-at-Arms” base class.
From there, players flavor and specialize:
Lean into holy magic for a paladin-style build
Focus on heavy armor and shields for a guardian tank
Emphasize raw aggression for a barbarian-style fighter
This keeps class identity flexible while still letting players express their character without needing dozens of nearly identical classes.
All of this is to say: we love D&D, Pathfinder, Daggerheart, honestly all games like them. But I think they all have room to grow when it comes to welcoming new players, whether its systems implemented in their live modules, or a different version of the game to onboard new adventurers.
These ideas are still evolving, and we’re actively working through them. The process itself has been incredibly fun, and I hope more people start thinking critically about how we lower barriers to entry for this hobby. If you’ve stuck around i appreciate you, this is the kind of stuff I find fascinating. We have a BUNCH of content in the pipeline both blogs, podcasts, Master and Apprentice Campaign 1 and much much more!
Take care. I’ll see you in The Maze — and as Dad always says, keep your torches lit and your sword arm free.