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ADVICE WANTED
So I've been away from ttrpgs for around 3+ years now but have recently been inspired to start a game with some friends. None of them have any ttrpg experience. I have experience as a player in DnD 3.5, 4e, a little bit of Dark Heresy, and a heavily modified version of Call of Cthulhu. I've only ever GM'd 4e, but if we were starting tomorrow I'd feel fairly confident running something in 3.5 or Paranoia.
The game isn't going to start until everyone is back for the semester, so I've got around 3-5 weeks before Session Zero.
The game I want to run is heavily inspired by victorian gothic horror with a splash of lovecraft (for those familiar with M:tG, think Shadows over Innistrad set).
Seeking advice: I could run it in 4e, but since I've got enough time to familiarize myself with another system before we start, is it worth picking up something else instead of using Dungeons and Dragons to introduce them to the world of ttrpgs?
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Bumping with skeles of varying spookiness levels until someone responds or I get distracted
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>>54088782
Paranoia is great. . . At running Paranoia.
I would not recommend it for any long-term game, with a plot you actually care about though, because Paranoia's mechanics do not scale, do not balance, and are (on purpose) obtuse and obfuscated. Part of playing Paranoia, is not actually knowing what your character can do, or if your gear is actually useful or not.
Second advice. 3-5 weeks is enough time to read a system rules book, but it's not enough to be familiar with the system. You'll still be referencing stuff all the time. Go with what you know. You are running / building the game, so the majority of the "heavy lifting" is going to be on you - so make it easy on yourself. Don't make a game hard on yourself, then you'll kill it for it being a chore, and not being fun. If you are comfortable with 3.5, then roll with that. There is enough support for making custom magic items in 3.5, that you can build your Lovecraftian artifacts and mcguffins.
As for your players -> For the firsttimers, they aren't going to have any opinion on the mechanics. They are going to establish a memory and opinion based on the quality of the story, and whether or not they had fun.
Obviously, have a session zero and talk to them about the theme of the game (Not going to be heroic fantasy, it's going to be dark grim fantasy) so that they're on the same page. They are your friends, not strangers, so you should be able to get them to settle on a shared vision for the game.
Nevertheless, if they go out of theme, let them. (within reason) It's their first game, they want a good story, and they might wanna be big damn heroes.
If you did want another system, GURPs can do this, but it's a lot of crunch to prepare in a span of 3-5 weeks. Call of Cthulhu or Delta Green would be perfect for this too - but I've not played them very much and so am reluctant to recommend them as I'm not too experienced with them.
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