I've been working on a sort of introduction for new players in Tekumel. I've been focusing on what it's like to be a Tsolyani, in terms of culture and attitudes, and what the physical environment and indeed what the characters might look like. This has gone pretty well, and I'm happy with what I have so far. The point here is to have something I can hand to people who have never played in this setting, to quickly give them a sense of how their characters see the world.
Reading over the 13 pages I have, it occurs to me that while I can "see" what things look like, new players can't. Also, there are certain emotional sorts of vibes that should be present in the setting, which may not be obvious. By this I mean emotional reactions to the setting itself, on the part of the players, not the PCs, if that makes sense. Think movie trailer, and you'll get the idea, like when you see a light saber in a Star Wars trailer, that thrill, ya know?
Anyway...I'm struggling to find a way, in text, to have that come across. I've considered using art or photos, but it's hard to find ones with just the right feel. Music seems like a good approach, as in "go listen to this". But thre are probably other techniques. I've been writing little vignettes too. That seems to work as well.
What other techniques can anyone think of? Not Tekumel specific. In general.
Comments
2. Do it fast. Spending too long describing stuff means the players are not making decisions which means they are not actually playing, just listening.
3. Reinforce the mood constantly through responses to PC actions rather than by front-loading. One old Tekumel hand said "Just make sure at some point in the first few minutes of the scenario, an NPC is impolite and gets killed for it".
Or try the 25-words or less approach, here's Noisms' perfect description of Yoon-Suin:
Tibet, yak ghosts, ogre magi, mangroves, Nepal, Arabian Nights, Sorcery!, Bengal, invertebrates, topaz, squid men, slug people, opiates, slavery, human sacrifice, dark gods, malaise, magic.
A sense of wonder is hard to create, but very nice for players to have when going into a new world ...
* "The song" as in how the Tsolyani thinks and feels about the world, and how their voices make the sounds of their language.