Ran Numenera today. It went reasonably well, got through about half the material I had prepared. Relevant bits in context for SRPG:
1. Players Enjoy Grounded Weirdness
AKA the PEGW principle. No, that acronym is not going to become a thing. Numenera is all about The Weird. The random, the unexplained, the mysterious. If overused, this becomes pure randomness, insignificant and inconsequent. It’s not very interesting and it’s not very fun. Weird needs to connect back to the mechanical constraints of the game universe. Giving the player a device that flips gravity at will is fine so long as the idea of variable gravity constraints is accepted in the universe. You can only push boundaries if the boundaries exist in the first place.
2. Don’t Save the Good Stuff
Roleplayers have a propensity for avoiding prepared content in favor of random, unpredictable actions. Players will ignore good content, focus on insignificant details, and generally follow the worst possible paths through any scenario you have in mind. It’s easy to blame others for this. In reality, it’s your fault. Your scenario needs to be compelling enough to drive the players forward. Don’t give irrelevant details or focus on inconsequential details. Lead with your best materials, and if that’s not enough to capture the attention of your audience, take note.
3. Honestly didn’t think this post would reach a third item.