I'm only just playing my first D&D game as a player, and have long had an interest in DMing a game myself. Would this game be good to play with 2 of my friends?
Viewing post in Escape from Dino Island comments
I'm biased, so maybe somebody who didn't make the game can weigh in, but I'd say yes, definitely! I played a game of Escape from Dino Island with someone who'd only ever played D&D 5e and never DMed anything before and it was a blast. I think it makes a great first game because you and your friends probably know a lot about how these stories are supposed to look/feel (and that's half the battle) and also because it's a short game, so the stakes are pretty low. A couple best practices that might be helpful:
- Don't sweat the small stuff. The game has a lot of rules about mysteries, locations, the Extinction Event, etc. These are there to help you as DM, not overwhelm you. I've run games of EfDI where I almost completely forgot about the Extinction Event because there were plenty of other things going on and the game went great.
- Don't feel the need to call for a roll all the time. This is a big one coming from D&D. If someone's a doctor, they can probably look at an injury and assess it. If someone's a kid, they can probably sneak through a small hole (unless they're being chased by a hungry dinosaur). If the Heroes see a helipad in the distance and want to hike to it, you, as DM, can decide whether they're going to have encounters along the way or whether it's just "You hike for 2 hours through jungle and arrive sweaty and exhausted at the helipad." Trust your sense of pacing and what feels exciting!
If you do end up running the game, let us know how it goes!
Thank you for the detailed reply.
I've been long-obsessed with dinos and the obsession has never gone away, so I think I will absolutely run an Escape from Dino Island game next. The initial idea had a great reception from my friends, too. Gonna try my hand at DMing with One Shot World first (mostly because that's free and I don't want to impulsively buy things before I know I can do them), but EfDI will be the next thing I tackle -- should things go well.
In the meantime, thank you for the excellent work you've done on the game. <3
I can say with complete honesty that it wasn't. I just have ADHD and a bad habit of impulsive purchases, which I'm trying to curb.
But hey, if it worked put that you added some community copies, I won't deny myself one. Thank you!
I do want to ask and make sure once again: is this game viable with 1 DM + 2 players?
Definitely! It would be weird with a single player because a lot of the mechanics key off interacting with a buddy but 2 is great. You’ll probably want to be ready to introduce some NPCs if they end up with skill gaps, though. Like if neither one plays a doctor, they may well need to find one on the island.