Goodman Games

Well I played a couple of "funnel" sessions with a new group the other day. I was a player with a fairly neophyte DM and most of the players were very very casual. Beer n Pretzels game.
My take away is that the 0-level game is a gimmick that doesn't seem to be the best thing for introducing people to RPGs. Its more for a experienced gamers to have a change of pace. The main thought was, lets get this over-with and get our real characters going. On the other hand, by the end of the second session we each had a surviving character with which we had identified and were ready for 1st level, so I guess it worked!
Nevertheless, I think that zero level needs to be thought of as its own thing in terms of presentation and adventure design...
I'm DMing next week. I'll post some thoughts then.
Looking forward to the actual game! I think by the time it comes out I'll just have my own house rule document and buy it just for the art!

Interesting to hear. Thanks for the feedback. I'm glad you ended up identifying with your level 1 characters...that is the goal of the "funnel"!

I suspect you won't be the only person to buy the game just for the art. I am having a lot of fun on the layout right now. The art is tremendously fun. There are a couple MORE old-school artists added to the roster...I'll be announcing those over the coming months.

I recently ran a group of young college students in a 0-level "Darwinian" dungeon run. They were used to playing Pathfinder. Oops!

Grimtooth's traps, Arduinian fogs, the infamous and greatly-feared +5/+5 Vorpal Werepizza - you know - the good old stuff. The mayhem was egregious, blasphemous, and extremely horrific. Bodies piled up in droves. Parts scattered far and wide.

Each time a complaint arose, I simply said: "No problem, grab your next character."

Great fun was had by all, and they're now cheerfully awaiting the Grand Release in February. I have become a firm supporter of the Funnel.

Of course "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn" so I might be a bit biased as well.

That's the right attitude. When one goes down, reach for his replacement. This makes character generation more fun than the standard RPG way since you never quite know what you'll end up with, and your favorite is often the first one to bite the dust.

I love the funnel. I'm not sure how it will hold up after a few years, but at the moment my players are thrilled by the whole process!