As someone who learnt playing roleplaying games “out of the box” and started out as a DM before ever having played myself, I would say: Yes, a general advice on how a roleplaying game works and what it is and such is important. My gateway drug was one of the old 80s basic-game-boxes pretty much comparable to redbox D&D, and it contained two rulebooks, one with very, very simple rules and lots of examples of play, and one “advanced rulebook”.
If I had my first encounter with roleplaying games then with a modern “core rulebook”, be it Warhammer, D&D3 or even 4, GURPS, Shadowrun, Earthdawn, Runequest, Savage Worlds, whatever, I heavily DOUBT I would have gotten such a good grasp of how it works and quickly start playing and using what was in there.

So, I totally agree on what Dan said: If you don’t wanna “waste space” with that sort of thing in non-beginner-products like modern core rulebooks that tend to be directed more towards experienced players nowadays, it is crucial to put in a page with weblinks and literature tips, and/or put one of those “starter pamphlets” inside – you know, the demo booklets you can get free for some games.

Downloading them is fine, but since they are also usually given out for free anyway or as part of magazines or computer games or at cons, why not put a copy of those in every core rulebook you sell. That way, it’s the first thing that falls in your hands when you open the book, and you can put all the introductory stuff on “how this generally works” in there, and if you are already an experienced player – you just throw it away.

I’m glad you guys liked Dresden Files. I LOVED Dresden Files; it is one of the highlights of my gaming memories that I got to run a DF game for my group set in St. Louis. My only regret is that half the group didn’t care for either the system or the setting (the general Dresden urban fantasy setting, not my specific St. Louis setting), so I likely won’t get the chance to follow-up on the game.

Incidentally, they really latched onto an NPC in that game. He was one of the “we can’t wait for him to die” sorts of NPCs, but it was the voice and the mannerisms of the NPC that they latched onto. This was new for me, mostly because I get mixed results when I try to mix up the NPCs with different voices. I guess hillbilly cultleader psychomancers really draw out a player’s attention.

Could you provide a link to Ryan Dancey’s post?

Grant, I do a much better job of internalizing the information I read than remembering where it came from. While the extract was accurate, it was taken from a privileged exchange. I didn’t realize that until you asked just now and I went looking for it. I sent Ryan an apology for discussing private communication on the show, but I also asked for his permission to share the full content of that particular “essay”.

If I get his permission, I’ll post something here that will either contain his thoughts or a link to them. If I don’t, then I won’t add to my error by posting his comments in their entirety.

So I guess just keeping watching this space for a day or two!

Thanks, Dan. I just read the post and now the context is clearer.