I've run it's ancestor (WFRP 3e).

Are there prebuilt stat blocks for npcs/foes or will I have to generate myself?

I prefer running my own settings regardless....but is there a good intro adventure to show off the system and improve the GM and player's understanding?

What sort of time commitment is prepping sessions or how does it compare to other games (specifically Fate and especially d&d as that's sadly what the group plays mostly).

The system itself is simpler then WFRP. There aren't as many fiddly bits, the primary complaint of its 1st edition under Warhammer.

Genesys is the first, generic book. It's title is literally from Generic + System. So, you aren't going to find much for your specific genre for you in the core book. Right now, the only supplemental genre book available is Terrinoth (high fantasy). That will inevitably change someday, but for now GM's are going to have to do some work to get a campaign going unless they go with vanilla Terrinoth or wait for their genre's book to be released.

Unless I missed something, there is no intro adventure included with the core book. That would be difficult since it's generic. Instead there are examples of several genre's inside with short lists of gear and adversaries (NPCs). Terrinoth's chapter describing its world has lots of adversaries and ideas and should have included a short adventure, but it didn't.

Prepping each session (once you have a setting built) is simple. Imagine your Warhammer experience without having to lay out all of the cards and tokens. Adversaries are simple to run. Large amounts of adversaries are not a problem due to the Minion system. And there is one core mechanic (the dice) used for nearly everything.

Prepping the campaign is going to be the time sink unless there is a genre book you wish to use. Terrinoth is the only choice so far. If it is up your alley then you are in luck. Read over the "Lands of Magic" section, pick a starting location, prep a short adventure for your players. Gear, adversaries, and adventure ideas are all in there. If Terrinoth is not for you, grab the core book and select the genre that is the closest for what you want to do. It will give you some basic gear and NPC's to get you started, but you will have work ahead.

I'm one of those GM's that wants everything completely prepared before I start a new campaign. If you are like me, then the answer is you are going to have to do lots of work especially if not prepping a fantasy setting (can't use Terrinoth as a supplement). I'm using Genesys for a campaign setting I've been hoping to develop for years. The Genesys system is a perfect match, but it's still a chore since I'm making campaign maps, setting history, new creatures, new careers, adding house rules to character generation, etc. Shadowrun meets Conan with a tad of steampunk in an ancient setting with my own magic system that easily shoehorns into Genesys. So, yep tons of work to do, but that's half the fun for a referee, isn't it?

It is entirely possible to run a one-shot or three to four session adventure using only what is in the Genesys core. I have run a number of short adventures and one ongoing campaign using Genesys, putting varying degrees of work into each. I'll say that if you are unfamiliar with FFG's narrative dice mechanic it may take a couple of sessions to become comfortable with the improvisational nature of the system.

Genesys is very much a toolkit. Take the basic mechanics (narrative dice, skills, talents) and add the pieces that fit your campaign concept (social encounters, magic, hacking, vehicle rules). There are a few pages on each of six settings that serve as great jumping-off points to build out your own campaign world. If you are comfortable with theater-of-the-mind, build-as-you-go gaming you can run an adventure with only a couple to three hours of prep.

For a short introductory adventure, there is the Gencon Terrinoth preview (PDF warning) and premade characters (PDF again).

Also, this NPC database is a great resource for the FFG Star Wars setting that can easily serve to populate a Genesys campaign. Just reskin and go.

Like @Sturn said above the real work is building the setting or campaign as a whole. This will get easier as more settings and books are released. Luckily there are some player created settings and resources on this very forum.

Once that heavy lifting is done I've found each session or adventure to be a breeze in terms of prep work. I can easily come up with and prepare for almost anything my players can throw at me. Even if i didn't prepare for one of their crazy schemes I just determine how hard the task they're trying to overcome is and have them roll.

I've got my prep time down to about an hour or less for each session. But i also did a ton of prep work before the game even started with non-Genesys related resources and tools.

If you have any interest I've created my own new character adventure and posted it in this forum. I think it's generic for most fantasy themed games and handles a lot of different kinds of scenes.

This is an extremely easy game to run as long as you're quick on your feet. The narrative dice gives the players much more agency than in other RPG's. If your plan is too tight they'll run right off the rails. I typically make a timeline of events I know are going to happen. I don't tie anything down to a specific location. Once you're used to the system prep time is fairly short.

I use the stat blocks from Genysis for all of my bad guys. I just reskin them and adjust things here and there. Mechanically, the system is simple enough that you can turn a group of Stormtroopers into palace guards with minimal effort.

No introductory adventure but it's no big deal. You won't need one. If you want to get a taste pick up one of the SWRPG Beginner Boxes.

The fundamental mechanics aren't too hard to understand, but it can bog down if you aren't quick on your feet - how to spend Threat and advantages as the scene unfolds can bring the action to a halt. Also, it's a good idea to outline what the common magic combinations are for you adversaries.

18 hours ago, Sproy923 said:

The fundamental mechanics aren't too hard to understand, but it can bog down if you aren't quick on your feet - how to spend Threat and advantages as the scene unfolds can bring the action to a halt.

The GM can ignore the narrative axis for the NPCs and the game really looses nothing because the GM already has complete narrative license. It's the players' usage of the dice mechanic that really makes the system transcend the pass/fail binary.