Post/Author/DateTime	Post
FNGKen 11-15-07, 07:54 PM	We've been running LG events at our store in Lake Elsinore (moved from Temecula this summer) every-other-week for about a year. (We're at www.4fng.com for anyone who's interested.) We have a good bunch of regulars, a few "once in a while" players, and a fairly regular stream of new players, some of whom stick, some don't. I found myself spending an hour or so before each session helping new players make characters. If they've played D&D before, it's easy - give them the LG character generation pages and walk away. But if they're new to D&D, which many are, it can take a lot of time. Times like now, after Worldwide D&D Gameday, we have a lot more new players than usual (we had 4-5 new players just that night, and we usually only have 10-14 players at a session). So I started cheating :rolleyes: - got a laptop and installed a character generator that I was already carrying in the store. Now I take the player to the laptop, put in a few settings, add their starting money, and leave them to play around. Sure, I have to come back to make sure they aren't encumbered to the point of immobility, and that they didn't omit weapons and armor, but I still get most of that hour or so back. How do other organizers deal with the 'characters for new players' situation? My first RPGA event, a very patient gentleman gave me the pages and a quick outline of the process, then turned me loose, but I'd been playing RPGs for years. D&D gameday mods came with pregen characters, but those obviously aren't LG legal (or even 1st level, this last time).
Lomiat 11-16-07, 12:51 AM	We've had some gameday events to which we brought a half-dozen LG-legal characters -- all fairly cookie cutter: half-orc barbarian, dwarf fighter, elf archer, gnome wizard, human bard, human cleric, etc. I know at least one player has taken one of those characters to 7th level. It's quicker than having players build characters at the event, and if they want to customize their PCs, they can simply cross off one piece of information and substitute it for another. The dwarf fighter becomes the halfling fighter (apply new racial modifiers), or the dwarf fighter's going to pursue a different feat tree (change feats). No one really cares much about starting wealth anyway, so having a package already available goes a long way, especially if you know the starting gear will prove useful in the day's events.
_metz_ 11-16-07, 07:13 AM	One of our more active local gamers has a massive stack of pregen characters. They have written up backstories and everything...
FNGKen 11-16-07, 11:24 AM	Now, see - goes to show how close-minded I am! I would have thought pre-gen characters wouldn't be that popular, since roleplaying and roleplaying characters is a very individual thing... but after you mention it, I can see how that would get a brand new player over the "I have no idea where to start" dilemma. Great thought. Now, to see if I can get an active local to do some of the busy work in creating them. :cool: Thanks.
BEldred74 11-16-07, 04:06 PM	You don't know about the LG pre-gen characters available from the RPGA website I assume? :-) You can also easily make your own pre-gen characters. For years I carried a stack of pre-gen LG legal characters to conventions with me for just this purpose. ~Beverly
Timlagor 11-18-07, 09:10 PM	It's easier to modify a pre-gen character than to start again from scratch. If there's a decent selection of pregen characters then you shouldn't have much difficulty matching/adapting one to to player's desires.
jpchapleau 11-19-07, 01:20 PM	For the County of Urnst, we created Pre-gens that come with a small background. They are "local samples" of PCs that would fit in our local flavor: the human merc, the halfling "adventuring expert", the wizard, the Cleric of Pelor and a Knight Squire. All are available on our website. Some of the new players liked them because it gave them a rough idea of one area of the County. JP
FNGKen 11-20-07, 12:39 AM	No, I didn't know about the RPGA pre-gen character. They sure would be timesavers. I wouldn't have thought a pre-gen would be very popular, but I'll look them up. I do like the idea of letting people create their own first character - there's something special about that first character. I'm sure you remember yours, too. I just don't think it would be such a special memory if someone handed me a pre-gen to play. Sure, my stats sucked, 'cause it was the old Blue cover D&D boxed set, and we rolled 3d6 for each stat and put them in order (I think I had a 6 or 7 Con). Lance was an Elf, and he died before hitting 2nd level, but I loved him. The more I think about it... I'd feel like I was cheating the player out of that experience if I had a stack of pre-gens. Yes, it's convenient, and has a lower potential frustration level, but it misses the fact that roleplaying is an inherently personal experience, because of the relationship existing between player and character. Good ideas, and I'd sure save a lot of time... but think I'll have to stick with Hero Lab. Three new kids came in on Game Day to play for the first time (all three attend my son's middle school, and he was playing that night, too). They had played once or twice before at home, and had these characters with rediculous stats (we all remember those days, too, huh?) :rolleyes:. I explained the 28 point buy system and they were deer in headlights. So I walked the first one (the one who seemed to be the ringleader) through character creation, and the others watched. I walked away from the computer and 20 minutes later they all had characters that they had made, that they had at least a minimal emotional investment in. They had a great time (they played in Wake of the Tempest, a Nyrond mod, and they were eyes-wide all night). Now if I could just get them to understand Warhorn. :D
paigeoliver 11-22-07, 03:27 AM	The problem is that most new players make characters who don't have much of a chance of survival in Living Greyhawk, and if their character isn't made legally in the first place then it might never be correct. At one convention a few months back, I noticed the guy next to me seemed to have a poor grasp of the rules with his 3rd level wizard, so I managed to get a look at his character sheet and ARs. He was a human wizard, 3rd level and would be hitting 4th from that adventure. All his ability scores were ODD numbers, none higher than 13. He had no feats. His spell list was the spells in his spellbook that he got at 1st level, no second level spells. He had a longsword, somehow it was +2 to hit and 1d8+1 damage with his 9 STR. (If he was proficient, which he wasn't, then it would have been +0 to hit and 1d8-1 damage). His initiative total with his 11 DEX was +3 for some reason. His hit point total was wrong. He had no skill points and no equipment other than that longsword. he had never spent any gold on anything. He spent most of the adventure just making single moves on his turn.
FNGKen 11-26-07, 02:22 PM	Ya, I can see that. One of the new kids who started playing at the store showed up with stats that were *way* out of line for RPGA (he obviously had not used the 28 points system). Certainly pregens would remove that problem. But the character generation software I use also validates the characters, so before we print, we can review the character together and make sure the player didn't miss anything. I dunno - pregens seem the fastest and easiest way to go. Just have a pile of a dozen different characters ready to output and play. I'll still feel like they're not getting the most out of thier first experience, though... but after a few games with the pre-gen they'll probably want to make their own and they'll know the rules better. Thanks!
FNGKen 11-26-07, 02:26 PM	A friend steered me toward this link. The company offers free licenses to stores, so I've been using it for free, but they're also running a promotion somewhere. If you're interested in checking it out: http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=955223