Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Uller999 01-20-05, 07:51 AM	I came to England and garnered a whole set of new players, not just new to me, but new to D&D alltogether. I guss I'm looking for advice on how to now overwhelm players whilst coaxing them into roleplaying and thinking in the game world. A couple have done well in this regard but some are having a harder time than others
discipleofevil 01-20-05, 07:56 AM	simplicity the simplest things are the best things for those who are new to anything :D
Callista 01-20-05, 08:29 AM	Yep. Orcs in 10-by-10-foot rooms, guarding treasure chests. No, seriously... Take the players out on easy quests first. My first time DMing for a newbie player, the first half-hour (after 2 hours in character creation, explaining how to use the various things on her character sheet) was spent having her go hunt for food. She brought in a deer and learned about ranged attacks, melee, coup de grace, tracking, and more... Anyway, yeah. Start very, very simple. Small groups--maybe even a half hour one-on-one with each player--is very good.
happycows 01-20-05, 09:18 AM	Make them low level. First level sounds good. Tell them all to generally stay close around alignment either Good, nuetral, or evil. If they don't know then tell them to pick nuetral and as the game goes on they'll change alignments as you deem fit. Ask each one what they want their character to be. It's best to have 4 of the complete books ready. Show them the core classes first. Then ask them to choose skills and feats wisely and show them prestige classes they might like. After this long grueling process they'll have their characters ready and a goal in mind to what they want to become and what they might be like. They're all friends in a tavern. A man approaches them asking if they're adventurers and if they are could they accept coin to steal a ____ from _____ who lives at ______ (if they're nuetral aligned)? Or accept coin to rescue his daughter from a bandit who has kidnapped her (good aligned)? Or kill ____ for coin (evil aligned)? Simple enough early tasks. Besides it is not uncommon for adventurers to be approached and asked to accept coin for a task to be done. After that though or if they don't do it. You've got to have something come up like goblins camping outside of town (read goblin description). This goes on.
Uller999 01-20-05, 10:33 AM	I'm playing Eberron since I just got it and love it (detractors shall say NOTHINg!!!). Like I said two of them have done well about thinking in character figuring out traps (I ran the forgotten forge out of the back of the ECS) and at even came up with semi-passable back stories. Its just that couple of them seem a little behind on the learning curve where as the other three have really picked up on it and are playing well (for newbies) so how do I encourage the slow learners without hampering the quicker ones?
Talon Blackhart 01-20-05, 10:39 AM	I have to say that as was mentioned before, simplicity is best. Also, don't try to explain things until they're necessary. I've found it easiest to teach by playing. Help them fill out their char sheets, explain each die to them, and then just start playing. It will seem like it takes forever to get through anything for a while, but it's really the best way I've found. During their first session, encourage role-playing during meeting. Point out the good things that are being done, while gently discouraging things being said OoC. Then, have them make search or spot checks, or listen, or something similar. This introduces the skill check, as well as helping them to figure out the dice. As they become comfortable with that, start introducing basic combat. Keep it slow. As they need to know things, they'll learn them. That's much easier than trying to memeorize everything at once. Also, keep a copy of their char sheet for yourself. That way if they seem confused when you ask for something, you can reference their sheet and show them exactly what you want and where to find it. Another sometimes useful trick is to limit the number of classes they can choose from. Some classes, such as the paladin and sorcerer, can be very diffiult for a new player to use. Allow a fighter, a cleric (although the spell list is sometimes overwhelming), a rogue, and a wizard (again, an overwhelming spell list, but I learned about sorcerers from experience. I had a new player who chose a sorcerer and then chose spells that wouldn't be useful in any situation). A trick I've found to be extremely useful is to have a set of dice specifically for new players. Unlike my "good" dice, which are matching sets from Chessex and other companies, these dice are from WotC. Each size die is a different color. This means that when the new player is looking confused because I just told her to roll a 20-sided, I can add "It's the orange one".
Callista 01-20-05, 12:28 PM	Or kill ____ for coin (evil aligned)? If you let newbies play evil characters... you deserve what you get...
Aliquid 01-20-05, 12:49 PM	Look at their skill lists, and see what they have invested in. Then design an adventure that has no combat, but will require the use of many of their skills. Include a lot of interactions with NPCs. From my experience, if you want to teach a newbie to role play, remove all combat for a few sessions... that way they won't get into the habit of associating the game with killing things. Talon Blackhart's comment about coloured dice is a good one. I also agree with the "don't teach it until they encounter it" sort of attitude. Something else you can do is go out and buy a bunch of different coloured highlighters... and colour important parts of their character sheets. So when you say "roll initiative" and they stare blankly, you can say "the blue number on your sheet"
Aliquid 01-20-05, 12:50 PM	If you let newbies play evil characters... you deserve what you get...You deserve what you get and more
Talon Blackhart 01-20-05, 12:52 PM	Talon Blackhart's comment about coloured dice is a good one. I also agree with the "don't teach it until they encounter it" sort of attitude. Something else you can do is go out and buy a bunch of different coloured highlighters... and colour important parts of their character sheets. So when you say "roll initiative" and they stare blankly, you can say "the blue number on your sheet" I hadn't thought of that.... Very good suggestion!
Zzasrix 01-20-05, 12:55 PM	How to bring along the slower players.... Definatly encourage those people who are roleplaying (perferably after the game) and if it is really amazing even offer them an Exp award. I definatly find that new players will start to conform to the older (or better) players in most cases. I also definatly would encourage individual scenes. D&D isnt really built for this, but the individual attention for the slower players will definatly help. I would suggest that this be done during game time. There are probably people who will harshly dissagree with this, but as long as you keep it 20min or less the fact that other people are there usually brings everyone into the game and gives a big boost to the person in the spotlight. On a quick sidenote... Evil is bad for newbies. I almost always insist that new players play 'goodish' people. Good luck
Uller999 01-20-05, 08:55 PM	Yeah I've had a lot of problems with even more expierenced players using evil as an excuse to do anything and everything they want, I didn't want to just up and kill their character but eventually I had aventures and encounters so compromised that I had little choice. Evil is not good for any but the most hardened D&D players, This goes quintuple for munchkins
Aricandor 01-21-05, 03:32 AM	This make me realize how many "mistakes" I made when I first started DMing... A group of three characters, any alignment, race and class... Thrown right into the action versus a CR 3 creature (no, I didn't think "CR 3 = 3 characters)... Haha... Makes me want to get a new group and do it all over :) Anyway, all these seem to be good suggestions. First battles should be easy, and not require a lot of tactics. Something like a 1st level commoner stirring up a little trouble, such as the aforemented kidnapping. Such a fight should be easy to any character. Lots of skill use and interactions.
Ssussunriyh 01-21-05, 04:18 AM	To encourage roleplaying, tell them it's like an improvisational acting session (which it is, actually.) Explain the fantasy genre to them, in basic terms - wizards with mighty magical forces at their command, warriors with flashing swords, mythological monsters to be slain, fair ladies' hearts to be won, and so forth. Encourage them to come up with a character concept. "My character is a such-and-such kind of guy, his motivation is thus-and-so." If it's a blatant rip-off of a character they read about somewhere, that's perfectly okay for a beginner. Then give them a situation where the characters are together, and have them act out the scenario in-character, speaking in the first person. In my personal experience, this part is a lot more fun than wrapping your poor overtaxed newbie brain around all those rules and stats and numbers in the books... Detailed stats can come in later, once they've got the fundamentals down pat.