Post/Author/DateTime	Post
OmiKapSi 03-06-05, 11:20 AM	My group: My brother: Excellent roleplayer, but has little interest in the rules. Good ideas, and currently the 'leader'. Mostly because he's the only one with much initiative. Player A: Some RPing experience. Has a general grasp of the rules and understanding of D&D. Would probably enjoy more combat. (I tend to run RP heavy games). Player B: A buddy who has never played before. I think we've outlined the basics well enough. Maybe. My dilemma: I'm used to playing with large groups of experienced players. People who know the rules and don't require saving throws to be explained every few sessions. People who, when presented with a generalized obstacle, immediately come up with a variety of solutions, or at least a few strategies for finding solutions. (Ones that extend beyond "I head to the bar and see what rumors are floating around.") People who understand the concept of metagaming and avoid it. People who put together characters, rather than batches of numbers and abilities. Ok, so I just described the ideal player, and few if anyone ever manages to find one such player, much less four. Anyway, I'm wondering if anyone else out there has had experience dealing with really green players, and could suggest strategies to keep them interested, teach them the game, and perhaps do it in such a fashion that I don't get bored out of my skull doing so. I am planning on scaling back the complexity of my campaign, a lot. I'm noticing that very specific objectives, with very specific methods for achieving said objectives is a good start. Plus more combat and some straighforward skill checks. Anything else?
Board_Rider 03-06-05, 12:00 PM	As you know there can never be a "one size fits all" patch here. Every player is different and want different things. So, on that note, I would just ask what kind of campaign they want to play to make it interesting to them. Kinda put your ideas on the back burner and tailor a campaign that they find interesting. That is assuming that they want to play the same game. Having with so many new players recently thats all I can really offer. I had this talk and even found out that some of my players couldn't care less....they came to hang out with the guys and roll dice. Good luck.
TinManFan 03-06-05, 04:41 PM	One nice rule of thumb is sit down and have a "No Screen Adventure" with them. Have your NPC stats out in the open. and when they try to make a bluff check or what have you, show the new guy what you add up, roll and explain the result. Same with combat. Use a fairly simple critter (Goblin/Orc), have his stats and attack, dmg, saves and all out. And walk the guy through it. Then maybe go over the combat a few times. Maybe adding a few orcs/goblins, maybe have a rogue level in there so you can do Sneak Attacks or AoOs. Try out some of the combat maneuvers. Then go to a Screen up type encounter. See how he does w/o the critters stats in front of him. Also, good way to teach role playing. Make him have a character with skills/motivations pretty similar to himself. Maybe in the first few sessions, have someone charm him and see how he does acting not like he always does.
weasel fierce 03-06-05, 04:42 PM	Give them some simple tasks at first, where there is an obvious solution, a couple of easy fights, some simple traps, that sort of thing. also include lots of NPC's they can interact with, and get information from. Then, slowly add on more dangerous and difficult stuff