Cant get my friend into the game!!! [Archive] - Wizards Community

Cant get my friend into the game!!! [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
esuom
02-06-08, 02:27 AM I have a friend who at first seemed very interested in learning to play D&D, so i set up a nigth where my self (DM) and my other buddy would meet and set him up with a character and teach him the basics.

Well all went good in making the character, and as many new peopel had loads of questions. No big deal they were answered.

He did make a lot of stupid choices though that through him out of his character class and acted differently then what he actually was. i understand he was new so i stopped and explained to him that you need to take on the roll of your class and play it. So nothing changed.

Also he was having trouble with the whole "out of game chat" and "in game chat" that was going on between myself and the other player.

so after the short game as it was getting late, we talked to him some more and he decided to make a fighter the next time we would play. So when we were able to get him over he didn't want to play and just said he didn't like it...At ALL!!!

I really want him to play and i think he would liek it, just cant get him back to play D&D...

HELP!!!
KyoMamoru
02-06-08, 02:29 AM What level is the campaign? What's the party composition? This is all very important, because a basic fighter isn't all too grand. [especially if you have others.]
Mysteria
02-06-08, 02:46 AM In my opinion, it sounds like he's tired of you telling him how to play his character.
esuom
02-06-08, 02:47 AM OK this is not really going to be a campaign. Its going to be a short little mission in a small town of Wake. I am or (was) going to have them meet on an adventure type basis but everything went astray. I was just really trying to get him to learn the basics before i threw everything onto him.

i will refer to the players as:
scout-new guy to the group
rogue-veteran
So here is what i Wanted to happen and what did:

The new player picked the scout class, so he read it over learned what he needed to know and i helped him also. The veteran picked a rogue.(always does). So i had the scout start off by being discharged form the military 10 years ago, and then he started up his own adventure walks in the forest of Wake. He would take travelers and village people on these 2 day walks in the forest showing them landmarks and different points in history where an event happen in the woods. I had them set up camp for the night to get rest and be ready for the hike home. As they were sleeping i was going to have the rogue sneak into the camp, (who has been following them undetected the whole time) and steal some good so he cna buy food and water. I was hoping that he would manage to steal some gold form the travelers, and then be confronted by the scout, make amends help the rogue out for the night and be on there way. The scout freaked out and automatically started shooting his bow all over the place trying to KILL!! the rogue. So i got frustrated let him go, didnt kill the rogue but wounded him badly and the rogue fell down the hill and rolled all the way to town..(for the funny part)

so thats on fell in trying to get them to group up.
After ngth they walked home payed the scout his money for the adventureI woudl go on but all the scout wanted to do was kji8 and his protection and headed to the bar to get some food. In the bar he turned out to be a di*k to the bartender so i started up a fight with the bartender and the scout...the rogue came to save him, but the scout left the bartender alone and went to try and kill the rogue AGAIN.

I would go on but all the scout wanted to do was kill the rogue. so it all went to sh*t.

so i ended it, was

HELP!! late and i was frustrated.
esuom
02-06-08, 02:49 AM no i wasnt telling him how to play it i was more explaining it to him and the skills abilities and feats that i though would help him. I never tell them how to play there guys. i let them do it on there own. unless they ask for an opinion
Kouk
02-06-08, 03:18 AM OK this is not really going to be a campaign. Its going to be a short little mission in a small town of Wake. I am or (was) going to have them meet on an adventure type basis but everything went astray. I was just really trying to get him to learn the basics before i threw everything onto him.

i will refer to the players as:
scout-new guy to the group
rogue-veteran
So here is what i Wanted to happen and what did:

The new player picked the scout class, so he read it over learned what he needed to know and i helped him also. The veteran picked a rogue.(always does). So i had the scout start off by being discharged form the military 10 years ago, and then he started up his own adventure walks in the forest of Wake. He would take travelers and village people on these 2 day walks in the forest showing them landmarks and different points in history where an event happen in the woods. I had them set up camp for the night to get rest and be ready for the hike home. As they were sleeping i was going to have the rogue sneak into the camp, (who has been following them undetected the whole time) and steal some good so he cna buy food and water. I was hoping that he would manage to steal some gold form the travelers, and then be confronted by the scout, make amends help the rogue out for the night and be on there way. The scout freaked out and automatically started shooting his bow all over the place trying to KILL!! the rogue. So i got frustrated let him go, didnt kill the rogue but wounded him badly and the rogue fell down the hill and rolled all the way to town..(for the funny part)

so thats on fell in trying to get them to group up.
After ngth they walked home payed the scout his money for the adventureI woudl go on but all the scout wanted to do was kji8 and his protection and headed to the bar to get some food. In the bar he turned out to be a di*k to the bartender so i started up a fight with the bartender and the scout...the rogue came to save him, but the scout left the bartender alone and went to try and kill the rogue AGAIN.

I would go on but all the scout wanted to do was kill the rogue. so it all went to sh*t.

so i ended it, was

HELP!! late and i was frustrated.

Uh.... what happened to rats in a cellar that need killing?

Honestly you seem like you are putting him into a Neutral/Evil PvP campaign with a complicated class, then having him learn to play with a veteran who has a similar class archetype. On top of that you orchestrated an elaborate plotline for them to "meet up and become friends" for some reason, rather than saying, to paraphrase the D&D Basic boxed set, "You are brave adventurers. You have been given a mission by an important baron to recover his ring from a dungeon. The dungeon has lots of monsters, so be careful."

If that was my first experience with D&D, being assigned something I don't necessarily want to do, and then get robbed by the other player first thing, I wouldn't want to keep playing either, at least not without learning the game by reading the books myself or with another group.
You seem like you would run a fun campaign, but that is too much for a completely new player in an introductory session.

He started a fight with the bartender because he was bored, and he didn't know what "acceptable" behavior is for that game.
Exposed_Wires
02-06-08, 04:28 AM Yah, I think this one was your bad. This happens a lot when you try to show somebody something that you really love. You over-hype it and jump right into the complex bits. He's gonna have his skeptical spectacles on and be difficult to please.

I find it's best to just invite them to a game with a bunch of people and let them play a background player. That way, they can learn the game and not have to roleplay as much. (which feels really silly when you're doing it in a small group.)
LinusMundane
02-06-08, 09:26 AM Theres a player currently in my group, who if you had said to a year ago, "Let's go play DnD" He would have laughed in your face.

That said, my group was playing Mutants and Masterminds, said player is a huge comic book/super hero fan. We asked him to come, and reluctantly he did. He loved it. We then switched to Deadlands, loved it even more. Finished up with that and it was decided that after a year and a half without, it was time for DnD. By this time, he had been introduced to roleplaying, but he still was not jumping all over DnD and in fact almost did not come out when we switched. I asked him to give it a try and he agreed. What class did he pick???? Paladin. Not an easy class by any means but, he did the research, he chose the class because it interested him.

This was 6 months ago, now every session, he assumes the leadership role, he gets into his character and has a blast every week. The point is, to let him figure out what best suits him. DO not force what you think he would like on him, I would have pegged my player example as a monk or rogue. He chose Paladin which surprised us to no end. We play 2 campaigns, hack n slash dungeon crawl in WLD and for more RPing we do a homebrew. WLD he is a paladin. Homebrew we use UA(alternate classes) He is a LG warrior class who will be acting as a Paladin does cept he's a hulking "Scottish" brute( Think the Scotsman from Samurai Jack).
Loftower
02-06-08, 09:33 AM I have to agree, your starting session was tough on a new player. In fact, I strongly dislike beginning a group with an intra-group conflict (those can come later). Try to un-meta-game it: would you trust your life to someone who has tried to rob you? (Going into the wilderness in a group of two means that you trust the other person with your life; adventuring together even more so.) The only reason that I can see for these two characters to get along was that they are both PCs, and that’s meta-gaming. Does the new guy even know that D&D isn’t normally PvP?

Start easy. Go easy. Don’t worry about challenging them too much in the first adventure. The new guy will have enough challenge just learning the rules and figuring out how this RPG thing works. Try to put at least one thing in the adventure to which each character would be particularly suited. Combat-based characters are fairly easy, but don’t forget that the Rogue isn’t much fun if he can’t use his special attack and/or pick locks and find traps. Do not make up situations to intentionally block or avoid the PCs abilities. (E.g.: The party is all Rogues and no Cleric, don’t send them against undead.) This can be tough if the new guy and an experienced player have similar characters.

How do you distinguish between PC to NPC chat vs. Player to DM chat? Do you use voice acting or something clearly distinguishable? If the new player is having difficulty I would slip into 3rd person more often. (Or am I misreading your “in game chat” vs. “out of game chat” issue?)

I would have asked for more from the experienced player, as well.
First, I would be very disappointed if any of my experienced players chose to build a similar character type to the new player; especially in a group of 3 or fewer PCs. I would say so. I might even forbid it, though I hate doing that.
Second, the experienced player should be the one to help the new player with mechanics. The DM helps him get into the story and into character, and concentrate on making it fun.
Third (and I have no evidence against your player for this one) the veteran should be very careful not to upstage or overshadow the new player. This can be especially important if the new player makes anti-optimized build choices.
Fourth, this is an excellent opportunity for the veteran player to try a different class or build. There is no way he’s going to end up being the drawback in the group, even if he builds it poorly or plays it strangely. He needs to be able to derive fun from somewhere other than character challenges, because anything that really challenges him is going to overwhelm the new guy.

To get the player back is going to be tougher than getting him to try the game once. First-impressions can be hard to overcome. Tell him that you know the first session didn’t go well and that you are going to do the next one differently. If you give the impression, “I know what I’m doing. This is how we always play,” then he is not going to want to play again. You posted that you think he would like D&D. Why do you think that? If he likes fantasy novels, movies, or something, write an adventure with a similar style and tell him you’re going to run it. Tell him that you want him to play a character in this adventure (and not “we need more players in the group”).

Create a new adventure. Start the PCs together (in a tavern if you have to – it’s not a sin). Make the plot hook blindingly obvious and very well baited. Give them a safe point after the first combat and/or dangerous situation. (Rats in the cellar are easy: you go upstairs to the city when it’s over.) Get feedback. If/when he gets confused, pause to clear it up.

It is also possible that your friend is one of the millions of people who don’t want to play D&D. If so, you need to get over it.
eof
02-06-08, 09:51 AM The new player played the scout, right? If so, it may have been disastrous for your plot, but it was brilliant RP-wise. :D

No, seriously. The scout notices this shady character who tries to sneak into camp and steal from (and possibly kill) the travelers that are under the scout's protection. Of course he'd try to kill the rogue, this is the wilderness after all! Brilliant. Later he sees the same character coming into the bar as if nothing had happened. Repeat. Again, brilliant.

As others have said, you made the "meet the other PC" event way too complicated for a first-time player. If you can get him to try again, go with something classic (if uninspired) like "you've been friends since like forever, last night goblins sneaked into the village and kidnapped several small girls, including your sister, and you have decided to go save them before the goblins eat them, or something worse."

Talk to him and ask what he thought was bad. Try to fix that. Also, let him make his own choices about what character to play. Suggest several alternatives that you think aren't complicated, but leave the final choice to him. Only give them easy encounters for a long while, that will let him get used to his character and also used to what he can do before you spring new stuff (2nd and 3rd level) on him.

And if he refuses to play, well, ultimately you will have to accept that.
esuom
02-06-08, 11:43 AM aight thanks everyone. you are right here. i did make it to hard on the guy which lead to his frustrtation and total failure of the mission at hand. Its going to be hard to get him back and i hope that i can, for where i am at it is only me and my other friend who actually likes to play the others live far, dont care for it, or cant get away from world of warcraft.

I will have to see what i can do.

thanks.
kelcimer
02-06-08, 12:32 PM The most important part of the first games of a new player is letting them do what they want and taking the opportunity to highlight the rules as you do so. If they want to try to kill everything in sight, let them do so and then let them suffer the consequences. The game will balance itself. If you give the player a good reason to kill something, don't be surprised if they do. Most of their character sheet is about killing things after all.
CCS
02-06-08, 01:50 PM OK this is not really going to be a campaign. Its going to be a short little mission in a small town of Wake. I am or (was) going to have them meet on an adventure type basis but everything went astray. I was just really trying to get him to learn the basics before i threw everything onto him.

i will refer to the players as:
scout-new guy to the group
rogue-veteran
So here is what i Wanted to happen and what did:

The new player picked the scout class, so he read it over learned what he needed to know and i helped him also. The veteran picked a rogue.(always does). So i had the scout start off by being discharged form the military 10 years ago, and then he started up his own adventure walks in the forest of Wake. He would take travelers and village people on these 2 day walks in the forest showing them landmarks and different points in history where an event happen in the woods. I had them set up camp for the night to get rest and be ready for the hike home. As they were sleeping i was going to have the rogue sneak into the camp, (who has been following them undetected the whole time) and steal some good so he cna buy food and water. I was hoping that he would manage to steal some gold form the travelers, and then be confronted by the scout, make amends help the rogue out for the night and be on there way. The scout freaked out and automatically started shooting his bow all over the place trying to KILL!! the rogue. So i got frustrated let him go, didnt kill the rogue but wounded him badly and the rogue fell down the hill and rolled all the way to town..(for the funny part)

so thats on fell in trying to get them to group up.
After ngth they walked home payed the scout his money for the adventureI woudl go on but all the scout wanted to do was kji8 and his protection and headed to the bar to get some food. In the bar he turned out to be a di*k to the bartender so i started up a fight with the bartender and the scout...the rogue came to save him, but the scout left the bartender alone and went to try and kill the rogue AGAIN.

I would go on but all the scout wanted to do was kill the rogue. so it all went to sh*t.

so i ended it, was

HELP!! late and i was frustrated.

If that's your idea of how to introduce a new player to the game, no wonder he's not interested.

.Lame backstory
*You set it up so that he's automatically in conflict with the other player.
.Nothing (besides player provided conflict) happened on the walk through the woods.
.Then you introduced a barfight (apparently) because he wasn't very good at RP yet.
.Followed by the rogue (the only "known" enemy) trying to get involved, maybe to kill him.

What did you expect?

Why not simply have used something classic & basic?
Like sending the two characters out to recon a small goblin band moving throught the forest or something? They could kill & loot the goblins, RP a bit, & return to town victorious.
CCS
02-06-08, 01:55 PM He started a fight with the bartender because he was bored, and he didn't know what "acceptable" behavior is for that game.

No, the DM started the barfight.
Because the new player "was being a d*ck".
Wich was likely happening because he's brand new to this thing we call Role-playing....
Dragonsblood
02-06-08, 03:28 PM aight thanks everyone. you are right here. i did make it to hard on the guy which lead to his frustrtation and total failure of the mission at hand. Its going to be hard to get him back and i hope that i can, for where i am at it is only me and my other friend who actually likes to play the others live far, dont care for it, or cant get away from world of warcraft.

I will have to see what i can do.

thanks.

He didn't fail anything. If I were the scout I would attack the rogue also. Your premise makes no sense to me. Why would the scout make friends with him???

Next time just set up a simple dungeon crawl...

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
esuom 02-06-08, 02:27 AM	I have a friend who at first seemed very interested in learning to play D&D, so i set up a nigth where my self (DM) and my other buddy would meet and set him up with a character and teach him the basics. Well all went good in making the character, and as many new peopel had loads of questions. No big deal they were answered. He did make a lot of stupid choices though that through him out of his character class and acted differently then what he actually was. i understand he was new so i stopped and explained to him that you need to take on the roll of your class and play it. So nothing changed. Also he was having trouble with the whole "out of game chat" and "in game chat" that was going on between myself and the other player. so after the short game as it was getting late, we talked to him some more and he decided to make a fighter the next time we would play. So when we were able to get him over he didn't want to play and just said he didn't like it...At ALL!!! I really want him to play and i think he would liek it, just cant get him back to play D&D... HELP!!!
KyoMamoru 02-06-08, 02:29 AM	What level is the campaign? What's the party composition? This is all very important, because a basic fighter isn't all too grand. [especially if you have others.]
Mysteria 02-06-08, 02:46 AM	In my opinion, it sounds like he's tired of you telling him how to play his character.
esuom 02-06-08, 02:47 AM	OK this is not really going to be a campaign. Its going to be a short little mission in a small town of Wake. I am or (was) going to have them meet on an adventure type basis but everything went astray. I was just really trying to get him to learn the basics before i threw everything onto him. i will refer to the players as: scout-new guy to the group rogue-veteran So here is what i Wanted to happen and what did: The new player picked the scout class, so he read it over learned what he needed to know and i helped him also. The veteran picked a rogue.(always does). So i had the scout start off by being discharged form the military 10 years ago, and then he started up his own adventure walks in the forest of Wake. He would take travelers and village people on these 2 day walks in the forest showing them landmarks and different points in history where an event happen in the woods. I had them set up camp for the night to get rest and be ready for the hike home. As they were sleeping i was going to have the rogue sneak into the camp, (who has been following them undetected the whole time) and steal some good so he cna buy food and water. I was hoping that he would manage to steal some gold form the travelers, and then be confronted by the scout, make amends help the rogue out for the night and be on there way. The scout freaked out and automatically started shooting his bow all over the place trying to KILL!! the rogue. So i got frustrated let him go, didnt kill the rogue but wounded him badly and the rogue fell down the hill and rolled all the way to town..(for the funny part) so thats on fell in trying to get them to group up. After ngth they walked home payed the scout his money for the adventureI woudl go on but all the scout wanted to do was kji8 and his protection and headed to the bar to get some food. In the bar he turned out to be a dik to the bartender so i started up a fight with the bartender and the scout...the rogue came to save him, but the scout left the bartender alone and went to try and kill the rogue AGAIN. I would go on but all the scout wanted to do was kill the rogue. so it all went to sht. so i ended it, was HELP!! late and i was frustrated.
esuom 02-06-08, 02:49 AM	no i wasnt telling him how to play it i was more explaining it to him and the skills abilities and feats that i though would help him. I never tell them how to play there guys. i let them do it on there own. unless they ask for an opinion
Kouk 02-06-08, 03:18 AM	OK this is not really going to be a campaign. Its going to be a short little mission in a small town of Wake. I am or (was) going to have them meet on an adventure type basis but everything went astray. I was just really trying to get him to learn the basics before i threw everything onto him. i will refer to the players as: scout-new guy to the group rogue-veteran So here is what i Wanted to happen and what did: The new player picked the scout class, so he read it over learned what he needed to know and i helped him also. The veteran picked a rogue.(always does). So i had the scout start off by being discharged form the military 10 years ago, and then he started up his own adventure walks in the forest of Wake. He would take travelers and village people on these 2 day walks in the forest showing them landmarks and different points in history where an event happen in the woods. I had them set up camp for the night to get rest and be ready for the hike home. As they were sleeping i was going to have the rogue sneak into the camp, (who has been following them undetected the whole time) and steal some good so he cna buy food and water. I was hoping that he would manage to steal some gold form the travelers, and then be confronted by the scout, make amends help the rogue out for the night and be on there way. The scout freaked out and automatically started shooting his bow all over the place trying to KILL!! the rogue. So i got frustrated let him go, didnt kill the rogue but wounded him badly and the rogue fell down the hill and rolled all the way to town..(for the funny part) so thats on fell in trying to get them to group up. After ngth they walked home payed the scout his money for the adventureI woudl go on but all the scout wanted to do was kji8 and his protection and headed to the bar to get some food. In the bar he turned out to be a dik to the bartender so i started up a fight with the bartender and the scout...the rogue came to save him, but the scout left the bartender alone and went to try and kill the rogue AGAIN. I would go on but all the scout wanted to do was kill the rogue. so it all went to sht. so i ended it, was HELP!! late and i was frustrated. Uh.... what happened to rats in a cellar that need killing? Honestly you seem like you are putting him into a Neutral/Evil PvP campaign with a complicated class, then having him learn to play with a veteran who has a similar class archetype. On top of that you orchestrated an elaborate plotline for them to "meet up and become friends" for some reason, rather than saying, to paraphrase the D&D Basic boxed set, "You are brave adventurers. You have been given a mission by an important baron to recover his ring from a dungeon. The dungeon has lots of monsters, so be careful." If that was my first experience with D&D, being assigned something I don't necessarily want to do, and then get robbed by the other player first thing, I wouldn't want to keep playing either, at least not without learning the game by reading the books myself or with another group. You seem like you would run a fun campaign, but that is too much for a completely new player in an introductory session. He started a fight with the bartender because he was bored, and he didn't know what "acceptable" behavior is for that game.
Exposed_Wires 02-06-08, 04:28 AM	Yah, I think this one was your bad. This happens a lot when you try to show somebody something that you really love. You over-hype it and jump right into the complex bits. He's gonna have his skeptical spectacles on and be difficult to please. I find it's best to just invite them to a game with a bunch of people and let them play a background player. That way, they can learn the game and not have to roleplay as much. (which feels really silly when you're doing it in a small group.)
LinusMundane 02-06-08, 09:26 AM	Theres a player currently in my group, who if you had said to a year ago, "Let's go play DnD" He would have laughed in your face. That said, my group was playing Mutants and Masterminds, said player is a huge comic book/super hero fan. We asked him to come, and reluctantly he did. He loved it. We then switched to Deadlands, loved it even more. Finished up with that and it was decided that after a year and a half without, it was time for DnD. By this time, he had been introduced to roleplaying, but he still was not jumping all over DnD and in fact almost did not come out when we switched. I asked him to give it a try and he agreed. What class did he pick???? Paladin. Not an easy class by any means but, he did the research, he chose the class because it interested him. This was 6 months ago, now every session, he assumes the leadership role, he gets into his character and has a blast every week. The point is, to let him figure out what best suits him. DO not force what you think he would like on him, I would have pegged my player example as a monk or rogue. He chose Paladin which surprised us to no end. We play 2 campaigns, hack n slash dungeon crawl in WLD and for more RPing we do a homebrew. WLD he is a paladin. Homebrew we use UA(alternate classes) He is a LG warrior class who will be acting as a Paladin does cept he's a hulking "Scottish" brute( Think the Scotsman from Samurai Jack).
Loftower 02-06-08, 09:33 AM	I have to agree, your starting session was tough on a new player. In fact, I strongly dislike beginning a group with an intra-group conflict (those can come later). Try to un-meta-game it: would you trust your life to someone who has tried to rob you? (Going into the wilderness in a group of two means that you trust the other person with your life; adventuring together even more so.) The only reason that I can see for these two characters to get along was that they are both PCs, and that’s meta-gaming. Does the new guy even know that D&D isn’t normally PvP? Start easy. Go easy. Don’t worry about challenging them too much in the first adventure. The new guy will have enough challenge just learning the rules and figuring out how this RPG thing works. Try to put at least one thing in the adventure to which each character would be particularly suited. Combat-based characters are fairly easy, but don’t forget that the Rogue isn’t much fun if he can’t use his special attack and/or pick locks and find traps. Do not make up situations to intentionally block or avoid the PCs abilities. (E.g.: The party is all Rogues and no Cleric, don’t send them against undead.) This can be tough if the new guy and an experienced player have similar characters. How do you distinguish between PC to NPC chat vs. Player to DM chat? Do you use voice acting or something clearly distinguishable? If the new player is having difficulty I would slip into 3rd person more often. (Or am I misreading your “in game chat” vs. “out of game chat” issue?) I would have asked for more from the experienced player, as well. First, I would be very disappointed if any of my experienced players chose to build a similar character type to the new player; especially in a group of 3 or fewer PCs. I would say so. I might even forbid it, though I hate doing that. Second, the experienced player should be the one to help the new player with mechanics. The DM helps him get into the story and into character, and concentrate on making it fun. Third (and I have no evidence against your player for this one) the veteran should be very careful not to upstage or overshadow the new player. This can be especially important if the new player makes anti-optimized build choices. Fourth, this is an excellent opportunity for the veteran player to try a different class or build. There is no way he’s going to end up being the drawback in the group, even if he builds it poorly or plays it strangely. He needs to be able to derive fun from somewhere other than character challenges, because anything that really challenges him is going to overwhelm the new guy. To get the player back is going to be tougher than getting him to try the game once. First-impressions can be hard to overcome. Tell him that you know the first session didn’t go well and that you are going to do the next one differently. If you give the impression, “I know what I’m doing. This is how we always play,” then he is not going to want to play again. You posted that you think he would like D&D. Why do you think that? If he likes fantasy novels, movies, or something, write an adventure with a similar style and tell him you’re going to run it. Tell him that you want him to play a character in this adventure (and not “we need more players in the group”). Create a new adventure. Start the PCs together (in a tavern if you have to – it’s not a sin). Make the plot hook blindingly obvious and very well baited. Give them a safe point after the first combat and/or dangerous situation. (Rats in the cellar are easy: you go upstairs to the city when it’s over.) Get feedback. If/when he gets confused, pause to clear it up. It is also possible that your friend is one of the millions of people who don’t want to play D&D. If so, you need to get over it.
eof 02-06-08, 09:51 AM	The new player played the scout, right? If so, it may have been disastrous for your plot, but it was brilliant RP-wise. :D No, seriously. The scout notices this shady character who tries to sneak into camp and steal from (and possibly kill) the travelers that are under the scout's protection. Of course he'd try to kill the rogue, this is the wilderness after all! Brilliant. Later he sees the same character coming into the bar as if nothing had happened. Repeat. Again, brilliant. As others have said, you made the "meet the other PC" event way too complicated for a first-time player. If you can get him to try again, go with something classic (if uninspired) like "you've been friends since like forever, last night goblins sneaked into the village and kidnapped several small girls, including your sister, and you have decided to go save them before the goblins eat them, or something worse." Talk to him and ask what he thought was bad. Try to fix that. Also, let him make his own choices about what character to play. Suggest several alternatives that you think aren't complicated, but leave the final choice to him. Only give them easy encounters for a long while, that will let him get used to his character and also used to what he can do before you spring new stuff (2nd and 3rd level) on him. And if he refuses to play, well, ultimately you will have to accept that.
esuom 02-06-08, 11:43 AM	aight thanks everyone. you are right here. i did make it to hard on the guy which lead to his frustrtation and total failure of the mission at hand. Its going to be hard to get him back and i hope that i can, for where i am at it is only me and my other friend who actually likes to play the others live far, dont care for it, or cant get away from world of warcraft. I will have to see what i can do. thanks.
kelcimer 02-06-08, 12:32 PM	The most important part of the first games of a new player is letting them do what they want and taking the opportunity to highlight the rules as you do so. If they want to try to kill everything in sight, let them do so and then let them suffer the consequences. The game will balance itself. If you give the player a good reason to kill something, don't be surprised if they do. Most of their character sheet is about killing things after all.
CCS 02-06-08, 01:50 PM	OK this is not really going to be a campaign. Its going to be a short little mission in a small town of Wake. I am or (was) going to have them meet on an adventure type basis but everything went astray. I was just really trying to get him to learn the basics before i threw everything onto him. i will refer to the players as: scout-new guy to the group rogue-veteran So here is what i Wanted to happen and what did: The new player picked the scout class, so he read it over learned what he needed to know and i helped him also. The veteran picked a rogue.(always does). So i had the scout start off by being discharged form the military 10 years ago, and then he started up his own adventure walks in the forest of Wake. He would take travelers and village people on these 2 day walks in the forest showing them landmarks and different points in history where an event happen in the woods. I had them set up camp for the night to get rest and be ready for the hike home. As they were sleeping i was going to have the rogue sneak into the camp, (who has been following them undetected the whole time) and steal some good so he cna buy food and water. I was hoping that he would manage to steal some gold form the travelers, and then be confronted by the scout, make amends help the rogue out for the night and be on there way. The scout freaked out and automatically started shooting his bow all over the place trying to KILL!! the rogue. So i got frustrated let him go, didnt kill the rogue but wounded him badly and the rogue fell down the hill and rolled all the way to town..(for the funny part) so thats on fell in trying to get them to group up. After ngth they walked home payed the scout his money for the adventureI woudl go on but all the scout wanted to do was kji8 and his protection and headed to the bar to get some food. In the bar he turned out to be a dik to the bartender so i started up a fight with the bartender and the scout...the rogue came to save him, but the scout left the bartender alone and went to try and kill the rogue AGAIN. I would go on but all the scout wanted to do was kill the rogue. so it all went to sht. so i ended it, was HELP!! late and i was frustrated. If that's your idea of how to introduce a new player to the game, no wonder he's not interested. .Lame backstory *You set it up so that he's automatically in conflict with the other player. .Nothing (besides player provided conflict) happened on the walk through the woods. .Then you introduced a barfight (apparently) because he wasn't very good at RP yet. .Followed by the rogue (the only "known" enemy) trying to get involved, maybe to kill him. What did you expect? Why not simply have used something classic & basic? Like sending the two characters out to recon a small goblin band moving throught the forest or something? They could kill & loot the goblins, RP a bit, & return to town victorious.
CCS 02-06-08, 01:55 PM	He started a fight with the bartender because he was bored, and he didn't know what "acceptable" behavior is for that game. No, the DM started the barfight. Because the new player "was being a d*ck". Wich was likely happening because he's brand new to this thing we call Role-playing....
Dragonsblood 02-06-08, 03:28 PM	aight thanks everyone. you are right here. i did make it to hard on the guy which lead to his frustrtation and total failure of the mission at hand. Its going to be hard to get him back and i hope that i can, for where i am at it is only me and my other friend who actually likes to play the others live far, dont care for it, or cant get away from world of warcraft. I will have to see what i can do. thanks. He didn't fail anything. If I were the scout I would attack the rogue also. Your premise makes no sense to me. Why would the scout make friends with him??? Next time just set up a simple dungeon crawl...