D&D 5E Obligation to give new players a "Core" game?

You got a lot of response, but one thing to keep in mind is that you are going to have some dropouts if it isn't what they want, expect or have time for.

I would suggest making a few simple adventures that you can run with characters that are 4th level and premade by you to fit in the setting. Some might gawk at this, but every time I have introduced a new player to D&D a good half of them balked at the big PHB and all the rules till they learned a bit more. Make some simple characters that don't have super duper feats but give a wide selection of abilities. Have them fit your regional theme and be from that area. Show the players what they can do even before they really start by having some background prepared about their specific character.

Don't dive too much into the rules beforehand and show them they can use their imagination around the rules, they aren't consigned to what is written in that PHB.

Bring some sounds or music, wear a turban or a veil or whatever you can. Make it fun and your players will ask for more. Afterwards if they did you can tell them they can create their own character to make their own story in this region you've brought to life for them.

You can run the same adventure again for another set of folks and have different or the same characters, then figure out who wants to keep playing and go from there.

DMing a game is the most challenging thing to do in the game over a long period of time, so make decisions that keep you happy as a DM, including the campaign theme. If you enjoy it and have continued interest, then your players will adapt, even if some make the decision to try something else. It sounds like you do not suffer from a lack of players.

I'll second using pregenerated characters to start off new players. WotC has about 21 pregens, each at levels 1-5, which is a pretty nice resource.

Remathilis said:

If you do an Arabian Nights setting, still make it have elves, dwarves, halflings...

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Personally I've always found this pretty lame, and would prefer to see other nonhuman races that fitted the setting used instead. The PHB has plenty.

S'mon said:

Personally I've always found this pretty lame, and would prefer to see other nonhuman races that fitted the setting used instead. The PHB has plenty.

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I would agree with you if we were talking established players, but for new players I think its best to introduce the core assumptions, even if they are wearing different costumes. First characters are fragile things, sometimes the spark for their first character is a cool picture in the PHB. You don't want the guy who flips through the PHB and says "elves look cool. I want to be an elf" to be told no. That might just be enough for them to tune out. Therefore, if you have a new group of players, leave all the options on the table and make it work, even if it means having Arabian elves, druids, halflings, paladins, and monks. Nothing kills enthusiasm faster than being told "no" to your first character idea.

I play with a very stable group, so it's many years since I've introduced a new player to RPGing. But when I did it was by way of an "Oriental Adventures" game. I think all that matters is that the players be familiar with the tropes/themes you are trying to evoke.

The 5e PHB itself has plenty of artwork that makes it clear that the D&D gameworld is not confined to NW Europe.

Within the Arabian Nights sort of framework, wizards, sorcerers and warlocks (evil viziers, naturally) all fit in smoothly. So do clerics, thieves, fighters, paladins, rangers and bards (tellers of tales). Monks are no less at home than in a NW Europe game (my first thought is ascetic hermits from the desert). Barbarians and druids are the only puzzles, but druids of the land seem like desert (or vale/oasis) dwelling mystics to me, and druids of the moon are shapeshifting mystics.

I'm sure there's a place for barbarians too.

I don't think a GM is obligated to provide a "traditional" D&D experience.

I do think a GM should think twice about presenting an entirely out-of-the-box setting and get some potential player feedback. Some folks aren't interested in Steampunk/Cyberpunk D&D. Some people are totally cool with the Weird West. Some people may have reservations about playing an arabic-themed game in today's politial climate. Some people may have objections to "the gods are real" conciets. Players can be all over the board when it comes to what they do or don't like. It can however be generally said that most people who play or express an interest in D&D have an interest in things of a fantastical nature.

If you're playing with a group you're unfamiliar with, I'd be cautious about putting your life's work on the table, especially if its a setting you intend to reuse and the consequences of a bad group may negatively impact future games or even the general playability of your setting.

As suggested before, come up with a concise but interesting paragraph or two about your setting and send it to the prospective players, see what their reactions are. I suspect you'll find out fairly quickly if people are still interested.

Remathilis said:

I would agree with you if we were talking established players, but for new players I think its best to introduce the core assumptions, even if they are wearing different costumes.

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And I, as stated, think this is exactly the wrong thing to do--at least, the way you've phrased it, e.g. limiting people to the Core Four races and classes (human/elf/dwarf/halfling; fighter/wizard/cleric/thief). It enculturates players to think that there is a special or privileged subset of concepts--it perpetuates the idea that some races and classes are The Norm and other races/classes are, even *should be,* limited/rare/weird in all worlds. That's not the spirit of D&D even back in the olden days, when Gygax was perfectly comfortable allowing people to play balors as long as they were open to starting low and aiming high.

First characters are fragile things, sometimes the spark for their first character is a cool picture in the PHB. You don't want the guy who flips through the PHB and says "elves look cool. I want to be an elf" to be told no. That might just be enough for them to tune out. Therefore, if you have a new group of players, leave all the options on the table and make it work, even if it means having Arabian elves, druids, halflings, paladins, and monks. Nothing kills enthusiasm faster than being told "no" to your first character idea.

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And now I'm just really confused, because this paragraph sounds nothing like your opening sentence. The opening sentence reads very distinctly, to me, as "new players should only be allowed to do Very Traditional Things." The rest of the paragraph, on the other hand, is exactly the opposite of that. That is, it reads to me as: don't tell a brand-new player "no" unless you really, really have to because it stifles creativity, and that is the absolute last thing an introductory D&D game should do.

So...I guess we agree? Even though your opening sentence is something I vehemently disagree with? I'm confused.

pemerton said:

I'm sure there's a place for barbarians too.

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Frenzied Berzerker is easy enough for any setting.

Path of the Totem could use desert themed creatures such as the buzzard, hyena and camel.


This excellent art by Robot Kun picks up on one totem animal that could be used, the lion.

Whoa! Lots of feedback, and it seems everyone is on board for the "Caliphate" setting! So it shall be!

I'm not going to go through and reply to all the questions - it's a lot of work, and I'm inherently lazy. But I will provide a few general answers and responses to running themes:

* When I say I've got 20 players lined up, that means around 20 people in this town who know I play D&D, and have expressed playing the game "at some point". My GF and I have put together a list, and we'll ask these people if they're interested. This list will be pared down until we have a group that's relatively stable. My general idea here is to run a game without a stable roster, with a rotating player base, until things slowly become more and more stable and the most interested people remain. I won't play with a table of more than seven players, however (my monday night games are at six players at the moment).

* The setting at this point is sort of a cross between a real world medieval arab setting, crossed with Ancient Persia (a series of Satraps!) and Senate-Era Carthage. I've been on a huge carthage kick lately. Because it's south of my current setting (based on the Pacific Northwest), this game will have a climate similar to, say, southern California and the dryer parts of Mexico and Arizona.

It'll be a "soft arabic", and by that I mean a lot of the old tropes from normal RPGs will be there. The only real deviation from the PHB I'm thinking at the moment is that slavery might be legalized. Not sure if that's a good idea, and I'm still mulling it over.

* All core D&D races will be allowed, as well as a few other ones (Genasi and Goliaths). Because a lot of races are tied to events in the "main" campaign (elves, drow, and tieflings especially), those races will be from that region, and not common in the south. Common races at the moment are dragonborn, genasi, goliaths, and halflings. But I won't stop anything from being in play in the core rulebooks.

* I'm going with "keep it simple, stupid". So, no multi-classing or feats. And I might see if there are other rules I can excise, at least at the beginning.

* It will NOT be an open Sandbox, [MENTION=29398]Lanefan[/MENTION]. Normally, I'm all for this type of play, but because this campaign will be secondary to my main campaign, which is already a lot of work, I'm just gonna kind of railroad this one. It's new players and a rotating player base at that - they don't really need the sandbox. But I know what's out there if they go off the tracks. (and any module I pick to throw at them will be approachable from multiple angles. It's a requirement for any adventure I run these days).

* I already have a few adventures picked out. I WON'T be using "The Lost City", but I was thinking of using "Marauders of the Dune Sea" and "The Bullywug Gambit" both because I've played in them before, and would like to convert them to a new setting. I might start the game with "keep on the borderlands", or a smaller Dungeon module.

* There is TOTALLY a place for barbarians. Hasn't anyone here read Conan? Am I the only person who hears "Desert" and instantly thinks of the old sword and sandal classics?


Anyways, thanks for all the feedback. I'll keep up a few updates as we go, and see what happens. I'll be doing up the player's guide this week. I'm thinking I'll make it shorter than the ones I usually do (which can be around 20 pages), and go with 2 pages, 3 tops. What are the best ideas to include? Table Rules? Core idea of the game? Very rough setting details? a map?