Starting a new campaign, with new players

[MadLordOfMilk]

In a couple weeks, I'm going to be starting up a new campaign, with a number of players more or less new to the game. While a new campaign is nothing new to me personally, a few circumstances change things up a bit:

• I'll be running it at a weekly club at my university, so other campaigns will be starting up around the same time, with different systems. If at all possible, I'd like to get some play time in during the first session, so people can judge whether or not they like the game within the first session.

• I have no idea of what sort of players I'll be getting.
• Most of the players will be new to the game system (Classic D&D)
• Some (possibly many?) may have never played a tabletop RPG before

This complicates my planning, especially on how to run the first session. One easy option is running a demo game; basically, have everyone roll up characters, run a demo adventure, and say "if you liked it, come back next week for the start of a campaign!" I'd rather get things rolling right off the bat, though.

The problem is, I'm not sure where to start, especially in terms of planning:

• I'd like to let the group decide on a general theme/tone of the campaign, but given it's primarily newbs who might not even know what they want, should I just pick a general tone/concept and stick them with it? If so, what would you all recommend for newbies?
• I normally like to give out campaign handouts, but I don't want to overload newbies with too much information. Should I hand one out anyway? Forget about the handout? Wait a couple sessions? Hand it out and tell them it'll make more sense once they've played a bit?

(Though the questions above are my immediate/specific concerns, other advice would also be fantastic!)

Thanks!

 

[dvvega]

When 4th edition came out I wanted my playgroup to try it out but buying books, creating characters etc was going to cause a bit of a fuss.

I got hold of the preview adventure/characters and ran that instead. It was not part of my campaign but it did give them a feeling of the rules and how they worked.

What you could do is do something like a "prequel" adventure where all the basic rules are taught: skill tests, combat, conditions etc. This prequel could be their ancestors, a famous adventuring group, something from your campaign world.

Then second session is the players' own characters.

You can make this adventure for level 6 or so - they have some "oomph" to their power without over complication. I chose 6th because they get a utility power. You make the characters so that you can control the encounters to showcase each rule you wish to teach.

D

 

[SiderisAnon]

For an introduction game, I would not have them make their own characters. You create the characters. If you want to get them interested in the game, don't bog them down with the rules, math, and time consumption of character creation.

Then those who want to stay will get to create their own characters once you start the campaign.

When you run your introductory adventure for people who haven't played before, start simple and keep things focused. My suggestion would be:

First, have a small scene or roleplaying where they find out what the problem is. Give them the idea of being in character.

Second, have a small bit of exploration and description where they get into whatever the area is. Get them into the feel of describing what they do and asking more questions. Trying to find a way into a ruins is an example.

Third, have a quick combat in a small space. Choose weak opponents that the PCs can take out without risking a quick death. The small space is so there's not a lot of worry about tactical movement, just getting the idea of combat dice rolling. An entry room or a tavern are good.

Fourth, have a series of encounters that can be dropped without hurting the story. With a new group, you never know how much you're going to get through. These fill up the session between steps 3 and 5.

Finally, have a big encounter with the boss that has lots of cool factor. Use an interesting room, have lots of descriptions for abilities and actions, and otherwise make it a big, climatic scene. Don't overdo the number of opponents (unless they're 1 hit point cannon fodder) because you don't want to overload the combat newbies.


As for handouts, anything longer than one side of one piece of paper simply won't be read by most people. (And there are plenty of gamers who won't even read that.) Any campaign handout should be designed purely for the GM's entertainment and in the hopes that someone actually reads it.

 

[S'mon]

I did this very successfully a couple years back. The main thing was, I focused on creating and running an absolutely kick-ass single session adventure that got 3/4 of the players hungry for more. 'Background' was a paragraph of text:

The Oracle of Ashkelos had long ago foretold it: Evil had returned to the wicked ruins of cursed Castle Kaladrac! And so the aged King Thongar summoned champions from among his Knights and Pathfinders. Messengers went out to the mysterious Magi of Ashkelos, to the Seminary of Holy Church, to the stout halflings of Oakbrook Shire, to the redoubtable dwarves of the Iron Hills and to the renowned Elves of the Silver Forest. The task: to penetrate the Ruins of Castle Kaladrac and destroy whatever Foulness now lurks therein!

The additional setting handout was as follows:

This campaign takes place in a homebrew setting, the Willow Vale, in the Southern Uplands between the Trosk Mountains and the Dismal Moors. To the south the mountains are the home of fierce barbarians, the Trosk, and beyond them the burning deserts of Kalara, ruled by the evil priests of Baphomet. To the north are wild lands, roamed by giants and trolls.

Once, long ago, the evil sorcerer Kaladrac built his fortress high atop Winterfell Mount, near the Brale Wood at the southern end of Willow Vale. In alliance with the terrible dragon Valshegar, for years Kaladrac and his minions terrorised the lands around. Until a hero came - Thongar. Uniting the disheartened peoples of the Vale, he cast down and slew both dragon and tyrant. But the dragon's death throws ignited a terrible inferno that engulfed the castle - Thongar alone emerged from the raging flames. And now King Thongar is aged, his fighting years long past. It is time for a new generation of heroes...

So, I created the Wicked Ruins of Cursed Castle Kaladrac as a cool single-session adventure for 1st level PCs, with Kaladrac's daughter attempting to reanimate her father as a Death Knight. It was fun in itself, but also had the potential to lead into a campaign.

Re PCs, my suggestion would be that you let them create their own characters but focus on getting started quickly and running a full adventure in the session. With Classic PC creation should be fast, but to hurry it up you might want to create standard hand outs of equipment, like the ones in B4 The Lost City. For new players I'd recommend max hit points and using AD&D's death at -10 rule, unless you want a strong "Fantasy 'Effin Vietnam" feel.

Edit: With Classic D&D you don't need pregens, since PC creation takes moments. And players don't need to know the rules, only "I do X" and some idea what their Class is about.

 

[MadLordOfMilk]

Thanks for the input, guys! I think I'll follow something closer to S'mon's example, though the other posts also helped with ideas The main thing I'm torn over now is whether to make the first session "part of the campaign," or just make it tangentially related to the plot. Hmm...

 

[S'mon]

Thanks Mad

BTW I wrote "The Wicked Ruins of Cursed Castle Kaldrac" for Labyrinth Lord/BX D&D, though in the event I chickened out and had the players use 3.5 rules while I stuck with LL/BX for the NPCs (but with ascending AC and 3e-based saves).

One tip I got from Sorcerer & Sword was to make the PCs feel cool; this is not in line with traditional Old School "fantasy effin Vietnam" but I think it's good with new players. One way to do this is the game intro - see above. Another is the opposition: wailing on kobolds is not particularly cool, even if you're a 4th level 4e PC with Primal Power, taking 4 hits to fell one of the little buggers is very uncool.

Some opponents I used in Kaladrac:

Upper Ruins:

A giant spider with a web spun across the castle walls. PCs avoided it.

Some goblins lurking in a tower - not related to the main plot though.

Skeletons arising from the bones of the long-dead warriors who faced the dragon Valshegar - didnt get to use these due to the PCs' chosen route in, *sigh*.

Entrance to the Dungeons:

Maeve's Fierce chain-armoured Trosk barbarian warriors with their massive battle-axes, standing guard - 2 x F1/hd1 AC 5 THAC0 19 dam 1d8

A bunch more Trosk, including a Swordmaster (F3/hd 3) - but these guys were resting, initially asleep/unarmoured. The Swordmaster had a +1 2-handed sword (d10+1) which the victorious PCs left on his body in a sign of respect!

The Ceremony:

Cloaked & Hooded Kalaran Death Priests of Baphomet, assisting the Witch-Queen Maeve in the ceremony to reanimate her father Lord Kaladrac - C1/hd 1d6, AC 5, staff dam 1d6

Maeve the Witch Queen - M-U 6, AIR she had a couple Magic Missile spells and "Hold Person", her other 3rd level spell slot was used for the reanimation ceremony. No Fireball! +1 Dagger she was going to use to cut the heart out of Ged the Shepherd Boy, who was strung up on a lattice over Kaladrac's massive, black-iron clad corpse, very Luis Royo.

Naturally the PCs burst in, interrupted the ceremony, killed the Death Priests, saved Ged, and captured the beautiful Maeve to take home to King Thongar!

 

[Doug McCrae]

The Swordmaster had a +1 2-handed sword (d10+1) which the victorious PCs left on his body in a sign of respect!

Awesome, I love it.

And a good adventure with a lot of cool concepts - Trosk barbarians, death priests, beautiful witch queen Maeve - classic S&S feel, I really like them. Also the use of the word 'Wicked' in the title.

 

[Doug McCrae]

Say yes.

I had a new player in the last couple of D&D sessions I ran and I really liked the way she would just try what to an experienced D&D-er would seem crazy . Like using being blinded by dark creepers, her Insight skill and mystical paladiny-ness to gain an insight into their evil nature.

My very first impulse was, "That won't work", but then I thought, "Wait a minute, maybe it would." So I let her roll and she gained some knowledge of their entropic nature.

This session her paladin tried drinking some river water plus her mystical paladiny-ness to get a sense of what was troubling the river spirit. I let that work too.

 

[MadLordOfMilk]

One tip I got from Sorcerer & Sword was to make the PCs feel cool; this is not in line with traditional Old School "fantasy effin Vietnam" but I think it's good with new players. One way to do this is the game intro - see above. Another is the opposition: wailing on kobolds is not particularly cool, even if you're a 4th level 4e PC with Primal Power, taking 4 hits to fell one of the little buggers is very uncool.

Very good point! I've been considering house rules to help reinforce that, actually. In particular, rules for unconsciousness, and a variant of FYIA tokens (slightly NSFW if only because of the F word used once or twice). Hopefully, that'll help keep things upbeat and entertaining. Not that I'm against the more brutal games, but I don't want to make things too rough on newbies.

I hadn't really considered how I should mess with things on the intro/monster front though, good call!

Some opponents I used in Kaladrac:

*examples here*

Naturally the PCs burst in, interrupted the ceremony, killed the Death Priests, saved Ged, and captured the beautiful Maeve to take home to King Thongar!

Sounds like a lot of fun! Thanks for going the extra mile and giving specific examples Actually, that gave me a few ideas for an intro adventure...

 

[MadLordOfMilk]

Say yes.

I had a new player in the last couple of D&D sessions I ran and I really liked the way she would just try what to an experienced D&D-er would seem crazy . Like using being blinded by dark creepers, her Insight skill and mystical paladiny-ness to gain an insight into their evil nature.

I've actually fallen a bit out of that habit, I need to get back into it. Also, cool example