Tutorial dungeon?

[Grimmjow]

My group plans to add a new member to our group very soon. She has played with is before but she doesnt really know what she is doing.

The group is level 7 maybe 8 by the time she'll start which means all her powers will be a little hard for her to pick up on. I made her a weaponmaster, with a bunch of feats that she wont need to keep track of because of the character builder math.

What im really looking fo with the forum is what kind of things i should put into a tutorial dungeon? I'll have one guy from the group mentor her but i want a dungeon that kind of teachs her how the game works, but is still fun for the rest of the players.

So far all i know is that it is going to be a subterranean levels of a temple pelor. The first encounter will involve fire blaster traps but i feel as if i need another trap encounter with a bigger viritay of traps to teach that part, so two trap encounter total. And, thanks to help from a different post, the finial boss will be an insane angel of valor.

So ill have two trap encounters, a boss encounter, and then just mob encounters. What am i missing? How do i make it a way to teach her, but still be fun for the rest of the group?

 

[mcmillan]

You should have some chances to get to use skills, the traps might be one place to show this off, but there probably should be some other examples. You might also want some social scenes giving her a chance to get into character, depending on how much it's integrated into other aspects.

In the first combat you probably should have some enemies trigger her mark for a chance to walk through how that works. There might be some other fiddley mechanics that could be worth trying to bring up (saves, healing, flanking) though I don't know if that needs more than having mentor player help.

 

[Grimmjow]

what kind of skill challange could i get into that kind of adventure though?

they are looking for the rune of endless fire while down there

 

[Quickleaf]

I'm going to challenge your approach a bit. While planning for simple initial encounters before working up to a more complex boss fight is fine, the best way to make the game accessible to new players is thru their character sheet.

So instead I would ask:

What sort of PC does she want to play? It sounds like you choose a weaponmaster for her...where an essentials fighter makes more sense for a new player.

How can you present the essential information on a one-page character sheet? This means cutting out all clutter like attack/damage workspaces, changing power language to everyday language (not "gamespeak"), what stuff you can leave off for now, etc. Above all else don't use the CB sheets or the old "tax form" sheet - they're just too complicated for most newbies IME.

What mechanics of her character are you challenging in a given encounter? Obviously FYI will change in play, but it's good to think about while you're planning because it might suggest how you lay out the character sheet & what is (or is not) included on it.

 

[SensoryThought]

I find that all new players (and experienced players with new characters to a lesser degree) suffer from option paralysis. Their turn comes up and they say 'what can I do?' My tips:

1. Essentials characters are good but can be nearly as complex for new players as vanilla. Except the slayer but that's boring fast.
2. Don't select any immediate action powers. Acting outside your turn is too hard for a newbie. That's why a defender who gets lots of opportunity attacks wouldn't be my first choice.
3. New players always like doing damage (strikers).
4. Avoid things like difficult terrain and put lots of minions in early encounters.
5. I like the power cards of the character builder sheet. Introduce them to their prime at-will and tell them if unsure, do that.
6. If they are taking too long, delay their action and move on to someone else.
7. But be patient. Even with the cards +11 vs Fort means nothing to the new player!

 

[treex]

Designing a dungeons is just half the battle, while running it, if she ever gets stuck and asks "What should I do?", ask her what she wants to do. The throw some random (but creative) suggestions. Do you wanna topple that bookcase on top of the monsters? Do you wanna sneak off? Be a flippin' ninja? (although you should have asked that before you rolled her character)

Give a straightforward striker character if possible, and of course, she has to be motivated to play. When they think they're making the decisions, they'll be much happier. (Note that I said think they're making...meanwhile you're making suggestions to veer her character to be slightly optimized, for example)

I think that most new players would fail to grasp the fact that they can do whatever they want and you should stress that fact and make them aware of their newfound freedom. Freedom not found within video games which, no matter how sandbox-y, will be scripted. Once they grasp this concept, things should be easier.

Just my thoughts.