D&D 4E New players, new to 4e, 14th-level campaign

[Obryn]

I have a pair of new players coming into my game, neither of whom are familiar with 4e as of yet. The existing game had some membership changes, with some of my players taking classes at different times and one now working until 4am on Wednesday nights/Thursday mornings.

The ongoing campaign is 14th level, and I don't want to ditch that. But, 14th- level characters are an order of magnitude tougher to run than 1st-level characters, with a bazillion more feats and powers and special cases. Neither one is dumb, but I'm worried it will be overwhelming.

I'm already keen on keeping things simple for them - suggesting easier character classes like rogues and rangers, and so on. But failing that, is there a way to tone everything down a notch?

Thanks, everyone!

-O

 

[davethegame]

Any chance you can run them in a few easy prelude adventures? The best way to keep the new options from being overwhelming is to give them time to get adjusted. Since you obviously don't have time to level them all the way, maybe run a few "flashbacks" which will also let them give their classes/races a try a few times, maybe over a spread of levels (1, 5, 10?) before diving into 14.

 

[Nytmare]

Flashback mini arc? Dream sequence?

 

[Nytmare]

I can't believe I got ninja'd by a guy from Maryland...

 

[fba827]

Perhaps you could give them premade NPCs to use for a couple sessions before they pop in with their own PCs? These NPCs would be simplified down to not have to worry about feats, and just get assigned defenses and to hit per NPC rules. And then just one daily power and one encounter power - each of which at the highest level available for their level, and one atwill/basic attack. Then, after a session or two they'll have their feet wet and can come in with their own PC.

 

[fba827]

I can't believe I got ninja'd by a guy from Maryland...

That's what happens when you live above the Mason-Dixon line!

 

[Obryn]

davethegame: Sadly, I don't think there's time for that... Neat idea, but probably not strictly practical... They're starting next Wednesday, and he's out of town for the rest of the week.

fba827: That could work... I'll have to dig deeper into it... I really want them to feel ownership of their characters, but just making ones for them might be a better way, if they're fine with it...

-O

 

[fba827]

Sadly, I don't think there's time for that... Neat idea, but probably not strictly practical... They're starting next Wednesday, and he's out of town for the rest of the week.

-O

If you're referring to the idea I mentioned, I actually meant for the first session or two with the entire group he/she has a premade simplified NPC. And by session 2 or 3 with the group is when his/her actual PC gets involved.

(I did not mean a pre-group adventure with NPCs if that's how it sounded)

 

[renau1g]

Do you have time to even run them through 1 quickie low level dungeon delve or something so that way they can learn some of the rules? Have you tried any of the LFR adventures? They're decent for a short adventure that at least has a touch of story.

 

[davethegame]

I can't believe I got ninja'd by a guy from Maryland...

Wow, my first ninja! Take that, Pennsylvania!

davethegame: Sadly, I don't think there's time for that... Neat idea, but probably not strictly practical... They're starting next Wednesday, and he's out of town for the rest of the week.

My advice is to try to ease them into it however you can. Maybe, if it's feasible, have them show up early for one short, easy encounter before everyone else. Also, be involved in character design. I found that the key to making paragon and epic play easier was to specifically only select powers and feats that weren't as fiddly and conditional and gave flat bonuses whenever possible.

I was in a similar scenario, where my game got up to 11th level then had 3 people join in. Most of them were familiar with 4e at least but it did take some adjustment to paragon... and then they had to get themselves caught up on the story, characters, etc. It made for a bigger learning curve all around.