A simple class for first timer?

[Quickleaf]

Over thanksgiving we're having our 2nd annual gaming marathon weekend And my girlfriend is visiting, so this will be her initiation by fire. We go to a cabin, go hiking, tell stories around the fire, and play copious amounts of D&D. We have 7 players, she'll be the 8th, and our PCs will probably be level 10 by then. My question: What are the simplest class/builds to introduce a total newbie? I'm thinking something in essentials? Thanks!

 

[DonAdam]

The Slayer Fighter is as simple as you get. Extra durability should help too.

The Thief is also simple, but doesn't seem appreciably easier than a Feylock. Most new players can handle move/curse/shoot with no difficulty, and the combos for Feylock powers are usually very obvious.

 

[Thac0 the Barbarian]

My first thought would be essentials as well, with a slayer build fighter being the most straightforward option. In my mind it has the following advantages:
1). Striker damage through largely static bonuses. This will allow her to feel effective while simplifying the math and not to have to be constantly asking which dice to roll (i.e. Rogue with intermittent sneak attack style.). I think a lot of new players are intimidated by slowing up the game, so this will mitigate that.
2). Striker tactics: easily the most straightforward of the game, it will keep her from constantly have to calculate burst radius, optimal positioning for her mark mechanic, or which of her two bloodied comrades to heal. Additionally, I find that strikers are often more forgiving of sub- optimal play, which will allow her to control her character, rather than being constantly told to" come over here and do x".
3). Defenderish armor and durability- you never want to make a newbie a glass cannon, its too stressful for them and those that want them to enjoy their first game.

These are just my two cents, but I recently started playing d&d again after a ten year hiatus, so am very newbie aware. I think essentials are definitely the way to go and all the characters I've made with them have been fun. Good gaming!

Laboriously sent from my iPhone.

 

[Shin Okada]

Slayer Fighter will be one of the simplest build. All it need to do is to approach the enemy to slay and bash.

Sorcerer, especially Dragon Sorcerer and Storm Sorcerer are very, simple, too. Their damage bonus is static. And they don't need to care much about positioning nor to attack whom. Much simpler than Warlock.

Avenger is, surprisingly, rather newbie-friendly in my experience. Especially, Censure of Unity is. All the player need to lean is how to use Oath of Enmity. Avenger is one of the tougher striker. And, as an avenger hit often, such a PC does not give negative experience to a newbie.

 

[Nightfly]

The simplest class I've ever seen in 4e is a bow ranger. Move around, shoot stuff, that's about it. It's not even really important to remember to declare your quarry target, because that can be applied retroactively easily enough.

An archery ranger was the first thing I played in 4e, and then I never played one again, because it was TOO simple for me even as a first-time player.

 

[OnlineDM]

I'll echo the Slayer Fighter recommendation. There aren't a lot of decisions to make - mostly you just pick which guy you want to bash this turn.

As for pre-Essentials classes, I agree that the bow ranger is pretty simple, though that's partly because Twin Strike is just so good. Dealing with Hunter's Quarry can be a little fiddly, though. I've also seen a friend's Monk be pretty straightforward to play.

The main lesson here, I think, is that strikers are simpler to learn than the other roles. Defenders have to worry about marking / using the Knight's aura, leaders have to worry about when to use healing powers and buffs, and controllers are just complicated and subtle. Strikers are direct - I want to kill that thing now. Bam.

 

[ourchair]

Yeah the Slayer Fighter, but if you're one of those people who has newbies who -- for some reason -- somehow "read up" on Essentials on the Internet has walked away thinking that Essentials builds are gimp classes (sadly possible) then I wouldn recommend any PHB1 striker.

They only need to learn very simple responsibilities:
1) Move a lot
2) Don't get hit
3) Trigger your bonus damage.

 

[DEFCON 1]

One other suggestion I would make (especially since you are playing at 10th level) is to select as many "pre-calculated" feats as you can. Things like Toughness, Weapon Focus, Improved Initiative etc. Ones that give you bonuses that already get calculated and included on a character sheet... rather than ones that only occur "occasionally" and thus require her to have to remember to use them. She'll probably already have a few of those as class features and whatnot... but the less situational bonuses she needs to try and remember when those situations come up, the easier and better off she'll be.

I have one particular player that is a Pelor cleric with all kinds of feat bonuses to radiant power use and healing word... and trying to get him to remember when to apply them before/after/during each thing can be a bit of a bear. Cut down on the amount of things she has to think about, the easier and happier I think she'll end up being.

 

[jimmifett]

For simplicity, you have slayer, which has a nice point and stab interface, and bow ranger, which as a ranged point and perforate interface.

 

[cignus_pfaccari]

I would go with a lot of pre-calculated stuff, but part of the fun of the game is rolling lots of dice. An Essentials Thief, which can get its sneak attack generally all the time, is great. A storm sorcerer or bow ranger would be handy as well.

Brad