Advice for my wife's first adventure?

[Centaur]

These are good ideas! I like the kidnapped by goblins one, that works very well with the princess theme. My only concern is that such an adventure might not leave as much room for roleplaying as others.

On the contrary, I've found more and more in my recent games that humanoids can provide for some very interesting roleplaying. In my current game, the players are part of a colonization effort on a continent dominated by the traditional humanoids.

So far they have allied themselves with a lone goblin wizard and most recently, a tribe of Orcs. They don't know it yet, but they are about to become instrumental in The Orc Tribes attempt to become a legitamit "town" within the Dukedom. Should be quite interesting.

Maybe when the princess is kidnapped, she notices in the goblin community several things the goblins are doing that would be of economical value to her people. Instead of trying to escape, she beigns laying the ground-work for a proper economic and dyplomatic ties between the goblins and the humans.

A far off departure from the way humanoids and goblins are normaly viewed, but in this case, she doesn't know any better, so the goblins have a chance here.

 

[Dimwhit]

I would advise, first off, that you start her at 1st level. If she's brand new to the game, it might be too much to keep track of starting her at a higher level.

Also, don't try to do a huge campaign. Come up with one or two NPCs that can help her along, and then do something very simple that would take a normal group a few hours. She's new to the game, so combats will take much longer, and will anything else. Remember, you'll have to explain all the rules as she goes along.

Just have her be a first level Sorceress who happens to be the daughter of the Duke. Maybe her little brother was kidnapped, and she sneaks off to go rescue him. Of course, she convinces the captain of her personal guard to come along to keep her save, and maybe she comes across the stereotypical rogues who helps her out (and of course has a crush on her). She finds the bad guy lair, goes in, and gets her brother.

I wouldn't try to do anything more complicated than that. Ease her into the game, or all the rules and complications may just turn her off. You can get more elaborate as she gets more comfortable with it.

Those are my suggestions, anyway.

 

[Dimwhit]

Oh, and I was going to suggest, if it wasn't already obvious by my post, to do a one-on-one with her. That way, others don't get impatient with a newbie, and you can concentrate on familiarizing her with the rules.

Some of the best campaigns I've ever done have been one-on-one.

 

[reapersaurus]

Bard or Sorcerer, definately.

And make sure to roleplay her equipment-acquisition for the adventure.

In other words, have an extended shopping scene.

I'm serious. It helps to create the entire feel for the character, and she's (virtually) guaranteed to enjoy it. Make sure she rolls Diplomacy or Merchant checks to get good deals, and make sure she succeeds on some (if not all)

An easy entrance into the hobby, and appealing to what you know she likes, are the keys here to successfully enticing a wife into gaming.

 

[s/LaSH]

One-on-one, role-playing-heavy (easy on the rules at first), and most importantly, nothing about the scenario has to be simple. It's the rules that are the tricky part; but don't let that slow down the real appeal of the game, which is a story. Throw in a dozen machiavellian schemes at once if you want; these are things that every human has some knowledge of, wheras RPG rules aren't as well implanted.

Just because nobody else had made the point explicitly... I won't give any more advice as I haven't got any more clue as to what would be suitable.

 

[Avatar_V]

Thanks for all the good ideas. We're going to roll her up a first level sorcerer when I get home from work tonight (she's thinking up the character's background now). And this weekend we're going to play an adventure.

I like the murder mystery idea, like I said earlier, and also the idea of her being used as a diplomat to another kingdom sounds cool. I'm thinking I may combine them and have her go to another kingdom to try smooth over relations after someone in her court is accused of murdering some rival dignitary. When she gets there, I'll make it somehow clear to her that the blame is misplaced and she'll need to unravel the mystery of who dun it to restore good will with her own kingdom. I'll have a couple combats to give her the feel of it, but not too many because I agree with you guys that she'll prefer it if it's more roleplaying intensive. I'll probably have some NPC, either a servant or someone she meets on the way take a level of fighter and accompany her.

Also, I hadn't thought of roleplaying the equipment acquisition, but that sounds like a good idea. I may just incorporate it into the adventure. Have her father give her a sack of gold coins to see her safely to to neighboring kingdom for her mission. She can buy what she thinks she'll need on the way and we can roleplay it out. Thanks for the idea

I suppose the hard part now is that I have to write this thing out... Hmm.... There'll have to be a good twist at the end like there always is in murder mysteries.. this could be one of the trickier adventures I've written. But I'm going to have to hold on to it because I think it has potential to be one of the best Thanks again for all the ideas! Feel free to keep them coming. I can always use more good advice on making this enjoyable for her so she'll want to keep playing.

 

[Rel]

I suppose the hard part now is that I have to write this thing out... Hmm.... There'll have to be a good twist at the end like there always is in murder mysteries.. this could be one of the trickier adventures I've written. But I'm going to have to hold on to it because I think it has potential to be one of the best Thanks again for all the ideas! Feel free to keep them coming. I can always use more good advice on making this enjoyable for her so she'll want to keep playing.

If the murder mystery is the route you're going, have there be some eye witnesses that saw the murderer (a tall, lanky, dark fellow) slash the victim with a scimitar. Strangely, the wounds on the corpse don't match that and are more typical of a stabbing weapon. Also, the stab wounds are located low on the torso rather than the downward slices you'd expect from a slashing weapon.

Later, she sees the foreign court Vizier's apprentice, (a short, pasty, stocky lad) use the Change Self spell to change the appearance of his robes (Spellcraft Check, DC16). It happens that he carries a dagger at all times...

And could it be that his master is covering for him because the apprentice has some information about the dark summoning his master has been conducting around midnight at his laboratory?

Wheels within wheels.

 

[Balgus]

Personally, I think you should start her now so that she can jump right into gaming once you get back without having the entire group sit around while you explain the rules to her. I would do one of the published adventures. Seeing as how you aren't good at writing adventures, I would just use Sunless Citadel (for lvl 1-3) and play the encounters by ear. Don't pay too much attention to the numbers and have her just get used to encounters, initiative, rolling dice, and gathering information.

And once you get back, you can roll up a real char (or juts level up the one she has) and drop her into the middle of your game without having to take too much time at the table with rules and explainations.

I think a sorceress is great because you get her used to casting spells, but it is only a couple so she doesn't have to pour over the books memorizing the spells. Once she gets more involved, you can give her a set of books and let her loose...

 

[CanadienneBacon]

This thread immediately caught my eye because I was in your wife's shoes about two to three years ago. My husband, a great guy, was a 2ed player. Before we got married, he once tried to introduce me to the concept, but I found it a little weird. We were sitting around one day and I expressed curiosity about the game because it was something he obviously liked a great deal. We decided we'd roll up a character for me, even though there was not a game going on at that time. While I enjoyed tossing the dice (and still do!), I found the character creation process to be a bit tedious. We tried an hour of roleplay, just the two of us, but I found it a bit ridiculous and came away with the sense that D&D was not for me. I think I felt uncomforable because it was just the two of us and I had no clue what the heck I was doing.

Fast-forward to 3.0's appearance. We bought the books and founded a SMALL group of very good friends to play with. I was immediately hooked. The key, for me, was playing with a small group with whom I felt comfortable. D&D is ultimately a social game and had we started out playing with a larger group or with a group of only my husband's friends, I would have felt alienated and probably would not have enjoyed the game as much. I recommend a small group of mutual friends. It helps if someone else in the group is a newbie, that way your wife won't feel as alone. Everyone else here has recommended neat adventure ideas, but I really feel the best way to get off on the right foot is to consider the social aspect of playing. To this day, I still love hosting a game. I like having friends over and I like doing some cooking or baking before they show up.

As for which sort of PC to play, my opinion is to begin playing a core class and a non-spellcaster. By playing a core class and a non-caster, it may be easier for your wife to understand the rules system, which, in my opinion, will greatly enhance her playing experience. It's always nice to know what the heck the other long-time players are talking about, rules-wise. If your wife insists on a spellcaster, encourage her to take Bard or Sorcerer. I started out playing a Cleric, and it really took me a looooong time to master that huge spell list. Not to mention that it would take me forever at the table to select which spells I was going to memorize for the day. I think the best character to play would be Ranger...they are great at fighting, useful in other non-combat situations, and grow into spellcasting. This, of course, only works if you are going to be starting out at first level.

Starting out at first level is also the best way to go; she'll gain an appreciation for her class and will be able to grow into it as time passes. It's also easier on becoming familiar with the rules.

We started out by playing The Sunless Citadel, and it was enjoyable to all, including the long-time DM. I thoroughly recommend it for your wife's first adventure. I wouldn't necessarily continue on past Sunless Citadel because I don't consider the other adventures in that path to be the same caliber as the first.

Last, maybe you could show these posts to your wife and get her input? She might tell you which opinions match her own, thus giving you a better sense for how to make the game fun for her. D&D is one of my favorite hobbies. Best of luck to you two, and hope you accrue many fond memories playing together.

edit: one more thing...get her her own PHB. very important, that.