Best Character For A New Player?

[Drowbane]

5 Simple classes: barbarian, fighter, ranger (but they suck), rogue, warlock.

New doesn't mean idiot though. Ask him what he wants to play, and help him build it. My niece's first PC was a gestalt Druid | Ninja. She was 12 at the time... and she did fine. Survived up to level 4 on her own.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

It seems that the player is leaning towards a Cleric at the moment. I'm not totally thrilled about it but one of my experienced players is going to help him make the character as well as help him out with actions during the game. If he really wants to play a caster I'm not going to stop him. I'd rather him be happy but a little unsure of all his character options than bored with the game because he's stuck with a character he didn't want.

The other good thing is that a Cleric is generally a pretty strong class, which will help if he makes any newbie combat mistakes in his first few sessions.

Olaf the Stout

 

[sukael]

If he likes Cleric, maybe you could suggest Crusader from Tome of Battle? It's got the same kind of flavor, but being able to heal as part of combat actions means he won't have to worry about the "healbot", and the randomized way one gets maneuvers in combat (use maneuver cards!) means not having to worry about spell selection or preparation (beyond initially picking out known maneuvers).

 

[Vraille Darkfang]

The other good thing is that a Cleric is generally a pretty strong class, which will help if he makes any newbie combat mistakes in his first few sessions.

Olaf the Stout

What Level are you staring at?

Up until they get 3rd level spells or a lot of spell slots, Clerics are a pretty easy class (less so now that they don't have to allocate 50+% of spells to healing).

I'd even consider acting as "God" a limiting his spells to 5-6 of each level, then adding more each week (If you really want, go to the SRD & print off his spells on individual sheets so he can read them, then those he memorizes he keeps with his sheet).

As he gets better, add more & more spells from the PHB.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

What Level are you staring at?

Up until they get 3rd level spells or a lot of spell slots, Clerics are a pretty easy class (less so now that they don't have to allocate 50+% of spells to healing).

I'd even consider acting as "God" a limiting his spells to 5-6 of each level, then adding more each week (If you really want, go to the SRD & print off his spells on individual sheets so he can read them, then those he memorizes he keeps with his sheet).

As he gets better, add more & more spells from the PHB.

1st level, which will make things a lot easier. I'm starting a new campaign, the Shackled City AP to be precise.

Olaf the Stout

 

[Vraille Darkfang]

1st level, which will make things a lot easier. I'm starting a new campaign, the Shackled City AP to be precise.

Olaf the Stout

Stay away from d4 HD in that case. I've seen 1 too many players get their 1st character (ever) dead in the first combat due to a single goblin arrow (which is how the game works, but getting stomped in rd 2 of your first combat isn't really fun).

Also, how many players do you have? If you have over 4, make sure that the new guy has his own slot. If he is the cleric, fine. If ine of your other players also is a cleric & constantly shows him up, alos not fun.

I don't know your group, but some are better at aiding new players than others. If you have a good group, they should help him fit in just fine.

PS. I'd keep Evil Aligned PC's out. An evil PC can really put a new player over a barrel.

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

I'll toss my vote for a Crusader, if you have the Tome of Battle. Its hardy, relatively hard to screw up, supports the group, and offers fiddly bits without too many choices (maneuvers are granted randomly, so theres not too many options at once). If he's played Shadowrun, you don't need to give him an autopilot class, just induct him into D&D.

Fighters I'd argue against, since it requires some level of system mastery to create a decent one.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

Stay away from d4 HD in that case. I've seen 1 too many players get their 1st character (ever) dead in the first combat due to a single goblin arrow (which is how the game works, but getting stomped in rd 2 of your first combat isn't really fun).

Also, how many players do you have? If you have over 4, make sure that the new guy has his own slot. If he is the cleric, fine. If ine of your other players also is a cleric & constantly shows him up, alos not fun.

I don't know your group, but some are better at aiding new players than others. If you have a good group, they should help him fit in just fine.

PS. I'd keep Evil Aligned PC's out. An evil PC can really put a new player over a barrel.

I have 5 players in my game at the moment. I really don't think that 2 Clerics are a problem though. I do understand what you're saying though.

I have a no-evil PC's rule in my game. If your PC becomes evil due to your actions it becomes an NPC. I've had a couple of experiences with evil PC's ruining campaigns so I'm extremely wary about players wanting to play evil characters.

Olaf the Stout

 

[Nifft]

I'll toss my vote for a Crusader, if you have the Tome of Battle.

Guh! The cards, the random cards!

I'd much prefer to start someone out with a Swordsage, who has the simplest recovery method (named "Adaptive Style").

Cheers, -- N

 

[sukael]

Guh! The cards, the random cards!

I'd much prefer to start someone out with a Swordsage, who has the simplest recovery method (named "Adaptive Style").

Cheers, -- N

The randomness has the advantage of only having to focus on a few powers at a time and still be at more-or-less optimal combat performance... which, for a player who's still working to grasp some of the rules, can be a life-, or at least time-saver.