Best Class for a new player
- Thread starter Remathilis
- Start date
Fighter. There are a lot of feats to choose, but those choices can be made so everything is already written onto the sheet. The Weapon Focus feat chain can be calculated on the character sheet ahead of time, so all the new player needs to worry about is "walking up and hitting the guy".
When you run out of feats for Longsword you can switch over to Longbow and keep going. This isn't the most exciting build and not the most efficient but it would likely be the best for a newbie. You want the player to be worrying about understanding Saving Throws and how attacks work instead of if a spring attack is the best choice at this point.
On the other end of the spectrum I would say ANYTHING with magic would be the worst for a new player. When a player is learning about skill checks the last thing they need is approximately 27 billion different definitions of "level" thrown at them. Even a Sorcerer with simple spells picked out for them will have to worry about the area for a fireball or if they have the expensive matrial components for the spell and you don't want a new player to have to wade through the half page listing for Dispel Magic in their first session. There are an awful lot of numbers to throw at a new player with any spellcaster not to mention the sheets worth of numbers for any character.
Keep it simple - this by definition means no magic. Maybe after they get the hang of the basics (2 or 3 sessions in) they can try a spellcaster.
When you run out of feats for Longsword you can switch over to Longbow and keep going. This isn't the most exciting build and not the most efficient but it would likely be the best for a newbie. You want the player to be worrying about understanding Saving Throws and how attacks work instead of if a spring attack is the best choice at this point.
On the other end of the spectrum I would say ANYTHING with magic would be the worst for a new player. When a player is learning about skill checks the last thing they need is approximately 27 billion different definitions of "level" thrown at them. Even a Sorcerer with simple spells picked out for them will have to worry about the area for a fireball or if they have the expensive matrial components for the spell and you don't want a new player to have to wade through the half page listing for Dispel Magic in their first session. There are an awful lot of numbers to throw at a new player with any spellcaster not to mention the sheets worth of numbers for any character.
Keep it simple - this by definition means no magic. Maybe after they get the hang of the basics (2 or 3 sessions in) they can try a spellcaster.
Clueless
Webmonkey
If I had to pick a class - fighter. But I would definately suggest after they got their feet wet in a game or two, giving them the opportuinity to switch out of their 'training wheels'. An alternate way of introducing them to the mechanics may be to actually simply run a one shot one on one with them focusing on exploring the rules - then let them into the regular game. Do a small one shot with a 1st level character with say an arena / gladitorial theme to make sure all the rules get explained and practiced.
The Levitator
First Post
We have the "new players start at 1st level" rule too. We just had a new player jump in to a 6th level campaign a few weeks ago. His role was basically as an equipment handler for teh party. His job when trouble broke out was to stay out of the way. As a character, he witnessed the pros doing what they do best. As a player, he got to see the pros doing what they do best. He jumped levels pretty quick being so far behind and got a lot of help from the rest of the group. He picked up on things pretty quickly, but I think that starting him out at 6th would have been overwhelming at any level. By the time he was ready to actually starting jumping in and contributing (his 2nd session, spent the first basically observing during combat situations) he had a pretty solid grasp of the combat system and even how to handle his feats. He played a fighter for 2 levels and just made 3rd and added a level of Rogue. He's a good player and a welcome addition to our group. 
ElvishBard
First Post
At level 9, there are really only 2 choices that are very straight forward for a new player to understand: The barbarian and the fighter. With the barbarian all you need to understand is that you are supposed to run forward and destroy the opposition. As a fighter all you need to understand is that you can use your bow to attack them until they get close then use your weapon and attack.
The key when introducing new players is to keep their tactics very simple, giving them feats for grappling or disarming or anything will be difficult to use and for them to understand, so avoid that at all costs. If you end up having a ton of extra feats that you can't decide what to use them on toughness is not a bad choice because players love extra hit points, improved toughness (I think it can be taken multiple times, I could be wrong) would be a good choice as well.
KISS: Keep It Simple Stupid is very important to remember
The key when introducing new players is to keep their tactics very simple, giving them feats for grappling or disarming or anything will be difficult to use and for them to understand, so avoid that at all costs. If you end up having a ton of extra feats that you can't decide what to use them on toughness is not a bad choice because players love extra hit points, improved toughness (I think it can be taken multiple times, I could be wrong) would be a good choice as well.
KISS: Keep It Simple Stupid is very important to remember
ThirdWizard
First Post
Seeker95 said:
Well, I'd say 1st or 2nd, but I agree with the sentiment.
I brought some newbies into an ongoing game at 7th level. Horrible mistake. They had no idea what was going on, were totally lost, and it was bad bad bad. I went back, started a new campaign at 2nd level, and it was much better. There was just too much going on at even 7th level around them that they couldn't keep up with. Sometimes experienced gamers have trouble jumping in at mid levels with a PC they've never played before, a new player is probably going to drown.
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