Best Class for a new player

[pogre]

Is the player building the PC on their own? I assumed not and picked fighter. Fighter is pretty uncomplicated as long as the feat trees are explained. For spellcaster I would go with Sorcerer.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I've had the opportunity to be the first DM for about 2 dozen players over the years.

It is true that the Fighter is, in many ways, the easiest class with which to learn the rules- indeed, that's what my first PC was. And my second.

IM(not so)HO, I think its best to let the player pick the class that inspires him the most- its easier to learn something that interests you than something you feel forced to learn. If it were a complex class, I'd handhold the player through the process of PC creation, then ask the other players to help guide the n00b through the wilderness of gaming.

Its worked for me, at least. YMMV.

 

[The Grackle]

Cleric's not bad.
Even subopimized/played loosely, they're very durable and can hit stuff and are always always appreciatied by the party.
Everyone will have helpful suggestions on how to use those spells.

 

[Nyaricus]

I'm sort of stunned so many people have chosen the Fighter class. With so many feats it can quickly become a very notes intensive class to play. Think of all the weapons, combination of weapon attacks, feat special attacks, stacking of bonuses from allies, etc.

I think Barbarian is by far simpler. 2 character stats: 1 normal & 1 raging. And the player also gets to wail for the big time damage.

Fighters are so much easier than barbarians, IMO. Raging can be a tricky mess and can lead to an early character death with the "false HP" you get while raging. Also, your "to hit" changes, you damage changes (I'll echo a previous posters, "was that one handed or two?") and frankly they have a lot to keep tract of.

If we are talking noob clas for a warrior archetype, Fighters built with a bunch of passive feats as a sword 'n' boarder (where the sword can be whatever 1H weapon the player wants it to be) is an easy, party-friendly player, who won't always be running to Mista Cleric for healing, or gettign Mista Cleric running to him and getting killed. Passive feats are great, as well, and easy to understand. Iron Will, Weapon Focus, Dodge, etc are all great for noobs and staples in D&D.

 

[Thotas]

Yeah ... I tried not to long ago to teach a new guy by letting him join a ninth level group. I'm with those who say that under 3.x Edition, you start 'em at 1st or accept that you're counting on a miracle. Figured Fighter/Favored Soul was good ... able to hold up with simple melee without too many complicated feats, and an easy intro to spells with a short list that's geared to cures and bless. It didn't work, and it wasn't the player's fault. There were some other outside problems, and if it had come close to working, I'd have said those factors were what made it not work out. The margin was too big for that, though. It's a fun system to play, but to learn? I'll never try again to teach someone with a start higher than 0 xp.

 

[Terwox]

Not wizard, not cleric, not druid, not monk, not bard... and not fighter, in my opinion.
Barbarian, Ranger, Paladin (although I didn't vote for it, people's posts did convince me,) Sorceror, and Rogue would be good starts.

If they want to generate the character themselves (which would be a little strange, but,) Barbarian or Paladin would probably be best. A pre-built fighter with some clearly laid out choices would be alright, but probably not something to leap into headfirst at 9th level.

 

[MarkB]

I'll add my vote for Warmage as an ideal starting class for players wishing to play a spellcaster.

Though it is also an easy character to get to grips with, I would not consider Warlock appropriate to this role, since the class neither fulfills the 'spellcaster' party role nor teaches new players the mechanics of D&D spellcasting.

Of the 'warrior' classes, the Barbarian is mechanically simplest, and relatively durable. Paladin is also an option, but its stringent roleplaying requirements are more problematic. I'd say Fighter is the best option, but only if more experienced players offer constructive advice on build and feat choices.

 

[Wombat]

Fighter, plain & simple.

Least number of rules to know about, easy to know what to do in a party, very straightforward.

People can wrap their head around what is going on with a fighter more easily than anything else.

 

[MonsterMash]

Fighter or Barbarian. I think that the spell casters are too tricky to run until you have an idea of game mechanics.

 

[Glyfair]

A spontaneous caster noob will surely regret some of his spell selections. Better be ready to hand-wave some rules.

This comes back to the "is he creating his character" bit.

Honestly, if you have a new player and ask him to create his own 9th level character, even with some aid, you are going to have a sub-par character. While I would consider having a new player create his own 1st level character with help, there is no way I would consider having him create a 9th level character.