Character for a new player

[Infinite Monkey@Work]

I just got e-mailed that the girlfriend of one of my players wants to play tomorrow night. I'm going to put together a character for her to play. I won't have any time to talk to her before play about what sort of character she wants to play, so I just need to pull something out of a hat. She is a first time roleplayer. Also, there is no guarantee that she will want to play again (she is just trying it out).

I have an unstated minor noble hanging out with the PCs at the moment. She is extremely sheltered, having been kept at home by her overprotective parents until she ran away and stowed away on the players ship to escape an engagement to a rather unpleasant noble.

She needs to be 6th level. I was thinking of giving her 2 levels of Noble (custom class for my worlds nobles), which leaves 4 levels of something. I am thinking of giving her 1 level of a Shugenja-like class (we use them for clerics IMC), to simulate her faith growing in the dangers of the swamps the PCs are currently in. Shugenja works like a sorcerer, but with cleric spells, so it shouldn't be too difficult for the player to grasp. Suggestions?

 

[brun]

could be done, but I usually try to go with the most basic of classes for newcomer, focusing on the roleplaying aspect of the game rather than the mecanics. With spells come a lot more complexity. I think the fighter is the easiest class, but it wouldn't fit the caracter, but if you have a noble PC class, why not give her the 6 levels in it?

 

[Bagpuss]

Fighter/Sorceror (or this divine sorceror of yours) is good. They can pretty much get involved in everything. Limited spell selection of a sorceror means they don't have a mountain of spells to learn but get a taste of magic, which spices it up a little. Fighter means they are less likely to die in their first game and can get involved in combat.

 

[Mr Fidgit]

i going to have to go with brun on this one. with someone who's never played before, i'd keep it as simple as possible. (and under no circumstances let her play a spellcaster. trust me. i've had bad experiences with this.)

you may want to take your new player aside before the game starts just to explain the character's attitudes and goals (and how this relates to her alignment). this may give her some insight in how to react to the other characters.

and leave the number crunching to the rest of the players. if your group is anything like mine, someone will be there to point out what the stats mean and which die is which

 

[Bagpuss]

I would have said the same before the sorceror class came out, but when they only have a handful of spells (which you have nicely printed out the discriptions of before hand) to deal with it adds a interesting element, with out too much complication.

Also some female gamers aren't into the total combat orientation of a class like the fighter, which is as simple as they come (well not so simple anymore due to all the feats they can have).

A sorceror with a few spells is no harder to learn, than a fighter with all his feats now days.

 

[Crothian]

Make things simple. It's easier to bring complexity into it later if needed, then to simplify things after the fact. Don't go with a spellcaster. You want a character that all the info she needs is on the character sheet in front of here. Good luck with this and I hope you've found yourselves another gamer.

 

[Kaji]

I would have said the same before the sorceror class came out, but when they only have a handful of spells (which you have nicely printed out the discriptions of before hand) to deal with it adds a interesting element, with out too much complication.

Also some female gamers aren't into the total combat orientation of a class like the fighter, which is as simple as they come (well not so simple anymore due to all the feats they can have).

A sorceror with a few spells is no harder to learn, than a fighter with all his feats now days.

I think that you are right on here. When my girlfriend wanted to try out a little roleplaying, I turned her onto the druid. She greatly enjoyed casting spells, but for a first timer the spell list was a little big (although the druid is more managable than some).

A sorcerer would have been even better, because there is so little for them to look up. Also, I would suggest giving her feats that don't involve too much work on her part and stay away fom metamagic for now. A little Improved Init, Iron Will, and Combat Casting sort of thing always works.

 

[Infinite Monkey@Work]

I think I will give her 1 level of Morning Child (the divine sorcerer type). That'll be a grand total of about 4 spells she has to choose from. Add to that 2 levels of Noble, leaving 3 levels of something. I'm leaning more towards Rogue than Fighter, because it will fit in with the character better, but so would a ranged specialised fighter. hmmm...

 

[Kaji]

IMHO, Go with the ranged specialist fighter. Less mechanics for a newbie to worry about, plus when she fires that bow and dudes start dropping, I would think she would get a sense of accomplishment quickly and get engaged in the game.

 

[Moe Ronalds]

I'd let the other guys do almost all the mechanics stuff for her if you want her to enjoy playing. If you don't want another player- give her a half-orc bard and make sure all the villains have a +5 to hit her...