Classes for new players

[takyris]

Caveat: It depends on the player. A new player with a lot of computer gaming experience is a totally different animal from a new player with a lot of drama experience. I tried to shoehorn my wife into a sorceress role, and she hated it. Later, she had a LOT more fun with the bard, even though the bard is arguably more complex. She just liked the drama of the bard a ton more.

Fighter is good, and, at low levels, a cleric isn't THAT complicated. Pick their spells for them and walk them through spontaneous channeling of healing magic the first few times, and they'll be good. The cleric seems nice because the cleric can kinda do everything except skills. Offensive magic, yes, defensive magic, yes, weapons, sure. That lets you do a lot of the "cool, I'm a holy guy fighting for righteousness!" stuff without worrying about paladin codes and all that.

A fighter is easy, but for a new player, it might not be the most fun, in terms of options and cute tricks and opportunities to shine. You're trying to show them the ropes, but you're also trying to show them what a load of fun D&D is, right?

To end, though: Totally depends on the player.

 

[snarfoogle]

if they watch any anime I'd describe the thief as being like "The Wolf," the main character from the Lupin series.

*starts humming Lupin III theme*


Lupin the thiiiiiiiird, Lupin the thiiiiiiiird!

What a great show. Are there any game systems which would do that well?

 

[milotha]

I would stick to fighter, rogue, sorcerer, and cleric.

Cleric: This is fairly easy for new players to grasp, as it is still evident in modern culture from Catholic priests, to buddhists, to tribal shaman, scientologists, etc. I started the game by playing a cleric, and I know several other players that have done that. Clerics aren't fragile like sorcerers, so you don't have to play the class as skillfully to avoid death as a sorcerer. As for the spells, just give the player a nudge by helping design out their first travelling spell list.

Fighter: Still evident in modern culture: any Ahnold movie esp Conan, LotR, Arthurian legends, Star Trek's Worf, Boxers, etc. Simple to play, quick to design, and likely to survive combat.

Rogue: Such a broad class for archtypes, I've always seen Robin Hood, and Sinbad used as common thief archtypes. Not to mention street thugs, con-men, and spies.

Sorcerer: I'd pick Sorcerer over Wizard as a good starting spell slinger. They are just as fragile, but the limited options can help the player when they are first learning. Typical achtypes include: Gandolf, Merlin, more modern shows like Buffy and Harry Potter, and older shows like Bewitched.

 

[blargney the second]

I agree with most of the characters listed so far!

(not too many examples of spellcasting holy men in fantasy movies.)

However, this one got me thinking. Historically, spellcasting was a little badly viewed in Christianity, which leads to very few spellcasting holy men in their mythology.

D&D clerics are actually more like the classic interpretation of templars: holy warriors who channel the power of their gods. For starters, I would look at the Chinese Ghost Story series. Those guys can fight, cast spells, and they're especially equipped for fighting undead.

I've read some jewish mythology that suggested that rabbis used to be able to turn golems to prevent them from destroying villages. (Golems being similar to undead in that case.)

The Exorcist obviously has priests with certain spell-like abilities.
-blarg

 

[Remathilis]

Hmmm.. Just a few outside the box choices...

Healer (Mini HB) Good for people who are not combat oriented and content to sit back some, but still fill a much needed niche.

Warmage (Mini HB) A less fragile sorcerer, good for people who want to blow things up with magic but without the fragility of a sorcerer

Swashbuckler (CW) This is a bit more difficult, but with some DM intervention, a viable alternative to rogue/fighter choices. Simple to play.

Soulknife (XPH) A fighter with his primary weapon choosen. Good for an exotic first, but not hard to learn/use.

GOOD (simple, versatle, straight-forward): Fighter, healer, cleric, sorcerer, rogue, warmage
OK (more work, not difficult): bard, barbarian, monk, ranger, swashbuckler, favored soul, soulknife, psychic warrior
AVOID (hard, confusing, or has RP restrictions): Druid, wizard, Marshal, paladin, psion, wilder, hexblade, CW samurai

 

[scholz]

I would stick to fighter, rogue, sorcerer, and cleric.
Cleric: ......
Fighter: .....
Rogue: ......
Sorcerer: ....

I would not neglect the Druid. Sure they are more complicated, sure they have weird abilities, but they (a) get animal companions, and (b) can turn into animals at higher levels (for Druids).

I think those two abilities can really appeal to people who like the idea of fairy tales or fantasy and are not so combat ready. I would just be sure to have the DM NPC the animal companion, no sense doubling the RPG load for a new player. I think the animal companion can serve as a 'helper' for the new player. (Wizard familiars can serve the same function).

 

[DiFier]

have them watch record of lotus war. it's an anime based on D&D.

 

[kenobi65]

Fezzik is probably a barbarian

I changed my mind on this. Fezzik is a (rather atypical) monk.