MavrickWeirdo
First Post
Familiars, Animal Companions, Paladin's Mount, ect. are a great way to include a "helpful" NPC who doesn't steal the show.
I have successfully introduced several people to roleplaying, (three of them women, one of them my wife), I agree with much of what Wolf70 says here. Use a simple short adventure. Meke the villian be an ordinary thug/group of "bad guys" humanoids, or alternatly make them a band of goblinoids. You don't need the uber-powerful, half-demonic, cult-leading necromancer manipulating events from the shadows for an introduction game. Furthermore, I recommend a straightforward plotline that that is similar to your typical movie plot. A person needs to be rescued, a treasure needs to be found, a group of bad guys needs to be eliminated, etc... I would also recommend that you discuss with her what kind of character she's interested in and then make it for her. I suggest a basic fighter or rogue, or maybe a ranger. Stay away from magic-users and multiclass characters for her first one - there's no need to make it more complicated at first than necessary. Keep the learning curve as smooth and as close to invisible as possible and she'll be much less likely to become frustrated with the number-crunching involved with roleplay. Also feel out which she's more likely to enjoy, character-based interaction with npcs and your world, or combat - and then give her a 60-40 or 75-25 mix in favour of her preference.wolf70 said:I agree with the poster who said to create her character for her using her input. Then let her play the character for a few sessions to see how her choices and your interpretations of them play out in the game. Next character, let her do the creation. Also, draw up two helpful NPC's to accompany her, just be careful not to let them overshadow her PC. Just allow them to complement her abilities some.
After you have tried this for a month or so (4-6 sessions), it will probably (hopefully) be time to find some other players or join another game somewhere near you. Be careful about the players you recruit or join, because they will definitely have an impact on yours and your wife's enjoyment and opinion of the game.
Owch! I feel your pain, Wolf70!! That's gotta suck. Not *just* that she doesn't game with you, but that she simply isn't capable of sharing your love of fantasy with you... The only thing I can think of that would make that worse would be if she decided that it was "time you gave up this foolishness" and then waged a campaign of dominance-games in an attempt to cajol/force you to give up gaming... I hope that this never happens to you.I must say that you are a lucky, lucky man. My wife went with me to see Fellowship of the Ring and thought it was the most pointless thing she has ever sat through. She was happy I went to see Two Towers with our nieces and nephews so that she could stay home. She begged me to find other friends to see Return of the King with, but went along in the end and laughed out loud at several scenes (for example, she thought Shelob was hilarious, I mean a spider that big? Yeah, right). She has never understood the appeal of fantasy or science fiction. Her opinion is, if it is not possible or realistic, then why think about it? She thinks my gaming friends are just strange and that it is a bizarre male-bonding ritual of some sort (in her defense, some in my group ARE strange and it CAN be a male-bonding, I guess). I have given up hope of ever getting her to try it. Good luck in your return to gaming. May it bring you and your wife many happy hours!
DM
Klaus said:I've been told that the images on my website can really help a new player get into the idea of a character. It helps that there are several female illustrations.