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<blockquote data-quote="FireLance" data-source="post: 172518" data-attributes="member: 3424">As reapersaurus says, rules-light is the key.&nbsp; Allow her to make decisions so that she retains &quot;creative control&quot; over her character, but limit the potential choices to a few &quot;sensible&quot; ones.As a first step, you might want to limit the race to human as the racial benefits (extra feat and skill) are easy to bear in mind.Next, ask her to pick a class.&nbsp; I find that good classes for beginning players are fighter, paladin and sorcerer.&nbsp; They have few complicated class abilities, few skills (choosing skills can be overwhelming for a new player), and are effective in combat.I use the 28-point buy system, so determining ability scores is easy.&nbsp; I explain the six ability scores and tell them that they have eight &quot;bonus points&quot; to distribute between them, but no more than two can be assigned to any attribute.&nbsp; An ability score assigned no bonus points is 10, one bonus point is 12 and two bonus points is 14.&nbsp; Mathematically, it is exactly the same as the 28-point buy system.Next, pick feats.&nbsp; Allow a choice from a small list of &quot;good&quot; feats, e.g. Dodge, Power Attack, Point Blank Shot.&nbsp; Same goes for skills.&nbsp; Have a small list of useful skills for the class, and assume that maximum points are assigned to each skill.&nbsp; Sorcerers would need to choose spells known.&nbsp; Again, provide a small list of useful spells.Finally, simply assign basic equipment.&nbsp; No need to overwhelm a beginning player with the entire list of possibilities.Make sure the beginning player makes a contribution during the first session.&nbsp; Either set up situations where she will need to use her class abilities or pass her notes containing information that her character knows.For the record, I have successfully used this method to introduce three new players to DnD.&nbsp; All three were women, too.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="FireLance, post: 172518, member: 3424"] As reapersaurus says, rules-light is the key. Allow her to make decisions so that she retains "creative control" over her character, but limit the potential choices to a few "sensible" ones. As a first step, you might want to limit the race to human as the racial benefits (extra feat and skill) are easy to bear in mind. Next, ask her to pick a class. I find that good classes for beginning players are fighter, paladin and sorcerer. They have few complicated class abilities, few skills (choosing skills can be overwhelming for a new player), and are effective in combat. I use the 28-point buy system, so determining ability scores is easy. I explain the six ability scores and tell them that they have eight "bonus points" to distribute between them, but no more than two can be assigned to any attribute. An ability score assigned no bonus points is 10, one bonus point is 12 and two bonus points is 14. Mathematically, it is exactly the same as the 28-point buy system. Next, pick feats. Allow a choice from a small list of "good" feats, e.g. Dodge, Power Attack, Point Blank Shot. Same goes for skills. Have a small list of useful skills for the class, and assume that maximum points are assigned to each skill. Sorcerers would need to choose spells known. Again, provide a small list of useful spells. Finally, simply assign basic equipment. No need to overwhelm a beginning player with the entire list of possibilities. Make sure the beginning player makes a contribution during the first session. Either set up situations where she will need to use her class abilities or pass her notes containing information that her character knows. For the record, I have successfully used this method to introduce three new players to DnD. All three were women, too. [/QUOTE]

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