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<blockquote data-quote="StalkingBlue" data-source="post: 1385764" data-attributes="member: 645">Hmm, that's a sensitive situation you've got there, newbie DM with newbie player.&nbsp; She wouldn't happen to be your wife/girlfriend/SO also?&nbsp; That wouldn't exactly make things easier.&nbsp; Assuming she is &quot;just&quot; a player and there's no relationship complications involved, here's a few of thoughts.&nbsp; First, maybe leave her alone with the rules-reading right now.&nbsp; My experience with newbies is that once they are ready to learn tactics they'll go to the books by themselves.&nbsp; Being given tasks to do in preparation to play isn't fun.&nbsp; Let her imagine and decribe to you what her character does, and describe NPC responses.&nbsp; Second, when you go into combat, do yourselves a favour and use a battle grid.&nbsp; This will enable her to see where everything is and describe any moves she takes.&nbsp; Don't worry her with technical explanations about AoOs and stuff.&nbsp; If she is about to provoke an AoO, point to the foe and explain that she's standing right next to this guy with the big axe (or whatever) and he'll get a free swing at her if she doesn't step back before she drinks that potion.&nbsp; If she still wants to drink, let her drink and live with the consequences.&nbsp; Conversely, let her have fun with AoOs, get foes to do things in her threatened area and remind her she gets a free swing.&nbsp; Third, IME complaining about rulings in combat is an unusual thing for a newbie to do.&nbsp; Can you give more specific examples on what her problems seem to be? In fact maybe point her to this thread and let her join in the discussion.&nbsp; It's a style thing I guess but I'm all for getting a player's input when I have a problem to solve.&nbsp; <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile&nbsp; &nbsp; :)"&nbsp; data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

[QUOTE="StalkingBlue, post: 1385764, member: 645"] Hmm, that's a sensitive situation you've got there, newbie DM with newbie player. She wouldn't happen to be your wife/girlfriend/SO also? That wouldn't exactly make things easier. Assuming she is "just" a player and there's no relationship complications involved, here's a few of thoughts. First, maybe leave her alone with the rules-reading right now. My experience with newbies is that once they are ready to learn tactics they'll go to the books by themselves. Being given tasks to do in preparation to play isn't fun. Let her imagine and decribe to you what her character does, and describe NPC responses. Second, when you go into combat, do yourselves a favour and use a battle grid. This will enable her to see where everything is and describe any moves she takes. Don't worry her with technical explanations about AoOs and stuff. If she is about to provoke an AoO, point to the foe and explain that she's standing right next to this guy with the big axe (or whatever) and he'll get a free swing at her if she doesn't step back before she drinks that potion. If she still wants to drink, let her drink and live with the consequences. Conversely, let her have fun with AoOs, get foes to do things in her threatened area and remind her she gets a free swing. Third, IME complaining about rulings in combat is an unusual thing for a newbie to do. Can you give more specific examples on what her problems seem to be? In fact maybe point her to this thread and let her join in the discussion. It's a style thing I guess but I'm all for getting a player's input when I have a problem to solve. :) [/QUOTE]

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