D&D 5E How to "reign in" new players

[Zaukrie]

Had a session zero last night. I've never run one before, and thanks to your advice (in my thread and others) it went very well. We have four people that have never played before......one is a druid, and the player seems to think she's already 20th level. "I can control the elements, I should be able to make a hurricane".....that's a literal quote....

So, how do I help new players realize they aren't all powerful at level 1? Nicely......

One argument I will probably make is logic.....Look, there are probably thousands of level 1 spellcasters right now on the planet. What would happen to teh world if they could all make a hurricane happen?

I did let her do something overly powerful last night, but I made sure she understood it was not normal she could do it. "The spirits and your god have made it clear this is a glimpse of power you could have, but don't". Then she still tried to do the hurricane thing....

I don't want to crush new players' spirits, but, ya know, we need some limits here people.....

thanks,

 

[iserith]

DMG page 5: "As a referee, the DM acts as a mediator between the rules and the players. A player tells the DM what he or she wants to do, and the DM determines whether it is successful or not, in some cases asking the player to make a die roll to determine success..."

"...Sometimes mediating the rules means setting limits. If a player tells you, 'I want to run up and attack the orc,' but the character doesn't have enough movement to reach the orc, you say, 'It's too far away to move up and still attack. What would you like to do instead?' The player then takes the information and comes up with a different plan."

 

[Nebulous]

Had a session zero last night. I've never run one before, and thanks to your advice (in my thread and others) it went very well. We have four people that have never played before......one is a druid, and the player seems to think she's already 20th level. "I can control the elements, I should be able to make a hurricane".....that's a literal quote....

So, how do I help new players realize they aren't all powerful at level 1? Nicely......

One argument I will probably make is logic.....Look, there are probably thousands of level 1 spellcasters right now on the planet. What would happen to teh world if they could all make a hurricane happen?

I did let her do something overly powerful last night, but I made sure she understood it was not normal she could do it. "The spirits and your god have made it clear this is a glimpse of power you could have, but don't". Then she still tried to do the hurricane thing....

I don't want to crush new players' spirits, but, ya know, we need some limits here people.....

thanks,

Just curious, how old are your players? That might have something to do with it. Or not.

Maybe you can start by telling her that "Creating Hurricanes" would be defined by her spell selection, in which case that would be Control Weather at the very least, an 8th level spell, which she won't get until around 15th level. Tell her that heroes in DnD take some time to grow before they can achieve epic magical goals unless the adventure starts with them already that level.

And it could be that said player might not be interested in starting small (and could be the seed of a problem player!) but I would see how that explanation pans out first.

 

[Zaukrie]

I told her 15th level, by a pure guess! I did strongly suggest everyone review their powers/abilities/spells again before the next session. That was mostly aimed at helping the combat go more smoothly next week, but partly aimed at helping her get it more......

I'm not judging here, or angry. She's a totally new player, I'm just looking for help from others that have experience with this (not sure I've played with a new player since my adult sons were children.....)

I'd guess she's in her mid twenties? Married with a child.....she's my brother in law's wife's sister....so I guess she's my sister in law.....

 

[TwoSix]

I'd guess she's in her mid twenties? Married with a child.....she's my brother in law's wife's sister....so I guess she's my sister in law.....

Assuming your brother-in-law is your wife's brother, then she's the sister of your sister-in-law, but no relation to you.

 

[Oofta]

I once had a player with a monk that thought he could run fast enough around the bad guy to cause a sandstorm tornado. I just told him he may be faster than anyone else in the party, but he wasn't The Flash.

So all you can really do is gently remind her of the rules and her limitations, that she may master the elements one day but for right now she's just an apprentice. Remind her that Michelangelo didn't go from picking up a crayon to painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. He was quite young when he created some amazing work but even he had to build up to it.

Encourage and work with her to describe her spells as mastering the elements but she's just not ready to focus all that power into large scale effects just yet. The power is there and someday she will be worthy but for now she's sipping water out of a lake with a straw. Or maybe a swizzle stick.

 

[Zaukrie]

To be clear, I get that I'm the DM.....and I get the rules....this is about helping the player understand, so she can still have fun.....

 

[Guest 6801328]

Sounds like there was just a miscommunication about how this all works, specifically where in the story you are jumping in, and the zero-to-hero concept. Maybe just explain that in D&D you start off as a lowly beginner, with barely any skills, and you have a long journey ahead to becoming the Hurricane slinging hero.

I mean, you gotta have the conversation one way or another. May as well get it out of the way. If they lose interest, well....

Also, I hate to be pedantic, but it's "rein" not "reign".

 

[Zaukrie]

Huh, thanks! Not usually a fan of being pedantic, but in this case, thanks. I thought it was reign......

Ya, I'll just have to have a talk with them all. My son was greatly amused at his relatives thinking they were already all powerful.....

 

[jgsugden]

"Your character's decisios are yours to make. Your abilities are defined by the rules. Let's go through the abilities you picked for your character and talk about the ones you can look forward to collecting along your current path, and when you might gain those abilities. This is a game of development... we get to watch the PCs grow."