I wanna cast a spell.
I wanna cast...
MAGIC MISSILE.
Here's how I teach newbies (since I do it every year for the school RPG club):
1)Tell them what an RPG is. Explain roleplaying, then explain that it becomes a game because whatever the characters try to do, if it is important or they might fail, is resolved by some sort of made up mechanic that accounts for luck (dice) and skill (stats).
2)Go over what you mean by:
Character (PC)
Player
DM
Session
Adventure
Campaign
Dice notation(it's easy to forget that not everybody knows what "2d4" means)
3) Having introduced them to character, you now tell them about:
Race
Class
Ability Scores
4) The Mechanic: The d20 roll
-general roll: d20 + modifiers to beat a DC (this is why teaching 3rd edition is a dream compared to first edition)
-Ability checks (start with what they're familiar with)
-Skill checks (introduce skills- ranks, max ranks, ability mod, class and cross class, synergy, armor check)
-Saving throws
-Attack Rolls (DC = AC, Base Attack Bonus, ability mod, magic, masterwork, mention cover but don't explain it, touch attacks)
-Initiative
-Mention but don't bother explaining spellcaster level checks
5) Odds and Ends
-Spellcasting (spell levels, spells per day, difference between sorcs and wizards, hit a few sample iconic spells [MAGIC MISSILE, in honor of Galstaff, sorcerer of light])
-Feats (feats allow you to break the rules or give you bonuses)
6) Play a game with them. This cannot be underestimated. You should always play something short and sweet with them. Be patient, and don't overwhelm them. Remember KISS here. Your best adventure for this is probably The Burning Plague off of Wizards' site. The Wizard's Amulet, on Necromancer's site, is also supposed to be superb for this purpose. Gorgoldand's Gauntlet is a personal favorite, but doesn't seem like a good opener for newbies, as it doesn't give them much chance to get used to normal combat and such.
-Have premade characters for the game. Character generation takes too long. Make simple character sheets with only the pertinent information.
-Be a little loose with the rules. Play encumberance fast and loose (if they carry something really heavy, then just assign a penalty without getting bogged down by the exact numbers).
-Use the game to introduce any new rules IF it won't slow it down too much. For instance, cover, concealment, and trips would be your prime candidates here. No grappling unless the players try to do it, and just run it, don't explain it.
-No wizards. Use sorcerers so that they only have to know a couple spells.
-Run it at 1st level. Nothing else does your first playing experience justice. Use a 16, 14, 13, 12, 10, 9 distribution, since this is a one shot, so they'll get to experience one really good stat and one slightly low one.
-Try to make sure the players know that they are good guys, at least this time.
Finally, and most importantly...
Roll to see if they're getting drunk.
.
