New players only at level 1?

[DarkJester]

Has anyone had any luck introducing someone who has never played D&D before into the game in a higher level party? My group is around 8th level and the friend of two of the members of the group has expressed interest in playing. I'm sure people have done this before, I simply haven't dealt with this. Any advice?

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Yep.

Had a new-to-D&D and RPGs player start at (IIRC) 7th level with a druid. Successfully. Can't get much more complex than that. Hav the other players help, assign a mentor, and be prepared to slow the game down for a bit.

I'd encourage simpler characters (single classed, limited options) but that's probably not strictly required.

That said, it might be easier to run a few side sessions with just the new players, to get their feet wet before throwing them into the deep end of the pool.

 

[Wik]

Mmpf. I'd suggest at least letting the new guys in on a low-level game to get their feet wet first.

I've put new players in with a bunch of experienced players before, but never as high as 8th level - the highest level PC in our group was around 3rd or 4th.

I think if you're going to do it, it's important to give the new players a character with only a few iconic class abilities - a paladin is a good choice, because it doesn't have a wealth of options that the new player will forget to use. Ditto for a ranger or barbarian.

Some good classes for an 8th level "newb":

Barbarian
Ranger
Paladin
Monk (despite some of the abilities, a newbie can get by on "punch, kick, repeat")
FIghter (but take as many "invisible" feats that don't require conscious application by the player, such as weapon focus)

If you have a player that "really wants to cast spells", go for something like Warlock or Dragonfire Adept - both have a few powers that the player can use indefinately, and don't require the attention to detail that most caster classes require.

 

[Wik]

Also, I'd suggest that whatever adventure you run, run it as if the group were two levels lower than they actually are. While it'll be an easy adventure for the experienced players, that's better than making a "normal" difficulty adventure, where the mistakes of the new characters could easily result in a TPK.

For example, if you had an 8th level newb playing a wizard in a CR 9 "big boss" fight, he could easily cause a lot of damage with a mis-placed fireball. Combined with the beast biting the PC's nearby, it's' easy for one or two of 'em to go down. Now, if that same group is fighting a CR 7 "big boss", the chance of anyone going down the same round that fireball is unleashed is reduced.

 

[diaglo]

lvl 1. have 'em roll 3d6 in order. str, int, wis, con, dex, cha
d6 for hps
3d6 x 10 for gps.

and go from there.

i do it all the time

 

[DarkJester]

That said, it might be easier to run a few side sessions with just the new players, to get their feet wet before throwing them into the deep end of the pool.

I had thought of running something aside to introduce him but as it only 1 person and I'm cramped for time already this idea died quickly. I might try to get another player to introduce him to it before hand.

Also, I'd suggest that whatever adventure you run, run it as if the group were two levels lower than they actually are. While it'll be an easy adventure for the experienced players, that's better than making a "normal" difficulty adventure, where the mistakes of the new characters could easily result in a TPK.

Well, the group is usually five members strong, occasionally six. This guy will make the sixth/seventh and he will be the only one whom has not played before, so I don't think this will be the issue. I believe he wants to play a rogue.

lvl 1. have 'em roll 3d6 in order. str, int, wis, con, dex, cha
d6 for hps
3d6 x 10 for gps.

and go from there.

i do it all the time

Hah, don't tempt me!

 

[drothgery]

The counterpoint to the 'keep things simple for newbies' premise is that sometimes people have a kind of character they want to play, and will put more effort into playing that character, even if it's mechanically complicated, rather than a simple character they don't like. And there are people who just like playing with game mechanics -- a mechanically simple character would be boring for someone like that. So if they really want to play something that's best modeled by a monk/wizard/druid, you might want to let them do it.

 

[FATDRAGONGAMES]

I've had good luck just running a few quick examples of combat and general gameplay an hour or so before the other players arrive. We've done this several times over the years without any major problems.

 

[Thunderfoot]

Another option is to let them describe the character to you (Don't open the rules, don't explain anything, just talk) What is their charater concept? What is their driving force? Why do they want to do certain things?

As the DM you can then guide them toward an appropriate class (saves on all the rule squashing and the brain oozing that happens to many new players). Explain the finer points of THAT class only, if they want to play a race that isn't a favored one of that class, let them. They will learn powergaming soon enough, let them enjoy being someone else first.
Also, if they want to grow their character the traditional way, let them play the 1st level character and explain that the challenges will be extra tough for them, that they will need to "hide" behind their counterparts for a while until they begin to gain some more experience and confidence. In this way, if you want to intorduce the person as a "cohort" or hireling to the group that comes into their own, then you've maximized the Role-play experience for them, and given the group a new direction to take their game as well.

A great literary example is D'artagnan in the "Three Musketeers" he was handy enough, but just not as experienced as his counterparts, by the time of the sequel, he was bashing in skulls with the best of them.

 

[S'mon]

The best approach is the old style one of starting new players at 1st, but adventure separate from high level PCs until they've levelled up. Second best is to start them higher, 3rd or 4th is no problem but starting new PCs at 10th or 12th has not worked well for me. I'd say don't have new 1st levellers adventuring with existing 5th+ PCs.
In my current PBEMs, I do:

1. Moldvay B/X D&D: All new PCs start with 5,000 XP, ca 3rd level, adventure together.
Advancement is pretty slow, we've played current campaign a year or so, one PC just reached 5th, one who came in from a prior campaign at 5th just made 6th.

2. C&C Wilderlands: All PCs start at 1st, not planning to accept new PCs once group reaches ca 4th-5th level unless I want to have 2 adventuring parties.