D&D 5E Running D&D for Brand Spanking New Players

[hawknsparrow]

Hi all,

I'm DMing a 5E game with some older folks that have never played an RPG before. I've been playing since AD&D back in the day, but I've never introduced the game to people that have no clue about the game or role playing at all.

This will more than likely just be a one-time thing, so I'm running a simple published adventure and got some level 1 pregen characters for them to choose from.

I have some ideas of how to get the game going, but I was wondering if maybe you all had a few words of wisdom to make it go smooth.

Thanks for any advice.

Start them in a chase scene where they already know each other and they are fleeing through city streets because of some comedic screw up at the wedding they crashed or something. Use the chase rules... they are fun... throw in ability checks as they try to get away...

Go straight into a light combat with their pusuers so they can kill, blow things up and such...

Go back to the Inn to wash up where they are given a short job due their sucess.

Cheers!

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[alienux]

For new players in that situation, I've made sure not to bog them down with rules and stats. I just start DMing and follow the basic flow (describe the environment/situation, ask what they do, tell them the result). When it's time for dice to be involved, I explain where they need to look on their character sheet, what to roll, and what to add. That lets them jump into the story and start gaming, while learning the system as they go. Of course, character backstory and all of that is available ahead of time, but the rules themselves, I've found, can be learned as they go.