Starting a New Game with Complete Newbies

[Dunjin]

I'm starting a new game with a group of people who are complete newbies. My girlfriend has played with me in another game for a while now, but she's never been into it enough to really get with the rules, and only one other player has ever played even once.

Any pointers on making a game for complete newbies? I know I can't expect them to know D&D tactics and the like, so should I plan encounters specifically to teach them about things like Flanking and such? Or should I hold a tutorial session to show them the basics, even though that might not be as much fun as just starting into the game?

Any anecdotes/insight/advice are appreciated.

 

[Nifelhein]

I would start the game and when they are gonna make something you say what else they should consider:
"I move here and attack! Well, whenever you move through squares threatened, bla bla, you are subject to AoO, moving here makes you not..."

You could also explain the types of actions and what they could mean, that way feats are explained in advance, the rest they get when the game goes.

I am always getting one or two newbies. my next game has one that never played at all and one that played 2nd edition long ago...

 

[Loki3]

I'm starting a new game with a group of people who are complete newbies. My girlfriend has played with me in another game for a while now, but she's never been into it enough to really get with the rules, and only one other player has ever played even once.

Any pointers on making a game for complete newbies? I know I can't expect them to know D&D tactics and the like, so should I plan encounters specifically to teach them about things like Flanking and such? Or should I hold a tutorial session to show them the basics, even though that might not be as much fun as just starting into the game?

Any anecdotes/insight/advice are appreciated.

I would do a basic Dungeon Crawl, make it simple maybe one level. Dont get too creative, nor should ya do any tutorials let them learn by mistake. In the end it really is the better and more fun way for people just starting.

I would not get into flanking and such, you can overwealm them int he beginning. I wouldnt even worry about encumberance at first. Remember you are wanting to teach them how to play but also you want them to want to play again and hitting them with alot of rules at forst can be a turn off for new players.

Some advice:
Keep it very simple. Dungeon crawl usually works well for this.
Be very generous to them, show them risk = reward.
Be forgiving of the mistakes they will make. IE: Bend the rules a tad for em..

Now reason I give a Dungeon crawl as my first is that you can throw in alot of ambiance...... you can give the Players alot of sensory fun,....... plus a good ole Dungeon makes people generally curious and is fun for them because you as the DM can become creative, and have more lattitude for them.

Also if your interested drop on by www.goblinsgames.com and say hello, there is some expanded advice for players there, and also if you want the goblin king there will make you a special chat area so you can even do the new game online with the players and maybe others.

 

[maddman75]

First, you'll have to do the chargen. You can just hand them pregens, or talk to them about what they want. Going through the details is only going to make them think it's more complicated than it really is. A n00b has no idea if he wants Power Attack or Weapon Focus, so don't ask him. If he says he wants a big burly warrior that uses a bigass sword, then make him one.

Without going into the details of chargen, the whole thing becomes a lot simpler. Get the basic mechanic down - roll a d20, add modifiers, see if you got to your DC/armor class.

I would definately use minis or counters. IME the new players find it a lot easier to figure out what is going on. Introducing tactics through play is a good idea as well. You can even suggest to them in combat. Remember it isn't DM vs. Players, so there's no harm in the DM giving tactical advice. Especially when it isn't poor Regdar's fault that a n00b is about to charge him through an ogre's threatened square .

 

[Dunjin]

My plan is to help them through concept-driven chargen (where they say, "I want a street-smart mercenary!" and I work out a variant ranger or rogue, for example) and then start them with a jailbreak scenario, where they have to scrounge for equipment (or find their own cache of confiscated stuff) and escape. It'll feed into a whole story, but I want to start out with the players getting a good feel for the importance of a good sword, and not just the fact that a longsword does 1d8 damage or whatever. I want to break the "go into a hole, kill stuff, emerge with treasure" cliche a bit, so I figured I'd start with them leaving a hole.

Good advice so far. Maybe I'll ask them how much tactical advice they want, or maybe base advice on the Intelligence/Wisdom of their characters ("Ooh, y'know, Machiavelli the Soldier would know better than to run through a gauntlet of six orcs to get to the one guy in the back").

Any other ideas?

 

[Jeph]

No need to keep it simple, low level, or hack'n'slash. You can read a recount of a game that I started this past weekend wherein half the players were completely new to the hobby (and one of the other two had never played under me) here. For reference, Corlon of these boards played Anderian, and was the only one of the bunch with whom I had gamed before.

Oh, and "concept driven char-gen" works awesomely. I am of the opinion that almost all confusion with the system stems from chargen and the rest takes 5 minutes to explain. However, if you simply hand the player a pregen, they have no insight into their character. Asking them what they want, and then statting accordingly, is IME an exceptionally cohesive and fun compromise.

 

[Jeph]

Going through the details is only going to make them think it's more complicated than it really is. A n00b has no idea if he wants Power Attack or Weapon Focus, so don't ask him.

But keep in mind that things like Power Attack and Weapon Focus are great ways to reflect fighting style. Don't ask them what feat they want, instead ask them about focus:

Offensive or defensive fighting style?
Specialize in one weapon or branch out?
Social, athletic, stealth, or perceptive abilities?
Whittle them down or end it now?

You can create a comprehensive set of feats from their answers. Also, they will grasp the individual mechanics more thoroughly if you only explain how the feats they've selected work, instead of giving a summary of every feat in the book.

And don't punish bad behavior, reward good. And don't be stingy with advice, remember that they haven't really got it all memorized yet. And try to put them in the spotlight; boredome will not want to make them come back. And try to be accomodating, try to work in their ideas. And try to work with their character concept over overt combat effectiveness, as if they ask for a sly thief andend up with a vicious assassin they'll be disappointed at the least. Afterall, they're there to have fun, and you want to keep them around!

IME, IMHO, etc.

 

[Dunjin]

My campaign idea will put them in the spotlight for sure, though the major aspect may only work in the background while they go about doing their thing. There's a reason they all were captured and imprisoned, and a reason they were meant to be sold as "slaves", but scheduled to be taken directly to a particular address, rather than being sold at market. Someone wants them for something, and it has to be them. It's up to them to find out who and why.

This is meant to be the most character-driven D&D game I've ever played, much less run. I plan to play a bit fast and loose with classes and races, and maybe to err a bit cinematic in combat, too. Should be fun. Hopefully a group of newbies can get me out of my forced-munchkinry funk I've been in in past D&D games.

Any other advice? What about enemies? Should I alter the CRs for encounters a bit to account for the players' newbiness?

 

[alsih2o]

give each player something like this- http://24.102.17.192:1984/files/ReferenceSheet_v29_Player.pdf as a reference sheet, it will make your job simpler.

be very patient, make jokes, use memory tricks with them.

use monster a cr or 2 below the party with good tactics and they wil start using good tactics. then you can cream 'em

 

[Nifelhein]

Yeah and if the monsters are making their lives too dificult, just make them angry with each other, or act dumbly for sometime... they will enjoy and it will save them too...

I would also suggest not to use more than 3 monsters per group of 5, since more than that can make them quite confuse, keep it aorund 3 and it will be ok.