Teaching my Boyfriend D&D - Path To Hell or Just Really Stupid?

[Sanackranib]

boyfriend gaming

As a guy who has played this game since 1980, I have seen a lot of other guys try to get their girlfriends involved - usually with very bad results. Funny I have met so few female gamers that the reverse has never come up. As so meny have already pointed out don't force him into the game. If he asks about it then tell him the story of what happened in your last game but keep it simple. If he is interested still then let him roll up a human fighter and pick his weapon, also incourage him to take both missile and melee weapons. This way he can playa simple character who will not get bogged down with the 3e rules.

This is how I introduced the game to my wife, she played 2e then 3e and was a gammer for about 5 years before she got board and decided to take a break from gaming. You also should heed the advice of those gamers who have obviuosly had to balance a relationship and gaming. It may be a good idea to cut your gaming back to 1 day on the weekend and perhaps do a short game during the week. lots of us out there game on mondays or wednesdays. This way you won't put your boyfriend in a situation where he wants you to choose him or gaming as my ex-wife did. Occasionally I still miss her.

 

[Angelsboi]

thanks for all the help. he wanted to play something strong and god like, yet nice.

I explained that godhood can be achieved eventually and lets start small. SO i posted to him about Rogues, Clerics, Barbarians and Paladins.

He is playing a Paladin.

Ok ... So ... What do i do with him now? Usually my games are all drawn out and such so i need to K.I.S.S.

 

[diaglo]

help him with his background.

Paladin should be easy for that.

a mano y mano session a few minutes a day beforehand.

buying items, inheritance, a bunch of NPCs to build up his confidence, skills to consider, feats that will be important for the campaign, etc...

don't go for stats or combat right away.

but lead into them.

with each separate session place emphasis on one thing.

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

Tell him he sees something horrible, check to see if he tries to detect evil on it, then quietly remind him that as a paladin his holy duty is to splat evil. Voila! You're into combat.

Seriously, best of luck. And may I say you have one of the most interesting signatures on the boards.

 

[MerakSpielman]

make it absurdly simple, like:

Some goblins have kidnapped the mayor's daughter while she was out picking flowers. They've been tracked to a nearby cave, but the locals are too afraid to go in... etc...

BTW, I never saw Blair Witch 2. How was it (I kinda wanted a pagan's perspective)?

 

[Angelsboi]

thanks for the signature =)

OffTopic: I was happy with Blair Witch 2. They didnt screw anything up but its one of those ... it screws with your head movies with the twist at the end.

It hurts a little as a pagan but not alot like the Craft did (ok so that didnt hurt much either but then again i love Neve =) )

 

[Winterthorn]

Paladin? Fabulous!

Being a gaymer myself, I think playing a Paladin is a good choice--assuming your bf luvs good drama Hey, if he gets really involved, his PC can plummet from grace and claw back up to redemption! Great stuff actually, can be be quite memorable... All it takes is a DM's subtle machinations, heh, heh...

I hope the time you spend gaming doesn't interfere with the relationship... Bad things happen when ppl feel ignored...

(And gawd forbid you ignore the household pets--when they're hungry... LOL)

-W.

 

[Angelsboi]

no he works saturdays when im gaming and we get home at the same time. on sundays he works every 3rd sunday and he has his friends too. We spend Monday through Saturday night with each other so hes not ignored.

And he keeps sending me emails about animals. Hes playing an elven druid.

 

[mythago]

One suggestion I would make, once your boyfriend really gets more interested in playing regularly, is to get him into a gaming group you're NOT in.

It can be very hard to break into an established gaming group, doubly so if you're a newbie and the rest of the group has been playing together for-bloody-ever.

And with a relationship you have the problem of real life vs. game life. It can be hard to work with the noble paladin if you're still cheesed-off at him for not taking the garbage out AGAIN.

Another relationship pitfall: be sure not to see yourself as the 'teacher' introducing him to your turf. I've seen much ugliness in gaming couples where the boyfriend got his girlfriend into gaming, then the relationship blew up when she turned out to be a more enthusiastic/more skilled/better-liked player than he.

If you can locate a good Call of Cthulhu DM, that would be fun, I suspect--the horror he likes, and the Chaosium rules are VERY basic and easy to learn.

 

[Sanackranib]

boyfriend gaming

I would caution you aginst starting him off as anything other then a human fighter - following the K.I.S.S. principle, that way he can play a character that has a lot of hit points but is not restricted by a code. paladins are one of the most difficult classes to play well even for expirenced players. with a basic fighter he can get to know the game terms without getting bogged down by the mechanics. The history idea and solo games are good as well, just be sure that in a solo adventure he doesn't have to roll a save that if he misses can result in the death of his character. It sounds like you know what you are doing and you have gotten a lot of good advice - he's in your capable hands now, best of luck.