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Message: <blockquote data-quote="FireLance" data-source="post: 455986" data-attributes="member: 3424">A couple of years ago, I taught my girlfriend (now my wife) how to play D&D.  I basically walked her through a one-on-one game from character creation to the actual adventure.  Here are some pointers you might want to use if you decide to do this:The cardinal rule is to keep it simple.  The wide variety of choices in D&D can be bewildering for someone who's just starting out.For example, in character creation, the only race available was human, and I limited the classes available to a handful that were simple in concept and had good solo survivability - barbarian, cleric, fighter, paladin, ranger, sorcerer.When selecting ability scores, I explained the game effects of each and simulated a 28-point buy system by asking her to allocate 8 "bonus points" to the six scores, but not more than two points could be allocated to one score (0 bonus points = 10, 1 = 12, 2 = 14).Similarly, the choice of skills and feats were limited to those with simple and direct effects on the game.  For example, I included Spot and Listen, but not Alchemy and Forgery.  Alertness and Toughness were included, but not metamagic or item creation feats, or feats that a 1st-level character could not take, like Spring Attack and Improved Critical.  To simplify matters further, I assumed maximum ranks would be assigned to each skill.Equipment was simply assigned based on class.  Spell selection for clerics and sorcerers were made from a limited list of useful spells.When planning the adventure, I made sure to use a variety of encounters: combat, role-playing, puzzles, etc.  Combat encounters were against foes that were weak (e.g. a dire rat) or with obvious weaknesses to exploit (e.g. a slow-moving zombie).During the advanture, it would be good to spell out viable action choices.  Essentially, your first game should be closer in spirit to a "pick-your-path" adventure rather than free-form gaming (e.g. "Do you attack the zombie with your sword, fire an arrow at it, or run away?", rather than "You see a zombie.  What do you do?").Hope this helps!</blockquote>

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