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Message: <blockquote data-quote="fba827" data-source="post: 5226191" data-attributes="member: 807">Some of the ones that spring to mind have already been said... so pardon the duplicationsa) something evil you can kill without it being morally gray... undead are good choicesb) A "path" choice that has clear consequences either way.. but the consequences should not be so dire (i.e. Save the life of A or B) that she breaks down over it, but it's about giving her control over decisions and to play them out accordingly....  ie. the damn is about to break, do we go to the damn and try and stop the break (perhaps something is there trying to break it or else a skill challenge) or go to the village and help them evacuate (aka skill challenge).  Both options are means to the same end, but let her feel like there was choice in how she went about it and for at least a couple days she might think about "how would it have gone from the other side" or "i made the right choice" etc.c) tavern, there must be some sort of tavern scene. it doesn't need to be a meet the party or your mysterious contact (though it could be), and could be as simple as "you're getting ready to rest for the night and stop in for dinner ..." blah blah blah, and give the chance for a little roleplay or pick up on some rumors.. d) a definitive goal and reward at the end of the session.  unlike your other players that will be fine if it 'gets continued' she isn't planning on being there more than a session.  so she should be able to see an objective get played out through the end, including the reward (even if that reward is the heartfelt thank of the villagers whose town was just saved)e) I actually still remember several of the images I saw when I first played d&d.  Because she won't have as many preconceived thoughts on what some of these monsters are (you can say "beholder" or "mimic" and veterans know what you're talking about.. but she'll probably need a really good description of a chance to look at the picture).  -- those images will probably stick with her a long time if she's a visually based person.f) In my own personal experience, new comers who are not sword/boardfighter oriented and have the mindset/personality for things like druid on their first time seem to react positively towards things like pets.  So consider a small little bird or tiny cat that stays perched on her shoulder like a familiar.  Or, in 4e terms, the animal friendship ritual, pretend that she had that cast at the start and so she has a tiny friend for the duration or something.g) a little tension (but not overt fear).  I don't know about the pacing of your games (i.e. how many encounters you typically have, etc) but find an excuse to take the party until they are starting to feel drained and then push them just an encounter further where she has to start making decisions about resource management and a little tension regarding "darn it, that isn't available, how can i get creative with what i have left"   -- but basically, my point, she might get a little bored with the "15-minute adventuring day" since there are essentially unlimited resources, etc. since everything is renewed after sleep between encounters.h) be sure that her NPC has some connection to the party or adventure (maybe she has some extra knowledge or can serve as the wilderness guide if none of the other PCs are nature-oriented) so that she doesn't feel like a tack-oni) give her enough information to know who the PC is and how he/she relates to the party and adventure but also give her the leeway to 'make it her own' in terms of personality or making up some inconsequentials about background... and make sure she knows thisSlightly off topic, but if she's a complete neophyte AND is already hesitant on the rules, druid is not necessarily the easiest class to understand, specifically because of wildshape and if she starts the whole mindset of "why can't i climb better in monkey form" then you may run into more frustration than enjoyment.   Having said that consider a) a different class or b) explain/reword wildshape slightly to be a specific form that this particular NPC can only use- i.e. a panther or wolf, etc -- (rather than any form; and if you give her the daily utilities that allow specifically abilities and applications of wildshape such as skittering sneak, then just describe those powers as being special/new forms that can be used once a day in themselves rather than expansions of the wildshape) that way you have less chance of getting caught by some common wildshape frustration and confusion.Anyway, just something to think about.  Sorry for the thread drift.  We now return you to the regularly scheduled thread already in progress <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

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