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Message: <blockquote data-quote="delericho" data-source="post: 3159841" data-attributes="member: 22424">Some more thoughts:I'm inclined to think that the adventure should be created first, and the sample characters generated afterwards, with reference to the adventure. There's absolutely no point in creating a sample Sorcerer with only fire-based spells if all the beasties in the adventure are immune to fire, for example.Each character should be similarly iconic to their class, simple to run, and should be good at one or two things, preferably things that no other character can do, or at least do as well. (So, while it's okay for the Fighter and Paladin to both be good at combat, the Fighter should be better, while the Paladin should have something else going on. But then, that's normal for a class-based system.) Avoid multiclassing, as while it's fun it can also be complex.Ideally, characters with a PHB class should be generated using Core Rules only. But it's also a good idea to have several characters with classes from other books. In which case, those characters should be created with Core Rules + 1 book (I think).Sample character sheets should be formatted so that all the game information fits on a single sheet of paper. Even better would be to fit the game information and the background on one side of paper, but I think that might be unrealistic. (Oh, and sample characters should have a background. And make those backgrounds fun. Give the players something to get their teeth into.)It should go without saying that House Rules need avoided like the plague. In fact, I would recommend that the adventure itself be written assuming a DM of indeterminate skill. Therefore, extensive advice on how one might stage a given encounter would be useful. It should be noted clearly as advice, though, providing reminders of key information and rules, rather than some sort of straight-jacket forcing the DM to run things a particular way (after all, having an actual DM is probably the key benefit of pen-and-paper games over computer RPGs, so let's not throw that away!).Finally: handouts!For disposable magic items, item cards are a great thing, especially for a first adventure. Give each player one or two cards to hold and trade in at appropriate times.Further, if there's a puzzle in the game, some sort of visual aid would be a good thing. (One example: if there's some text for the Wizard to decipher, give the players a sheet with the encoded text on it. If they make the Decipher Script check, give them the cipher key. And, have a backup with the solution on hand, just in case they still struggle.)</blockquote>

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