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View Full Version : Starting a 3.5 game with 3 new players, need help.



Jalor
2009-03-05, 08:03 AM
So a friend and I, both with lots of prior gaming experience, decided to begin a D&D 3.5 campaign. His older sister offered to DM for us, and we began tracking down players. We have enough for a full party of five and will be rolling characters next Sunday. I'm not using the real names of my friends for privacy reasons, so I will refer to them by first initial. The players are;

R: My best friend and the only other experienced player. He's playing either Cleric or Favored Soul. Kind of impatient and hyperactive, which might be an issue.

J: One of our new players. Playing either Ranger or Rogue. He should do fine, but he has a tendency to overcomplicate things. This is alleviated by our DM barring new players from anything but PHB1. I still get the feeling he'll try to take levels of Druid or something.

C: Another new player. She is probably playing whatever J isn't. Enthusiastic and competitive, she will get along fine as long as nobody steals her kills.

E: Our third new player, and the one I'm worried about. Playing Paladin, my least favorite class ever devised ever. There are three issues here;
-He decides on a whim and then is dead-set on sticking to that decision. This leads to him doing stupid things in games (I was trying to ram the Chopper! I didn't realize they crushed Warthogs!).

-He is playing a Paladin. Let's hope he won't roleplay it like Miko.

-He doesn't get along well with R. He assures me this won't be a problem, but I fear it will.

Finally, there's me playing Wizard. I was going to be Dread Necromancer, but naturally the DM shot that one down.

So there lie the problems. Anything I should watch out for in particular? Also, any out-of-the-ordinary things I should do with my character build?

Paramour Pink
2009-03-05, 08:13 AM
If you're worried about him potentially over-reacting in his paladin role, or having to make him fall, I'd like to suggest Fax's paladin (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33551). Ignore the stuff about skill points and Prowess, and skip to the part about Mantles. They lay out really clearly what the paladin in question can or can't do, and what powers they recieve because of it. As long as they don't violate their mantles/rules, they only have to worry about not shifting in alignment to avoid falling.

Otherwise, my first character was a regular paladin. Although she was...in the words of the DM...catty. >_>; I managed to avoid doing anything stupid, surprisingly. So even if you stick to the normal class, it might not be the train wreck you imagine. Just make sure there are a few Evil enemies to smite along the way and it shouldn't be hard to keep him happy within your plot. :smallsmile:

Triaxx
2009-03-05, 10:00 AM
Just make sure there's always an LG option even if it's not an LG solution. Even if it comes down to: Look, can your guy go out into the hall, stick his fingers in his ears and sing really loudly? We need to torture this guy and don't want him to fall.

krossbow
2009-03-05, 11:00 AM
Try having him play a paladin of freedom; they're LOADS of fun. Not too different, just chaotic goodness incarnate.








that being said, i'd suggest having him play a pathfinder version of the paladin class.

Starscream
2009-03-05, 11:09 AM
Try having him play a paladin of freedom; they're LOADS of fun. Not too different, just chaotic goodness incarnate.

Agreed. I once played on who I modeled on BRIAN BLESSED (the caps are compulsory when typing his name), and he turned out to be pretty dang awesome.

krossbow
2009-03-05, 11:16 AM
Agreed. I once played on who I modeled on BRIAN BLESSED (the caps are compulsory when typing his name), and he turned out to be pretty dang awesome.


Haha, Same here! Half-orc paladin who kept renaming his weapon every time he brandished it, with the battlecry of "KORD BRINGS THE EXCITEMENT!"


Brian blessed just plain rocks.

AslanCross
2009-03-05, 06:07 PM
Either Fax's Paladin or OWA's Rebalanced Paladin would be a good fix. Fax's Mantles are pretty RP-heavy, though. I think the Rebalanced Paladin clarifies the paladin code further.

Jalor
2009-03-16, 05:47 PM
Sorry to bump an old topic, but there's no point in me making a new one and saying the same thing.

We have another experienced player, A. He's playing a Wood Elf Ranger. He, R, J, and I met with our DM to roll characters. The DM has restricted us all to core rulebooks and PHB2. R is a Gnome Cleric of Farlahngahn (or whatever the hell that god is called), J is a Halfling Rogue, and I am a Gray Elf Evoker. C and E couldn't come due to homework/sports. It's been going good so far. I'll keep this topic updated in case of other concerns, and I might revise it into a game blog once we get off the ground.

One more thing; our DM has hinted that we are facing a small dragon at around 3rd or 4th level. Probably a wyrmling, but Scorching Ray is still a fire spell. What the hell does a low-level Wizard do against a dragon?

PrismaticPIA
2009-03-16, 05:56 PM
We had a 1st level Awakened Cat Paladin in full plate with a riding dog mount who bad guys just could not take seriously...until she'd leave them to scoop up their insides.

ChaosDefender24
2009-03-16, 06:31 PM
Wizard vs. dragon at that level:

1. Go in prepared, if you can. The full regalia of Alter Self (crucian), shield, and mage armor gets you a +16 to AC, which means that if the dragon feels uppity and wants to go claw at you, you're a bit covered.
2. Glitterdust!! The Will Save is annoying, but at least you get past the dragon's SR. The dragon has Blindsense, so he can still aim his breath weapon and tell where you guys are, but a 50% miss chance on all his attacks is still debilitating.

Kaelaroth
2009-03-16, 06:43 PM
Go invisible, and arrange traps? Buff your allies? Scrolls?

holywhippet
2009-03-16, 06:44 PM
One more thing; our DM has hinted that we are facing a small dragon at around 3rd or 4th level. Probably a wyrmling, but Scorching Ray is still a fire spell. What the hell does a low-level Wizard do against a dragon?

Are you sure it will be a red dragon? They are the only evil dragon who has flame immunity. Just in case, make sure you have access to the acid arrow spell. It requires a touch attack though.

Colour spray is another good alternative - you'll probably only stun it for one round at best but that's 1 round to unload on it.

ChaosDefender24
2009-03-16, 06:56 PM
Colour spray is another good alternative - you'll probably only stun it for one round at best but that's 1 round to unload on it.

It's a bit risky with that range, though, if you don't intend to hit your team, it means you either succeed or the only thing standing between you and the dragon is 15 feet of air, and your teammates may not be in the best position to block for you.

Elminster1
2009-03-16, 07:01 PM
Going against a small red dragon 3-4 level? I would reccomend:

1. Prepare Mirror Image or Invisibility as your prime personal defensive tactic.

2. Use buffs on your BSFighters in the group like Enlarge Person/Bulls Strength/Animalistic Power.

3. The only targeted spells I would use are no-save de-buff rays to be honest on offense. Ray of Clumsiness is great versus dragons as they have lousy Dex scores (typically), and Ray of enfeeblement could be decent to smash their Str score, which reduces to hit and damage output. Out of the 2 though, I prefer the Dex killer in that particular scenario.

I find the best way to help new players is, one, limit their options so you dont get the Bard/Druid/Rogue/Psion/Whatever PRClass jank combo that just winds up the Waste of Space role :smalleek:

Just punch the person who wants to play a Paladin (as long as they are a guy), lol. Maybe a follow-up kick to the shins for good measure. I suppose, on a real note, try and guide, not too much or they will think your trying to control them (and in a sense you are, lol), but let them learn the rules FIRST and foremeost. People that dont know the rules are a real pain. People learn best more often by trial and error. If you let them build their own character and see for themselves, hopefully, they eventually learn some things along the way. If you get the Waste-Of-Space alert......run for the hills, lol.

Maltore
2009-03-16, 10:40 PM
Wyrmlings really aren't that bad. Here's some ideas:

1) Resist Energy (cast after you make the knowledge check that tells you which breath weapon it uses) will make that breath weapon nigh useless. Buff from a scroll or split the party with the cleric.

2) Dragons are bad flyers (none of them can hover), and their touch AC sucks. Make the party buy tanglefoot bags for free falling damage.

3) Their strength is average (unless it's red), so Ray of Enfeeblement = hard time for the dragon to hit the tank, and even if it hits the damage will be negligible.

4) Make the rogue Invisible. Enlarge the pally. Should the dragon be undead: Eagle's Splendor on the pally and explain to her how much its touch AC sucks.

5) Mirror image, though you really shouldn't be up close and personal. I'd use Expeditious Retreat instead and just stay out of reach. Both if you have the time.

6) Given that you chose to be an evoker: Magic Missile. An average of 7 damage really isn't all that bad, and none of them have any kind of defense against it. If you don't like this idea, ask the DM to research a Scorching Ray that does another kind of damage. I vote cold, so you have access to both types of damage that a dragon can be vulnerable to. I'm also partial to sonic, but that means you have to lower the damage dice.

Elminster1
2009-03-17, 03:40 PM
Just curious, but as an Evoker, what schools did you ban? Please for the love of all things arcane it wasnt Conjuration or Transmutation.

What was the decision behind Evoker? Your party doesnt seem lousy at damage, was this purley a flavor thing?

Flickerdart
2009-03-17, 03:57 PM
If the dragon tries to fly, Solid Fog will make it stall and fall down, at which point your beatsticks should run up to it and stick pointy metal into its guts until it dies, or tie it down first, or something.
4th level won't do, and the Core+PHBII is a bit limiting. Maybe buy a Solid Fog scroll? Remember, dragons have good saves, and can't be put to sleep or paralyzed.

I suggest bringing a net to Entangle it and drop its movement options as well as the -4 DEX and -2 to attack rolls that your beatsticks will appreciate.