I'm introducing my freind to D&D3.5! Any advice?

[GnomeGninjas]

I have explained race, class, skills, sorta feats, and what ability scores do.He currently seems to want to be a Gnome Druid. I think that is good because I have heard that even if you are new you can still do pretty good as a druid, I think gnome is a ok choice do to the con bonus. I think that I'll have him learn the rest as he plays. I will dm there will be one other player that is pretty experienced and I think could help him too, I don't know what he will decide to play. Is there any feats I should steer him towards or advice for DMing. Just any advice in general that would help me out would be great.

[Urpriest]

Natural Spell is the stereotypical Druid advice, taken as soon as possible. Once he does get wildshape, point him to a good wildshape guide (because it's somewhat tricky to understand at first) and let him know your policy on armor in wildshape (can he buy barding, for example).

[motoko's ghost]

Keep bringing up stuff from ToB,ToM and incarnum, that definitly wont confuse him:smalltongue:

[00dlez]

I'm presuming that he is new to roleplaying in general as well? (or at least to DnD fantasy style RPGs?)

I would recommend that you keep the plots/encounters brief and too the point, you don't have to worry about elaborate schemes or super-optimized boss fights, he's likely to have just as much fun bashing some goblin skull as he is tracking down his draco-lich arch nemesis. You don't have to make it so bland that the DM and more experienced player are instantly bored, but focus on good game flow, few rules needed per encounter, and gradually build to more complex situations and rule-heavy combats.

[00dlez]

Something awful happened to my interwebs when I tried to post...

[00dlez]

It was bad...

[GnomeGninjas]

I'm presuming that he is new to roleplaying in general as well? (or at least to DnD fantasy style RPGs?)

I would recommend that you keep the plots/encounters brief and too the point, you don't have to worry about elaborate schemes or super-optimized boss fights, he's likely to have just as much fun bashing some goblin skull as he is tracking down his draco-lich arch nemesis. You don't have to make it so bland that the DM and more experienced player are instantly bored, but focus on good game flow, few rules needed per encounter, and gradually build to more complex situations and rule-heavy combats.

He is new to RPGs in general.

[elvengunner69]

Druids are fun to play so I think that was a good choice! There are a gazillion books/references as such so let me him dig into as many as he wants as long as you don't mind adapting a little if needed (as he might find something cool somewhere he tries that might need a minor reboot or two).

How many others are playing with you guys? I think it's fairly easy to introduce someone especially if a few more seasoned players are there to help.

[Corlindale]

I would probably advise against him playing a druid as his very first D&D character - they may be hard to build wrong, but they're also very complicated to play, since you have to keep track of a huge spell list, an animal companion and wildshaping. Might be overwhelming for a new player.

Of course, if his heart is really set on a druid he should go for it, but I would warn him about the complexities.

I think fighters, barbarians or sorcerors make better beginner characters - especially if you help him build it so he won't cripple himself. The main boon of druid is that they're hard to mess up, but if you assist him in building the char that's less of an issue even if he chooses another class.

[GnomeGninjas]

Druids are fun to play so I think that was a good choice! There are a gazillion books/references as such so let me him dig into as many as he wants as long as you don't mind adapting a little if needed (as he might find something cool somewhere he tries that might need a minor reboot or two).

How many others are playing with you guys? I think it's fairly easy to introduce someone especially if a few more seasoned players are there to help.

I realize I didn't phrase this very well. The only players are me, him, and the experienced person. By gazillion books and references do you mean official source books or guides to playing druids or both.

[GnomeGninjas]

I would probably advise against him playing a druid as his very first D&D character - they may be hard to build wrong, but they're also very complicated to play, since you have to keep track of a huge spell list, an animal companion and wildshaping. Might be overwhelming for a new player.

Of course, if his heart is really set on a druid he should go for it, but I would warn him about the complexities.

I think fighters, barbarians or sorcerors make better beginner characters - especially if you help him build it so he won't cripple himself. The main boon of druid is that they're hard to mess up, but if you assist him in building the char that's less of an issue even if he chooses another class.
I will help him build his char I don't think he is dead set on being a druid. He doesn't like barbarians, I'm not sure how he feels about fighters and sorcerers.

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Druids are fun, but complex. Many people say that you cannot go wrong with druid, but you actually can. And, as a new player, he/she probably will. I have no specific build advices. As was covered in the first reply, Natural Spell pretty much nails the basics and more.

My advice is: if the player turns out to be a bad druid (as in, he/she does not live up to the CoDzilla scenario), let him/her. There are many choices to be made, most of which are bad through the eye of the seasoned player. However, the fun of being new to the game is let to your fantasy run wild and fly with it, whether choices are optimal or not. The player will catch up in the end through experience, but if you cut off experiencing that process, you cut off a big part of the fun of DnD.

This may sound weird, but I can imagine a lot of people agreeing: my first character was horrible (technically), but I loved playing him and it is still my most favorite character ever. And he WAS pointless: a 2E dual-wielding bard (a 'wizard' expansion package to the rogue in that edition)....pretty much Nale squared, but lord, did I have fun and lord, would I slap myself if I would ever made such a mechanically rotten character again.

Give the man/woman the freedom and space to discover DnD :). That be my advice.

[Hiro Protagonest]

He doesn't like barbarians

Something is wrong with this post. See if you can spot it.

And even then, a barbarian is just a warrior. If he's set on being lawful, you can waive the alignment requirement (which basically shouldn't exist if you're not a paladin), and otherwise, he can be that witty duelist who gets an adrenaline rush, or the swordmaster who gets a battle trance (whirling frenzy might be better for these than regular rage).

[Autopsibiofeeder]

...he can be that witty duelist who gets an adrenaline rush, or the swordmaster who gets a battle trance (whirling frenzy might be better for these than regular rage).

Or the guy that really needs to pee, but wants to finish this first :smallwink:. Nah, but I agree: ask him/her what he/she finds cool and cater him/her...let the player discover the world of DnD and surprise you with his ideas (even if they don't fit in 'RAW', it is not like this person will break your game).

Novices / amateurs often bring great contributions to science, for example. Don't come here to ask us what he/she should do, but ask what he/she wants and if it seems complex, come here to ask us how to cater him/her. I find that 'those not in the know' come up with the most aimable ideas and concepts.

[elvengunner69]

I realize I didn't phrase this very well. The only players are me, him, and the experienced person. By gazillion books and references do you mean official source books or guides to playing druids or both.

probably both - he might not build a 'perfect' druid but as long as he is enjoying it then it doesn't really matter.

[GnomeGninjas]

Something is wrong with this post. See if you can spot it.

And even then, a barbarian is just a warrior. If he's set on being lawful, you can waive the alignment requirement (which basically shouldn't exist if you're not a paladin), and otherwise, he can be that witty duelist who gets an adrenaline rush, or the swordmaster who gets a battle trance (whirling frenzy might be better for these than regular rage).

He says that he doesn't want to be stupid. He thinks the picture looks ugly and he doesn't want to be illiterate. He doesn't seem set on being lawful just not a barbarian. He also doesn't like cleric because he doesn't want to be religious or a bard because it isn't enough like an actual bard and has to buff the party. He likes gnomes and dislikes half orcs but I don't think that he has his heart set on being a gnome. The advice about a not overly complicated plot sounds good.

[Hiro Protagonest]

He says that he doesn't want to be stupid. He thinks the picture looks ugly and he doesn't want to be illiterate. He doesn't seem set on being lawful just not a barbarian. He also doesn't like cleric because he doesn't want to be religious or a bard because it isn't enough like an actual bard and has to buff the party. He likes gnomes and dislikes half orcs but I don't think that he has his heart set on being a gnome. The advice about a not overly complicated plot sounds good.

Gnomes are halfway decent as barbs. Get an extra rage round. A stupid picture doesn't mean anything. It costs two skill points to be literate. The picture looks ugly because a) 3.5 tended to have as many bad picture as good and b) it's a half-orc who likely dumped charisma. An int 8 barb is no more stupid than an int 8 rogue, same with int 18 bard and int 18 rogue, and "stupid barbarian" is a stereotype, not a feature.

[jaybird]

Gnomes are halfway decent as barbs. Get an extra rage round. A stupid picture doesn't mean anything. It costs two skill points to be literate. The picture looks ugly because a) 3.5 tended to have as many bad picture as good and b) it's a half-orc who likely dumped charisma. An int 8 barb is no more stupid than an int 8 rogue, same with int 18 bard and int 18 rogue, and "stupid barbarian" is a stereotype, not a feature.

Hey, there's something to be said for immunity to Explosive Runes as a class feature :smalltongue:

[Psyren]

Get him Neverwinter Nights (http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/neverwinter_nights_diamond_edition); not only is it worth hours of fun but he can learn at his own pace, even on his own. Or you can even play through the campaign together!

This is an especially useful tactic for people who are new to tabletop but not to gaming in general.


Did I mention the game is half-off right now? You can get it legally and DRM-free for $5!

[deuxhero]

No no no, get him Temple of Elemental Evil instead. It's actually rules accurate and the default campaign doesn't suck.

[Gavinfoxx]

I second temple of elemental evil over neverwinter nights, and suggest he get the circle of eight modpack. http://www.sorcerers.net/Games/ToEE/index_circle.php

Tell him good luck!

[Psyren]

No no no, get him Temple of Elemental Evil instead. It's actually rules accurate and the default campaign doesn't suck.

HotU and the plethora of mods make up for the default campaign imo, but I will admit that ToEE is a better model for what tabletop gameplay is really like. (Aside from controlling a whole party anyway.)

Anyway, it's $10 $8 for both right now, no reason not to do it I say :smallsmile: