Starting Player Guides

[ScubaGoomba]

Hey all! This post is generally about Pathfinder, but I know the transfer between D&D is pretty easy, so feel free to go however you will.

I'm planning for a game this summer which will involve a handful of players totally new to D&D/Pathfinder/Tabletop roleplaying. I love running games like this because new players tend to be really engaged and fun to work with, especially if they have a good group. I have an interesting challenge, however, because at least two of these players have minimal experience in any kind of fantasy gaming and I've found that describing it as "you can be anything you want from fantasy stuff!" can be a little too open and the limitless options can wind up stifling players' creativity.

What I'm thinking is some kind of a visual guide for player races and an easily understood guide to classes. Saying "a gnome is a small fey humanoid that tinkers with stuff and is good with illusions or fire" means a lot less than a cool picture of a gnome illusionist or tinkerer. With regards to classes, I've found you wind up in a difficult string of descriptions. I'm certainly not unfamiliar with the following conversation:

"Well, what can I be?" "Do you want to use weapons or magic? Or both?" "Both!" "Okay, well do you want to be better at magic or weapons?" "...?" "Okay, what about divine or arcane spells?" "What are they?" "Magic from the gods or Harry Potter magic!" etc. etc. It eventually gets the point across, but it develops into a fairly confusing dialogue that doesn't get players where they necessarily would want to be.

For classes, I'm thinking it would be nice to see stuff like "A sorcerer is a spellcaster with magical power in his or her blood. Think Harry Potter;" "A Ranger is a fighter skilled with either a bow or two weapons. Think Katniss;" etc.

Obviously, I could guide players to the PFSRD, but, when players don't know the game yet, the endless string of tables and numbers is very easily overwhelming. To narrow down to two lists (and then I'll let the community start taking it), here are the races and classes I can think of (feel free to suggest more, although I've intentionally omitted a few, but if there are some that you think may be particularly appealing to new players, suggest them!):

Races
Dwarf
Elf
Gnome
Half-Elf
Halfling
Half Orc
Human

Classes
Barbarian
Bard
Cleric
Druid
Fighter
Inquisitor
Magus
Monk
Paladin
Ranger
Rogue
Sorcerer
Witch
Wizard

[Squirrel_Dude]

Bard You're skilled at everything, and a master of some. So that's cool. Also you're basically the guitarist in all those 80's hair bands who's guitar actually started to shoot lazers when he played it hard enough.

[slaydemons]

Monk Master of the way of the fist. All those kung-fu movies you saw with bruce lee? yeah basically him

[Captnq]

“So, ya wanna be a hero, kid? Well, whoop-de-do!
I have been around the block before with blockheads just like you!
Each and ev'ryone a disappointment, Pain!
For which there ain't no ointment
So much for excuses, though a kid of Zeus, is asking me to jump into the fray!
My answer is two words…"
*KER-POW*
"O.K. (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=9479.msg153181#msg153181)”
- One Last Hope, “Hercules”

[ScubaGoomba]

“So, ya wanna be a hero, kid? Well, whoop-de-do!
I have been around the block before with blockheads just like you!
Each and ev'ryone a disappointment, Pain!
For which there ain't no ointment
So much for excuses, though a kid of Zeus, is asking me to jump into the fray!
My answer is two words…"
*KER-POW*
"O.K. (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=9479.msg153181#msg153181)”
- One Last Hope, “Hercules”

That's a great source, but I think is even a bit more involved than I'm looking for right now. I think that's a great thing for someone who has maybe played some Neverwinter or WoW, but hasn't actually dived into tabletop games. I'm really looking for something that can be presented to someone with a knowledge of fantasy based on common pop culture knowledge. Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, etc. are the assumed reference points. For example, the guide talks about tiers, which is a great thing to discuss with players that have some experience under their belt, but may close more doors than it opens to new players, who don't want to be bad at the game, so they'll just try to play a top tier class because it's top tier.

[ryu]

Monk Master of the way of the fist. All those kung-fu movies you saw with bruce lee? yeah basically him

Well that's what it's supposed to be anyway. In reality it's sadly more like this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDaCCXChROo

Youtube vid kept as link to keep the page less cluttered and unnecessarily long.

[Arbane]

Barbarian: The Incredible Hulk, with an axe.
Bard: You have magic music.
Cleric: Moses, from The Ten Commandments
Druid: You have Nature Magic. And can turn into a bear.
Fighter: Pretty much any medieval knight.
Inquisitor: Dr. Van Helsing, with magic powers.
Magus: Elric (the one with the sword, not the kid with the mechanical limbs)
Monk: Bruce Lee, or David Carradine in Kung Fu
Paladin: Sir Lancelot, with magic powers.
Ranger: Aragorn in Lord of the Rings.
Rogue: Any sneaky thief type.
Sorcerer: Morgan le Fay.
Wizard: Merlin.
Witch: Baba Yaga.

Dwarf: Like in Lord of the Rings.
Elf: Like in Lord of the Rings.
Gnome: Short, magical, and annoying.
Half-Elf: Like elves, only not as much, because they're part-human, too.
Halfling: Like in Lord of the Rings, only thy were called 'Hobbits' there.
Half Orc: You're ugly, dumb, greenish, and have bad teeth. But you're very strong.
Human: A weird species with no counterpart in real life or mythology. I don't know what the designers were thinking putting these in their game. :smallbiggrin:

[Jon_Dahl]

For new players I strongly suggest ranking the classes in the order of difficulty to play. This order is subjective to your DMing style, so it's hard to suggest any. Here's a thread about it (http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?310486-Classes-in-order-of-difficulty).

I think this is crucial for the couple of first characters. Playing a mid-level druid on your first session? No, please don't....

[lytokk]

When it comes to new players, I usually ask them who they want to play. Such as, naming the favorite video game, comic book, or movie hero. It usually works and I can build a framework from that. I always let them know that they won't be this person at level 1, but they'll be working on becoming that person. That usually does the trick. Normally I recommend against a spellcasting class, or a super complicated class such as druid, but I never say no, just find ways to make the class a little more accessible for a while.

When a new player wanted to play a druid for example, I didn't make her prepare spells and had her select 3 different animals to turn into, at the beginning. Once she got the hang of the spells, I told her she had to start preparing. Once she gets a handle on the wild shape, she'll be able to expand her animal list. Thats just an example.

[ScubaGoomba]

For new players I strongly suggest ranking the classes in the order of difficulty to play. This order is subjective to your DMing style, so it's hard to suggest any. Here's a thread about it (http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?310486-Classes-in-order-of-difficulty).

I think this is crucial for the couple of first characters. Playing a mid-level druid on your first session? No, please don't....

Yeah, I've thought about doing that. I think starting at level 1 really evens difficulty out a lot, though; you may have a class that has a lot of broad options, but it sequences in well so a level 1 Wizard can still only select so many things.


When it comes to new players, I usually ask them who they want to play. Such as, naming the favorite video game, comic book, or movie hero. It usually works and I can build a framework from that. I always let them know that they won't be this person at level 1, but they'll be working on becoming that person. That usually does the trick. Normally I recommend against a spellcasting class, or a super complicated class such as druid, but I never say no, just find ways to make the class a little more accessible for a while.

When a new player wanted to play a druid for example, I didn't make her prepare spells and had her select 3 different animals to turn into, at the beginning. Once she got the hang of the spells, I told her she had to start preparing. Once she gets a handle on the wild shape, she'll be able to expand her animal list. Thats just an example.

The problem I've had with that is as stated in the OP. Yes, you can tell a person "you can be anything," but the broadness, I've found, creates more barriers than it takes down. At that point, the DM may start suggesting things, but you run into accidentally building the character for them (which is the worst!).

And, Arbane, I like the list! I hadn't considered Van Helsing as an Inquisitor, for some reason, but it's perfect.

[lytokk]

The problem I've had with that is as stated in the OP. Yes, you can tell a person "you can be anything," but the broadness, I've found, creates more barriers than it takes down. At that point, the DM may start suggesting things, but you run into accidentally building the character for them (which is the worst!).



In regards to the broadness, thats why I suggested having them pick a character they'd want to play. For example, lets take Rydia from FFIV. Summoner and black mage. Well, I'd present the players with 2 simple options, Druid or Sorceror. Now Druid is going to end up giving them more than they need, and truthfully Sorceror fits better the concept slightly better. Note, I'm sticking to core only. Also, sorceror is more user friendly. But the choice is theirs, not mine. I would explain everythign a druid can do, and everything a sorceror can do, and let them choose.

I wouldn't say I'm building the character for them, I'm acting as a guide. Condense that broadness down to a series of choices until they've narrowed down and built their character.

[slaydemons]

Well a way you can figure out what kind of class they want to play is to tell them there are four cornerstones, the Fighter, who fights in the front line, the Rogue who takes out enemies like he takes out traps, skillfully, The cleric, receiver of magic that can heal, buff or hurt, and the wizard, master of the arcane ways able to deal damage from far range. Then have them chose what they think they will like then suggest play styles for each character. I am not sure this is perfect though.