Flickerdart
2014-09-13, 06:36 PM
So, every once in a while, there comes a time when you want to introduce a new player to the hobby. But it's a very complicated and honestly kind of weird hobby, and new players are often intimidated by the number of options, and then it turns out that taking Skill Focus (Farming) because your character's background is farming means you die horribly, and the new player is scared away. Hell, we've got a thread now where people are trying to figure out what the best newbie class is, and it's far from the first of these that I've seen.
So I decided to start this library of new builds that you can hand to new players and expect them to do pretty okay in terms of understanding the mechanics! Please feel free to contribute builds. My personal philosophy on the matter is that a beginner build needs to do two things:
a) Correspond to a very straightforward role in fantasy media (sword-and-shield mail-clad knight, fireball-spamming wizard, underhanded thief, etc) that a player will easily grasp due to existing ideas about how fantasy stories play out. In my field we call this a mental model. Non-D&D players usually understand magic on an at-will or MP-based system, for instance, so manifesting or invoking might be a better idea than Vancian spells.
b) Largely follow the core mechanics (so that the player can become accustomed to them) but have a limited-use spectacular trump card the player can activate to feel awesome about getting to defy those mechanics. If he can do it at-will, he will never actually learn the mechanic, and it won't feel awesome.
In addition, because I feel that a low-level mid-op game is probably best for learning the ropes, these builds won't be stratospheric powerhouses, and will go up to level 5 (after which, ideally, the player knows enough about the game to make his own choices). Let not the words "Martial Monk" escape thy lips. Let's stick to Elite Array because it's simple and standardized; if your games are more powerful, adjust accordingly.
I am adding half-HD worth of HP per level (alternating odds and evens). Adjust accordingly for your games.
Without further ado:
HULK SMASH
When all you have is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail. This character is the Swiss Army Knife of hammers, capable of finding things that need breaking and then breaking them.
Complexity: Not everything is solved by an attack roll - different tasks demand different types of smashing. Additionally, before the character gains enough Rage uses, the PC has to track stat changes from rage.
Human Barbarian 1. Chaotic Good - we don't need the complexity of playing CN or CE in a team.
Ability Scores: 15 STR, 12 DEX, 14 CON, 8 INT, 13 WIS, 10 CHA
Feat: Extra Rage. Being able to play your character concept 1/day is crap, so now it's 3/day.
Human Feat: Destructive Rage. +8 on Strength checks to break stuff when raging. With a raging Strength of 19, this is our Open Lock skill. Taking 10 for 22, this character can now break through wooden doors and walls with a swift kick, and a portcullis takes only a few attempts.
Spirit Totem: Eagle. I bet you didn't even know there were spirit totems aside from Lion. I like Bear, but grapple is silly, so we get +4 to Search and Spot checks, which will let the barbarian contribute better to non-combat tasks.
Skills: 4 ranks in Survival, Listen, Intimidate, and Jump. We have a good mix of passive checks the DM can ask the barbarian to roll, and active checks the PC might attempt.
Items: Greataxe, studded leather, and some rope or something. Maybe buy a backup bow.
Level 1 passive stats:
16 HP (18 in rage)
14 AC (11 touch, 13 FF) / 12 in rage
Speed: 30ft
Saves: Fort +4 (+6 in rage), Ref +1, Will +1 (+3 in rage)
Initiative: +1
Level 1 smashing:
Rage: 3/day (+4 STR, +4 CON, +2 Will saves, -2 AC)
Attack: +3 (+5 in rage)
Damage: 1d12+3 (1d12+6 in rage)
Strength checks: +2 (+12 in rage)
Skills: Survival +5, Listen +5, Intimidate +4, Jump +6, Spot +5, Search +3
Skills: +1 ranks in Survival, Listen, Intimidate, and Jump.
Uncanny Dodge. I bet you expected Wolf Totem here! Haha nope. We need Trap Sense for something else. This is actually a handy ability for a newbie, because it means they don't have to care about FF AC anymore.
Items: A masterwork upgrade for the axe, and a chain shirt. A few hundred gp is left over, but there's not much you can afford at this level.
Level 2 passive stats:
24 HP (28 in rage)
15 AC (11 touch, 15 FF) / 13 in rage
Speed: 30ft
Saves: Fort +5 (+7 in rage), Ref +1, Will +1 (+3 in rage)
Initiative: +1
Level 2 smashing:
Rage: 3/day (+4 STR, +4 CON, +2 Will saves, -2 AC)
Attack: +5 (+7 in rage)
Damage: 1d12+3 (1d12+6 in rage)
Strength checks: +2 (+12 in rage)
Skills: Survival +6, Listen +6, Intimidate +5, Jump +7, Spot +5, Search +3
Skills: +1 ranks in Survival, Listen, Intimidate, and Jump.
Feat: Intimidating Rage. Barbarians are supposed to be scary people. Imagine how your player's eyes will light up when you tell them that his character is so famous that the mere sight of him causes people to wet their pants.
Trapkiller: Yeah baby! This is what we wanted to keep Trap Sense for. Find traps with Survival and then smash 'em!
Items: 2700gp to spend. That armour should now be enchanted, and leftovers spent on a healing belt.
Level 3 passive stats:
33 HP (39 in rage)
16 AC (12 touch, 16 FF) / 14 in rage
Speed: 30ft
Saves: Fort +5 (+7 in rage), Ref +2, Will +2 (+4 in rage)
Initiative: +1
Level 3 smashing:
Rage: 3/day (+4 STR, +4 CON, +2 Will saves, -2 AC, roll intimidate vs one enemy within 30 feet and if he fails he's shaken)
Attack: +6 (+8 in rage)
Damage: 1d12+3 (1d12+6 in rage)
Strength checks: +2 (+12 in rage)
Trapfinding: +2 to find mechanical traps, +6 to disable (+8 in rage)
Healing Belt: Standard action to heal (depending on charges used)
Skills: Survival +7, Listen +7, Intimidate +6, Jump +8, Spot +5, Search +3
Ability Score Increase: Strength, of course.
Skills: +1 ranks in Survival, Listen, Intimidate, and Jump.
Rage +1 use per day. Neat.
Items: +1 axe (2300), +1 chain shirt (1250), healing belt (750), cloak of resistance +1 (1000), 100gp to spare on a bow, arrows, and some junk.
Level 4 passive stats:
41 HP (49 in rage)
16 AC (12 touch, 16 FF) / 14 in rage
Speed: 30ft
Saves: Fort +7 (+9 in rage), Ref +3, Will +3 (+5 in rage)
Initiative: +1
Level 4 smashing:
Rage: 4/day (+4 STR, +4 CON, +2 Will saves, -2 AC, roll intimidate vs one enemy within 30 feet and if he fails he's shaken)
Attack: +8 (+10 in rage)
Damage: 1d12+4 (1d12+8 in rage)
Strength checks: +3 (+13 in rage)
Trapfinding: +3 to find mechanical traps, +8 to disable (+10 in rage)
Healing Belt: Standard action to heal (depending on charges used)
Skills: Survival +8, Listen +8, Intimidate +7, Jump +9, Spot +5, Search +3
Skills: +1 ranks in Survival, Listen, Intimidate, and Jump.
View the Spirit World: Ditch stupid Improved Uncanny Dodge, and instead you can see in the dark and detect invisible creatures and find things more easily. Handy utility power at a time when the wizard can't afford to cast see invisibility all the time.
Items: +1 axe (2300), +1 chain shirt (1250), cloak of resistance +1 (1000), +2 gloves of strength (4000). Ditch the healing belt so you can afford these. 700gp left; get a least crystal of energy assault (lightning) and be a sweet thunder god.
Level 5 passive stats:
50 HP (61 in rage)
16 AC (12 touch, 16 FF) / 14 in rage
Speed: 30ft
Saves: Fort +7 (+9 in rage), Ref +3, Will +3 (+5 in rage)
Initiative: +1
Level 5 smashing:
Rage: 4/day (+4 STR, +4 CON, +2 Will saves, -2 AC, roll intimidate vs one enemy within 30 feet and if he fails he's shaken)
Attack: +10 (+12 in rage)
Damage: 1d12+6 (1d12+9 in rage) +1 electricity damage
Strength checks: +4 (+14 in rage)
Trapfinding: +4 to find mechanical traps, +10 to disable (+12 in rage)
See the Spirit World: For 2 rounds, +2 to Search, Spot, darkvision 60ft, see invisible
Skills: Survival +9, Listen +9, Intimidate +8, Jump +11, Spot +5 (+7 with See the Spirit World), Search +3 (+5 with See the Spirit World)
This is a really good time to get out of barbarian. Go pick up fighter or warblade (if the player is up for learning a subsystem). Either way, Mountain Hammer is now available, and is something you'll want to get your hands on. Also, if you pick a full BAB class, iterative attacks!
So I decided to start this library of new builds that you can hand to new players and expect them to do pretty okay in terms of understanding the mechanics! Please feel free to contribute builds. My personal philosophy on the matter is that a beginner build needs to do two things:
a) Correspond to a very straightforward role in fantasy media (sword-and-shield mail-clad knight, fireball-spamming wizard, underhanded thief, etc) that a player will easily grasp due to existing ideas about how fantasy stories play out. In my field we call this a mental model. Non-D&D players usually understand magic on an at-will or MP-based system, for instance, so manifesting or invoking might be a better idea than Vancian spells.
b) Largely follow the core mechanics (so that the player can become accustomed to them) but have a limited-use spectacular trump card the player can activate to feel awesome about getting to defy those mechanics. If he can do it at-will, he will never actually learn the mechanic, and it won't feel awesome.
In addition, because I feel that a low-level mid-op game is probably best for learning the ropes, these builds won't be stratospheric powerhouses, and will go up to level 5 (after which, ideally, the player knows enough about the game to make his own choices). Let not the words "Martial Monk" escape thy lips. Let's stick to Elite Array because it's simple and standardized; if your games are more powerful, adjust accordingly.
I am adding half-HD worth of HP per level (alternating odds and evens). Adjust accordingly for your games.
Without further ado:
HULK SMASH
When all you have is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail. This character is the Swiss Army Knife of hammers, capable of finding things that need breaking and then breaking them.
Complexity: Not everything is solved by an attack roll - different tasks demand different types of smashing. Additionally, before the character gains enough Rage uses, the PC has to track stat changes from rage.
Human Barbarian 1. Chaotic Good - we don't need the complexity of playing CN or CE in a team.
Ability Scores: 15 STR, 12 DEX, 14 CON, 8 INT, 13 WIS, 10 CHA
Feat: Extra Rage. Being able to play your character concept 1/day is crap, so now it's 3/day.
Human Feat: Destructive Rage. +8 on Strength checks to break stuff when raging. With a raging Strength of 19, this is our Open Lock skill. Taking 10 for 22, this character can now break through wooden doors and walls with a swift kick, and a portcullis takes only a few attempts.
Spirit Totem: Eagle. I bet you didn't even know there were spirit totems aside from Lion. I like Bear, but grapple is silly, so we get +4 to Search and Spot checks, which will let the barbarian contribute better to non-combat tasks.
Skills: 4 ranks in Survival, Listen, Intimidate, and Jump. We have a good mix of passive checks the DM can ask the barbarian to roll, and active checks the PC might attempt.
Items: Greataxe, studded leather, and some rope or something. Maybe buy a backup bow.
Level 1 passive stats:
16 HP (18 in rage)
14 AC (11 touch, 13 FF) / 12 in rage
Speed: 30ft
Saves: Fort +4 (+6 in rage), Ref +1, Will +1 (+3 in rage)
Initiative: +1
Level 1 smashing:
Rage: 3/day (+4 STR, +4 CON, +2 Will saves, -2 AC)
Attack: +3 (+5 in rage)
Damage: 1d12+3 (1d12+6 in rage)
Strength checks: +2 (+12 in rage)
Skills: Survival +5, Listen +5, Intimidate +4, Jump +6, Spot +5, Search +3
Skills: +1 ranks in Survival, Listen, Intimidate, and Jump.
Uncanny Dodge. I bet you expected Wolf Totem here! Haha nope. We need Trap Sense for something else. This is actually a handy ability for a newbie, because it means they don't have to care about FF AC anymore.
Items: A masterwork upgrade for the axe, and a chain shirt. A few hundred gp is left over, but there's not much you can afford at this level.
Level 2 passive stats:
24 HP (28 in rage)
15 AC (11 touch, 15 FF) / 13 in rage
Speed: 30ft
Saves: Fort +5 (+7 in rage), Ref +1, Will +1 (+3 in rage)
Initiative: +1
Level 2 smashing:
Rage: 3/day (+4 STR, +4 CON, +2 Will saves, -2 AC)
Attack: +5 (+7 in rage)
Damage: 1d12+3 (1d12+6 in rage)
Strength checks: +2 (+12 in rage)
Skills: Survival +6, Listen +6, Intimidate +5, Jump +7, Spot +5, Search +3
Skills: +1 ranks in Survival, Listen, Intimidate, and Jump.
Feat: Intimidating Rage. Barbarians are supposed to be scary people. Imagine how your player's eyes will light up when you tell them that his character is so famous that the mere sight of him causes people to wet their pants.
Trapkiller: Yeah baby! This is what we wanted to keep Trap Sense for. Find traps with Survival and then smash 'em!
Items: 2700gp to spend. That armour should now be enchanted, and leftovers spent on a healing belt.
Level 3 passive stats:
33 HP (39 in rage)
16 AC (12 touch, 16 FF) / 14 in rage
Speed: 30ft
Saves: Fort +5 (+7 in rage), Ref +2, Will +2 (+4 in rage)
Initiative: +1
Level 3 smashing:
Rage: 3/day (+4 STR, +4 CON, +2 Will saves, -2 AC, roll intimidate vs one enemy within 30 feet and if he fails he's shaken)
Attack: +6 (+8 in rage)
Damage: 1d12+3 (1d12+6 in rage)
Strength checks: +2 (+12 in rage)
Trapfinding: +2 to find mechanical traps, +6 to disable (+8 in rage)
Healing Belt: Standard action to heal (depending on charges used)
Skills: Survival +7, Listen +7, Intimidate +6, Jump +8, Spot +5, Search +3
Ability Score Increase: Strength, of course.
Skills: +1 ranks in Survival, Listen, Intimidate, and Jump.
Rage +1 use per day. Neat.
Items: +1 axe (2300), +1 chain shirt (1250), healing belt (750), cloak of resistance +1 (1000), 100gp to spare on a bow, arrows, and some junk.
Level 4 passive stats:
41 HP (49 in rage)
16 AC (12 touch, 16 FF) / 14 in rage
Speed: 30ft
Saves: Fort +7 (+9 in rage), Ref +3, Will +3 (+5 in rage)
Initiative: +1
Level 4 smashing:
Rage: 4/day (+4 STR, +4 CON, +2 Will saves, -2 AC, roll intimidate vs one enemy within 30 feet and if he fails he's shaken)
Attack: +8 (+10 in rage)
Damage: 1d12+4 (1d12+8 in rage)
Strength checks: +3 (+13 in rage)
Trapfinding: +3 to find mechanical traps, +8 to disable (+10 in rage)
Healing Belt: Standard action to heal (depending on charges used)
Skills: Survival +8, Listen +8, Intimidate +7, Jump +9, Spot +5, Search +3
Skills: +1 ranks in Survival, Listen, Intimidate, and Jump.
View the Spirit World: Ditch stupid Improved Uncanny Dodge, and instead you can see in the dark and detect invisible creatures and find things more easily. Handy utility power at a time when the wizard can't afford to cast see invisibility all the time.
Items: +1 axe (2300), +1 chain shirt (1250), cloak of resistance +1 (1000), +2 gloves of strength (4000). Ditch the healing belt so you can afford these. 700gp left; get a least crystal of energy assault (lightning) and be a sweet thunder god.
Level 5 passive stats:
50 HP (61 in rage)
16 AC (12 touch, 16 FF) / 14 in rage
Speed: 30ft
Saves: Fort +7 (+9 in rage), Ref +3, Will +3 (+5 in rage)
Initiative: +1
Level 5 smashing:
Rage: 4/day (+4 STR, +4 CON, +2 Will saves, -2 AC, roll intimidate vs one enemy within 30 feet and if he fails he's shaken)
Attack: +10 (+12 in rage)
Damage: 1d12+6 (1d12+9 in rage) +1 electricity damage
Strength checks: +4 (+14 in rage)
Trapfinding: +4 to find mechanical traps, +10 to disable (+12 in rage)
See the Spirit World: For 2 rounds, +2 to Search, Spot, darkvision 60ft, see invisible
Skills: Survival +9, Listen +9, Intimidate +8, Jump +11, Spot +5 (+7 with See the Spirit World), Search +3 (+5 with See the Spirit World)
This is a really good time to get out of barbarian. Go pick up fighter or warblade (if the player is up for learning a subsystem). Either way, Mountain Hammer is now available, and is something you'll want to get your hands on. Also, if you pick a full BAB class, iterative attacks!