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View Full Version : DM Help Vet DM with a Group of New Players



Tenebris86
2015-07-22, 08:40 AM
I have just been handed the Golden Ticket to DM a group of new players (3 actually) on Saturday and I am looking for a little friendly advice.

Despite having played dnd for 10-15 years, I have not had to teach a new group of players in nearly 10. I tend to play with an experienced group, which means we are extremely rule-savvy. So much so that other veteran players tend to get a little annoyed with us. We also run marathon sessions of up to 12-14 hours and rotate DM duties because of the intricacy of our campaigns--all of which does not really bode well for new players.

Anyway, I started with 1st Ed, played a botched 2nd through old school rpgs (like BG, BG2, etc), played extensively with 3.5, and our group has recently jumped into 5e. Of my group, I like to think i am a little less rule-oriented than the others, but we have played so long together I am a bit worried that my focus will be on the "how" with the new players, which can be a bit of a bummer.

5e is really where I think it would be best to start with these three new players. I found it to be pretty simple and intuitive, but that is coming from a long experience with 3.5. I will not be having them join with the rest of my normal play group, so it will only be me and them.

The group will consist of two women and one man. The first woman is my wife, whose character and class I already know--Drow Monk. (She played the old PS2 Baldur's Gate with the Female Drow Monk and loved shouting "Flame on!" whenever her flaming gloves lit up). The second female is her friend, who I have only met a couple of times and to my knowledge knows nothing about dnd. The man is the husband of the aforementioned friend. I have met him maybe once. I am pretty sure he is the instigator of our upcoming session, but I don't believe he has any experience.

What I have decided:
5e--unless someone has a good argument as to why I shouldn't
Level 1 Characters
We will not be starting in a tavern
I would like to spend less than an hour on character building a rule stuff--so any thoughts on how to do that are welcome.

Some of what I am looking for:

What should I limit the rules to initially? It has been a while and I just want to make sure I don't overwhelm anyone.
Game-play ideas (could be setting, session length, adventure or quest concepts--anything really).
Should I have any pre-fab characters for the group to choose from?
I am accustomed to using Roll20, and was considering using it as a mapping tool and character sheet tool for the players, but I have miniatures as well--so?
I doubt these folks are going to get in on the heavy rp, and complex builds are out, so any thoughts on what I should emphasize to make the experience enjoyable?
Any general advice, really.

Thanks,

T

Geddy2112
2015-07-22, 08:50 AM
Sounds like you have it pretty well figured out. 5th is very newbie and user friendly, so just keep it to the basics and you should be fine. (I second using 5th)
Since you won't have anything too crazy or deep in RP, give the group a nice cross section of combat, RP, and puzzles. Make all of these easy but interesting, then judge the group response and see what they prefer. If they like the first combat against the orc bandits on the road, maybe they can take on the troll. Maybe the got passed the trapped door, so throw a dungeon/sewer at them. Give the people what they want.

Tenebris86
2015-07-22, 10:01 AM
I appreciate the feedback. I suppose I might just be overthinking this since I have been in a fairly comfortable niche with dnd for so long. I actually think traps/riddles/puzzles may appeal more to this group. Thanks for mentioning it.

DireSickFish
2015-07-22, 10:07 AM
Why don't you think they will RP much? When I get new players that is what I focus on because first sessions tend to color how they play in the future.

I recently ran a oneshot for a group of 3 at a bachelor party that had never played before. I gave them all pre-made characters to pick from, they even had backgrounds filled in. I also had all of the spells they knew printed up for easy reference.

I only explained what stats -are- not how they tie in with every ability int he game. Went over that skills are used to do things in the world. I also briefly went over the classes (Fighters stab things, clerics worship gods, wizards are wizards, Rouges are sneaky).

Then we just started playing. When they wanted to do something I quickly explained what rule pertained to it. I also did a lot of recommending options they could do.

In the first fight against some thugs in an ally beating up a Dwarf the groom said "I want to go apesh** on them". So I told him action surge would accomplish that and to roll two d20's.

I also let them get away with a lot more. The rogue stabbed a guy through a door during the middle of a combat because he though it was cool. I didn't give him any penalties for it even though with a more experienced group I definitely would. After all what's the real difference if I made him open the door or not?

So in short:
-Have pre-made characters
-Focus on the fluff of things
-Give them plenty of advice on what they could do

Thrudd
2015-07-22, 10:20 AM
For truly new players, I would focus on the absolute basic concept of tabletop rpgs, and dont worry about trying to explain the "how" at all. The fewer mechanics they need to think about, the more they can focus on role playing off the bat.
I would explain it like this: The DM describes what your characters see and hear in the world around them. You tell the DM what you want you character to do or say based on the information you receive, and the DM will tell you the results of your actions. If an action has a chance of failing or a range of possible outcomes, the DM might ask you to roll a die to see what happens, such as when your character is fighting or trying to do something difficult.

Tenebris86
2015-07-22, 10:35 AM
Why don't you think they will RP much? When I get new players that is what I focus on because first sessions tend to color how they play in the future...

That is a pretty good point. RPing is one of those things that I have never had much luck getting people to become involved in. And, while my wife may "Flame on" while playing a game, she tends to be quite reserved in social situations. However, as Geddy mentioned, I think I will try to provide a nice array of options in order to give them a chance to play each piece and see what they enjoy.


I also let them get away with a lot more. The rogue stabbed a guy through a door during the middle of a combat because he though it was cool. I didn't give him any penalties for it even though with a more experienced group I definitely would. After all what's the real difference if I made him open the door or not?

I am definitely a big fan of this kind of play. My brother DM'd like this and was quite good at bringing people in. I, sadly, have never been quite that proficient. I have played rule-intensive dnd for so long, forgetting this kind of play is one of my concerns.

Great advice. Thanks.

ComaVision
2015-07-22, 10:54 AM
This probably goes without saying but be willing to allow for an unusual party make up. With my group, I'd be pretty weary of allowing a Drow and another Elf in the same group but it would probably be no issue for a beginner's game (and, in my experience, women tend to go for elves or half-elves).

TheThan
2015-07-22, 11:27 AM
Lets see:

1: don’t get frustrated: games take time to learn, getting frustrated every time they ask what dice to roll or how to do an attack will give you a headache and upset your players, driving them away from the hobby.

2: take frequent breaks. A break every hour or two can help lighten the built up tension of teaching. It gives you and your players a chance to stretch and relax, ask questions etc.

3: always say yes. Even if it’s breaking the rules. Tell them that you’ll allow it even though it goes against the rules.

4: talk to them before the game about what to typically expect at the table. Casual conversations works wonders here. Make sure they understand that this is not a video game, and that there’s not really a wrong way to play the game. Make sure they understand that it’s a cooperative effort between the Dm (you), and each of the players.

Geddy2112
2015-07-22, 04:17 PM
I also let them get away with a lot more. The rogue stabbed a guy through a door during the middle of a combat because he though it was cool. I didn't give him any penalties for it even though with a more experienced group I definitely would. After all what's the real difference if I made him open the door or not?



3: always say yes. Even if it’s breaking the rules. Tell them that you’ll allow it even though it goes against the rules.


I second both of these, as "rule of cool/rule of fun" is the most important rule IMO.

Tenebris86
2015-07-27, 04:28 PM
I wanted to report in to let anyone scanning these kind of threads know how things went and to thank all of those who replied. Your advice really helped (I did read through everyone, despite not having a chance to respond)

Firstly, the session was a great success and we are making plans for a second as soon as we can. Everyone was amazed by the amount of detail that goes into Dnd (such as alignments and weaponry and so on) I took pretty much all of the advice into play for the session, and I have you all to thank for it.

Some stats:



Ran DnD 5e with 3 New Players (Were not even sure what dnd was)
I pre-built each of their characters (based on a few questions on my part about their preferences), which consisted of:

Drow Monk
Teifling Rogue
Human Ranger

Despite prebuilding, I did leave the Backgrounds and such for their building pleasure, which they later filled out during a break.


Do to the slow nature of first time players, they did not make it very far. Despite a slow to start, they really picked up their pace as they got the hang of things. I started them in a mysterious room deep within a dungeon. Some simple things that I often take for granted as a DM were quite novel to the group (such as what green liquid on the floor might be--most players immediately consider it to be acid and this really threw them for a loop).

The dungeon had a number of clues/riddles, which they eagerly wrote down and considered at length. They really seemed to enjoy the puzzles, but only discovered what a few meant since they only made it through about six rooms. (One clue/riddle was "Use your head, protect your feet" which they deciphered when they found the hollow heads of statues and used them as shoes to run over the acid pool).

The party faced three physical encounters (undead themed) consisting of two sets of skeletons and a set of zombies, which were quite devastating to the novice party. I provided ample healing to avoid any deaths at the outset.

After the break (and building their backgrounds) they started to define their characters pretty well and did some mild rp, in terms to who each person thought should keep track of treasure and who they felt might betray them. We eventually stopped playing (after about 4-5 hours) because one of the players had to leave. The other two wanted to keep play and spent a while debating before finally deciding to wait until they could all play together.

If anyone has any questions or wants more detail, let me know. I had an absolute blast playing with these new fellows. I think it really helped that everyone in the party was new and they got to try out DnD together.

Thanks again for the great advice!

T

Geddy2112
2015-07-27, 09:46 PM
Glad it went well, and I am glad the players enjoyed it! You can tailor the remaining dungeon/future sessions now that you know their styles and play. They seem to prefer traps,puzzles, and other skill based challenges over heavy RP or combat(and the party makeup is good for this) so you can make the dungeon primarily based on these challenges, easing them into combats as time goes on. If they already started RPing on their own, create more situations where they can, but are not required to and it should develop.

Instead of allowing more healing overtly, make the fights easier behind the screen. This way, the PC's will feel more confident in combat, because they feel that they won and were not overtly fiated to full health. Make it challenging enough to reward them for using their class and tactics effectively(i.e. get the rogue flanking) but not punish them if they don't. This way they can win some rounds without dying but still learn how to be effective in combat as both players and characters.