Bringing newbies into the fold. How do we introduce people to D&D 3.x and Pathfinder?

[Caedes]

Alo All,

I think it is safe to say that the majority of the people that partake in this forum (D&D 3e/3.5e/d20) love these games. But as we are all aware. two of these systems are dead (no new development) and the other still has content being developed for it but still has many of the drawbacks of 3.x.

So what are the tools and tricks we all use to bring new players into these systems? And what are the benefits of bringing in new players versus us just leaving them behind?


For my group we have on-boarded a decent number of new players over the past couple years. And we typically start them off with a one shot and pre-built characters. Spending time to explain things to them and cheering them on. Even when they fall on their own sword. (Plus booze... Booze is important).

This has lead a couple to want to stay on and learn more. Then we have a night dedicated to character building and discussion. At our table we support an open discussion approach to this. Why certain things are good and others not worth it and why. Admittedly, this has lead us more to Pathfinder because everything is available at the PFSRD and so it makes it easier for new players to explore options.

But overall we try to impress a sense of a character is a blank canvas. And the strength of the system allows you to build a character around nearly any concept.

This is part of what we do. Well along with booze and laughter and camaraderie. What about you all?

[ComaVision]

Start as low as possible, usually level 1, and steer them away from the worst options while explaining why they're the worst options. People move away or end up otherwise busy so it's necessary to bring in "new blood" if I want to keep my games full. Plus, I always like seeing how new people approach things in D&D.

[Geddy2112]

A one shot and prebuild is good, but I started by rolling up something from scratch-scouring the books for a race and class I liked. Neither is wrong, just depends on the person. I would usually offer both options to a new player, but if I know the person well I might give them just one of those.

Start as low as possible, usually level 1, and steer them away from the worst options while explaining why they're the worst options. I somewhat disagree with this-if they were totally new to ttRPG's I would steer them away from things that would be difficult and obviously impossible to do, or a better class/feat/race that does what they want to do in concept, but I would rather tailor down to their weaker options than ban them from playing, because...

Plus, I always like seeing how new people approach things in D&D.
This. Say yes, A LOT. Once you set up the hard rules and stop from from obviously breaking through the physics and mechanics of the game and setting, let them be creative, try things not explicitly stated in the rules, come up with interesting combinations, and let them learn organically and grow. They will be discovering the game itself along with the adventure and setting. I am not saying to let them use a cantrip like a wish spell, but if they take a little liberty with things or wander into territory that is arbitrary DM ruling, let them have fun.

Always give them rule of fun/rule of cool > rule as written. If they are having fun, or what they are doing is cool, and it is not destroying the game, then let them.

[ComaVision]

I somewhat disagree with this-if they were totally new to ttRPG's I would steer them away from things that would be difficult and obviously impossible to do, or a better class/feat/race that does what they want to do in concept, but I would rather tailor down to their weaker options than ban them from playing, because...


I don't mean I say, "you pretty much have to play a caster or you're useless."

More like, "you could take the Stealthy feat but the bonus is pretty negligible and the Darkstalker feat serves the overall goal better."

I always let them steer. I just give them mechanical advice that doesn't interfere with the concept they have envisioned.

[Geddy2112]

I don't mean I say, "you pretty much have to play a caster or you're useless."

More like, "you could take the Stealthy feat but the bonus is pretty negligible and the Darkstalker feat serves the overall goal better."

I always let them steer. I just give them mechanical advice that doesn't interfere with the concept they have envisioned.

I totally agree; helping a newbie execute their concept to the best of its potential is critical to helping them enjoy the game.

[Falcon X]

Not too far off from what you do. I'm a librarian who does "New to RPG" events. It's only happened a few times, but this is how it went down:
Note: When I jumped to 5e, this became substantially easier, but yes, less freedom of character concepts.

1. Built pregenerated (and very interesting) characters at level 5. I also made my own character sheets that simplified verbiage and helped it so players had to do less math.
2. Ran a one-shot game. In 5e, I did single episodes from some of their modules that you might adapt to Pathfinder. Castle Naerytar from Hoard of the Dragon Queen and Gracklestugh from Out of the Abyss come to mind.
I also made my own one-shot that revolved around a dwarven mining camp that had it's mine taken over by goblinoids.
3. Had an intro speech and handouts that focused on how to read the character sheet and what was most important to remember. Teaching the basic formula of die rolls (d20+ability score+skill) really helped. I try to be consistent.

What I've learned NOT to do:
- Throw 30 sourcebooks at them for building characters.
- If I only have 3 hours, focus on building a character when we have so little play time.
- Use complex jargon.