DM helping new player make a backstory

[JMAP94]

So I have a player in my upcoming game that's never played any type of rpg before. I was wondering if anyone had suggestions on how to guide anew player in this regard. Also any suggestions on the warlock class optimization would also be appreciated as it is a class I really don't know too much about.

Some info on the player: this is his first foray int any type of tabletop bit he is interested in the system and the world i made. He's never written a backstory and is having trouble understanding the scope of what he can do (which o told him you could pretty much do anything as long as it fits within a fantasy setting). He's playing a half elf warlock with the charlatan background and told me that he wants to be someone who is a con artist and a white collar criminal by trade.

[Ninja_Prawn]

So I have a player in my upcoming game that's never played any type of rpg before. I was wondering if anyone had suggestions on how to guide anew player in this regard.

Have they played video games? Any kind of MMORPG or JRPG at all? If so, you can draw some easy parallels there. If not... have they watched films or TV? An easy entry into roleplaying for beginners is to ask: "what sort of character do you want to be?" Do you want to be The Hulk? Or Rocket the Racoon? How about Robin Hood, or Aragorn from LotR? Then you can explain how the D&D class/background/alignment system relates to those characters.

That gets you started with 'who the character is'. The other main thing you need to get across is that roleplaying is decision-making. That's it. The aim of the game is to get inside your character's head and figure out what they would do. How they would react to the situation. Do they go and help the victim, or chase the perpetrator? Will they activate the demon-powered artifact of power, or throw it into the sea? Do they drink wine or ale? It's blindingly simple when you think about it.


Also any suggestions on the warlock class optimization would also be appreciated as it is a class I really don't know too much about.

Warlocks aren't really my thing (especially charlatan con-artists), but I can tell you for free that the core of the class is Eldritch Blast + Agonising Blast. Warlocks provide excellent at-will ranged DPR, backed up by a limited selection support abilities, which can be quite varied depending on spell choices, patron and invocations.

[mgshamster]

For new players, telling them they can do "anything" gives them no guidelines and often leads to decision paralysis.

Have them pick two of their PC abilities (class feature, skill, specific spell, specific weapon, etc) and describe how the PC learned that ability. That should be good enough for a starting backstory.

Then describe the opening plot of the Adventure and have the player describe why the PC is choosing to go on this adventure. That should be good enough to provide a motivation.

And that's good enough for any player, whether they're brand new or a veteran.

[Sigreid]

For a new warlock player you can do a few things to help.

1. Tell them what settlement they are from and in broad strokes what the settlement and life in it is like. This helps them have a starting point.
2. As them what their parents were like? Were they kind or mean? Were they rich or poor or somewhere in-between?
3. Did they live in the town or city, or on one of the farms surrounding it?
4. Did they have any brothers, sisters, or extended family?
5. What did they enjoy the most when they were a kid: rough housing, listening to the story teller, exploring the woods, etc.?
6. Why did you make your pact? Was it a tragedy? A desire for revenge against bullies? Did you meet a mysterious stranger in the woods offering you a fey life? Did you seek out ancient, dark and forbidden gods out of a lust for power?
7. Why are you adventuring? What do you think or hope you will get out of it.

Boom, backstory.

[Gtdead]

So I have a player in my upcoming game that's never played any type of rpg before. I was wondering if anyone had suggestions on how to guide anew player in this regard. Also any suggestions on the warlock class optimization would also be appreciated as it is a class I really don't know too much about.

Some info on the player: this is his first foray int any type of tabletop bit he is interested in the system and the world i made. He's never written a backstory and is having trouble understanding the scope of what he can do (which o told him you could pretty much do anything as long as it fits within a fantasy setting). He's playing a half elf warlock with the charlatan background and told me that he wants to be someone who is a con artist and a white collar criminal by trade.

Actually your player has a very good idea of what he wants to do and warlock is a great class for this. You need to help him decide how he reached that point.

Ask him about his early years, the environment, the people.
Ask him about hardships and how his parents were like.
Ask him about how he became a charlatan. Was it out of necessity or something that he was good at and couldn't help it.

As far as the build goes, bring to his attention the pact of the chain and tome, archfey and great old one, to the tricksy invocations like many faces.

As for being competitive, warlock is one of the easiest classes to play. Eldrich Blast is the bread and butter, agonizing blast invocation to make it stronger, and maintain hex with concentration. Everything else can be whatever he likes. He can get any patron, any pact, any spell. It just doesn't matter too much as long as he has some form of a plan when he enters combat.

Once he decides that, ask him how he came into contact with his patron.