Characters for New Players

[Wasp]

Hello everyone!

I am going to run an adventure for a bunch of 12 year olds in July. I have asked them what kind of character they would like to play in advance. >From some of them I got something specific, sometimes a more vague concept which I have translated into the following - sometimes a little clishé'd - characters (to give them a clear role that feels familiar):

Half-Orc Barbarian (Idea: The Big Wilderness Guy with the Big Weapon)
Half-Elf Bard (Idea: Half-Elf who has gotten magic from the Elf side and the Jack of All Trades nature from the human side, focus illusion, shadows and trickery)
Drow or Tiefling Warlock (Idea: Exactly that - supposedly evil but isn't and wants to escape their nature)
Wood Elf Druid (Idea: Magic User that "communicates with nature")
High Elf Wizard (Idea: Found the Bladesinger School Wizard)
Aasimar Paladin or Divine Soul (Idea: Definitely Aasimar but unclear whether to go Divine Soul or Paladin)

Do you think those will work for new players starting at lvl 1? Any recommendations for changes/simplifications?

[CTurbo]

I think I'd go more martial and less magic tbh

I'd probably replace 3 of those spellcasters with a Fighter, Hunter, and Thief. I'd probably throw in a Life Cleric too. Make either the Ranger or Fighter an Archer, and the other a TWF to differentiate from the Barbarian.

The Ranger can replace the Druid.
The Cleric can replace the Paladin.
The Rogue can replace the Bard.
The Fighter can replace the Warlock and yeah I know they dont really match but you can still use the supposedly evil angle.

I just realized I took out all of the Charisma characters lol so maybe keep the Warlock or make him a Sorcerer instead which I feel would be more simple.

[nickl_2000]

My opinion, let them play what they want to play. If those are the characters that interest them, a 12 year old is old enough to figure everything out. Plus, you are starting at level 1, that gives them some time to figure it out before they start getting into more complicated spells.


That being said, I think the Druid will be the hardest character to play. Druids need to keep track of wildshape stats, summons stats, and a full spell list. There is just a lot more bookkeeping than any other class (in my opinion). If you wanted to keep the feel but go with a class that was more simplified you could switch to a Nature Domain Cleric.

[Wasp]

Thanks. I'll definitely replace the Druid then (maybe with Ranger, maybe with Cleric), and think about the others. I feel Pal doesn't gain too much spellcasting to make it too difficult if I pre-select the spells. But Warlock and Bard... Maybe it really is too much...

[CTurbo]

Make all of them and then let your players pick. That should give them all plenty of options.

[MilkmanDanimal]

Warlocks are easy to play, but hard to build. Combat-wise, at least at low levels, they're either largely "hit with my weapon" bladelocks or just spamming Eldritch Blast. The real issue with Warlocks is deciding on a Patron at level 1, your Invocations at 2, and then level 3 Pact Boon.

If you're building characters for the players, sure, Warlock, but when you don't know the game, it's an intimidating class to put together in creation just because there are so many different options.

[Willie the Duck]

I've toyed with ideas for a 'first time playing' game for a while. I think it'd be fun to start everyone off as a v. human fighter. The point being to start the game focus on characters, backgrounds, skills, and weapon/armor choices and work your way up to magic and races. Just with standard array, choosing weapon style, and one feat, you can create a lot of variety

The 'cleric' - acolyte background, heavy armor, high Wis, feat: magic initiate (bless, guidance, sacred flame)
The 'sneak' - medium armor, defensive style, background that offers stealth, feat: medium armor master.
The 'healer' - any build, but feat: healer
The 'mage' - sage background, feat: ritual caster
The 'paladin' - heavy armor, high Cha, feat: Inspiring Leader
The 'trap-finder' - Feat: Dungeon Delver or Observant
The 'heavy' - Str based, GWF, GWM
The 'archer' - Dex based, SS
The 'defender' - Feat: Sentinel or PAM
The 'switch hitter' - High Str and Dex, defensive fighting style, Feat that is not weapon or armor-type specific
The 'Brawler' -Strength based, Feat: tavern brawler or prodigy:athletics

[ProseBeforeHos]

Classic archetypes with a good mix of races is the way to go.

If you look at the starter set you have:

Human fighter, Dwarf Cleric (life), halfling rogue, high elf wizard.

I think these are pretty good (though I would change the dwarf cleric to forge to make it more "dwarfy").

Other classic options are:

Wood elf druid or ranger.

Half-orc Barbarian.

Half-elf bard.

Mountain Dwarf Fighter.

Tiefling warlock

Dragonborn paladin.



I'd recommend trying to stick to the easier to play/understand classes for new players, i.e. not druid (wild shape is very complex for newbies) or wizard (sooo many spells), but yes to fighter/barbarian/warlock.

If you want to make it easier for spellcaster players give pre-prepare spell lists and give out some flash cards with some short summery of what those spells do e.g. "Bless: This spell allows three players to gain a bonus to their attacks and defensive saves while you keep concentrating on it. Best used before tough battles!" / "Cure Wounds: You touch an ally and heal them."

If all else fails make this your mantra: Keep it simple. Don't get hung up on the letter of the rules.

[Slybluedemon]

Hello everyone!

I am going to run an adventure for a bunch of 12 year olds in July. I have asked them what kind of character they would like to play in advance. >From some of them I got something specific, sometimes a more vague concept which I have translated into the following - sometimes a little clishé'd - characters (to give them a clear role that feels familiar):

Half-Orc Barbarian (Idea: The Big Wilderness Guy with the Big Weapon)
Half-Elf Bard (Idea: Half-Elf who has gotten magic from the Elf side and the Jack of All Trades nature from the human side, focus illusion, shadows and trickery)
Drow or Tiefling Warlock (Idea: Exactly that - supposedly evil but isn't and wants to escape their nature)
Wood Elf Druid (Idea: Magic User that "communicates with nature")
High Elf Wizard (Idea: Found the Bladesinger School Wizard)
Aasimar Paladin or Divine Soul (Idea: Definitely Aasimar but unclear whether to go Divine Soul or Paladin)

Do you think those will work for new players starting at lvl 1? Any recommendations for changes/simplifications?

some good ideas but I would add in a Human Fighter.

It would be easier to RP a human and everyone knows a story of big strong hero saves the princess and kills the dragon with his big sword.
Also, you could have a normal wizard, no bladesinger stuff. Just give them something they can just throw magic around and be a cool guy.

[Wasp]

Hmmmm... You are giving me stuff to think about. I definitely want to give the players cards for spells an abilities to make it easier. And maybe the archetypes are too complex,.,,

[ErHo]

Crank them out in Orcpub.com it has printout options to include descriptions and spell cards, etc.

[Wasp]

What do you think about the idea to make the player who wants to play a Half-Elf Jack of all Trades a rogue instead of a bard to simplify things --- and bend the rules a little and give em at first level the invisible mage hand AT feature? To give them the little bit of Magic they crave? If so, would you remove anything in exchange?

[CTurbo]

What do you think about the idea to make the player who wants to play a Half-Elf Jack of all Trades a rogue instead of a bard to simplify things --- and bend the rules a little and give em at first level the invisible mage hand AT feature? To give them the little bit of Magic they crave? If so, would you remove anything in exchange?


I think that would be fine. You COULD just give them all a free starting feat and let his be Magic Initiate.

[Georlik]

Whenever I prepare pregens for the new players (being an adult or a kid doesn't matter) I chose those with least managenent built in. My go-to list consists of:
- Half Orc Barbarian with Outlander background - being your "ranger";
- High Elf Fighter with Sage background and 1 wizard cantrip like Shocking grasp (if ranged) or Fire Bolt (if melee) - being your "mage";
- Human Rogue with Charlatan background and Healer Feat - being your "cleric";
- Dwarven Fighter with Soldier background, being your "knight".

Even then you can mix and match abilities to create strong themed characters which can do at least 1 unique thing without overcomplicating the mechanics.