D&D crash course

[J Do Baggins]

Whats a good way to teach someone the basics of a game quickly so they can join an adventure and not delay things to much? i usually just tell them to tell me (when i'm DM) what they want to do and i tell them the checks to make and what actually happens as a result and they kinda pick up the fine points along the way. mainly i tell them to tell a story and use lots of discriptions because( again when i'm the dm) i reward creativity with lowering an AC or maybe that did hity that orc in the eye when i was a low roll because they described it cool ya know. well anyone have any good ways to introduce new people to the game in a crash course manner lemme know

[arkanis]

I usually just ask newbies to describe their character concept and create it for them.

Ability scores and races and classes/level ups are pretty quick to explain, you just need to put it in simple terms or compare it to a closely related video game they may be familiar with. The details aren't necessary since every time they level up they just look at the class and write down the new numbers.

The only thing that may get tricky is feat selection and skill ranks which I suggest you do for them at 1st level and explain it to them in more detail as they level up.

I do suggest that you only introduce new players in low-level campaigns though. Starting too high will confuse a new player and turn them off to the game.

[Shishnarfne]

Well, just a few quick suggestions:

First, be patient with them. Remember how much trouble you had your first time playing.

Second, make sure that their character sheet is filled out correctly and is accurate for their level so that when they want to do something they just roll dice, add one thing to it, and tell you the result. Ideally, make sure that they understand their character's abilities.

Third, help them achieve task number two by writing everything out themselves and doing all the behind the scenes math, if at all possible. This way, they know where the numbers come from and (hopefully) when they will change (e.g. a raging barbarian hits more often for more damage). Hopefully, this will help with part two.

Fourth, if you can find time for a solo session where they can use some mechanics (preferably most of the critical ones for their character) without being in a group, please do so.

Fifth, if they have spells, make sure that they understand how to use them.

But, yes, these are just ways of taking your system of "I want to..." "Okay, roll this and add this number" and using it to get them to "I attack, does a 22 hit? Since this is a rapier, that threatens a critical (nat 19), so will a 15 confirm?"

Oh, and, try to figure out how to make the game interesting for them, to keep them coming back.:smallsmile:

[Umarth]

This looks like an okay primer to D&D: http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~kel/KDD/playerintro.shtml