Advice on starting a new campaign at school

[Bovine Colonel]

So basically, I'm running a game starting this September~October for a high school group. It'll run weekly, with 2 hour sessions. There're 35ish weeks that are available to run, including holidays and such. I think I'll assume maybe 4~5 sessions will be cancelled due to various reasons. Generally, the first 2 or 3 sessions are spent doing a tutorial type thing. Which leaves me with roughly 27-29 sessions, 2 hours each, to work with. I think I'll be playing Pathfinder.

Keeping in mind that we will almost certainly get some new players, what level should I start at?

What kind of leveling rate should I use and what level should I get to?

Any tips/suggestions/modules for the tutorial stuff?

Other miscellaneous advice?

Also, I'm sorry if this is in the wrong section. If it is, I'd be obliged if a mod moved it.

[3SecondCultist]

Oh, this is definitely in the right section.

As a high school student myself, I would have to say that playing Dnd 3.5 (or Pathfinder, as the case may be) with real players can be very challenging. Everything depends, really, on the others in your group.

How well do you know them?
What kind of games do they like?
Is there any particular structure that you like to use?
How familiar are you with the rules?
How familiar are they with the rules?

These are all questions you want to ask yourself. For me, I have been stuck as one of the most emotionally mature in a group consisting of utter lackwits, who laugh and annoy me by hiding my laptop/any sourcebooks they can get their hands on. Basically, they decide to make sure that anything I say as a GM is wrong.

I hope this is not your experience.

[Archwizard]

New players = level 1.

The game is complicated enough, don't make it worse for the poor saps by having them have to make advanced character decisions.

[Enix18]

I agree with starting at level 1; it will be easier for the players to understand, and when they finally do reach higher levels they'll appreciate their power that much more. If you're going with Pathfinder, I would suggest a fast rate of leveling (which is really only slightly different from the normal rate of advancement for 3.5).

I would also suggest you check out Paizo's Rise of the Runelords adventure path. I myself ran it for a group of highschool students who had never played a tabletop rpg before, and I found that it served its purpose pretty well. The modules are all fairly straightforward, and they stat out just about everything you could need to make your game run smoothly.

Even if you don't want to run the whole adventure path, the first module "Burnt Offerings" would serve as a fine tutorial, as it can easily stand alone. It includes opportunities for a little investigation and roleplaying interactions with the townsfolk, presents a seizable dungeon crawl, offers the players some interesting battles with a staple D&D monster (goblins), and still manages to hint at some of the more unique possibilities in the world of D&D. In a nutshell, it'll be an excellent way to get a feel for what it is your group does and does not like.

Hope that helps, and I wish the best of luck to you.

[Tvtyrant]

I say level 3 actually; level 1 is extremely squishy. Use CR 1/2 monsters at first so that they gain a sense of the game, and slowly work them up to CR equivalent encounters. Starting out with Kobolds, then Goblins, then Hobbos, then Orcs, and up and up.

[LibraryOgre]

Personally, if you've got a lot of new players and a limited play time, I would not use Pathfinder. It's a complicated system and characters tend to have a lot of nuances that can make them more difficult to play unless you've got a fair degree of system mastery.

Being me, I'll suggest Castles and Crusades. It's built on a d20 foundation, but vastly simplified. Instead of discrete skills, you have "primes"... two or three of the six standard ability scores which help define what you're good at. All wizards are Int prime, meaning they're good at scholarly stuff. All bards are charisma prime, meaning they're good at talky stuff. All thieves are Dex prime, which means they're good at athletics and the like. However, you have a second prime which lets you further define your character's abilities; humans get 3 primes.

Character creation is a snap (stats, race, class, primes, gear, go), and you can get everyone seated and playing in an hour (much less if everyone has a book available). It's also very easy to adapt material from either AD&D or 3.x into C&C

It works very well as an intro system, getting people used to the concepts before they branch out into Pathfinder.

[stainboy]

Seconding Level 3 in Pathfinder (or C&C for that matter). Level 1 is brutal.

[3SecondCultist]

Thirded on the level 3 proposition.

[Honest Tiefling]

I think first level is best, because it is a lot easier to make that level of PC. And it is a lot easier to remake the PC when someone misreads or misunderstands a rule. They are also less likely to screw up the character at lower levels, and it'll be more easily fixed.

If level 1 is brutal, consider having them go through bootcamp or training to gain EXP until they are higher. Good time to go over rules IC and OoC.

Stick to core, or whatever it is for Pathfinder. Get people used to a small section of the rules first, then allow them to expand. I also suggest using the pathfinder setting, so players can research it on their own if they wish.

People get sick, and parents might decide to leave early for vacation. On days you can't run a game, have some one shots with pregens available. Hopefully, the players will be attached to their PCs, but most people consider a game better then no game.

In fact, have some pre-generated characters ready in case someone's PC dies, or if a new person is curious. Clerics are good for newbies in my experience and opinion, and I think druids with Pathfinder's simplified wildshape rules will also be good.

Taking over an NPC is both not good and good for a newer player. On the one hand, it is a simple character who can tag along before the player is ready to tackle a real PC. On the other, the NPC is going to suffer a bit of personality shift at best.

Running adventures seems to be easier for new DMs, but do be aware that running off the rails is very easy to do with them from my (admittedly little) experience.

As for miscellaneous advice...Make sure you and your players are on the same page regarding combat/roleplay. Some people like lots of combat, and some lots of roleplay. You can try to balance these two desires, but it takes work. And no point in making detailed NPCs if the players are interested in hack n' slash (And given the time frame, hack n' slash might be easier).

Also be aware of the Stupid alignments...You know, Lawful Stupid, Chaotic Stupid, Stupid Good, and Stupid Evil. I am guessing your team is going to be new to role-playing in general, so it'll take some patience and maturity on both sides to get over the temptation to stab party mates in the back on a whim. Not trying to be insulting regarding your group's age, but I see new RPers do this frequently. Remember: Never play DnD with anyone you wouldn't hang out with otherwise.

If anyone in your group has experience with DnD, ask them to help out with the map or initiative.

[AslanCross]

It really depends on how quick on the uptake your players are. I was able to start my group of then-12/13/14/15 year-olds at Lv 5, despite all of us having no prior experience.

I'd go with Lv 3, so there's a feeling of "I can do something" without "...I died in 10 minutes."

[Rixx]

I say split the difference and start at level 2.

[j4bberw0ck]

An adventure path is a wonderful idea for new players and Gm's. It allows you to take a pre-written story ( and in the case of everything before The Haunting of Harrowstone pre-generated characters designed to thrive in the adventure). If you and your players are comfortable with the rules and focused you should move quickly through it the fights are not that brutal in the beginning (My party is a monk, alchemist, bard, and summoner. They had a tough time to start off but that's because they had no healing and no full BAB capable of doing decent damage, cover those areas and your fine note: the pre-gens include a fighter and cleric).