Running a game for newbies

[Heliomance]

I'm planning to run a 3.5 campaign for the new freshers starting this October. I was coming to get some advice and tips and such.

What sort of things do you need to look out for when DMing for complete novices? It's my fourth ever campaign, so I still consider myself a bit of a novice DM!

I have pretty good system mastery of 3.5, and I'm always encouraging my players to look outside of the core books and try some of the interesting option available in splat. I suspect I should probably try and keep it simple for newbies though - how much choice should I have available? And how do I deal with someone wanting to be a monk or something?

[Totally Guy]

Your concerns are all about character creation. You can collaborate with that stuff before the game starts. Do that stuff as a group and talk about what the themes of the game will be.

Really the point where you're learning D&D can be some of the best times because you are discovering how it all works bit by bit. I'm way more concerned about GMing for experienced player as those guys have specific expectations and learned behaviour.

[Amphetryon]

I'm planning to run a 3.5 campaign for the new freshers starting this October. I was coming to get some advice and tips and such.

What sort of things do you need to look out for when DMing for complete novices? It's my fourth ever campaign, so I still consider myself a bit of a novice DM!

I have pretty good system mastery of 3.5, and I'm always encouraging my players to look outside of the core books and try some of the interesting option available in splat. I suspect I should probably try and keep it simple for newbies though - how much choice should I have available? And how do I deal with someone wanting to be a monk or something?

Having run a game for a long while in a public space, with newbies almost every week, here are some strategies I settled on:

1. "Tell me about the character in your head." - It's exceptionally rare that a new player will have her heart set on "Barbarian," or "Ranger," or "Wilder." Instead, she'll want to be "a Viking Berserker," or "an Elf huntsman, like Legolas," or even "I want MIND LAZORS!" By asking about concept, rather than specifics, you can guide players to make the characters they'll enjoy, while simultaneously steering them toward the power level you feel is appropriate for your campaign. This way, you'll also be able to manage the amount of 'book bloat' you're dealing with, because you've aimed players at a specific set of books to fill their concepts without making them pore over everything in your library.

2. "You can do that, but you should know. . ." - Whether it's using core Monk rather than Swordsage, or trying to Bullrush without supporting feats or abilities, or any other sub-optimal tactical or strategic error, you want the players to be creative, but you also want them to make informed choices. Explain as clearly as you can the pitfalls of a particular choice, and what other options there may be to achieve a particular result; if the player still wants to try it the hard way, you've done your due diligence.

[Strawberries]

Also, I think, try to show them all the ways D&D can be played. You usually do straight dungeons crawls? Try to get a couple of roleplaying encounters in it. You tend to go for RP-heavy, low-combat political intrigues? Try to fit in a bit of hack-and-slash as well...and so on. Everybody plays the game differently, but newbies should get to see all the different ways there are to play, so they can see what they like the most.

[Eldonauran]

1. "Tell me about the character in your head." - It's exceptionally rare that a new player will have her heart set on "Barbarian," or "Ranger," or "Wilder." Instead, she'll want to be "a Viking Berserker," or "an Elf huntsman, like Legolas," or even "I want MIND LAZORS!" By asking about concept, rather than specifics, you can guide players to make the characters they'll enjoy, while simultaneously steering them toward the power level you feel is appropriate for your campaign. This way, you'll also be able to manage the amount of 'book bloat' you're dealing with, because you've aimed players at a specific set of books to fill their concepts without making them pore over everything in your library.

This. 100% this. I've found it works out extremely well for newbies. Once they've gotten a solid grasp on what they like, then its time for book delving, on their own time. I'm usually honest with my players and tell them they can make their characters much stronger than what I've presented but they have to do the math themselves if they want to run something really strong.

My players usually respond well to the challenge.

[UserClone]

...World of Dungeons?

[BootStrapTommy]

Hit them with the book.

That's how my pals and I handle newbies. If they want to play, they need to figure out the rules some for themselves. So if their question cannot be anwsered with a few words, hit them with the book.

Like physically. THROW IT AT THEIR FACE. It teaches them to look things up. And eventually they will look it up before they ask you, because books are heavy and they are not fun when they hit your face as the velocity required to keep them airborne over the distance between you and them.

[snoopy13a]

Keeping it simple will probably help. I think you should start at level 1 and only use core races and classes. Maybe you can send out a email beforehand with a link to the open source d20 rules so they are able do a little research themselves if they wish.

Honestly, I wouldn't worry about people picking underpowered classes. You will just have to tone down the campaign a little--which you should anyway because they won't be aware of the best tactics.