Teaching girls to play

[salmonking2]

Okay im in highschool and i got this nutty notion that i could maybe teach a gang of nerdy girls i know how to play D&D. I dont have a group cause i moved to San Antonio about a year ago but i think i could teach them how to play. Any tips or sugestions for teaching girls?

[Azerian Kelimon]

Teach as you'd teach boys, but don't give 'em playful punches. That is all.

I'd recommend starting with either ToB chars, favored souls, binders, or factotum. Those won't break the game, but they're strong out of the box.

[JoshuaZ]

Okay im in highschool and i got this nutty notion that i could maybe teach a gang of nerdy girls i know how to play D&D. I dont have a group cause i moved to San Antonio about a year ago but i think i could teach them how to play. Any tips or sugestions for teaching girls?

Yeah. Girls are people too. Teach them just the same way you'd teach anyone else.

[Terraoblivion]

Just do it exactly the same way you would teach people who possess Y chromosomes. Girls are fundamentally more or less the same as boys and chances are that what works with boys also works with girls, taking the personality of the individuals into account of course. But really individual differences also present among members of each gender is more important than the gender of those you want to teach.

[Azerian Kelimon]

And No LARPing. As I said, there's just about no girls who like having to dodge punches.

[salmonking2]

lol k thanks then guys

[Reinboom]

And No LARPing. As I said, there's just about no girls who like having to dodge punches.

I think that is not gender linked, but how they were raised as well...
Otherwise, all but one of my sisters is the exception, so... there's 6 exceptions.
Of course, they always are.

Backing up, to use them as a comparison, however. The one that doesn't like being hit playfully at all is also my only sibling that plays D&D.. hm..


Personally, I don't recommend punching anybody. They secretly might not like it.

[Azerian Kelimon]

What I mean is, most boys do trade joke punches with friends, and it is a semi-common way of showing trust. Girls mostly don't, and don't react well to that, usually, because, I believe, they take it as a REAL attack.

[Starsinger]

Personally, I don't recommend punching anybody. They secretly might not like it.

And of course other times they might secretly like it... and that's a whole different can of worms

[Collin152]

What I mean is, most boys do trade joke punches with friends, and it is a semi-common way of showing trust. Girls mostly don't, and don't react well to that, usually, because, I believe, they take it as a REAL attack.

Utter posh.
I hate it when people do that to me- it hurts!

[Frosty]

My friends and I do punches on each other, but light punches that don't really hurt.

[Azerian Kelimon]

That's part of the whole idea. Yeah, you shouldn't do that to a friend, but I forgive you anyway 'cause you're my buddy.

Ain't it just great when you ramble off?

[Collin152]

My friends and I do punches on each other, but light punches that don't really hurt.

I'm known to get bruises from a brush.
A "light punch" will hurt me.

[Crow]

Just keep it simple. I'd hold off on ToB and all that other stuff. Make learning the basic concepts of the game as painless as possible and then move on to bigger things.

[EvilElitest]

girls don't play D&d, its in the rules
from
EE

[Bag_of_Holding]

girls don't play D&d, its in the rules
from
EE

RAW FTW, eh?

[Townopolis]

start them all off with gestalt artificer//wizards it's a fairly simple INT synergy combination and offers very good power potential not to mention shows how versatile D&D characters can be. I'd also recommend starting at higher levels, to show them the meat of D&D, it's a game about heroes, after all. Maybe try artificer//wizard/incantatrix so that you can go through the concept of prestige classes at the same time.

-or-

Start off with some basic stuff: maybe limit the selection to basic fighters and spontaneous casters, I find sorcerers MUCH easier to handle than wizards, and we're talking about newbies so...

Fighter, paladin, favored soul, sorcerer, rogue, barbarian, monk, bard, beguiler, dragon shaman, knight, warlock, and duskblade all spring to mind as easier. You can walk them through the character creation process if you need to, but remember to let them do what they want to do, no "you must take this ubercharger build" for the fighter player.

Start at level 2 or 3. Level 1 is a pain because of fatality and low levels are simpler.

Once in session, focus on roleplay to start and get them comfortable with the basic RPG concept, then lead them towards an encounter.

explain non-rules rules before hand. Things like "if no one remembers a rule, I'll adjudicate something and we'll look it up later."

Be very, very patient.

If teaching boys, all the above ideas apply.

[Edit]: If using mood music, do not use Barry White.

[shadow_archmagi]

Then why is everything in the SRD "she"???

[Revanmal]

Then why is everything in the SRD "she"???

To promote equality I guess.

[Hadrian_Emrys]

I'd suggest a level 3 game, low magic.

[Mewtarthio]

Yeah. Girls are people too. Teach them just the same way you'd teach anyone else.

Provided, of course, that your usual methods of teaching involve neither dirty jokes nor "shirts vs skins."

[Rutee]

To promote equality I guess.

I always thought it was because women look cooler when doing the same things

To answer the OP's question, you must first /capture/ the female specimens in question. I won't go into that, that's your problem. From there, look into pavlovian conditioning, I'd say. Makes it very quick. And don't spare the whip.

[Azerian Kelimon]

Use sleeping darts. Avoid Catgirls. Don't show 'em any pics of females if they're radical feminists. Make sure roleplay more than you rollplay.

Also, get someone to fix me my sarcas-o-meter. It's broke down.

[Dervag]

Okay im in highschool and i got this nutty notion that i could maybe teach a gang of nerdy girls i know how to play D&D. I dont have a group cause i moved to San Antonio about a year ago but i think i could teach them how to play. Any tips or sugestions for teaching girls?

I assume the girls have math proficiency at the middle school level (a prerequisite for being nerdy and in high school), have memories approximately equal to your own, and are flexible enough to handle the concept of "roleplaying."

If they do not, then it does not matter if they are male or female, they will be unable to learn and play the game.

If they do, then it does not matter if they are male or female. You need no special techniques. There is nothing about D&D which makes it harder or easier for members of one sex to learn than the other.

All you have to do is whatever you normally do to avoid looking like an ass to girls. Treating them like they need special teaching techniques to learn the game comes to mind as something NOT to do.

Note: if you do not normally avoid looking like an ass to girls, you have a problem. But the problem isn't one of D&D. You'd have most of the same problem trying to teach them anything. Or learn anything from them. Or just interact with them without trying to teach or learn anything.

[Kizara]

I always thought it was because women look cooler when doing the same things

To answer the OP's question, you must first /capture/ the female specimens in question. I won't go into that, that's your problem. From there, look into pavlovian conditioning, I'd say. Makes it very quick. And don't spare the whip.

I have never agreed with anything you have posted as much as this.

I wholeheartily second both paragraphs.

[Azerian Kelimon]

Dunno. As much as I enjoy Marillion, not everybody likes it.

[Tough_Tonka]

I think under no condition should you show these girls character art from your D&D books that remotely arouses you.

On a side note:
When I teach the game to anyone I tend to describe the rules in a manner even an idiot would get. Unfortunately because of my teaching method the few girl players I've taught tend to think I'm treating them this way cause they're girls. Try to be more respectful to girl players I guess; cause these girls probably have their own stereo-types for how they are going to be treated by male players and DMs. Oh and don't show them elves before any other races.

[Glawackus]

FWIW: I had a game recently with 3 newbie players: a really nerdy guy, a fairly nerdy guy, and a "closet nerd" girl.

Guess which one picked up the game the fastest.

[Hawriel]

yes as stated already girls are peaple to. And are smart enough to vote at 18!!! No locker room humor.

This is for teaching any one the game.
Some one said use TOB. DO not thats a bad idea. Stay with the three core books. first level for afew small intro adventures. After one or two let them level. Keep it low magic. If you keep it low magic then magic is cool and misterios. Let them injoy the fun of a back of tricks.

Also ive seen a book written by a women about girls in gaming at borders. I dont recal the title. Its white and pink with a classy looking uptown girl on the cover tossing a fire ball at a group of idiot boys. read it. and for fun show it to them. You most likly will find this near the gaming books in the book store.

[AtomicKitKat]

My friends and I do punches on each other, but light punches that don't really hurt.

Ugh. Memories of school in my teens. Used to punch each other in the biceps as hard as possible(which sucked for those of us whose muscular development was on the opposite end of puberty from the "other stuff"), try to crush each other's hands in handshakes, and so on. Utterly stupid rituals.