Greetings, gamers from all systems, places and timelines.
Playing D&D is easy, right? Well, maybe that’s the case if you have been playing somewhere between two and twenty years. But try explaining the game and all of its mechanics to someone who has never played an RPG before. The last thing you want is to have your new player feel like they just signed up for a 4-credit college class that has pop quizzes and tons of group project work – which is, ironically, how I feel on any given night when one of my friends pulls out a board game that has a fast start-up time of forty minutes.
To avoid this, we have composed a list of tips to help new players learn the game in an enjoyable and painless way that will make them want to come back for more.
1. Take It Slow and Lay a Foundation
Put together a list of keywords you want to explain to your new player. And, while we know you’re itching to cover the difference between a bonus action and reaction, hold your warhorses. Instead, open with concepts like hit points and why you don’t want to run out of those. Then move on to ability scores and why you want both more experience points and gold pieces.
At the end, check-in with your new player and ask if they have any questions. To be fair, at this stage of their gaming career, they might not even know the questions they want to ask. So, stay tuned.
2. Have Them Pick a Character They Can Handle
Based on experience, for their first character, you may want to steer them towards some form of martial class. These are generally less squishy and more straightforward – as each spell can be like learning an entirely new power. Want to confuse a new player? Try explaining to them how vocal, somatic and material components are used with spellcasting and why, in some cases, they can be disrupted.
Make your life easy and give them a barbarian, because nothing gives a new player the room to grow quite like taking half damage.
3. Don’t Go Light on the Backstory or Player Agency
So, now your new player has an idea about the game mechanics, but what background or personality will they have? If the player has no point of reference, they might look at you with a blank stare as they have flashbacks from junior high when they didn’t have an answer for the guidance counselor, either. But this is because they have no way of understanding what’s a viable option, at which point you should explain what background options are available and the benefits they offer. If they aren’t sure what type of personality their new character should have, that’s also ok because there are templates galore for that.
Now, if you’re lucky, they will actually have some form of character concept, which it will then be your job as the DM to work into your story. So, if they want to be the child of an infamous black knight, born into a famous wizard college like Hogwarts, or even be an actual princess, make it happen. Just lay it out that the point of the game is for them to do things and not have the royal guard or army do it for them. But, think of it like this: It’s their first character, so it’s their birthday, and that deserves to be a little extra special.
4. There Are No Dumb Questions
If this is to work, then the new player will need to feel comfortable asking whatever questions they have. And without a doubt, the new player will have a ton of these, some of which may have never crossed your mind. And that’s perfectly fine because if they’re asking questions, that means they want to understand. So, take it slow, because not everyone knows the differences between chain and plate mail, a beholder and a behir, or a wizard and a sorcerer.
5. How About a Pre-Game?
In this gaming session, try and do some test roleplaying and combat outside of the game so they understand things like the D20 is for attacks and saving throws while the D12 just sits there looking cool unless your barbarian just leveled up. This way, by the end of the pre-game, your player hopefully understands that high rolls are good, which die to use to determine their damage and so on. If the player is especially lost on any given aspect of the game, now is a great time for you as the DM to give them the attention they need for a proper explanation.
6. Establish a Welcoming Environment
If you want to really put something special together, have your friends roll up some first-level characters and have them join the new player in a one-shot module. This way, your new player isn’t being dropped into the middle of a campaign that’s already two years in progress. As stated previously, a new player is already trying to juggle all of the new rules, so the last thing they need is a 25-minute plot recap.
Not to mention, if the new player enjoyed this one-shot adventure, maybe this could be the start of a new campaign altogether.
7. Did I Mention Make It Fun?
As much as we all enjoy a grand plot, maybe you shouldn’t open with something that professor Tolkien would have written. Keep it light and fun with a difficulty set somewhere around causal mode – unless you want your new player to tell all of their friends that they played D&D for the first time and died five minutes in.
So, provide the player with a variety of challenges and see what style of problem-solving they use. If this means they’re using a solution you hadn’t expected, that’s just fine because even the best DMs need to be kept on their toes.
Final Thoughts
This is your new player’s opening game, so try not to overload them with lore or rules. Your goal is for them to enjoy themselves and want to join your next new game or even jump into that existing one if they don’t mind trying to catch up with the story. Finally, avoid classic blunders like getting locked in discussions about alignment with your new player. As DM Dave pointed out, players with all levels of experience can’t agree on it, so that’s definitely where you don’t want to draw your line in the sand.
Are you teaching a new player or a player who’s new to a campaign? We would love to hear your thoughts and stories!
Good tips!