GM Advice: New Players


Advice


Alright so I am going to be running a game soon for four players, plus myself. Two of the players are at least familiar with the system but do not know anything of optimization or min/maxing but are aware of how the system works. And two of the players are brand new, still in the packages.

I needed advice on what to run for them that would get them into the game and not really bog them down with to much info at once. I would run the beginner box but I also don't want to bore the experienced players by running something they know over and over again.

We have run the Crypt of the Everflame a few times so I don't really want to use that one but if anyone knows a good module or AP that might be good to get someone started on I would love to hear it.

I am also giving them a Jiminy Cricket analog to help answer questions IC and aid them on their quest. I am giving that creature the Eternal template from Super Genius Games (Basically short of a god intervening or a special weakness the creature is unkillable (for long)) So they need not worry about their little buddy dying off right away.


I'd recommend the Kingmaker AP. It's really just a giant sandbox and the characters have a lot of latitude in how they'll proceed.

The learning curve is pretty appropriate for the player-level you described as well.


I have always wanted to run kingmaker, and my Eternal fey creature ally makes sense there.

I just always thought it was for a slightly bigger party then 4

Grand Lodge

The Tesseract wrote:

I have always wanted to run kingmaker, and my Eternal fey creature ally makes sense there.

I just always thought it was for a slightly bigger party then 4

All Adventure Paths are designed for 4 PCs with a 15 point buy stat array.


The "Master of the Fallen" scenario would be a good one for this group since it was designed for LV1 characters.

Common game mechanics such as saving throws, status effects, traps, and secret passages are all well used here. You could easily use it as a tutorial mission and plot seed for your ongoing campaign.

However, as written it is a bit of a dungeon crawl. And the ending is frustratingly anticlimactic. If this will frustrate your players, you may want to find another scenario.


Emerald Cat wrote:

The "Master of the Fallen" scenario would be a good one for this group since it was designed for LV1 characters.

Common game mechanics such as saving throws, status effects, traps, and secret passages are all well used here. You could easily use it as a tutorial mission and plot seed for your ongoing campaign.

However, as written it is a bit of a dungeon crawl. And the ending is frustratingly anticlimactic. If this will frustrate your players, you may want to find another scenario.

To be honest this might or might not, we do tend to favor the big win or at least the appearance of it, especially for a first time play.

Ms. Pleiades wrote:
The Tesseract wrote:

I have always wanted to run kingmaker, and my Eternal fey creature ally makes sense there.

I just always thought it was for a slightly bigger party then 4

All Adventure Paths are designed for 4 PCs with a 15 point buy stat array.

I just assumed due to its size and such it would be designed for 5-6 players.


If you just want to get started the you could do worse than the free module(s) We be Goblins (and We be Goblins too). I ran this for my 2 kids and their grandma (who had zero experience) and had enormous fun


Ms. Pleiades wrote:
The Tesseract wrote:

I have always wanted to run kingmaker, and my Eternal fey creature ally makes sense there.

I just always thought it was for a slightly bigger party then 4

All Adventure Paths are designed for 4 PCs with a 15 point buy stat array.

With only 4 players you definitely need to communicate what classes and skills will be useful before an AP. That way everyone can feel useful and have fun.

Any slack can be taken care of by the PCs hiring NPCs.


run something short, OP
a module or a couple of scenarios
let the new players get used to things before committing to something like a long AP


The Tesseract wrote:
Emerald Cat wrote:

The "Master of the Fallen" scenario would be a good one for this group since it was designed for LV1 characters.

Common game mechanics such as saving throws, status effects, traps, and secret passages are all well used here. You could easily use it as a tutorial mission and plot seed for your ongoing campaign.

However, as written it is a bit of a dungeon crawl. And the ending is frustratingly anticlimactic. If this will frustrate your players, you may want to find another scenario.

To be honest this might or might not, we do tend to favor the big win or at least the appearance of it, especially for a first time play.

Ms. Pleiades wrote:
The Tesseract wrote:

I have always wanted to run kingmaker, and my Eternal fey creature ally makes sense there.

I just always thought it was for a slightly bigger party then 4

All Adventure Paths are designed for 4 PCs with a 15 point buy stat array.
I just assumed due to its size and such it would be designed for 5-6 players.

Then Master of the Fallen Fortress definitely isn't for your group.

Spoiler: The end boss of that scenario practically kills himself. Anticlimax FTW!


I dont know the new players classes yet. I know the older players tend to favor the front line fighter (fighter or barbarian) and the other plays either the Oracle or the Rogue


The goblin games I might use, the Master of the Fallen Fortress might be fun for a side campaign as a way to decompress.


The Tesseract wrote:

I have always wanted to run kingmaker, and my Eternal fey creature ally makes sense there.

I just always thought it was for a slightly bigger party then 4

I've run Kingmaker with a party of 3!

It was taxing, but I let the group create a pool of NPCs that stayed at their home base. They rotated through controlling one of these characters in addition to their own and had a lot of fun with it.

Kingmaker is a really fun AP to GM as well as play. Sounds like a good fit for you as well.


Well I may just have to use the AP then, if I recall it starts out slow enough that I can get them familiar with the ways of the game before letting them go off to make their fortune.


The Tesseract wrote:
Well I may just have to use the AP then, if I recall it starts out slow enough that I can get them familiar with the ways of the game before letting them go off to make their fortune.

Definitely starts off slowly.

If I remember correctly...

Kingmaker Details:
The heroes start off with the opportunity to help out a trading outpost with a bandit problem. They basically have 'as much time as it takes' to set up an ambush for these bandits. Good introduction to combat, RP elements through interaction with the shopkeep and tactics that can be used as well.

It ramps up from there, but as I said, the learning curve is quite forgiving.


Then this is what I am probably going to use. The more experienced players will enjoy the exploring and just how different the game is. Typically we stick closer to urban areas and crypts.

Shadow Lodge

Master of the Fallen Fortress would make a good starting point for your players before starting any AP. That way they have a little experience under their belt and if a player doesn't like the character they started with allow them a complete rebuild. That would let them test drive a character concept and get familiar with the rules before you start something bigger. For a slightly beefier starting mod if you don't like Fallen Fortress try Crown of the Kobold King.

Whatever your first adventure is, give the players a free rebuild when it's done (and let them know they will get one free rebuild). It really helps a player get a chance to try things out without permanently handicapping their PC if they don't have good system mastery yet.

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