I’m looking for advice about a new player that’s going to join the group. I asked an old friend if she wanted to play, and she said yes. She has a basic idea about the game, but not a great one. I’m helping her build a pc, and I’m having some problems.
She doesn’t know what she wants to play. She not really the normal D&Der, she works in fashion, looks like a model, and doesn’t like to read. Doesn’t like to read sigh…
She wants something simple and flashy, easy to play, and I think she would like being a damage dealer.
We don’t care if it’s a core class or not. We are more or less trying to have fun and to introduce her to the game before the real campaign starts.
My first thought was sorcerer or rogue, but I don’t think she wants to cast spells. She said something about a lot of reading to pick them out and having to study them to know which ones to use and how to use them.
Any ideas?
Fizz
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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Rogue seems like a great choice to me, especially if she wants to go more for the diplomatic and engratiating rogue (as opposed to the sneaky, backstabbing rogue). Dragon shaman is pretty simple and easy to follow too, and no spellcasting.
Honestly, for 'flashy' without spellcasting, dragon shaman is the way to go. It gets handy auras and a frickin' breath weapon. How cool is that? As long as you've got other, experienced players to fill the 'important' roles, a dragon shaman makes a great support character.
As long as you've got other, experienced players to fill the 'important' roles, a dragon shaman makes a great support character.
Cleric (war based), Warlock(Me) heading Hellfire, and a Paladin. We have this new player plus one or two other that might play.
If she's not averse to spellcasting, try sorcerer. A warlock might work well, for that matter. From what you've said, I'd avoid the paladin, fighter, barbarian, and ranger if she wants something flashy. Admittedly, a fighter with the right feats can be quite flashy, but still, that might require a bit more work. Fatespinner's idea is a good one, and I might also recommend bard if she's joining up at higher level since illusions are as flashy as things can get (OK, short of fireball) and bards are all about being seen and heard.
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RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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As long as you've got other, experienced players to fill the 'important' roles, a dragon shaman makes a great support character.Cleric (war based), Warlock(Me) heading Hellfire, and a Paladin. We have this new player plus one or two other that might play.
Yeah, if you get this person to play a Dragon Shaman and get one of the others to fill the arcanist role, you should be fine. Dragon Shamans make great '5th' members, especially for someone who doesn't want to deal with a spellcaster (like a bard or beguiler).
Hmm, post seems to have been eaten-1st time for everything I suppose. I missed the part about not wanting spells. Try rogue or dragon shaman as Fatespinner suggests, or maybe even a ninja. They're stealthy, sure, but you can still have a lot of fun disappearing and reappearing, as well as being mysterious.
I'd suggest Warlock.
Very simple very effective.
Basically eldritch blasts all she wants.
For the invocation, choose ones at first that don't require any thought. See the Unseen, any of the ones that add +6 to skills (nearly static outside of dispells and anit-magic zones).
For a start, keeping the invocations static and not like spells or blast-altering will let her adjust to what the character can do.
My two coppers,
-c
I posted a Variant Barbarian designed with neophyte players specifically in mind on this thread.
You'll have to scroll down as its like my 4th or 5th post. EricTheCleric makes some commentary on it that should probably be followed.
Otherwise I think the Barbarian is an excellent choice for a new player. fairly simple and effective.
Otherwise I think the Barbarian is an excellent choice for a new player. fairly simple and effective.
I agree, I second barbarian.
No...like...read? You lost me.
Well, not reading part does take away many spellcasters, though limited spell lists might still be a considerable option, ie. sorcerers and bards (and both of them are CHA based so that should work).
Outside spellcasters, from core classes rogue might be entertaining and rangers have loads of traits which I guess are still quite easy to grasp. And then there is barbarian, a class which is deeply satisfying to play :)
If she wants flashy I second (third?, Fourth??) the Warlock. Easy to play, and Eldritch blast is plenty flashy.
My original thought was Duskblade, hard to get flashier than Smacking someone with a sword and hitting them with a spell at the same time. Then i saw no spellcasting, but Duskblade should still work due to the very small list of spells. (Normally a disadvantage, but an advantage in this case).
Another option is Warmage. Yeah, it s a spell caster, but you don't need to memorise or pick spells, you know all your spells when you start. Hard to get more flashy (flashier?) than slinging around fire spells every round.
If she doesn't like to read any spell casters are out! She would need to look up spells and focus on how they work.
My advice is go simple and describe big and flashy. Have her try a Barbarian or Fighter. They are easy to play and don't require much reading. Describe the character as a powerful woman who walks tall in a man's world but still remains aware of the latest court fashions. Have her watch "The Messenger" or "Red Sonja" to get the theme down. She might like to look at minis to decide what her character looks like.
Let us know how it goes.
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Many good ideas on this thread. I'll throw out one more. How about scout? They get to throw all those extra dice like rogues do, only skirmish is easier to set up than sneak attack for someone who doesn't know the rules very well. No flat-footed rules, no flanking, no feinting... Just keep moving around.
Warforged Druid! Think, they never need to eat so their animal friends KNOW they can trust him (you know what I mean). And when he assumes WildShape you can announce it by saying "Dinobot, Maximize"!
Sorry people, I've just been itching for an excuse to say "Warforged Druid".
My vote goes to warlock, also. They won't run out of their eldritch blast, get one or two cool customizable abilities, as well, and with Charisma as a primary stat, encourage more role-playing encounters--when they come up--as opposed to just number crunching. You might want to go over when they can swap out old invocations as it comes up, but otherwise, its pretty easy and flashy.
Let us know how it goes.
She decided to go with an elven rogue. She dual wielding a rapier and a dagger, and sneak attacking every thing she sees. I’m basically her flanking buddy.
Her husband oddly enough asked to play randomly. He played once before, but doesn’t have a strong grasp of the rules yet. He wanted to be a wizard I think maybe he’s an illusionist. We have an experienced cleric (who's a bit of a pre-madonna), me an experienced barbarian (I scraped my warlock so we could have a meat shield), and two inexperience new players that our working out better than I would have expected.
We may have one more person play, but that's up in the air.
Fizz