One of my close friends plays Pathfinder with us, but she doesn't know the rules terribly well and doesn't have much interest in learning them. She grasps the basics - like what a saving throw or attack roll entails, how to prepare and cast spells, and what have you, but the more complex concepts evade her - like how you get to the number that you add to your attack roll (Base attack bonus + Strength + other modifiers). She also can't level or create her characters on her own.
Sounds intolerable, right? Well, it isn't, really - while she may not be as rules-savvy as the rest of us, she's a great role player who makes really interesting and unique characters, and her illustrations are gorgeous. Not knowing all the rules also gives her a proclivity for out-of-the-box thinking (for example, we were fighting an animated wagon, and rather than attack it fruitlessly, she decided to jam one of the wheels with a scimitar we found earlier). The only thing problematic about her lack of rules savvy is that it occasionally slows the game down during her turn - and when she struggles with the rules, she sometimes gets mildly frustrated, which hampers her enjoyment of the game.
Steps have been taken to make things run more smoothly for her - she used to be a druid, but she's playing a witch in the upcoming game, which is a huge step down in complexity (limited spells known, relatively small class spell list, abilities that don't have limited uses to track, not having to deal with wild shape, etc.). I used Perram's Spellbook to print out reference cards for the entire witch spell list for her, color-coding them by spell level and giving her only the ones she knows to hold on to - this way, she doesn't have to look through the book to prepare her spells, which she can do simply by drawing them and setting them aside, and discarding them after they are cast.
Are there other steps I can take to ensure that the game runs smoothly for her? I've considered making similar "action cards" to describe actions she can take in combat (such as hexes, but excluding things she's unlikely to use, like combat maneuvers), but I'm not sure how terribly useful that would be. Does anyone have some advice, or have similar experiences to share?
(Also, to mention a few things: It's out of the question to change systems, drop her from the group, or force her to learn the rules on her own time. If we can get the game running nice and smooth, she'll absorb the rules via osmosis eventually.)
One of my old friends introduced me to a very simple rule which has served me quite well (The K.i.s.s. rule = keep it simple stupid)
No, it's not meant as an insult, but the problem with tabletop games is that it has very complex and instrinsic rules.
I usually roll with some of the rules from the book, and if one my players comes with an unusual situation, I improvise, or look at the rules. To me that kind of player you described is what makes tabletop fun, she thinks outside the box, sometimes I fail to do that.
Anyways, for the class rule problems, I think i have that same scenario you are describing with my new campaign, curiously enough, my player is also running a druid! and yes, I explained to her that casting spells is like playing a card game, once a spell is used up, it goes to the discard pile.
Try associating complex rules, or character mechanics with things she can relate to.
To me that kind of player is what keeps me playing this game, people diss at new players, but they often end up doing clever stuff that amazes me.
Anyhow, I hope this was useful.
First: the helpful note: in the PF Game Mastery Guide all the way in the back is a Basic Rules Cheat Sheet that is meant to help new players along with basic rules. Also why a spell caster when the spell and magic rules are so complex? Fighter is the way to go and is very straight forward. You could also assign her a player buddy, an experienced player, who can multitask in running their own character and help/coach her. Also using a battle mat and miniatures is a great tool to help visualize combat and its related rules and encourage her to actively engage in rule use. Since she enjoys art something tells me she learns better visually and by participating and the battle mat provides a great medium for that.
Second: Personal experience. I do have a similar situation with a friend of mine who has never played table top games before and does not own any of the books. We made her a straight fighter, the simplest class in the book. You hit stuff. We also sat her in between our most advanced players and right across from the DM (me). She learned the basic combat rules within one session and learned her way around her character sheet in 3. I have also found while playing the fighter she has picked up quickly on the group's dynamics and combat tactics. She is now consistently and actively participating in figuring out ways to overcome encounters. She is always looking for new ways to use her skills as well has her physical capabilities. In short she has figured out the role of the fighter and is now playing around with it. She is now also expressing interest in more complex classes and guess what that means: "read the book!" Hehe.
Third: Personal Opinion. "she doesn't know the rules terribly well and doesn't have much interest in learning them" The fact she has no interest in learning the rules is what vexes me the most about your situation. Rules are what makes the difference between "just tossing a ball around" and playing Baseball or just "playing pretend" and playing D20 systems.
I also don't agree with the implication that having her learn the rules will some how ruin her ability to think outside the box or figure out unique ways to handle encounters or role play. If this was true all PF players would devolve into WoW players. Note: I have no problems with WoW its just a completely different mindset than from playing PF or other similar table top RPGs
I advocate supporting and helping new players but honestly it sounds like you do too much for her which could result in her not learning how to do for herself.
Well, I'm not playing the game for her - just trying to make the rules more accessible when she needs them.
I advocate supporting and helping new players but honestly it sounds like you do too much for her which could result in her not learning how to do for herself.
+1. We had a player like this. We eventually got tired of babysitting, and just made them handle their own character. Casters require more work than other classes. Be prepared to do the work, or don't play the class. Now I know this is your friend, but her being your friend means she should make an effort to learn the rules to make things easier for the group.
That's the thing, though - she has only a casual interest in the game, and while she enjoys it while she's playing with us, she derives no pleasure whatsoever from the rules and numbers aspect. Pathfinder has tons of options which tends to paralyze her with indecision. (It took a few hours to stat up her character at first level, though we did end up with a nice build). It's easy to say "well, she should learn the rules !!!" but the situation isn't that straightforward.
I'm not trying to keep her from learning the rules, of course - it's in everyone's best interest that she does - but I don't want to have to shove them down her throat. What I'm looking for is not crutches that will keep her from learning the rules, but aids that will smooth out play and the learning process (I.E. easy access to the rules for her spells and abilities). I think as long as she has easy access to the rules that apply to her, she'll manage quite well.
Most of the stuff I'm doing for her is stuff I'm also doing for myself anyway, since it just helps the game run more smoothly. I didn't mention this before, but I'm not a DM in this game - I'm just another player. I guess that would make me count as the aforementioned "player buddy".
We have a group of four players and the DM - two of us players (myself included) are intimately familiar with the rules, one not so much, and then the one the topic is about. The DM is familiar enough with the rules to run the game, but doesn't know them as well as I do. I chime in with rules minutiae when they're needed (so he doesn't have to look them up) but otherwise keep quiet about them. Of course, this doesn't always make my allies happy, as I remind him the enemies we're fighting have spell resistance.
Perram's Spellbook cards, the PF Game Mastery Guide's Basic Rules Cheat Sheet, and possibly making a Magic Rules Cheat Sheet is the best your gonna get for her then, any more "accessible" and you might as well make her read the book.