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And she loved it! We started our Legacy of Fire campaign, this being her first roleplaying experience ever. I rolled up her character along with input on what she wanted to play: I found that an elf hawk (eagle) shaman fit with what she she wanted. She even did the killing blow to the first creature we had combat with :)
I was crazy nervous, because I was afraid she'd be scared off, but she loves the collaborative story element and picked up on the rolling and adding your stats very quickly. Had to share this with the rest of the Paizo community. Victory and hopefully plenty more RPG's in our future!
Congratulations, Slipstream, that's always good to hear about new players, even moreso when it's about players bringing in their precious halves or their best friends.
Cheers :)
Congrats to her, and to you on the landmark!
Also... you know, on being wed eventually.
That's the thing she killed actually.Nice story, and good for both of you! :)
Just wait till she reaches the ** spoiler omitted **, though! Might change her mind then! hehe :D
She should be immensely proud.
I would rather pit a level 2 Character against a Glabrezu than fight even a single one of those. :P
Huzzah! Great to hear that she had a good time!
Glad to hear, now don't you ever kill her characters or you'll get into serious marriage trouble! :)
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Glad to hear, now don't you ever kill her characters or you'll get into serious marriage trouble! :)This x1000
My wife sometimes games with me, and i do not hesitate to kill off her characters any more then i would killing off any other player's characters. She once thought that she should get special treatment, but i refused and after pouting for a while she got the idea and stopped nagging at me to treat her more favorably.
Cool to think of my goat encounter being the first RPG moment for a player.
Neat. Glad she had fun!
Now where is Mikaze to chastise you about that critter?
That was so funny I just about hurt myself from laughing.I should do a search to find that thread again so I can giggle once more.
To the OP: congratulations on making this a fun game for her. I think the strong storyline of that AP helps to get the players into the story.
My wife sometimes games with me, and i do not hesitate to kill off her characters any more then i would killing off any other player's characters. She once thought that she should get special treatment, but i refused and after pouting for a while she got the idea and stopped nagging at me to treat her more favorably.Glad to hear, now don't you ever kill her characters or you'll get into serious marriage trouble! :)This x1000
I've never treated my wife differently, and she's never expected it. But we had a guy in the game for a long while who liked to imply, and even sometimes insist that I was favoring her. Mostly he did it to tease, but sometimes he would do it out of spite. Pretty much any run of good luck would be "interpreted" as me "favoring" her.
He would call her character "God's wife."
It was funny once or twice, but got really annoying really quickly. Thankfully, the others knew he was full of it, so would clamp down on him.
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My wife's character was killed by The Lopper in the home campaign. I damn near had to walk home.My wife sometimes games with me, and i do not hesitate to kill off her characters any more then i would killing off any other player's characters. She once thought that she should get special treatment, but i refused and after pouting for a while she got the idea and stopped nagging at me to treat her more favorably.Glad to hear, now don't you ever kill her characters or you'll get into serious marriage trouble! :)This x1000
I wouldn't stand for it. I simply told her that if she wanted favoritism in RPGs, she would have to find another husband. I give her favoritism everywhere else anyway, sho she can grit her teeth for this.
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Thanks all for the kind words. I'm playing a shielded fighter, so I will do my best to keep her from taking the hits. Both her, a hawk shaman, and the other druid in the game were the two that traversed the brush to get to the goat. Both me and our cleric decided to hang back and let the druids do their empathy thing. That nasty surprise awaited them of course, but they took it down together. I was proud of her.
you found a partner that likes gaming you marry them immediately. Go to Vegas and use the drive through marriage shack, but DO IT.
Best Wishes
TCG
And she loved it! We started our Legacy of Fire campaign, this being her first roleplaying experience ever. I rolled up her character along with input on what she wanted to play: I found that an elf hawk (eagle) shaman fit with what she she wanted. She even did the killing blow to the first creature we had combat with :)
I was crazy nervous, because I was afraid she'd be scared off, but she loves the collaborative story element and picked up on the rolling and adding your stats very quickly. Had to share this with the rest of the Paizo community. Victory and hopefully plenty more RPG's in our future!
any tips or advice i am trying to get my wife, to try i was thinking of starting the d0 falcons hollow gets diseased
she is not a role player at all but I really want her to like it she is more of a "princess" kinda of person any suggestions? do we have a noble class? or a princess class? or a dr quin medicine women type of class. i am trying to relate it to what she likes and is familiar with? ie falcons hollow remote wilderness town, lady comes into the mix saves folks ect... not really by swinging sword?
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Noble/ princess/ Dr Quinn could be anything, though Id obviously go with something with healing for the Dr Quinn.
I know its not the best route to go for a brand new player, but maybe a sorcerer with the bloodline that gives you the healing ray-thing?
Explaining spells can be kinda complicated, but really, I dont think its harder to grasp than which dice are used for what for martial classes.
Plus, if she is one who wouldnt be happy with an 'ugly' character, the big Cha score will cover that base for you.
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any tips or advice i am trying to get my wife, to try i was thinking of starting the d0 falcons hollow gets diseased
she is not a role player at all but I really want her to like it she is more of a "princess" kinda of person any suggestions? do we have a noble class? or a princess class? or a dr quin medicine women type of class. i am trying to relate it to what she likes and is familiar with? ie falcons hollow remote wilderness town, lady comes into the mix saves folks ect... not really by swinging sword?
Spellcasting is harder to play for a new player, but you could try Cleric or Sorceror or Bard.
Cleric defends and protects others, and has a lot of authority due to their divine connections. Sorceror has a lot of power fueled by their extreme force of personality. Bards are mostly about their personality and controlling and manipulating people and circumstances.
For non-spellcasting, you're usually in the position of being a fighter. Rogue is a large exception to this. While rogues are good at dealing reasonable damage with sneak attack, they also have a ton of skill points, and can definitely go the charismatic route.
But she may surprise you! Mild mannered people who don't like to fight in real life might want to be the Paladin that smites evil with extreme prejudice. Paladins are one of my favorite classes, personally. I would ask her to volunteer a bit about what she wants to play without influencing her desires at all, and then work with her on each step of the character building process to build the character she wants.
Don't neglect races and human cultures. The descriptions of Chelaxians, Varisians or Vudrans might catch her imagination more than a particular class mechanic.
More important than a character to pick is the group that introduces her to the game. If they're all experienced and impatient, this might be a bad experience for her. I find having multiple beginners in a group a better environment for roleplay introduction, because then there's not one player always asking questions or feeling lost.
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To add to all of Jess' great advice: roll up the character for her! Don't even bother letting her comb through the books, at least for now until she understands the system. I didn't have her read a single part of the books because I knew it was overwhelming. For now, I'm mainly doing training wheels with her until she's got it down. But as far as skill checks, that should not be an issue. And make sure to explain that its like interactive storytelling, where someone is guiding the story, but the other players are collaborating on the fly together. Some people, especially a 'princess' who enjoys fairie tales and happy endings will get this.
Pay attention to what characters she likes in the TV shows and movies you all watch. What about the character does she like? Has she seen The Lord of the Rings or The Chronicles of Narnia films? Harry Potter? Anything can have influence on how she'd like to conceptualize the character. Let her decide the concept, and you build the best character around it. Let her know that she may need to wait a little before that power to turn into a hawk will come to fruition. My fiance totally gets that. She'll become stronger the more she goes on these adventures.
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I find having multiple beginners in a group a better environment for roleplay introduction, because then there's not one player always asking questions or feeling lost.
I made the mistake too many times with new players of bringing them into a group of experienced players. Most of the time it wasn't impatience, it was too many trying to be too helpful. When trying to learn something new, several "experts" offering different viewpoints and annecdotes can just lead to frustration and more feelings of being lost.
Baby steps :)
Greg
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I disagree with building her character for her. Writing everything down yourself is the fastest way to learn where and what everything is.
My first game I played, essentially, a pregen (rogue - rogues, clerics, fighters, and wizards are all easy classes for new players, in my experience). My philosophy for every new (to pen-and-paper RPGs, that is) player is make a character for them at first and run a one-shot (Okay, a lot of my games in the past have ended up being one-shots.), then when they die or we start anew help them make a character. Also, letting them die is a bad idea.
I recently introduced my girlfriend to Pathfinder and its gone pretty well. 6 months after I introduced her she wants to build a brand new system up!
In all fairness though, when it came to her first character, I explained the characters in very broad terms, and she then picked herself the ninja from the playtest. Once the character was picked, I spent a good couple of hours working with her through the character sheet and then making sure that she understood the lot.
Funny thing is, I didn't favour her at all and yet her character kept on nearly being killed by errant spells from members of her own party. She had a knack of going invisible and not really telling the party where she was, relying on incredible Dex etc to avoid blows and spells. Suffice to say, her character is still alive and recently got turned into a vampire and she loves it!
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I disagree with building her character for her. Writing everything down yourself is the fastest way to learn where and what everything is.My fiance doesn't have the time commitment for that. She was very appreciative of what I did.
If she doesnt have the time to help in her own character's creation process, how does she have time to play the game?
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If she doesnt have the time to help in her own character's creation process, how does she have time to play the game?I disagree with building her character for her. Writing everything down yourself is the fastest way to learn where and what everything is.My fiance doesn't have the time commitment for that. She was very appreciative of what I did.
Seriously, this...
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If she doesnt have the time to help in her own character's creation process, how does she have time to play the game?I disagree with building her character for her. Writing everything down yourself is the fastest way to learn where and what everything is.My fiance doesn't have the time commitment for that. She was very appreciative of what I did.
Character creation is a part of the game I really enjoy - but I understand there's a lot of concepts in there to throw at a new player all at once. Some people love diving into the nitty gritty, like me, but even I was overwhelmed at first, mostly because I didn't know enough about the game itself to know how these concepts would work out in actual play.
I've introduced some new players, slightly more women than men, and I found it best to go over each class in plain English. I.e.
- The rogue someone who can fight well when they have the advantage, but mostly they have the ability to do cool stuff outside of fighting. They also deal with traps. They can be thieves, con men, or just clever operators that depend on personality or dexterity more than brute strength
- The paladin is a knight in shining armor type. They are also holy warriors - they're the knightly ideal of honor and goodness, rather than just a person that has a knighthood. They get holy powers of healing, smiting, and can have a magic sword or a horse.
- The druid is a nature loving caster. They are close to nature and animals. They can like or dislike civilization. They eventually get the power to turn into animal forms themselves, and have many nature based spells.
They pick the kind of character they want. Once they pick the class, and the race (differences again explained not in game terms, but plain English), we go over stats and skills. Is the character dextrous rather than strong? Resilient? Wise? A brainiac? Or a force of personality people follow without realizing it?
The character is a join project at first, because my input and decisions on corner cases will definitely influence the build. But then after the character is complete, I tell the player that if, in play, they discover aspects of the character they don't like after all, or feats they want instead, or spells to switch, etc., I am more than happy to allow the player to tweak their character as they understand the system and the consequences of their character decisions better.
If it's a player's second character, I make myself available to help and offer advice, but at that point I hope they are willing to make the decisions themselves.
YMMV.
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Seriously, this...If she doesnt have the time to help in her own character's creation process, how does she have time to play the game?I disagree with building her character for her. Writing everything down yourself is the fastest way to learn where and what everything is.My fiance doesn't have the time commitment for that. She was very appreciative of what I did.
Indeed...
This is like THE most vital part of the game for a player!
I understand first character and all, but time enough to play, yet no time to make a character in order to facilitate play??
To each their own I guess...
-That One Digitalef Fellow-
(...)
My fiance doesn't have the time commitment for that. She was very appreciative of what I did.
Same here, I help her and any other players in getting a good built fitting the character concept. I feel it's part of the DM/Fellow-but-more-experienced-player's responsability for anyone in the group.
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When I started my latest campaign, I had a couple who had played 2e but not 3e. After the first session or two with them, we had a talk about the game and how they weren't enjoying it. They flat out told me that they did not have the time or inclination to learn the system. I told them it would probably be best for the group that they bow out until I can run a game better suited to their playstyle. It was a very good decision.
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Seriously, this...If she doesnt have the time to help in her own character's creation process, how does she have time to play the game?I disagree with building her character for her. Writing everything down yourself is the fastest way to learn where and what everything is.My fiance doesn't have the time commitment for that. She was very appreciative of what I did.Indeed... This is like THE most vital part of the game for a player!
I understand first character and all, but time enough to play, yet no time to make a character in order to facilitate play??
To each their own I guess...
Interesting responses.
I stand by the decision because it works for her and it works for our group. I disagree that it is the most vital part of the game for all players. Everyone will have a favorite part. If that is for you, then awesome! The vital part for me personally is the combination of collaborative storytelling and community shared around a table of people. Not the crunch or the fluff. Sure, those things are cool! But they are not the component that draws me. They are tools that help tell the story I want to experience with my character. When I explained that passion, she was more receptive and excited at the possibility than when I talked about the crunch. So I rolled with that.
For someone like myself, creating a character takes a few days work to get exactly what I want, as I have to read over all the options available to me. It doesn't mean I read everything, but I do study the domains, spell lists, feats, and traits that fit my concept. Lots of tweaks and notes are taken before I even start filling out the character sheet. I knew setting my fiance loose on the books, PRD, or SRD right now would be overwhelming. Even if she did, she simply does not have the time to build something properly herself. Our group would not of been able to start for quite some time. She does however have time to play once every other week for three hours, our current play schedule. Will she make her own character some day? Possibly. I can't make that call right now as it's too early. But the fact we've found another hobby to share time with other with is pretty stinking awesome.
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I'm with you, Slipstream. My wife and I have played Pathfinder together since the Alpha, and I have done the mechanical work of making just about every character she's played. She likes the roleplaying elements a lot, but find the mechanics less interesting - she understands them in play, but isn't interested in wrapping her head around all the potential possibilities for chargen and leveling. She tells me a concept, I ask a couple questions, I put something together and we go through it - if she likes it, we're good, if not, I change things until she does. It's worked like a charm for us so far.
I was playing 3.5 with my college friends for years before we met, but my husband's games turned me into a much better roleplayer. I was the type that made a Cha rogue, invested in very silly skills like forgery and didn't say a darn thing. Now I absolutely adore bards and enjoy asserting myself through RP.
Tomorrow I'll be running an adventure for him. Kinda nervous. Wife's first attempt at GMing with a man who has been GM for over a decade...
. . . Suffice to say, her character is still alive and recently got turned into a vampire and she loves it!Technically, if she recently got turned into a vampire then she's not still alive.
Aye, but undead are not exactly dead either. She has the undead template and is indeed a full blooded vampire and thus not really alive either. Its a tough call but the best way I could think to describe it is that she is alive sort of.
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Interesting responses.
I stand by the decision because it works for her and it works for our group. I disagree that it is the most vital part of the game for all players. Everyone will have a favorite part. If that is for you, then awesome! The vital part for me personally is the combination of collaborative storytelling and community shared around a table of people. Not the crunch or the fluff. Sure, those things are cool! But they are not the component that draws me. They are tools that help tell the story I want to experience with my character. When I explained that passion, she was more receptive and excited at the possibility than when I talked about the crunch. So I rolled with that.
For someone like myself, creating a character takes a few days work to get exactly what I want, as I have to read over all the options available to me. It doesn't mean I read everything, but I do study the domains, spell lists, feats, and traits that fit my concept. Lots of tweaks and notes are taken before I even start filling out the character sheet. I knew setting my fiance loose on the books, PRD, or SRD right now would be overwhelming. Even if she did, she simply does not have the time to build something properly herself. Our group would not of been able to start for...
I hope you didnt understand my response as saying to give her the book and have her build it by herself after learning the rules by herself. I was meaning something along the lines of the two of you sitting together and working out her concept.
Doing so can:
A) Help her feel like she is more in control of what the character can and cannot do (and therefore limits her ability to say that you made her a stupid character and be mad at you for it).
B) Helps her learn more quickly where everything is located on the sheet itself, along with what the abilities do without constant reminder from you about 'ability x' that helps in a given situation.
C) Helps keep you from pulling out your hair in five years when she still picks up the D12 instead of the D20 to roll an attack/check, lol.
D) Helps cut down on other players trying to dictate to her what she should do, cause she might not realize all her options, and they only know what theyve seen so far.
Whatever works for you and her is fine, these are just things I have noticed over my near-decade (I know, its not that long) of gaming and teaching new people to play.