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So one of my players has a Learning Disability. It's his first game and he's been slowly gaining traction. However, it seems that each time we play he has completely forgotten what AC is, what his bonuses are and such. And despite being fascinated with playing front liners (and I'm not sure that a caster would be something that would be a good idea unless I want to tear all my hair out) he constantly is rather put out if his character takes damage.
Are there any guides out there?
I've made him a basic quick-sheet and it still doesn't seem to help.
So please help me help him?
I mean at least he's starting to understand character-building, so there is that.
He's running a Urban Barbarian, and we're level 5. All his mods are static and he's using a weapon with a very basic (only on a 20) crit range.
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Learning Disability is a broad term that covers a whole lot, and helping people overcome various learning disabilities is a complex skill. I suspect that you would do better researching how to help someone with his own particular difficulties learn anything rather than how to teach pathfinder to any and all learning disabled people.
That said, I applaud you willing to help out others, and I suspect that it will work out as long as you are patient. If you could have another player assigned as a permanent 'helper' rather than you doing it yourself it might make it run smoother, if there is someone appropriate and willing for that role.
You might also want to consider if Pathfinder is the best fitting system. While it isn't the most complex game I've played, it isn't the simplest either, and other choices might work out better.
I'd first work on the understanding that playing a front-liner is all about taking damage...but surviving it.
There are lots of build guides. I have not seen any that keep a learning disability in mind. Most tend to be complicated and maxed out.
The quick sheet is a great idea. From the sound of it you need to do most of the record keeping for him, I would think this sheet would help. You can break it down to just a few things;
Hitting and doing damage
Getting hit and taking damage
Saving throws
Skills
If he has trouble with the taking damage part but wants to keep it simple, I would suggest an archer type build. You can take lots of feats that simply apply all the time so you don't have to remember to use it each turn, still do good damage, but yet mostly stay out of harms reach.
Personally I feel this is a good opportunity for anyone that is learning disabled. The game can be as simple or complicated, on an individual basis, as your player needs it to be. And can increase in complexity as your player is able to handle it.
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Learning Disability is a broad term that covers a whole lot, and helping people overcome various learning disabilities is a complex skill. I suspect that you would do better researching how to help someone with his own particular difficulties learn anything rather than how to teach pathfinder to any and all learning disabled people.
That said, I applaud you willing to help out others, and I suspect that it will work out as long as you are patient. If you could have another player assigned as a permanent 'helper' rather than you doing it yourself it might make it run smoother, if there is someone appropriate and willing for that role.
You might also want to consider if Pathfinder is the best fitting system. While it isn't the most complex game I've played, it isn't the simplest either, and other choices might work out better.
Pathfinder is the only system I have the ability to run. I rely on Herolab and buying another entire system (that isn't Shadowrun and I think that would be a WORSE idea) is expensive and I like doing things like paying rent and not starving. So I'm broke AF, and working with what I have.
As for what his particular Learning Disability is. I have no idea. We have everyone at the table helping him.
I wonder if there is something tech-based that might help him...
You might try using the Beginner Box rules just for his character, along with the far simpler BB Character sheet.
And the BB has a Barbarian pregen that might give you some ideas. One great thing about the BB set is that there is a page for each character that gives you a list of what you can do on your turn .
Perhaps you could give him a "job-aid" that lets him run his finger down the list each time it is his turn. Or enclose it in a plastic sheet protector and give him a wet erase marker so he can visually plot his going through the list.
It would help to know what kind of learning disability he has, because the solutions are different for the different problems.
Is he dyslexic? Is he dyscalcic? Does he have problems with auditory processing? Is it a problem with processing non-verbal information?
Does he have a physical disability?
There's a good "Beginner Test" and you can make flash cards to help him associate the questions and the answers.
Beginner Box Character Sheet Scroll down to get the download link
First thing to do is to make sure that his character is something he can handle. I am not sure that an Urban Barbarian was the best choice for him. There may be too many situational modifiers for him. Being able to choose what stat gets boosted by rage is a useful ability, but it requires understanding of what each of the stats do. Probably what is happening is too many things are changing from fight to fight. Even keeping track of the number of rounds of rage may be difficult for him. The crowd control also adds some complication to the character.
What he probably needs is a character that stays the same and the choices he makes are simple. If he wants to play a martial then fighter would probably be a better choice than barbarian. You can build a fighter so that almost all the choices are made at character creation. Not all fighters have to be built this way, but you can build them this way if you want.
If he did want to play a caster a spontaneous caster would be better. A sorcerer would actually be the best choice for him. All he has to do is to pick a bloodline and spells. Because he can only cast a limited number of spells, he only has to learn about those spells. This also limits his choices to a small number of things so he does not get overwhelmed
