Tips and Tricks for Teaching New Players

[AvianAlchemist]

Hey everyone, I'm currently playing in two games, one where I'm GMing for the first time and another where I'm the most experienced player with 2-3 new people. In both cases I've been providing a lot of guidance to the newer players, mostly with regards to character building. I don't consider myself an expert in any way, but I'm competent enough to walk people through the basics.

I was wondering if anyone has any tips for helping new people learn the system and get more comfortable with the basics. Some people seem to pick up on the mechanics pretty quickly, and some are still getting a grasp of the basics. I don't mind helping at all, but I don't want anyone getting left behind either. And honestly, I find messing around with the mechanics and looking at weird character options to be one of the most fun parts of the game. So I'm hoping to make the game feel more accessible for brand new people.

Any thoughts are appreciated! I'm not looking for a quick fix really, just wondering if there's something more I can be doing, beyond just walking them through things and answering questions. Let me know if there's any useful information I can add too; I know it's a pretty broad question.

[Scott Wilhelm]

In the campaign where you are just another player, you should make yourself a resource to your fellow players, but you should follow others' leads when it comes to offering help. Some people want to struggle through things on their own. Some people absorb all the advice they can get. Some people do both.

In the campaign where you are the GM, it is your job to show the ropes to the new players. If they are brand-new, then I recommend you make pregens for them to choose. Design those pregens to showcase some particular, interesting ideas about character building to help their players get a sense of how feats, Spells, and Class Abilities synergize to create powerful effects. Tell them they can keep playing with their pregens or create a character of their own whenever they feel ready to, and it can be either a level 1 or the same level as their pregen.

On a side note, I particularly disliked my experience with the Pathfinder Beginner Box Set. I ended up playing with the Iconic Rogue at Level 1. The first thing I noticed was that all she used was her daggers and maybe a rapier or something: no bludgeoning weapons. The first thing I wanted to do was sell my rapier and use a Morning Star with does both Piercing and Bludgeoning Damage, and more of it, but I was forbidden from doing so by the GM who said I was forbidden from doing so by the rules of the Box Set. So, the big bad encounter was Skeletons, and my character was useless. In other words, the Beginners' Box Set deliberately sabotaged my character to make her useless. And even though I immediately saw the problem, I was stonewalled from fixing it by special rules deliberately put there to give me a bad time. Sorrynotsorry for spoiling Paizo's attempt to spoil somebody's first gaming experience.

[SheepishEidolon]

When explaining something, present only the knowledge necessary for the given question. This way you don't overwhelm the player with details that can wait for another day.

Encourage players to help each other. It not only relieves some work from you, but also strengthens the social bounds between them and makes the advice givers more invested into the game.

When it comes to roleplay, it's easiest to play yourself in a fantasy version. It's actually quite challenging to play a very different character type consistently, so for new players it can quickly mean a lot of stress or a noncredible character.

I offer my players free rebuilds of their characters between sessions, though they have to tell me and not exploit it (like a favored enemy shifting around every other session). It reduces the pressure of "MUST BE PERFECT OR I AM USELESS" sigh, gives weak PCs a chance to catch up and avoids potential showstoppers like a player giving up on a PC. Worked pretty well during two campaigns so far: Everyone kept their PC, despite some mechanical changes.

[Sysryke]

Make sure they are comfortable with the core mechanic. Starting out, if something calls for a roll, you're always grabbing a D20 first. Seems silly, but it's amazing how many people I've seen forget that.

Take time to figure out what "type" of players your people are. It's from a 4e D&D book (Player's Strategy Guide IIRC), but there are some useful quick surveys that can help people identify what it is about the game that draws them in. Not everybody is a strong, or inclined to grasp the mechanics. Understanding this can help you figure out how much help/handholding each player will need, and/or how to rephrase things to make more sense to a player. Most of us are a mix, but on that list you have archetypes of players like "The Explorer", "The Observer", "The Actor", "The Power Gamer", "The Hack and Slasher", "The Storyteller", "The Thinker", and "The Instigator".

Take the time to do reference cards. It's math and front end time intesive; but, if you take the time to make formula cards for attack and other common rolls that account for all of the most common situational modifiers and/or spells, then you can save a lot of time in game later from people having to track all of those random +x's.

Accept that some players "just don't get it". As long as you, the player, and the rest of the group can have a good time, this doesn't matter. Some players will forever be fumbling along, forgetting even the most basic and/or frequent of mechanics. (This is as much an admonishment to myself as anyone else. Have a player that still asks how to roll initiative EVERY time. And doesn't understand how to handle attack and damage rolls, EVEN THOUGH it's all written out in the little attack box. . . . Sorry, venting.)

[AvianAlchemist]

Thank you very much everyone, this is all fantastic!

For the game I'm GMing, I opted to let everyone build at first level because I had a mix of brand new people and people with experience in different versions of D&D, so I wanted to let them explore a bit. I decided to write the campaign from scratch as well, so I could adjust more easily depending on what parts of the game people were enjoying the most.

Based on everything you've said, I think I might just be approaching some of these questions in the wrong way. I have a few players in both games who took to the roleplaying really quickly and have a much harder time with the numbers (I was definitely the opposite when I started playing). I think I felt that I was just explaining poorly or missing something when trying to work through mechanics with them, but that may just not be their cup of tea.

I'm definitely going to see if there's a good way to adapt that reference cards idea for a digital format, something that makes it quick and less intimidating for my more numbers adverse players. It might be a good reminder for myself as well, so I don't accidentally skip over things that are second nature by now. And I'll also make it clear that I'm open to reasonable adjustments in the group I'm GMing for. We're only a few sessions in but had a few small things come up, mostly around skill points. I'm definitely open to changes as the game goes on too, and maybe that'll help reduce any stress about making "bad" mechanical choices early on while everyone is learning.

As the games progress I'll probably get a better idea of what different kinds of players are around the table and worry a bit less too. I'm probably holding myself to a bit of an unreasonable standard as I try to get everything off the ground.

[VoodistMonk]

Tip one:
You can make a perfectly viable character without taking anything that penalizes your accuracy. Let that sink in... Power Attack, TWF, Deadly Aim... they actually AREN'T necessary. Don't mistakenly think that you HAVE to fit them in.

Tip two:
Combat Maneuvers are a trap. They take too many feats to get online, and by the time you can afford all the feats, the maneuver is irrelevant. Dirty Tricks are the only exception to this, but I still wouldn't advise pursuing Dirty Tricks to a beginner.

Tip three:
Build for fun and flavor. Make your character a character. Optimization is cool and all, but making a session memorable is worth being imperfect.

[Scott Wilhelm]

AvianAlchemist wrote:

I'm definitely going to see if there's a good way to adapt that reference cards idea for a digital format, something that makes it quick and less intimidating for my more numbers adverse players.

I usually record my characters on a spreadsheet. You could just have them do that on Google Sheets and have them share the sheet with you, giving you editorial powers. You can show them how to organize the character information in a way that is easy to use in combat. You can have them create separate pages that have condensed information.

[JoeElf]

For the basics of building a character [especially quick selection of spells and feats], I like the Strategy Guide.
https://paizo.com/products/btpy99sk/discuss?Pathfinder-Roleplaying-Game-Str ategy-Guide

I would recommend adding in a couple of things that aren't there though:
1. use Unchained if going with Rogue
2. get Raging Vitality if you are increasing your Con with rage [it seems to me that using 1 feat and sticking with core Barbarian is better than Unchained Barbarian]
3. get Fey Foundling if you can spare the feat at level 1
4. consider giving an extra feat, as there are so many things players may want characters to do that are gated behind other feats. For new players who aren't powergaming, this shouldn't set the bar too low for challenges.

[AvianAlchemist]

Thankfully I don't think I'll need to worry about anyone optimizing too much; in both games I've seen a lot more interest in flavor than choosing the "best" option, and I don't think any of us have the level of skill to truly optimize anyway (save the GM of the game I play in, and it's pretty clear that he doesn't expect that from us). I should look into that strategy guide though. I honestly didn't know it existed, but it sounds like it might be a nice summary of some basics.

I also actually have a spreadsheet that I've personally been using, and I did offer it up to both parties as well. It's loosely based off a combination of the standard character sheet and a few others, with some of our standard house rules worked in. I designed it to work digitally or on paper though, so there are some weird space constraints on it to make everything fit nicely. I might try to adapt that into a digital only format which lays everything out instead of condensing some things into a formula in a single cell.

[SheepishEidolon]

One of my players uses a free tool to get along with all the rules - I think it's PCGen. Might be worth a look especially for people who have a hard time remembering rules.

[gnoams]

Don't hit them with rules to start with, only the one fundamental basic. You roll a d20 add numbers to hit a target number. That's it, that's all they need to know. Get them playing right away, introduce rules one at a time as needed during play. If they have fun, then they'll have some motivation to go read rules and learn more about the game themselves. If you open by slamming the 575pg rulebook down in front of them as their introduction to the game, they'll be like nah I'm good, I thought we were going to have some fun not study a textbook.

[AvianAlchemist]

Wow, I was not expecting this much of a response, thank you everyone! Right now everyone does seem to be having a good time, so hopefully that means they'll start growing more comfortable with the game as well. I really appreciate having so many tools to potentially use though! They should be really helpful in making sure that everyone continues having fun and doesn't get bogged down in anything.

[marcryser]

When I teach new players I try and treat them like they are new. They don't need options and extras, they need an understanding of the rules and to have experience doing all the basic things. They need to have some combat, make some saving throws, use some skills, etc.
The last time I started a group of totally new characters, it was with 1st level, core, human characters.
The first game session was them getting run through a 'boot camp' by an NPC. They had to hike through the woods to find a specific location, survive for two days on their own, and 'fight' one of my characters with practice weapons. Along the way they used survival, climb, perception, stealth, and various knowledge skills. They made saving throws in each category when it got cold (fort), a fallen tree shifted as they crossed a river (ref), and got their noses rubbed in their repeated failures by the NPC trainer (will). Finally they had to move into a cave and 'rescue' another NPC from the 'hobgoblin' (my PC wearing a disguise.) They knew that it was a training exercise because they had their weapons taken away and were handed padded clubs to use.
At the end of the session, they knew their stats, HPs, AC, and how to roll attacks, saves, and skills. During the next session they started off on their own adventures.

[Sysryke]

Aside from the fact that I don't personally enjoy "vanilla" humans, that sounds like one of the best playable "session/level 0's" I've ever heard of. I've played in one or two that maybe had a bit more campaign specific flavor, but this is a great new player launch point.

[Hugo Rune]

My advice would be to stick to the core rulebook to limit the player options. Maybe incorporate the Strategy Guide and/or the class guides that were posted on this forum years ago. Those guides will help the players make good choices for the concept tgey wish to go for.

As play progresses, ask the players what they want to do and guide them through the mechanics and what their characters are good and bad at.

[Peg'giz]

Use Cheat Sheets!
A one page document which contains the basic rules/principles/Formulars of the game (in a well layout design).
Maybe even encourage your players to create these for them-self, tailored to their character/class.

Very important: only one page, well written and layout (try to mimic the game systems style (writing and art).

I did this for Starfinder and DnD5 and it worked wonder.

[Taja the Barbarian]

If playing a 'chained' Barbarian, it might be helpful to get into the habit of tracking your 'current damage taken' rather than the 'hit points remaining' on your character: It'll make it much easier to get your head around how your total HP pool changes when you start or stop raging but the damage you've taken doesn't...