Min/Max Boards

In 2E, there was the 12th level spell (and the only 12th level spell ever) Karsus's Avatar, that stole a god's power. Karsus himself cast it on Mystryl, the god of magic, which was a bad idea (Netheril: Empire of Magic and Powers and Pantheons both have more information on the event). When Mystryl was reincarnated to Mystra, she banned all spells that were too powerful.
There's a good reason to decide to go godkilling - You want to be able to cast the immensely powerful spell that can transform you into a god in your own right, and damn the consequences.

I'm not following... How does killing a god allow you to cast a powerful spell that transforms you into a god? Are you referring to Mystra specifically, as in kill her to lift the ban on 12th level spells? Or something else?

For those of you who have played with inexperienced players, do you think that diving knee-deep into an encounter is the best course of action?

That depends on a couple of things. If the player has looked over the rules, sort of understands what their skills do, what feats they have, and what kinds of options they have in a combat, then by all means start them in the middle of an encounter because it allows them to use the tools they are familiar with. As the game progresses, introduce them slowly to roleplaying elements so they can learn their character as they go.

My solution is the opposite, however. I'm asking players to come up with roleplaying tools and get involved on a more personal level, then I'm going to throw them into a situation that will require them to use those tools. As the first session progresses I'll be slowly introducing them to their character sheet, what it means, and what options they have according to the rules.

I have been in a situation where a group who have been playing together for a time add a new player who's never played D&D before. We kept playing pretty much as normal and kept throwing out as much explanation as we could to the newb. The result was him being totally overwhelmed and grasping at straws for ways to make himself a part of the group or relevant to the game. It wasn't good, so don't do that.

I don't see a lot of difference between saying "The gods just got mad or something" and "A wizard made up a spell you've never heard of that does something you've never heard of." If there's a better way than just researched handwaving I'd like to find it.

I'm doing something similar, and this is what I have planned:

Each player makes character backgrounds and identities. I build the character sheets, and each character is a level 1 NPC class. This way the new players need only learn how the game is played, not how to build a character or all the plethora of options. The only restriction on their character is they should be an ordinary nobody who's never done anything all that daring, exciting, or noteworthy.

The game starts in media res. The PCs have been abducted by goblins and really put through the ringer. It's the third day of being captive in a cage built into a cave, and one of the PCs wakes up for the first time since being beaten terribly.

So these nobodies who have no training in dealing with a situation like this are suddenly forced to figure it out. The actual adventure will play out pretty easy, with a little softball combat, other challenges that utilize their skills, and some roleplaying opportunities.

Once they escape, the macguffin they have belongs to someone who becomes their wealthy patron and finances their training to become his operatives (if they wish). At this point they build the first level of their character, replacing everything I've done with a PC class and the attributes they want. This way they get to play the game before deciding what main abilities interest them the most, which should help them choose a class and stuff.

For other things that hold the interest I'm planning for a lot of conflict among the various places they go for training. They can pick sides, side with the benefactor, or go rogue.

-Bihlbo
-I hate D&D and haven't found a better game, so let's call it my favorite.
-I also like video games (dwarf fortress lately) and avoiding life.
-I live in Seattle. It's in Puget Sound, south of British Columbia, north of a bunch of damn hippies. If you're in the United States, you gotta find Washington then go west to find me.
-I'm 35, my measurements are 60-62-60, I'm 5'10", I like long walks on the beach, bewbs, complexity, and ridiculous things.