Enticing first session for Newbies

[RealMarkP]

I'm starting a new campaign with friends that have never played D&D before. It will be 3.5e, because I know it best. Other than myself, there will be 3 newbies and 1 seasoned player. It will be based in Eberron, on Khorvare.

Since they never played before and have no role playing behind them (other than MMORPGs, if you can call them RPGs), how would you start your first session off with newbie players? And what elements would you introduce to make it memorable?

Assume that they have their characters created.

[bihlbo]

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.

[weenog]

You ever played Tales of Symphonia?  Eberron can look a lot like the flourishing world Tethe'alla, from the magitechnology to the racism to the church struggling with fractures and corruption.  If your players are more about video games, and you borrow some ideas from there, the familiarity might appeal to them.  Some video gamers seem to latch onto RPGs best when they make the connection to what they're already doing, except that the NPCs don't always say the same useless thing, and you don't automatically have to stop because there's a mountain, a river, or some different-colored ground in the way.

Maybe the local church has hired the gang on for a very easy job.  Just go to safe, simple to reach (but inconveniently distant) Location A, pick up and bring back Thing B, some object or material required for some upcoming religious function.  No problem, except when they get to Location A, Thing B is not prepared, because NPC C (the guy on the supply end) has vanished, fallen ill/injured, or died, being some fallout of Plot D by NPC E (unrelated bad guy who did not target NPC C, but simply doesn't care if people get run over while he's doing his thing).  The players can go back and report to their patron, try to come up with Thing B on their own and bring it back, or try to investigate what's wrong with NPC C and gradually uncover and get involved in Plot D, whatever that is.

You don't want to overwhelm the players with options or they'll get lost and stuck, but do try to emphasize that they have choices, and those choices matter.  Perhaps if they report back, the church sends out investigators and finds out about Plot D, and works to oppose it, but D has a major head start.  If the players come up with their own Thing B, Plot D is missed altogether, and succeeds without a hitch.  If the players investigate, they throw a wrench into the works, possibly foil D altogether, and may have thrown a stone which sent ripples reaching all the way to the eventual BBEG.

[SneeR]

One thing that really got a group I had in shape was just having everyone get into character and tell their backstory before the game began in the first session.

ALSO: MAKE SURE THERE IS AN INCITING INCIDENT!
What I mean is, have some incident that ensure the characters want to do something together as a group OTHER THAN the fact that they are all PCs and should work together.

I played a session recently where the DM had us in a forest with a bunch of crazy people held there by an overbearing government. We were supposed to choose a side, but both sides were unlikable. The druid didn't even have a reason to fight. What should have happened was the government should have burned down the forest to kill the crazy people. Then the druid would have a reaon to join us, and we would have a reason to rebel against the government. As was, we were desperately searching for some reason to do anything to disrupt the status quo. The status quo is your enemy!!!!

[altpersona]

by hook or by crook make sure they have a proper success : failure ratio.

disappointment breads desire.

[RealMarkP]

Each player makes character backgrounds and identities. I build the character sheets, and each character is a level 1 NPC class. [...] Then picks class.

I have thought about this, but for a campaign that never took off (due to real life issues). We had two sessions, where the players stared off as NPCs, with NPC jobs and skills. It worked quite well and I highly recommend trying this for those that are reading this thread. However, for newbies, it might be hard to swallow. They want to be a super hero right from the get go and starting off as a boring commoner might dampen their fun.

ALSO: MAKE SURE THERE IS AN INCITING INCIDENT!
What I mean is, have some incident that ensure the characters want to do something together as a group OTHER THAN the fact that they are all PCs and should work together.

I read a post on the BG boards a while ago, where one DM started the campaign off with an encounter. No words were exchanged, just dice rolls. The RPing came afterwards. I'm thinking of following this set up, but with a slight alteration.

I will start with an encounter, where the players are part of a caravan heading from Town A to town B. Before the combat starts, the players will stand up and (in character) say who they are, why their there, and what will they be doing once the caravan has arrived at its destination. By doing so, it will be assumed that during the day(s) of travel prior to the encounter, the passengers of this caravan exchanged pleasantries and got to know one another. Then the encounter will start. Bandits will raid and kill people, leaving only the players to survive and possibly retrieve their belongings. There is nothing stopping them from parting ways afterwards, so it is up to me to shove them into an unknown place where they need to rely on each other for support. Having a noble pay for their training was mentioned and that is a very good idea.

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?

EDIT: I stumbled into this plot hook which I'm thinking of using in conjunction with the Caravan idea. Once the tomb has been plundered by the PCs, they might get picked up by the authorities and thrown in jail together - again, to foster group cohesion.

[weenog]

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?

Depends on everyone's level of patience.  The first real encounter with an unfamiliar system (or even just an unfamiliar rules subset) tends to be pretty slow and clunky.  If anyone gets fed up waiting for 10-20 minute rounds to pass, they're less likely to stick around to see what else the game has to offer.

[RealMarkP]

If anyone gets fed up waiting for 10-20 minute rounds to pass, they're less likely to stick around to see what else the game has to offer.

This is true. And I've yet to devise a streamlined system to help with the learning curve. In previous campaigns with a new player, I have the experience of the other players to lean on. The group ends up helping the weakest link.

In this case, the encounter depends on them failing so that their stuff is stolen and them being knocked out. I could make the encounter overpowered, which will give them a taste of combat but not enough to drag it on for several hours. Railroading the players on their first encounter comes with its own set of problems. .

Maybe this encounter idea wasn't the greatest. Or am I over thinking this?

[bihlbo]

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.

[veekie]

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?

Depends on everyone's level of patience.  The first real encounter with an unfamiliar system (or even just an unfamiliar rules subset) tends to be pretty slow and clunky.  If anyone gets fed up waiting for 10-20 minute rounds to pass, they're less likely to stick around to see what else the game has to offer.

Its not ALL that bad, depending on how complex things get. A 'tutorial' encounter at low level would be just straight out attacking and taking hits, No status effects, no save inducers from the other side, above all no grappling.
Try to involve only the PCs and only the enemy, and ideally, an enemy directly related to an upcoming plot. Scenery details a plus, provided only the PCs use them. A big beefy monster they can dogpile serves as a basic intro to heroics, and is relatively simple.

After that, you can introduce other mechanical concepts over the course of play. As you already have one experienced player, things wouldn't be as complicated as it might be for an entirely new crew.

[zero]

I have been in this situation before, with a group some time ago, I opted for a module, I believe it was "A Dark and Stormy Night", and made sure they say the first challenge from the Book of Challenges.  With a single player, more recently, I used two tightly written modules, "Something's Cooking", some random encounters, and then "Gambler's Quest", which worked really well.  In both cases, the players had fun, learned their characters a bit, and got immersed in the game.

[Nemo]

I would start with a short pre-game one on one roleplaying sequence with every character, to put them into mood and make them little more used to talking in character. Giving them some personal goal is also pretty useful, because this way they have something to focus about and roleplay around ; it's usually rather hard for new players to invent their own objectives, and goalless player = confused player = non roleplaying player. Goals also give some sense of identity, which makes thing for them easier.
Personally, I think that LVL1 isn't too good for new players - it's easy to die, luck is far too important, and after being hit for 3/4 of their hp they will start play defensively and reactively, instead of being active.
Also, I wouldn't start with combat encounter. While it can certainly be very cinematic and cool on paper, it also can be tedious, slow and immersion breaking. Combat-less action sequence can be fun and exciting too, especially if you can weave rolls for skills/saves into narration.
Giving them some options is also good; choices are almost always fun, especially if they really do impact something. Giving them choices is probably best way to make them roleplay; if world reacts to you, you react to world too. But don't give them too many options or don't leave too much room for open-ended solutions, especially ones based around being familiar with mechanical tools; it might be confusing and sneak in frustration.

[Rejakor]

Go heavy on the magic tea party, light on the rules heavy combats.

Immerse.  Don't explain, just tell them where they are.  New players are actually MORE likely to roleplay.  Introduce an element of danger/excitement once they're off and roleplaying/doing stuff/talking to shopkeeps.  Excitement/danger keeps them coming back, roleplaying turns it into 'not a board game'.

Magic tea party, genre-appropriate excitement.  Keep it simple, short and sweet.