I am from the hood. I grew up with people that never touched a game as 'complex' as D&D 5th edition. Once I walked them through it by using the tabs on the book step by step they easily picked up on it. Now if they are absolutely just don't want to or are totally confused by it I do it for them as they watch me create their character. I give session zero a whole day if needed and the players never had any complaints about it.
That all makes sense! I grew up in the burbs, where inviting someone to a fantasy role-playing game and then telling them it might take all day would get you laughed right out of their Subaru. But yeah, we all have different experiences. When I first started At the age of 32, I invited most of my close friends to play at one point. I quickly found out that most of them were not going to be into this. But I tried! Still, I had to coax them slowly and be very strategic in how I drew people in.
I had a similar experience with second edition it became something we called the story game because the name Dungeons & Dragons had a very panicky reaction from Parents at the time A lot of people think that our types of communities wouldn’t enjoy this game or couldn’t grasp it but I tell you every person who ran across this game got hooked. We started gaming tables that joined the chess club room on Wednesdays. Players taught new players, house rules arose for the room. People shared dice and books til everyone had enough and the games began to be something we played anytime we were together Outside and bored? Find somewhere the wind isn’t bad and game on. Parents aren’t home? Call up the neighborhood boys who have a character sheet made! Sneaking a gaming group out the back door as my parents came home unexpectedly has become a favored group memory.
When we started dating, the dude would manage the character sheet and the dm would do the math til she caught up or opted out They were big on character background and wardrobe. I loved it. That too became a big part of character creation.
It is how we did it when I was locked up as a kid. It is also how my buddy did it when he was doing his state time. It's kind of cool how the game crossed racial borders in men's sack at full sum
I generally have some premade characters ready to go for new players or characters that die suddenly. I find this is great for a new player entering an existing game and I take some time to explain the character and rules. Plus the group helps too. If they decide they want to continue then we can roll up a new character with them or they can keep the premade next session.
I just made my first High Elf Rogue character for my buddies custom campaign for V5 and I enjoyed the process. Helped me learn my character for the game.
My first experience was a goup of friends sitting around a shared PHB and creating our characters for LMoP. It was so exiting that, it was totally what hooked me into the game. Learning the rules during character creation was a big help, as we had time to discuss with eachother.
Awesome video (as always) I love the idea of having some pre-Jen characters on standby for people who are new to the hobby, I've always found character generation to be a chaotic process at the table! Most of the groups I play in, we have the first session just solely set aside for character generation, with little to no actual gameplay, not everybody's cup of tea but it works most of the time. Also I'm just the same when I get a brand-new game system, I skip straight to the character generation system, make a couple of characters, and then start reading the rest of the rules. When you've got a couple of characters sitting next to you while you are reading rules, you can compare the rule mechanics with the character sheet you got next to you, and that helps you better understand where the game is coming from.
My first game with new players (whether new to the hobby or new to a system) is a short (one session) one shot with pre-gens. I've found it gets people into a story faster and they get to see what the numbers on the page mean and how the rules work. I generally run campaigns, so after this session, I run a session zero for character design. They then have at least some idea of why the choices in character creation matter and what the options mean.
I am quite new to DnD. Was interested for a long time but never really got into it. Two weeks ago I started watching Critical Role Campaign 1 and binge watched the whole The Legend of Vox Machina show on prime. Currently I am trying to understand all the rules and started creating three different characters with big backstories. This way when I will find a group I have some characters ready and at least know the basics. Can't wait to start playing. RU-vid channels like yours really help me a lot.
I like the idea of the Essentials Kit and those type of beginner box when they offer character creation light with a narrow focus but I wish they just create several versions of the booklet to cover *all* possible characters, plus they need to clean them up even further if that makes sense: Don't need 2 pages of explanation on what's a Fighter or a Bard, just a 1 to 2 sentence description and clear, summarized "Roll this for your stats, put the highest roll here, write this for proficency, write this for equipment, write this for saving throws and choose between 1 and 2 (3 at the max) for your initial feat and initial ability. Like distill character creation down to 5 to 10 minutes and *then* go into 'What's a fighter?' and 'What other spells can I cast as a bard?' and so on.
Love the input in this video! I generally gage how excited the person is about it. Often they want to make their own character, so I ask them what ideas they had for a character or what characters from popular media they may want to immulate. I then make the character sheet, asking more questions if they seem more invested (for example I only ask what proficiencies they want if they clearly are invested). Then I also make a notecard cheat sheet with little bits of information that will be easy for them to remember. For example: Rogue You are good at: Sneaking, picking locks, acrobatics You can fight with: A bow, a sword, daggers Special traits: Theives cant'; you can understand a special thief language. Sneak attack; you deal more damage to enemies when you have an advantage, such as being hidden.
Hi. My first try was with 6 new players and me fully guiding them around. They did want play and it was quite an effort about 2 hours later we started playing (for the next five hours). Meant for one-shot but we kept up with a series of quests. For my next party, most of them new again, I tried to mix the two worlds of pre-gen chars and char creation. I completed half-character sheets, one for each class, with level 1 and 2 variants. Also I had the math of their gear and AC ready, so they didn't look in the PHB. All they had to do was roll the stats, pick a race and a background (the tables of the backgrounds were optional). For example Monk sheet had AC=10+DEX+WIZ ready to fill when they roll the stats. The gear was also pre-gen basic gear and I told them their coin ahead. They players were more comfortable to make only the RP choices, roll some dice and was easy to guide them simultaneously (all Elves add 2 DEX to your roll, etc). It cut down the character creation more than half and took away very little of the important staff. I think they had 90% of the fun in 40% of the time. They only missed the knowledge of the fact that there are items to find and want. Which wasn't a problem that cannot be dealt later.
For me character creation is the first step if I want to try a new system. I totally agree that you will get into the lore and the mechanics, also you will understand the concepts of the other players better.
I recommend pre gen characters in a simple dungeon crawl. no huge backstories, quick plots and lots of encounters. This allows them to get the feel for the gameplay and let their imagination flow, without huge investments in character creation. lets make sure they enjoy and like the game 1st
I completely agree that the answer between pregen or rolling up a character is a big "It depends." But I would say there is another middle ground that I don't think I saw mentioned, and that is to simply ask the player open ended questions about what kind of character they would want to be, then you build the character for them. You kind of touched on this with ask them which race and class, then use the quick build option, but I am meaning more you ask them what they want to do in the game. Don't ask them about the race or class, don't ask them what kind of equipment they would want to use, just ask them what they want to do. How do they want to have fun? What would they enjoy playing as? Once you get an idea of what kind of fantasy they have in mind, then start asking some of those questions, and in a way, going through the character creation process with them, without doing the full sheet or opening a single book. I think you could build characters for people without them doing too much by asking them what they would want to do, who they would want to be, and how they would want to fight (when they did), and how they would like to deal with things (talk or kill)? Maybe you could ask them what kind of background they could see their character having, but I don't know that you would even really have to do much of that. Once you have some basic information, you can build their character and use some of the quick build techniques listed in the PHB, but still add in a few things that they would like to include. I like playing a rogue with a rapier, probably partially because of the Dread Pirate Roberts fantasy from The Princess Bride. And that is another point, you could ask them for ideas of characters they would want to play based on characters from movies, books, TV, etc. I think you can do a fairly easy semi-custom character with little work. It means more than a pregen, but it isn't as much work for the players as having them jump into it. Another things that I like to do with stats is to use my own standard array for everyone at my table. It is a little higher than the normal standard array, and I feel it helps lean more into the power fantasy, but everyone goes from that. I use (8, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17), so you can still start with a 19 if you have a race that has a +2 to a stat, or I guess if you are using the playtest rules, any race and just build it however you want it. There is also a negative modifier, which can make things interesting as well. But I like it because there is still some variance, but it also helps keep the players around the same power level, as you don't have one person blessed by the dice, and another cursed by them. I suppose another option is to have all of the players at your table use the same dice for stat generation, but to each their own.
I do both. I ask my players about a clear description of the charakter (like 1. What's your charcters name, 2. What is his purpouse in this world? 3. What are his biggest Advantage and Disadventage..., 4. How does he look. 5. What Items is something he usually has). Every mechanic detail, the sheet, the stats, abilites... is something I provide. It makes the gametransition so much smoother for me.
I'm knew player to dnd, but I loved creation proces for my first character. That end up being Half-elf, Druid and Outlander. My DM change Atletic skill from my background to acrobatic skill :). Wikidot and roll20 and PHB was my starter + RU-vid when I need clarification to somethings. Watching some dnd sessions on RU-vid can give you some clues too especially to game mechanics and roleplaying elements.
Great video!! When I’m introducing folks to the game and character creation, I sit down and ask about types of fictional characters they like. For example, want to be a fighter type? Would that be more like Aria Stark, Breanne of Tarth, Blade, or maybe like a Jedi, with some magic powers? Magic user? Want to be more like Loki, Wanda, Wong, or Minerva McGonagall? Pulling from pop culture references that they are familiar with can really help them design their character archetype.
I'm always for getting the players to create the characters, but I leave the mechanical side of things til very last with first timers. I started DMing at the start of 5E with guys completely new to TTRPGs. I helped them make their characters by having them make people - aka asking them what kind of characters and archetypes they enjoy in movies and games, that they would like to play personally. What job the had, what made them become adventurers, what weapons and armour they see them wearing, what skills they bring to the table etc etc. I told them not to worry about mechanical limitations abd to avoid thinking in that manner, instead just be ad full on as they could about what they wanted from a character. After back and forth over a week or so, with much more input and specific details than I expected, we were ready for our session 0. I then moved their character concepts into DnD mechanics with them, fine tuning things like stat allocations, racial traits (and subraces if applicable) and then giving a few sentences about the classes that might fit into their desired characters themes, and the subclasses they can move into later down the line, to ensure they have some kind of understanding of what the character will be like without bogging them down with the mechanical side of things. It really helped get them all from "Sure, ill give it a try but i can't promise I'll always attend" into absolute DnD fiends who felt connected to their characters before even starting, because they were more than just numbers and abilities on a page. Everything mechanical was taught in game. We played an official module and everyone quickly came to terms with their abilities, skills, how to make skill checks or word actions of their characters to push for rolls, and even learned how to avoid metagame decisions, all through gameplay. It wasnt until they started to level up that they actively began to read the PHB, and thats when the curiosity and ingenuity of character creation struck and the characters quickly grew into their own, as DnD sunk its teeth fully into them. By our second campaign and all the first time "I'm gonna test what you'll actually let me do, since you say I can do what I want" energy had dissipated, we had fully fleshed out and integrated character concepts with their own connections, ties to the plot, vices and flaws. That campaign was a delight to run as even i didn't know what was going to happen each session. We even added another first time player using the same character creation method and it went great. They ended up not sticking with us, as life got in the way, but they gained a new hobby regardless. My POV will always be that pre-gen characters are much worse than personalised ones, since its the connection between player and character that make DnD (And other TTRPGs) special, and why they have persisted for so long. By using a pre-gen youre missing that personal flair and seeing the mechanical without understanding the RP gives you more to be overwhelmed by initially. Its easier to have a character you've built from the ground up and ask to do out of the box things as a new TTRPG player, than it is to see a sheet of available actions and skills and see the person you are meant to be playing as.
My favorite policy is to introduce new players to the world I'm running during some 1 on 1 time to ask them questions about the type of character they're interested in, help them figure out where their character fits in the world, and walk them through the character creation process based on what they're most interested/comfortable with. It's literally the most time consuming method possible, but it really does increase their enjoyment through their first campaign and help them to care more about taking part in the collaborative storytelling experience. Having the DM available to answer any and every question as well as guidance to make the avatar they will be happiest to embrace is generally very appreciated. The biggest advantage of this method? You can gather the information of how experienced, invested, etc the player is and smooth over anything they couldn't care less about while focusing on the parts of the game and character that tickles their fancy. (When I ran in game shops with open invitations to anyone who was interested I would ask them to either observe the rest of that session then do it after or schedule a day/time before the next session... never try to fit this process into the hour(s) before the next scheduled session because it will always take longer than expected.) XD
The first edition D&D players hand book was great for quik reference on charcter creation. but what ya gotta rememeber is its the player that puts the character into the avatar (which is essentially just a Race a Class and a Role). If your going to throw Noobs into a complicated campain where you have to make a pre roled PC, then your asking for trouble, might be a laugh but thats something as you say agreed upon. and thats the key. The DM is the boss but before the ride starts, it has to be agreed. Get em to sign the contract then laugh at... (with) their failures.
I was just thinking about this because I did a oneshot for new players to D&D. I gave them some pregens character but I was thinking in a more "intermediate way". Because it is true that if you provide a pregen character they might not be so invested on playing that character. I came up with a sort of "quick creation" using some homebrew and Tasha's rules. I used 'lineage and sidekick' rules from Tasha's to create the race and class and fill the void with some more narrative options (for instance give them advantage to some rolls if they can describe why their characters could do some task). Then, we worked together to create the backgrounds based on the oneshot theme. It gives you a sense of what is character creation with considerably less time, and ready to jump to the adventure
Yes, though in a session zero so you and other players can help them if they have questions. Also with how the game is going, as a DM bring some stuff that is relevant to the game your about to play like cultural backgrounds for races to help new players get an idea of the characters they might like to create (as not everyone comes to the table with an idea in their heads) and if stuck I can walk them through with me making a back up character at the table along side them. That helps too especially when some get stuck with the whole maths of it. Sometimes you don't know if a one shot streches out into a campaign or not so having this as a general thing to do might keep those new players interested in wanting to play those characters they made more in future games whether short one sessions or longer story campaign.
For my first time GMing, my players were new, so I grabbed the premade sheets from LMoP (and a couple more made by me). At session zero, I explained how to build a character and the major differences between the various classes, and then asked them if they wanted to try and build their pc (with my help) or if they were happy with a premade one just to understand how the actual game works. Only one player chose to build his own character, but during the campaign both him and the other players with a premade pc were equally invested in their characters, their background and their relationships with the others
Something I've done in the past is partially generate some characters, race and class, and subclass if it's like a one shot deal and we're starting little higher level. I make sure to have several options for this to have varied options for people and then I just describe the characters and let them choose, and just have them fill in background, so they get a sense of choice and ownership so they're into their characters a bit more.
That’s great. Providing some of the mechanics ready to go while leaving space for a backstory is a great compromise that can still help a player be invested in their character.
Great video with some excellent advice. Love the breakdown on when to use one over the other. I learned some of this the hard way. I really wish I had brought some pregenerated characters to a session with new young players. I had one who created her sheet online, but it had all kinds of wacky stuff on it. Had another using a pre-gen from Lost Mine, so he kept expecting some of the backstory stuff to play into my home-brew one shot, and had another player who was there because his friends were hanging out. That last player had nothing, so we threw together a character for him (a fighter, since he did like the idea of hacking and slashing goblins with a sword). It got the game off to a rocky start and created a bit of confusion. I was able to get things moving quickly enough once we started playing, but I could have cut down a lot of that first hour and a half into making the actual session more fun. In the end two of them really wanted to play again (the two who were interested in the first place). Next time, I'm bringing some pre-gens just in case.
For spell casters I would recommend to type out a spell description for each spell. It makes it easy instead of opening a book because they forgot what mage hand can do exactly.b
Recently did this for someone that's never even played video games before. I cut note cards in half and wrote a short one sentence of what each spell did. It wasn't until after the next session that I discovered that their are DnD spell cards available for purchase.
When I have new new players I always start with a sorta 1 shot. Usually it's an encounter they see in the campaign. That way they pick a pregen character and can understand the rules of combat. After the session I ask who wants to make a character and walk them through it for session 0 of the campaign next time we meet.
WAS20, thank you for this! This is possibly the most valuable help video I've seen, especially since I've been trying to get a session/campaign (undecided which yet) up and running. Also, my experience with DnD is basically watching folks playing online. That's right... I've never DM'd! I think you just helped me avoid a bunch of mine fields that I absolutely would have stepped into!
Thank you for posting this video. Im a newbie at the ripe old age of 48, and have played a couple of one offs and now about to join a campaign. i was asked to create a character and handed the players handbook with some character sheets. I actually nearly had a anxiety attack trying to nut something out, had no idea where to go and start from. i contacted a couple of the players who guided me though but am still not 100% of the process. Your video has put me at ease somewhat, thinking now its normal to some point not to understand it all.
I think there is a really good middle road where you talk to the player ask them if there is a particular character they would like to emulate in the game whether they want to play a spell caster if so do they want to tap into divine magic or nature magic or more arcane arts. What is their origin where did they come from before they decided to go adventuring? Spend about 15 minutes chatting then you go off and create a pregen that meets their requirements as close as possible and give them a fully filled out Forge domain cleric with their cantrips and spells they have prepared for that day chosen and go from there.
This was super helpfull. Im starting my first campaign with my friends next friday and im the only one with experience about d&d. They are all pretty hyped about creating characters and starting the game. I will keep your tipps in mind. Thank you very much.
Hello again, yea we're all newbies 😅 I mean basically..and the players are going to create their own characters. As the DM I'm going to help them create characters at our first session next week. ..also, everyone in the group is super excited, so I think it will be rewarding and fun, also there are a couple if not just one other person playing that is familiar with DND, so they can help. I have familiarized myself with the game just enough I believe. My plan is to do a one shot or two so we can get some experience playing, then start a campaign. I was planning also to let them use their same characters later in the campaign. I really can hardly wait.. also, I probably will suggest that they can work on backstory and such later. 🔥🤘🏻🖤🦇
I find it is much easier to become invested with a character if I've created it than if I use a pre-gen. That's one of the reasons why I prefer the Essentials Kit over the Starter Set (well, the original Starter Set, anyway, I don't have the new one). The rules for creating new characters are all there (unlike the Starter Set that only has pre-gens), but the options aren't as overwhelming as the full Player's Handbook. Still, it is helpful to have an experienced player help a new player. I wish I would have had that. But I agree, if you have completely new players then the one-shot or a few session campaign is the way to go. That way if they like their characters, they aren't stuck with them for a long time. If you are doing that route, though, maybe rather than full pre-gen or full new characters, go with the sidekick rules to create a character to start with. That way they still have input but don't have to go through the entire process for a character that won't be played again.
I was just wondering about this myself. I recently got the PHB and DMG and thought I'd ask people in my area if they wanted to learn D&D (I used to DM AD&D way back in the day). I thought maybe generating the characters for them would be prudent, but then again it'd be fun for them to do it, too, esp rolling those dice!
I use session 0 to help new players with their character. Also you could use the basic rules and the character rules in the Essentials Kit, both are simplified.
The game I mostly GM is known for being complex and it is a fact that character creation does take time, a really long time! But still, I do not like to "force" characters onto the players. So I use tricks: First and most importantly I always utilize software when making characters. That does reduce not only the time but reduces the needed calculations. Thus it is possible if unwieldy to create characters within a "limited" timeframe. With this method, I can also generate several characters, hopefully all of them, at the same time. I use this method only if the group knows they are going to keep playing RPGs and this system. Second, when I have new groups I use a very much reduced rule set, basically "house-ruled" into stupidity. With my preferred system, it is a lucky coincidence that the basic core rules have not changed since the system's inception in 1984 and thus I can make new chars in about 10 minutes, which could be "upgraded" fairly easily to the edition that will be played if the players want to. This compatibility over the editions makes it easy for me to increase the complexity of the game and the extent of the used rules over the sessions to the level the group wants to play at.
I just started a campaign of Strahd with 100% noobies. I found what worked for them was weeks before we started I asked what race and class they were interested in. I found pre-generated characters that matched those race and classes. From there I gave them the items, stats, and spells of the pre-generated characters but told them to come up with their own backstories, names, and looks. This gave them the ability to put their personality into the characters without blowing their minds right away with all the stats and options for spells and equipment. They had a blast and really made those characters their own and it definitely helped them get a feel for how spells, attacks, and stats work. So they can decide what to prioritize while leveling up.
Awesome advice man, I’m getting ready to game with some noobs who’ve never played before, I originally wanted to spend part of the first night generating characters but after seeing this I think we will start with some pre generated characters so we can get down to playing first, make characters later.
I have this pdf java script that allows you to create a character really easy. you add class race etc and it adds all numbers and lets you chose gear, spells etc with explanation. it helps a lot
I'm about to start my first session in like 10 minutes, but I think I did a good job at making my character, I say this just starting to watch this video lol. But to shorten it up, my character is a Dragonborn Rogue, and since we used standard to keep it simple, I have 15 STR, 15 DEX, 11 CON, 14 INT, 10 WIS, and 10 CHR. My character is an assassin that can create poisons with his breath weapon (poison), and is double proficient in stealth and sleight of hand. We're planning on a campaign that'll just keep going as long as possible, and I can't wait. Tell me if you guys think my character is good or not, I spent some time researching, but it's probably not perfect to a experienced player or everything. Talking about research, your videos are such a huge help, thank you so much
I DM'd my first game tonight. Ran three of my brothers in law (one experienced, two first timers) through the new starter set. We used pre-gens so that we could get right to it. I explained that we would create characters for everyone if they decided to come back and start a campaign. Pre-gens worked great, and it was really cool to see the first timers start pouring over the details on their sheets once they got the flow of the game.
I just walk them through it like character creator software does. I also tell them the pros and cons of any options they choose. 5e even has the optimal choice suggested in the book for somethings. Alternatively D&D Beyond is great for making character quickly and it's so easy to use and understand that you don't even need to know the rules to play, just tap on whatever the DM tells you to roll and it does it all for you. I taught my brother who has a learning disability how to use it and we made his character in like 20 minutes. He can now play D&D with me without getting overwhelmed by the rules.
I created PC’s in D&D Beyond for our nooby group when we got into D&D years ago (we play exclusively online due to reasons). Everybody got into the game and it was great, for awhile at least…. Then came level up time which i had to do cos it was in my DDB account and the players came to expect me the DM to do all of their paperwork. This was the same for basic rules, they didn’t bother looking at the PHB cos me the DM would look it up for them. These days my players make their own PC’s with fleshed out backstories and are expected to know the basic rules as well as their PC’s rules at least. My advice is to make PC’s for brand new players to get them going but once they’re hooked stop doing things for them. If they are truly into the game for the long haul, they will learn of their own free will, the ones that don’t will drop out eventually. One of the 4 original players is still in our group today.
I would say, have the GM and experienced players do it for them, while asking them what they want, for this, that, and the other thing. That way you get a good mix of speedy generation, while still keeping the new player involved in making their own character. They can still feel ownership of them, while not having to try to figure out the process, or get bogged down with all the options. This way, if they are interested, you can explain more as you go, and be brief when you feel you are losing them. The biggest problems I had with introducing players to character creation is the time it takes, and letting them do it all themselves is too overwhelming.
I think go all in on creating characters in session zero. I think creating characters is the most rewarding in the long run AND helps ease folks into the game more by learning the mechanics from the ground up. And if not having one shots, a shorter campaign like one of the starter kits ones is a great fit. I think Stormwreck Isle followed by Mines of Phandelver and then the Dragon of Icespire Peak is a great chain of adventures. A tool to help new folks create characters is to let them have the pre generated c-sheets from say, the kits by their side to help them see where to write what on their character, a bonus if same class/ race.
I kinda like giving a brand new player a "sidekick" from Tasha's Cauldron they have less abilities to worry about and they can learn some of the mechanics while interacting with the party for one or two sessions
When I am going to dm a game with new players, I'll bring a bunch of characters I've premade. I give them a choice to make their own or pick one of the premade one. Now since I have have a dozen and dozens of characters, I can recommend better race/class combos, and attributes, skills, and spell, etc. Explaining why or why not to choose this over that. However I'll let them have final say. (Unless they really, really, really make a stupid choice, like warlock-without-eldritch-blast level stupid.) After the first session, after they play with the character and see for themselves, I will allow them tweak it up to and including a complete redo. My only rules are: point buy / array generation of attributes, no evil alignment, and no magic items at the start. I also use Hero Lab to check for rules violations and will print updated characters for each session.
When my friends introduced me to rpgs they did not give me the option to take a pregenerated character. In fact I was expressly forbidden from doing that. And quite frankly I would not have wanted to play something pregenerated. Choosing who you want to be is such a big part of the appeal of rpgs for me. And while I did really love the character from a roleplay perspective I was super disappointed by how it worked mechanically. I wish my gm and fellow players had been more clear about that during session zero. We played World of Darkness and I picked a Ceilician Bastet. I had imagined being able to change between my diffrent shapes at will. However it's not that easy and I rolled a lot for shape changing and always got stuck halfway through. That kind of killed the whole idea I had of my character. When I expressed that frustration, my friend told me that there is an advantage I could have taken to make shape changing easier. I really wish the others would have given me more guidance on how to put my character concept into game mechanics. I wish they would have asked a lot of questions along the lines of "How do you see this character? How do you imagine that working? This is how that skill works mechanically, is that what you were going for?". And maybe checking in and reworking or tweaking the character after a few sessions would have helped a lot. It was so discouraging that nothing worked like I had expected, that I was petrified of any action that might require a dice roll for a long time. In a couple of days I'll be holding my first session zero as a gm and I plan on walking my players through a few hypothetical dice rolls during character creation and offering them to adjust their characters after a few session to hopefully avoid putting them through the same frustration I had gone through.
People who regularly play any RPG should definitely create their own characters because you're more invested in the character when you've gone through the time and effort to create and equip them and develop their backstory. The exception is when you have one or more tourists at a session. If it's just someone sitting in for the evening then a pre-gen is fine for them. The other option is a semi-pre-gen that is mostly filled out but a person can spend ten or fifteen minutes customizing arms and armor, equipment, spell lists, or other character details.
I enjoyed a bit of what I believe was AD&D in 1996 but haven't touched it since. Been wanting to pick up the latest edition as my partner has seemed up to play but it would likely be just us (me also being DM) so not sure if it would hold interest for long.
Character creation can be a game in itself. It’s crazy fun and super important no matter how much investment you make in a character It is a requirement in my games to either play please pre-generated character or to specifically have a character completed and authorized by the game master before being introduced to the game world no matter their experience at the table. I also think character creation for new players should never be completed solo. It should be talked out and walked through til it’s paths and lanes are clear
I've never used pregen characters. I've dangled them as 'an easy way in' for new players that are worried that they don't know what to do, but every time they have shown a desire to play a specific trope/class/race and after explaining that I can talk them through the process in about 10 mins if they're willing to look through the options, they've all taken custom characters. I usually follow up by sitting with them and talking them through the skills/feats/spells that they have access to and creating a cheat sheet of what can be done on a given turn that they then add to as they level up.
this actually reminded me of the debates over Divinity: OS. Larian gave people pre-gen characters to great effect, and of course a vocal minority cried about custom characters not being as fun to play. I also expected you to touch on the pitfalls of new players not knowing which builds will not work well, but to me there should be a middle road between pre-gen combat roles/abilities and create your own actual identity.
It depends on the scope of the world, because worlds that are rich in lore is often to much for new players to consume alongside learning the rules. In situations like this, I prefer to provide pre-generated characters until they understand the world and rules of the system.
my first D&D character was a pregen, played it to lvl 3. then created my own and imo its way better. that said i played Heros Unlimited, Robotech, TMNT, Star Wars (D6) and Mekton back in the 90's and nothing since 96ish until August 2021 so i'm not a total noob
The big point in the video is having the player make i formed decisions. If the player want to play a Spellcaster with pointy ears freezing monsters and throwing ice-bolts, for a DM that’s enough information to whip up a reasonable build for this in less than a minute. Next is having them choose a name and everyone is happy.
I have a party of completely new players and I just told them that we're playing a campaign, and we all got in a call the day before game night and we created characters using dnd beyond. It took us about 20 minutes.
As someone who’s been doing this for so long, I definitely will build a new player’s character alongside them rather than have them use a pre-generated one, although that’s because I rarely play with a group of entirely new people. When 5e first came out, though, I was trying to get a bunch of new people in the door at once, so I asked them what kind of character they wanted and built their statistics myself. Really dunno what I’m gonna do the next time I run for someone new, whether it’s 5e or otherwise.
Imo every player should create their own character for a campaign, with guidance if needed. For a one shot though, prepare characters are fine, especially for new characters.
I'll start a new game next week, two new people, one experienced who hasn't played that particular game yet. I find that new people often can't grasp the world and the characters they're with, because they lack context about everything. So what I'm gonna try is start with a few short scenes from their childhood where they roll the dice a little and get to experience some key formative moments if their character. Then they get a few weeks to create a preliminary version with which we start playing and then they get to reshuffle if they want before we finalise the character.
So I’ve never played dnd before none of my friends have either so I have to become the DM. I’ve watched the entire JRWI podcast but that’s all the experience I’ve got, I’ve got a rough outline of a flexible story a character sheet but I don’t know what to do when making bosses, or npcs any tips?
This is a stupid question. I've been playing for 20+ years, and new players who build their own characters - with as much help as they request/need - are gonna enjoy playing more than if you just hand them a character sheet you've already made. This goes for everything from 5e baby mode to GURPS level complexity.
I've introduced D&D to non-native English speakers. My approach is either pre-generate more characters than players and let them choose or dumb it down to "pick class, pick race, roll stats and let's go from here."
I played D & D once in college. A DM friend of mine had me play, and I spent 3 hours rolling a character. I had to do it the "right" way, according to the DM. Then, when the campaign came around, I was dead in five minutes from being dropped into the campaign and having to deal with a stone-skinned wyvern. Needless to say, I have never played D & D again. I'm a huge nerd, but I'm not keen to go through that again.
Hello Nate: Is there a reason why you don't have a review of The Wild Beyond the Witchlight D & D Book. I don't want to buy it until I get the OK from you. I really trust your reviews more than anyone! You are really smart! Your reviews are very important in my decision making on all things D & D. Thx so much....👽👽👻😉
Recently I’ve just not been super interested in keeping up on every fifth edition book released. Feeling a bit of book fatigue I guess! They also stopped sending me new book releases, and while I do buy some of them I am trying to stick only to those that MOST interest me.
@@WASD20 Hi Nate, Thx so much 4 getting back me so fast, that really means a lot to me. I totally understand your position & answer on this. I am 110 percent with you. AgaIn, thx so much 4 your super fast reply. I really enjoy your extremely awesome D & D Videos. I think you are by far, hands down, the Best Dungeons & Dragons Reviewer on the Interweb....👽👽👻😉
I will admit that before I started dnd, I did my best to figure out how to make a character and mistook what the modifiers meant and had those as my scores. Oops. Thanks JoCat's Crap Guide videos in helping me realize that BIG oops.
Using a pre-generated PC may be convenient for new players until they understand the game and know what they actually want… but nothing gets you personally invested in the game like creating your own character, who really is an idealized version of yourself.
Before I watch this, my take is that this is what Session Zero is for. The more newbies you have, the more important this is. Th GM should provide some information about where they will start and then help them build a viable party. They will gain a better understanding of how to play the game; more so than if the GM just gave them pre-made characters.
Okay, I'm 32 years old, my wife is 31. I've slowly been getting more and more intrigued by the game and finally decided to get the essentials kit. I'm trying to convince my wife to learn to play with me but everything feels so daunting right from the start. Not to mention it's just us 2. Any tips for getting started? I'm basically volunteering to be DM since we've both never played.
If you’re looking to make it less daunting, I would definitely recommend pre-generated characters. You can just search them online or I think there are probably some tips for finding them in the essentials kit. Other than that, just read the books carefully and give it a shot. The first couple times so probably be a bit rocky but you’ll come out the other side having had a lot of fun!
Also I agree and feel like 1st time players shouldn't usually start an adventure path style campaign. That van be a recipe for a short lived campaign. Better to play one shots and string then together if they stick with it
I know I'm an pain, but here is a video series idea. I noticed that you don't have any videos on Character Races. Could you do something about this or recommend someone.
I think pre-generated characters for a one shot is a good way to introduce a new player. If they like it then they can create their own character for a campaign
If you DON'T create a character you are missing a major part of what a TTRPG is If I had been handed a pregen instead of rolling 3d6 for my abilities I doubt I would have played beyond the first session. The ONLY time a pregen is acceptable is at a Con where you have limited time to play. Otherwise it is NEVER acceptable. Choose a system with simpler character creation if needed but DO NOT skip it!
Ok here is an interesting conundrum. A Halfling is 3 Feet tall, a Longsword is 3 1/2 feet long. How can a Halfling wield a Longsword and not be hindered in some way?
It would be a halfling long sword. Same is true of armor. It must be halfling sized. There’s certainly a case to be made for less damage from a halfling long sword, but there are all sorts of ways the rules overlook these inconsistencies for the sake of simplicity.
When I tried to get back into gaming after a 20 year gap I was introduced to 5E by being handed players handbook and told here make a character then had my questions dismissed and ignored for ninety minutes or so and I came out with an absolutely useless first level monk that I did not enjoy gaming with But that’s with a group of people I don’t play with anymore because they aren’t fun They all play the game but they all play it alone At a table full of people
That’s fair! There are lots of other great RPGs, and many of them are more beginner friendly. Still, I teach high school students, and what I find is they all want to play D&D, not another RPG.
While I do agree in general that this is a more or less beneficial thing to do with totally green players, 5e in particular has some of the easiest mechanics and the fastest and simplest character creation I've seen. And I've been playing TTRPGs for thirty years, so... yeah. Shadowrun? Use premades, sure. Eclipse Phase? Premades. Nephelim? Same. But dnd 5e? Naw dude. That's 15 minutes. I've started a table of total newbies in that flat, more than once, and I'm a midling comunicator at best. So I'm living proof it's doable. Just saying.
Wow, that’s incredibly impressive. in my character creation tutorials I pretty heavily edit the process down and still have trouble making them less than 30 minutes. Games like index card RPG or tales from the loop I could I could easily make a character in 10 or 15 minutes, but never 5e. Takes me at least 10 or 15 minutes just to select my spells, lol.
@@WASD20 You give me too much credit. I'm only one of many people I know who can do this, and do it better than I can. That said, thirty minutes to get a group started on a system, as you say it takes you, is nothing. You could have viable characters in an hour by those numbers. Which is precisely my point.
I made a character on my computer just find out then when my computer died it wiped my charcter and couldnt get it back so i have to watch your building a charcter video again and 😭
My nephews want me to teach them how to play so I was gonna have them make characters but after watching this I think I will make some pregenerated characters incase they start getting bored.
Also another thing that you learn when you give pre-gen characters on new/experienced players on any TTRPG they will learn how to make a proper a character with the game system and they will not complain later that their 1° sucks.
