Sorry folks, I may have missed this(reading so much and reading the Starter Set Box now) but what is the best way to introduce new players, to making their own characters? Is there a simple way to show them how to do it that holds their hand a little?
Have them use D&D Beyond. The character builder on here does a pretty good job of guiding players through the process. Ideally, no one should have bought anything yet, so their range of options should be relatively small (it would still feel like a ton of options though for a new player), so if they have habit of reading everything, but they did not take the time to read outside of table time, it should not take them too long to read everything.
If you are not using Beyond and are doing things manually via pen-and-paper, for their first campaign, I recommend just having them choose a pregenerated character from Wizards' website. And as they level up, they can just pick the next character sheet for the next level. On their second campaign, that is when I would guide them through the character generation process.
When I first started, I made the mistake of buying the PHB and quite a few other books (and subscription to share content) before the campaign, so my group of players have bunch of options, and it took us three whole session zeroes to get everything down, and that is when they use Beyond's character builder. If we were doing it by hand, it would have probably taken us an additional session zero.
No problem if it means buying a players guide or something or the essentials set....or it may be something on here for example (I tried the create character thing and even me as somebody who used to play D&D back in the day found it a little overwhelming (I am sure its easier once you get into it)
I would honestly hold off on any more purchases. I was lucky enough that I got enough friends that even if a small portion of them play, I would still have a full party. If I did not have enough friends interested in D&D, I probably would have regreted putting so much money into D&D.
That being said, do not let me dampen your enthusiasm! I just do not want you to overspend on a hobby that can easily suck you in and milk you dry.
Have them use D&D Beyond. The character builder on here does a pretty good job of guiding players through the process. Ideally, no one should have bought anything yet, so their range of options should be relatively small (it would still feel like a ton of options though for a new player), so if they have habit of reading everything, but they did not take the time to read outside of table time, it should not take them too long to read everything.
If you are not using Beyond and are doing things manually via pen-and-paper, for their first campaign, I recommend just having them choose a pregenerated character from Wizards' website. And as they level up, they can just pick the next character sheet for the next level. On their second campaign, that is when I would guide them through the character generation process.
When I first started, I made the mistake of buying the PHB and quite a few other books (and subscription to share content) before the campaign, so my group of players have bunch of options, and it took us three whole session zeroes to get everything down, and that is when they use Beyond's character builder. If we were doing it by hand, it would have probably taken us an additional session zero.
I would honestly hold off on any more purchases. I was lucky enough that I got enough friends that even if a small portion of them play, I would still have a full party. If I did not have enough friends interested in D&D, I probably would have regreted putting so much money into D&D.
That being said, do not let me dampen your enthusiasm! I just do not want you to overspend on a hobby that can easily suck you in and milk you dry.
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Running the Game by Matt Colville; Introduction: < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-YZvLUXcR8 >
D&D with High School Students by Bill Allen; Season 1 Episode 1: < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52NJTUDokyk&t >