Okay, I need some help. My in person group is more or less made up of beginners. I've run LMoP with them, and it went terribly. Sure, they did run the first two chapters with a terrible DM (I'll provide details if asked), but they literally cheated by reading the book at home. Anyways, I'm planning on running a homebrew campaign and I need help with a few things.
1. Helping my players make characters, not blank faceless puppets which live for the sole purpose of doing what they think they're "supposed" to do.
2. Helping my characters not be so selfish and try to make themselves the most powerful of the group, even at the cost of others
3. Teaching them how to roleplay.
4. Getting one specific player to stop approaching me with ridiculously unbalanced homebrew.
And no, I'm not going to get a new in person group if that's a suggestion.
Maybe a session 0? I don't know your players but being direct about the fact that this is a team game and laying out expectations might help. They might not realize that there isn't a "supposed to," or that reading the book had been wrong? It can also help to ask your players what they want out of the game, just to get an idea of what their expectations are and how you can work with it.
For character creation, when I have new player I ask them to tell me about the character before I give them class and race lists. Writing a little bio for them first can help avoid falling into the trap of "oh I'm a rouge so I have to be like this" or for whatever class. There tools for writers like character worksheets and questions that might help them start thinking of more nuanced elements to the characters.
For roleplay, I learned best by example. Watching livestreams can help (I acknowledge that I and my party will never be the actors of Critical Role, but it still gave me ideas/permission for my character having personal and vulnerable scenes with the other characters). Also having one of the more advanced players initiate a scene or do one with you as the DM can help create a safe space for the rest of the table to try.
Every table is different but I hope this helps a little!
2) Missing from the above is the question of why are the PCs adventuring together? How do they know each other?
3) Ask them to describe their PCs actions (ensure that you give equal time to each player as you go around the table).
4) Set some basic character creation rules, such as PHB only - no homebrew. The only allowed homebrew in the entire campaign should be items that YOU (the DM) have created.
"D&D is not like a video game. It's more like improvisational-theater. You and I are working together to write a story, with you being the protagonists (stress the plural) and I being the narrator. The goal isn't to "beat" some arbitrary imaginary monster, but to feel and to care about the characters, world, and story that we have built together. The game exists solely to give consequences to actions, to give depth and meaning, to allow us to care about the story, and nothing more."
Is this because they're new, or because your expectations of the game are different? If they want to hack n slash through a dungeon and collect powerful items, while you want to roleplay intrigue & emotional weight, you might just not mesh up. I'd start by asking what kind of game they want to play, if you haven't already talked about it. Like Iera said, a session 0 is very important when establishing a game.
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I know what you're thinking: "In that flurry of blows, did he use all his ki points, or save one?" Well, are ya feeling lucky, punk?
Is this because they're new, or because your expectations of the game are different? If they want to hack n slash through a dungeon and collect powerful items, while you want to roleplay intrigue & emotional weight, you might just not mesh up. I'd start by asking what kind of game they want to play, if you haven't already talked about it. Like Iera said, a session 0 is very important when establishing a game.
Fair. I'm thinking that it's probably because they're new.
Okay, I need some help. My in person group is more or less made up of beginners. I've run LMoP with them, and it went terribly. Sure, they did run the first two chapters with a terrible DM (I'll provide details if asked), but they literally cheated by reading the book at home. Anyways, I'm planning on running a homebrew campaign and I need help with a few things.
1. Helping my players make characters, not blank faceless puppets which live for the sole purpose of doing what they think they're "supposed" to do.
2. Helping my characters not be so selfish and try to make themselves the most powerful of the group, even at the cost of others
3. Teaching them how to roleplay.
4. Getting one specific player to stop approaching me with ridiculously unbalanced homebrew.
And no, I'm not going to get a new in person group if that's a suggestion.
DMing:
Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
Playing:
None sadly.
Optimization Guides:
Literally Too Angry to Die - A Guide to Optimizing a Barbarian
Maybe a session 0? I don't know your players but being direct about the fact that this is a team game and laying out expectations might help. They might not realize that there isn't a "supposed to," or that reading the book had been wrong? It can also help to ask your players what they want out of the game, just to get an idea of what their expectations are and how you can work with it.
For character creation, when I have new player I ask them to tell me about the character before I give them class and race lists. Writing a little bio for them first can help avoid falling into the trap of "oh I'm a rouge so I have to be like this" or for whatever class. There tools for writers like character worksheets and questions that might help them start thinking of more nuanced elements to the characters.
For roleplay, I learned best by example. Watching livestreams can help (I acknowledge that I and my party will never be the actors of Critical Role, but it still gave me ideas/permission for my character having personal and vulnerable scenes with the other characters). Also having one of the more advanced players initiate a scene or do one with you as the DM can help create a safe space for the rest of the table to try.
Every table is different but I hope this helps a little!
1) Each player should work out the answer to only a few simple questions about their character. A good set of questions can be found at: see https://www.greatgamemaster.com/dm/player-character/2021/crafting-a-strong-rpg-character-backstory-5-questions-to-consider/
2) Missing from the above is the question of why are the PCs adventuring together? How do they know each other?
3) Ask them to describe their PCs actions (ensure that you give equal time to each player as you go around the table).
4) Set some basic character creation rules, such as PHB only - no homebrew. The only allowed homebrew in the entire campaign should be items that YOU (the DM) have created.
Okay, thanks for the advice! That will probably help.
DMing:
Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
Playing:
None sadly.
Optimization Guides:
Literally Too Angry to Die - A Guide to Optimizing a Barbarian
"D&D is not like a video game. It's more like improvisational-theater. You and I are working together to write a story, with you being the protagonists (stress the plural) and I being the narrator. The goal isn't to "beat" some arbitrary imaginary monster, but to feel and to care about the characters, world, and story that we have built together. The game exists solely to give consequences to actions, to give depth and meaning, to allow us to care about the story, and nothing more."
- Me
Is this because they're new, or because your expectations of the game are different? If they want to hack n slash through a dungeon and collect powerful items, while you want to roleplay intrigue & emotional weight, you might just not mesh up. I'd start by asking what kind of game they want to play, if you haven't already talked about it. Like Iera said, a session 0 is very important when establishing a game.
I know what you're thinking: "In that flurry of blows, did he use all his ki points, or save one?" Well, are ya feeling lucky, punk?
Fair. I'm thinking that it's probably because they're new.
DMing:
Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
Playing:
None sadly.
Optimization Guides:
Literally Too Angry to Die - A Guide to Optimizing a Barbarian