Hey! Not necessarily a new DM but I have a party member who has never played and I'm not good at explaining things in general. Can anyone possibly help give me tips on how to explain D&D to them? I want them to enjoy it, but also understand. I mean, D&D is a great game to test your mind and creativity. So. I want them to get involved and invested, but I don't know how to explain it all to them.
I’ve found that that normally if you try to explain everything at once it results in their brains exploding so keep it simple, tell them which die the d20 is and that they’ll be rolling that for almost everything, point out where to find things in the character sheet, then start playing and explain each thing as it becomes relevant. That way they’re only learning a bit at a time and have a situation to link to that aids understanding, being able to think “so I do a skill check in this situation” is better for most people than you explaining a skill check in isolation.
Also cheat, there’s no end of D&D for Beginners videos in YouTube (Ginny Di is doing a pretty decent series at the moment) so refer the player to those if you’re not confident in your own ability
Best way of teaching is bit by bit. Don't try to explain everything all at once. When I first learned D&D it was like so:
Walk through making a basic character with them:
Ask them if they have an idea of what kind of character they like or want to play.
Based on this suggest 2-3 classes that fit their vision and give them a short general description of the classes and explain their unique ability : e.g. Rogue=Sneak Attack, Bard=Bardic Inspiration, Barbarian=Rage, Fighter=Weapon Mastery, Cleric=Healing, Druid=WildShape, Warlock=EldritchBlast, Wizard=Ritual spells, Paladin=Smite, Ranger=Hunter's Mark.
Once they pick a class, start building their character sheet and explain each of their class abilities
If they pick a spellcaster suggest a few spells that fit their vision of the character, or a few hard-to-go-wrong spells like Magic Missile, or Bless if they don't know what they want, and explain those spells to them. Do NOT show them the full list of spells, keep it simple but give them a couple to pick from.
Show them art of the different species and for those they think are cool / interesting give them a short description of what they are like and what they are good at. E.g. Elves are old and snooty with innate magic; Dwarves live underground and are tough and sturdy; Orcs are big, strong and fast; Halflings are small, optimistic and sneaky; Dragonborn are humanoids with dragon traits;
Once they pick a species explain their species abilities.
Explain the different ability scores and help them set them based on their class. - Personally I wouldn't show them the math of how the scores are calculated from the various bonuses, precalculate a set for them and just ask them where they want to put the different numbers. Eg. tell them they have a 17, 15, 13, 12, 10, 9 and ask them where to put them.
Explain the different skills and let them pick their skill proficiencies.
Fill in their saving throws for them and just tell them that's for avoiding sudden threats / danger.
Fill in their basic equipment, calculate their AC and explain what it is.
Start Playing!
Start with a simple chill situation with an NPC that will talk to the new player character and prompt them to do something - e.g. ask them to do a simple task requiring some skill they have. Introduce the d20 and rolling a skill check. Set up another situation where they have to roll another skill check soon after to reinforce the idea.
Add a bit of danger with a trap or other hazard that requires a saving throw and explain how saving throws work. Let them practice coming up with how to use a skill to overcome the obstacle. Good ones for this are pit traps, or net traps that capture the characters without harming them.
Lastly introduce a simple combat situation with low danger so if the player makes mistakes it doesn't matter.
Agree with Agile here. I literally did this same thing last week with a brand new player joining an established group.
What'd I'd suggest is probably even more simple than what Agile suggested. What's key is that the brain can only handle a really small segment of information before it becomes overwhelmed--and because D&D knowledge is so much about layers of synthesis, its incredibly easy to lose someone. Here's what I did for my player:
1. I told that player I think he'd like to play a barbarian. 2. I made him a barbarian. I did not include him in the process at all. 3. He had to choose his name. 4. He had to think about a simple backstory. I gave him 3 options; he chose one of those options. 5. I outlined the narrative situation with him. 6. We played! He loves it. That's it.
Last: I made it really clear to him that when he understands things more, he can change anything he wants. Once he's like "oh, now I get it", they are welcome to make their own class, fudge with stats, feats, etc. (once).
I think in terms of access to content, front-loading things isn't the most effective way to do it. Pedagogically, the learning comes from the practice, not from the instructions. This approach also means the players decisions aren't punitive, since they can make changes when they understand the rules.
Hope that helps!
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Hey! Not necessarily a new DM but I have a party member who has never played and I'm not good at explaining things in general. Can anyone possibly help give me tips on how to explain D&D to them? I want them to enjoy it, but also understand. I mean, D&D is a great game to test your mind and creativity. So. I want them to get involved and invested, but I don't know how to explain it all to them.
קWolfy§×
I’ve found that that normally if you try to explain everything at once it results in their brains exploding so keep it simple, tell them which die the d20 is and that they’ll be rolling that for almost everything, point out where to find things in the character sheet, then start playing and explain each thing as it becomes relevant. That way they’re only learning a bit at a time and have a situation to link to that aids understanding, being able to think “so I do a skill check in this situation” is better for most people than you explaining a skill check in isolation.
Also cheat, there’s no end of D&D for Beginners videos in YouTube (Ginny Di is doing a pretty decent series at the moment) so refer the player to those if you’re not confident in your own ability
Best way of teaching is bit by bit. Don't try to explain everything all at once. When I first learned D&D it was like so:
Walk through making a basic character with them:
Start Playing!
Start with a simple chill situation with an NPC that will talk to the new player character and prompt them to do something - e.g. ask them to do a simple task requiring some skill they have. Introduce the d20 and rolling a skill check. Set up another situation where they have to roll another skill check soon after to reinforce the idea.
Add a bit of danger with a trap or other hazard that requires a saving throw and explain how saving throws work. Let them practice coming up with how to use a skill to overcome the obstacle. Good ones for this are pit traps, or net traps that capture the characters without harming them.
Lastly introduce a simple combat situation with low danger so if the player makes mistakes it doesn't matter.
Agree with Agile here. I literally did this same thing last week with a brand new player joining an established group.
What'd I'd suggest is probably even more simple than what Agile suggested. What's key is that the brain can only handle a really small segment of information before it becomes overwhelmed--and because D&D knowledge is so much about layers of synthesis, its incredibly easy to lose someone. Here's what I did for my player:
1. I told that player I think he'd like to play a barbarian.
2. I made him a barbarian. I did not include him in the process at all.
3. He had to choose his name.
4. He had to think about a simple backstory. I gave him 3 options; he chose one of those options.
5. I outlined the narrative situation with him.
6. We played! He loves it. That's it.
Last: I made it really clear to him that when he understands things more, he can change anything he wants. Once he's like "oh, now I get it", they are welcome to make their own class, fudge with stats, feats, etc. (once).
I think in terms of access to content, front-loading things isn't the most effective way to do it. Pedagogically, the learning comes from the practice, not from the instructions. This approach also means the players decisions aren't punitive, since they can make changes when they understand the rules.
Hope that helps!