I am constructing a 4hr one-shot (5th edition) for about 5 players (and me as DM). Only 2 players have any DnD experience. All are working professionals in various fields. I will provide them with premade chars that are level 3.
I've got a pretty decent idea in my head, but was curious as to what others think would be some core principles to include in a DnD session for beginners, and thought this could be a good discussion.
Here are my thoughts:
Establish the setting, but have the players make choices quickly (showing it's a social game).
Create a small dungeon. Use common tropes like : undead, traps, puzzles. dungeon is a trope as well :)
Encourage a lot of die rolls -- help players become more active participants.
Provide opportunities for collaboration/discussion.
Create a sense of mystery/unknown, so imagination can happen.
Introduce conflict (battles/traps etc).
Have an "end event" (conclusion), whether it succeeds or fails (aka complete the short story).
What are things that you do to introduce new potential players to DnD? What are some elements of the game that you feel are important to hit upon?
Since I'm doing this anyway, I thought this would be a nice chance for a diverse discussion.
Cheers.
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"An' things ha' come to a pretty pass, ye ken, if people are going to leave stuff like that aroound where innocent people could accidentally smash the door doon and lever the bars aside and take the big chain off'f the cupboard and pick the lock and drink it!"
But... I found combat focused play style with battlemat as good starting point because combat is most structured part of DnD and it feels most like traditional board game.
Keep in mind that a dungeon in the traditional sense might have to many encounters for a one shot. I had a 4h one shot and squeezing in 3 battle encounters was all I could manage if you want to also have some form of exploringnpuzzling and social interactions.
Mine was set in the Ravnicca setting because players wanted to do something there and the different guilds are an amazing catalyst for discussions and collaborations among players. If they are new to RP in general it might be easier on them to have them function as an allied group rather than people at odds who have to work together.
If you want to show them the beauty of how diverse and encounter can be, include one "fake" encounter or puzzle. A classic being a room and a door filled with magical darkness. In the pit is a switch that opens the only door out of the room and nothing else, there are no monsters or traps. Just the players, the pit and their brain.
In my one shot I had a wall of spirits marching towards them, had them roll initiative when they encountered it, all they had to do was walk trough the spirits and any damage they did to them would be reflected onto them. Took em a few turns to figure that out but they loved it.
Maybe you can ask your players what type of fantasy setting interests them? It can give you a decent amount of inspiration to write something. Also don't hesitate to communicate your general location to the players so that their skill proficiency picks are relevant. If you're going to limit the social encounters, tell your players so that they don't focus skills on it too much. It's sad to have your +8 persuasion character never encounter someone to persuade :D.
Might also be an idea to ask their char sheets beforehand to measure them against your encounters. If they are a martial heavy party the 2 encounters with physical resistant enemies are going to be a bit of a drag. Knowing what chars you are catering to helps you design fun and interesting encounters.
I agree with having a battlemat for first timers, just to help them visualize and add more structure. Also make sure anyone that has rules questions can ask 'em beforehand if possible. Don't expand on the rules too much during play as it slows down the one shot. Don't be afraid to make some quick DM decisions to keep things going.
Just some general first thoughts. Feel free to comment.
Presenting the party with an immediate problem is a good way to get started. One of my one shots starts with the party approaching a village when it is attacked, encouraging them to race off and get involved, the other started with the party locked up so the obvious first plan is escape. Then both have a drop in pace/intensity while the party learn more about the current situation, then the rest of the sessions touch on a lot of the key parts of the game. I have summarised both below.
Rush to join the village defense, big battle late in the day so they can afford to go all out and try abilities Talk to NPCs, shop, get told about a suspicious cave, rest for the night Travel, exploration, a trap, opportunities to find more creative solutions, several easy combats Confront the big bad, loot, return to town for a reward
Escape cells and deal with the guard Find out tower is magically sealed, they will need to go further up to get out Encounter with a servant who is unhappy the guy in charge has recently turned rather sinister Exploration, monsters, traps, and a puzzle, scenery that indicates the big bad is engaged in some unsavoury activities Big bad plus more unhappy minions that are a traditionally 'evil' race but turn on the big bad as soon as he is incapacitated, loot and escape
If these are players that you may end up DMing for regularly I also like the idea of being able to drop in a seed or 2 of a longer story into that opening session. I also printed out a couple of gameplay cheat sheets to remind the beginners of both what can be done and how to do things, they seemed to help keep things flowing nicely.
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Howdy all,
I am constructing a 4hr one-shot (5th edition) for about 5 players (and me as DM). Only 2 players have any DnD experience. All are working professionals in various fields. I will provide them with premade chars that are level 3.
I've got a pretty decent idea in my head, but was curious as to what others think would be some core principles to include in a DnD session for beginners, and thought this could be a good discussion.
Here are my thoughts:
What are things that you do to introduce new potential players to DnD? What are some elements of the game that you feel are important to hit upon?
Since I'm doing this anyway, I thought this would be a nice chance for a diverse discussion.
Cheers.
"An' things ha' come to a pretty pass, ye ken, if people are going to leave stuff like that aroound where innocent people could accidentally smash the door doon and lever the bars aside and take the big chain off'f the cupboard and pick the lock and drink it!"
Well there are many player types: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQsJSqn71Fw
But... I found combat focused play style with battlemat as good starting point because combat is most structured part of DnD and it feels most like traditional board game.
Keep in mind that a dungeon in the traditional sense might have to many encounters for a one shot. I had a 4h one shot and squeezing in 3 battle encounters was all I could manage if you want to also have some form of exploringnpuzzling and social interactions.
Mine was set in the Ravnicca setting because players wanted to do something there and the different guilds are an amazing catalyst for discussions and collaborations among players. If they are new to RP in general it might be easier on them to have them function as an allied group rather than people at odds who have to work together.
If you want to show them the beauty of how diverse and encounter can be, include one "fake" encounter or puzzle. A classic being a room and a door filled with magical darkness. In the pit is a switch that opens the only door out of the room and nothing else, there are no monsters or traps. Just the players, the pit and their brain.
In my one shot I had a wall of spirits marching towards them, had them roll initiative when they encountered it, all they had to do was walk trough the spirits and any damage they did to them would be reflected onto them. Took em a few turns to figure that out but they loved it.
Maybe you can ask your players what type of fantasy setting interests them? It can give you a decent amount of inspiration to write something. Also don't hesitate to communicate your general location to the players so that their skill proficiency picks are relevant. If you're going to limit the social encounters, tell your players so that they don't focus skills on it too much. It's sad to have your +8 persuasion character never encounter someone to persuade :D.
Might also be an idea to ask their char sheets beforehand to measure them against your encounters. If they are a martial heavy party the 2 encounters with physical resistant enemies are going to be a bit of a drag. Knowing what chars you are catering to helps you design fun and interesting encounters.
I agree with having a battlemat for first timers, just to help them visualize and add more structure.
Also make sure anyone that has rules questions can ask 'em beforehand if possible. Don't expand on the rules too much during play as it slows down the one shot. Don't be afraid to make some quick DM decisions to keep things going.
Just some general first thoughts. Feel free to comment.
Presenting the party with an immediate problem is a good way to get started. One of my one shots starts with the party approaching a village when it is attacked, encouraging them to race off and get involved, the other started with the party locked up so the obvious first plan is escape. Then both have a drop in pace/intensity while the party learn more about the current situation, then the rest of the sessions touch on a lot of the key parts of the game. I have summarised both below.
Rush to join the village defense, big battle late in the day so they can afford to go all out and try abilities
Talk to NPCs, shop, get told about a suspicious cave, rest for the night
Travel, exploration, a trap, opportunities to find more creative solutions, several easy combats
Confront the big bad, loot, return to town for a reward
Escape cells and deal with the guard
Find out tower is magically sealed, they will need to go further up to get out
Encounter with a servant who is unhappy the guy in charge has recently turned rather sinister
Exploration, monsters, traps, and a puzzle, scenery that indicates the big bad is engaged in some unsavoury activities
Big bad plus more unhappy minions that are a traditionally 'evil' race but turn on the big bad as soon as he is incapacitated, loot and escape
If these are players that you may end up DMing for regularly I also like the idea of being able to drop in a seed or 2 of a longer story into that opening session. I also printed out a couple of gameplay cheat sheets to remind the beginners of both what can be done and how to do things, they seemed to help keep things flowing nicely.