Quote from DanieltheDestroyer1977 >>

I had a similar issue with 3 people of my group being 1st time players. I found a compilation of "cheat sheets" so to speak on armorclass.co. They have them for all classes as well as for turn based directions. It tells of everything the player can do during a round.

They also have a handout for you the dm also. I found these very useful and they were less then $10 each. You purchase the digital copy and they send you an email that has all the files on it. Then just open and print how many you want. This may help, I know it helped some of my players.

This way you can have your new player on their turn go down the list and maybe feel more involved. Check it out and happy gaming.

 I'll check out the cheat sheets and see what I can do. At the very least I can post it in the discord we have. If they want to use them, I can run to the library and print them. 

Quote from martintheactor >>

Quote from Kethra1015 >>

I have recently been running an in person homebrew campaign with 5 players. It's more flexible for me, and I have someone in my group who is a more experienced DM helping me out where needed. The player I need help with is brand new to the game, which I'm fine with because they are not the only one. ...But this one in particular we're realizing isn't the brightest. They were brought in by one of the other players. They do okay for roleplay, but during combat is a bit brain numbing. We have to tell/show them the same thing multiple times and common sense is not their strongest attribute. We have to remind them to read the prompts like the to hit modifier. I'm doing my best to be patient, but the other players seem to get irritated easily as all it takes is just reading the sheet to find the answer. Like I said, they are new, and I want everyone to have fun. Does anyone have any tips or advice that I can give this player to help them learn the system a little easier? Like I know I'm a hands-on learner. Does anyone learn a different way and how did you learn? I've recommended just messing around on the site with their character and I've even sent a video going over the character sheet to see if that helps them. 

 
Can I ask, did you start at level 1? [If not, you should have and should start said player off at level 1, and rapidly level them up as they gain familiarity with mechanics of the character until they equalise level with the rest of the party. Do not underestimate how overwhelming starting at even level 4 can be for a new player.]

Do you alter any of the fundamental rules for the gameplay (or is the homebrew aspect just the world/setting you've created)? [This too can create extra complexities]

Both of these things can make it a little more difficult for new players to learn the game. It's for this reason I often run a back to basics adventure (Dragon of Icespire Peak, and Lost Mine of Phandelver) where I literally spell out everything and include no homebrew alterations or optional rules (that includes multiclassing and feats). Yes it can be tedious, but let's say you've got a character who's a Life Cleric it's not out of the question that you'll need to explain how each spell works. That you'll have to remind the player that they can re-prepare their spell list at the end of a long rest. Sometimes I need to go back to basics to ensure I can better run games for new players. It's something I honestly encourage every DM to do from time to time.


My tactic with new players is to get simple with it:

- You've got your Action, Bonus Action and Movement.
- Do you want to move right now?
- As your action you can [list available actions], do you want to do one of these?
- As a bonus action you can [list available bonus actions], do you want to do one of these?
- I then go as far as explaining which buttons to hit on the DDB character sheet to ensure they get it right. 

This might well be absolute baby steps, but every character at level one has a minimum of 13 potential options for their action. Let's say a person needs to cover that information three times to retain it...that's 39 times you'll likely need to explain basic combat mechanics. Let's be clear here though, neither the DDB or physical character sheet are intuitive for someone unfamiliar. It can be daunting. So, sometimes being this clear and simple can actually reduce the time it takes for that person's turn. I tend to find being as clear as the points above results in less work than simply saying 'it's your turn what do you do?'

What I say next will sound horrid, but I mean it to be sincere and don't wish to cause offense - if you haven't got the patience (or your players don't have the patience) for scaffolding the absolute basics, then it's possible that you are not the DM for that player. They'd likely be better served by finding another group. Saying 'all it takes is to read the sheet to get the answer' makes me feel like this really is likely to be the case. I understand how easy it can be to forget how complex the character sheet can seem when new to the game. So I would suggest looking at the character sheet for a game like say FATE that maybe you're not familair with and considering the first impressions it makes.


Side note: Just to exorcise it from my brain It's worth saying that learning styles (and preferences) are largely a myth. There's a multitude of evidence to back this up...sadly too few education professionals understand this and continue to spread the myth. Pretty much all learning is based on repetition and refinement. Think about learning to drive. It's a behavioural exercise and pretty much everyone will undergo the same (or mostly the same) process to learn to drive. Much like driving, learning the game and the way it works might well just take longer for one person than another. 

Sadly, no I did not. I thought it would be better to have them same level as the other players, so less chance of their character dying or something. Now that you say that though, it does make more sense. There is a lot already without adding levels. 

I try to keep to the basic rules as much as possible mostly to make it easier with the newer players. There may be a minor thing here or there that I let slide for "Rule of Cool", but they have to give me a good reason for it. 

The other DM in our group has offered to run a one shot every now and then (they wanted a break from DMing), so I might ask them if they are okay with it. They have more stuff than I do including physical books. Maybe it will help the new player to do a one shot.

I'm going to try the tactics you suggested as well to see if it helps them. Our table does get easily distracted at times (most of us have ADHD ^^'). Hopefully going step by step will help them get a rhythm for it. Also, I may, as someone else suggested, try a cheat sheet. 

No offense taken. I've been in groups where that has happened and seen others. Some groups just don't work out. It happens. I'm just going to try these things first and talk with them to see what can be done. Thank you!

Quote from MidnightPlat >>

I think debating the socio-economics of access to DDB tools is digressing from the ask.  The OP even mentions having brought up recommending "just messing around on the site" with the character as a way for the player to become more adept at making decisions and calculations and actions in the game.

I think the big thing to process, or the info we'd need to really make a recommendation is: Is the player in question enjoying the game?  If they're just taking their time on their turn, but seem to be truly enjoying the game, that's a very different case from the player also being frustrated or stressed by the time it takes for them to deliberate, perhaps exasperated by the other players' impatience.

In the first case, it may just be a matter of getting the reps in to play closer to everyone else's pace.  Slow is smooth, smooth is fast as they say when teaching people to shoot.  Maybe there's something about the clutter of a character sheet, in which case there are accessibility-minded character sheet formats out there designed to help folks who find the standard D&D sheet, which DDB largely reflects, a bit overwhelming.  There also may just be some circumstance that means the player simply deliberates more slowly and the rest of the group needs to develop more patience.

In the latter case, does the player really want to be there or are they attending because the player's friend thought it would be a good thing for them?  If that's the case, everyone doesn't have to like D&D.  Now if circumstances require the friends to be together (no idea what age anyone is here or maybe there's obligations regarding rides and such), we're back at the table developing patience and tolerance; but if the player is going through the motions and not putting in the work to learn the game because they don't really want to be there, there isn't much help to do.  

So basically, it requires a determination as to whether the player wants to be playing.  From there there's a number of ways I just cracked the surface on how a table may help, patience being the key element.  

Just thinking out loud, when you do combat, do you do the "Player 1 is up, player 2, you're on deck" thing?  If you do that and maybe assign, with player 2 consent, player 3 as player 2's sort of dug out coach, so the that when it's player 2's turn with the dice, player 3 has gone over some strategies and the like.  Might be worth trying.

 

Sorry forgot to mention, our youngest is 19 and oldest in 30s, so all adults. We're all either coworkers or family members. 

Sadly it was more of the latter, where they were getting frustrated. I'm going to talk with them and tell others to back off if it's getting to them. They did say they were having fun at the end of it, so I hoping to make it better and more enjoyable for them by implementing some of the advice I've gotten so far in this forum. I've already sent a message ahead to get the ball rolling for the next time we can talk. 

Going off of the last thing, I'll figure out a way of letting them know the line up to help them more. Maybe it will help them focus and plan more since most of us also have ADHD... 

Yeah, this situation isn't uncommon, having a brand new player introduced into an ongoing game.  An important thing to recognize is it's not solely the DM's job to orient a new player, basic good sportsmanship dictates this as a whole table task.  So definitely lean on the other players for assistance, particularly whoever brought the player to the table.  

As so "at bat, on deck" trick of coordinating combat (with a coach working with the new player when they're on deck) should help.  Overall, a player facing initiative tracker may also help people realize where they are in the order of combat and pay attention accordingly.  A radical option sometimes used (though this would mess up some feats and character features) is "side initiative" where all the players go, and then all the monsters go.  It'd allow the PCs to declare their actions as a group, and would prevent people getting lost in a chain of PC-monster-PC-PC-monster-monster-monster-PC-monster order.  But again, this will mess with some speed/mobility builds; but I know some tables do it to simplify combat.

EDIT: oh, a super generous option, but also might be to the benefit of other players, would be to "side quest" the new player and have the other players play new characters at level one.  Then play a mini campaign designed to get that player up to the main game's level, and all the other players now have a new alt character as well as some experience playing something different than what they're accustomed to.  Though depending on what level the party's at, it may be a lot of work.

Quote from Kethra1015 >>

Maybe it will help them focus and plan more since most of us also have ADHD... 

 
So I learnt a lot of lessons teaching students with additional support needs due to Autism and ADHD. The biggest of those is to ensure adaptations and latitude for fidgeting or other concentration tools. So, while a lot of 'fidget toys' have the name they do, they are as I'm sure you know actually concentration tools. They provide the dopamine needed to help maintain the concentration on the primary task for those with ADHD. I'd advise encouraging the freedom for any players with ADHD to utilise their concentration tools at the table.

One tactic for concentrations that worked for one player I had who was ADHD was to allow doodling at the table. When we collectively realised it could enhance concentration by directing the doodles toward tactical sketches it was a game changer. 

I myself, am suspected of having both ADHD and Autism...several talking therapy counsellors have suggested both diagnoses but I am awaiting actual assessments/diagnosis. I fiddle with my dice a lot at the table. So I will say that I do have a vague understanding that everyone's coping mechanisms are different. I'd just advise trying to dive into what the player in questions' concentration tools (fidget tools) are. Not just allowing but encouraging those at the table might help provide that additional stimuli that helps players through the parts they might otherwise disengage during.

Thank you for the suggestion of armorclass.co.  This will be a huge help for a couple of newer players in my campaign that I'm starting up later this month! 

Glad i could help. I know it's helped me as a dm with managing rounds and my players also.

Quote from martintheactor >>

Hang on folks, let's remember here that Basic rules are free, and though limiting in options still give enough of a variety for new players to help learn the system.

I said previously, starting simple and taking baby steps can be helpful. The idea that you need to own everything here is nonsense. There's nothing wrong with limiting a new player to basic rules content only.

 My group played Dragon of Icespire Peak with only the basic rules. It was fine, but the fighter was tired of the Champion subclass.