I’m a noob (I’ve been to one session so far) and I’m looking for some advice from people with more experience. Anything you wish you would have known before you started or some advice on how to build an interesting backstory. I’m interested in all of it, any tips and tricks you have or a way to play that’s more fun? Thanks
This is fairly general so I'll keep my advice general, but the first thing I would say is to seek inspiration (I don't mean the game mechanic) and use it. You're going to think that your character needs to be a completely original creation free of cliche and convention, but let me be the first to give you permission to blatantly rip stuff off.
What books do you like? What games do you like? What movies do you like? What about them is particularly compelling to you? Feel free to borrow bits and pieces from all over because, here's the secret, once you've recombined so many disparate elements into a single character concept, you'll find they seem to fit together in new ways that are, dare I say it, unique. And if a cliche or two make their way in, that's fine; cliches are often useful shorthand for larger, harder-to-express concepts, and you can absolutely use them as such.
My one note on character backstory however is don't overdo it. However much backstory you think you need as a beginner, you probably need less. Like, if your game starts at level 1, then you are likely not the King's personal spymaster who was betrayed by an ancient lich and protected by a dragon in exchange for killing its evil god. At level one you're a beginner, and you should count on the majority of your character's journey being ahead of you rather than behind you. Backstory sets the stage, and for that you need mostly just to answer two important questions: What does your character want? and Why does your character adventure? You can get more complex than that as you get a feel for the game, but know that complex backstories are mostly a fun, self-indulgent kind of thing to do for yourself rather than something that's going to come up in-game all the time.
My second big piece of blanket advice is simply to learn the system. Having a solid knowledge about how the rules work and how various abilities and mechanics work will not only allow your game to run more smoothly, but it will also allow you to figure out how best to achieve whatever character concept you want to build. Wanna play a character that's basically Wolverine? A good base knowledge about what classes, feats, and spells have to offer is going to be a huge help.
Now I know this one can be daunting since DND has this public perception of being super complicated and mathy and fiddly, but fear not. 5th Edition is possibly the most newbie-friendly edition to date, and the rules are fairly easy to grasp through enough exposure and repetition. If your once-a-week game isn't offering you enough consistent exposure to the nitty gritty rules, then I'd recommend maybe spending a little time between games leafing through your players handbook and skimming the rules, maybe remember questions that came up during last week's game and trying to find the answers in the book (the forums are also a huge help for specific inquiries about rules minutae, so skimming through these forums can be a big help). If you're less than excited about the prospect of just going through the handbook (I get it, that's not everyone's learning style) then I think D&D streaming shows like Critical Role are a useful resource. I'm not a huge fan of just watching other people play d&d, but I will absolutely say that just passively listening to a game going on while playing video-games or driving to work is just a great way to absorb game mechanics without even realizing you're doing it. With like 3 to 4 hour long episodes, there's just so much dang content in those shows that you're guaranteed to pick up an understanding of the rules being used, especially the important ones that are used regularly, that soon you'll find the system start to become second nature to you.
Hope that helps!
*edit* almost forgot, there are also a TON of channels on YouTube dedicated to helping people get into DND with advice and such. How To Be A Great Player is a good one, and Dungeon Dudes and Web DM also have a lot of good content for new players. If you're interested in DMing at all, too, then I cannot recommend highly enough Matt Coville's Running The Game series on YouTube.
Plan ahead but not too far ahead! Just the next 4-5 levels is enough. This will tie in with the tips you got from Charles as well and have you skim the rules as well as your class abilities.
Also, try not to multiclass at all, at least for your first character. It requires alot of thought, analysis and a deep understanding of the different class mechanics which you don't have yet at this stage. I nearly fell into that trap myself, hence the warning. :)
If you have time to plan an encounter which will not only make it favor your party but will also make for some epic moments/memories with your fellow players. Discuss your options with fellow party members as well, sometimes, something you can do may not be known by others and mentioning it will give them ideas of things they can combo your ability with to great effect! Many things can be used in very creative ways, not just spells (though they excel at that).
Enjoy yourself and try to think outside of the box when things seem grim, revisit your character sheet and take a look at your options. Most times, yourself or one of your party members will find a way out through clever use of an ability or spell.
I've been playing D&D for about 4 years now. This is the advice I would share with you.
-Don't be a greedy treasure troll. Share the loot you find with the party. If you come across something that others may be able to use better than yourself, give it to them. This will build the friendship you have with the group and everyone will have a better time.
-Make sure to spend some time understanding your character page, the rules, and what you're going to want to do during combat. Don't worry about needing to ask for information especially when you're starting out, just keep in mind that it'll take up time from the session every time you do.
-Take notes on the names of places you visit, the NPCs you meet, or anything else of importance. It'll be very useful to be able to recall the information and it also saves the DM from having to repeat themselves.
-Work on your IRL speaking skills. D&D is a roleplaying game. It may feel uncomfortable acting out your character and their conversations. Learn to get comfortable with it because you'll be doing this all campaign long.
Don't worry about being the "best" possible version of your character. Every table is different, but 5e on average trends in favor of the players. Unless you've got a kill-em-all DM who's actively trying to kill your party, you'll be able to thrive without min-maxing every aspect of your character.
Also, if you're playing a spellcaster, plan ahead at least as far as your next level. I've been at tables where players level up at the end of the last session, then don't pick their new spells until the start of the next session and everyone has to wait while they decide which spells they want. This is more or less true for all class features... if your class gains a unique feature at the next level, you should read up on how it works befor eyou get it so you'll be ready to use it, but magic tends to be the biggest time sink for that kind of thing because there's so many options, even for classes with an extremely limited spell selection.
Whenever possible, ask other players/player characters for their knowledge and opinions. Opinions especially.
Express when you think another player or the DM does something cool. Tell your DM if you had fun at the end of the session.
If it seems like it fits the fiction that your character would do something stupid or selfish, or otherwise behave like less than an excellent team player, explain why you feel that way and check if anyone's got a problem with it first. If they do, don't do it! Consider changing something about your character to cause it to make sense, or invent a reason, but barring that, just ignore the bad writing.
If you can't show up to the game, tell your DM as soon as possible!
And of course... Only one Monty Python reference per night! Er, I mean, have fun! ;P
Don't stress about roleplaying too much. At the beginning, its perfectly fine to do what you would want to do. Eventually, you'll understand your character's personality a little more and will be able to figure out how they would react to a situation, but get the feel of the game before you worry about 'would my character really do that?'.
As a DM of formerly new players, I can definitely say you will get better at DND as you go along. I had a player who had trouble roleplaying at first, and now they are totally in character. Don't worry if you don't get it at first.
I’m a noob (I’ve been to one session so far) and I’m looking for some advice from people with more experience. Anything you wish you would have known before you started or some advice on how to build an interesting backstory. I’m interested in all of it, any tips and tricks you have or a way to play that’s more fun? Thanks
This is fairly general so I'll keep my advice general, but the first thing I would say is to seek inspiration (I don't mean the game mechanic) and use it. You're going to think that your character needs to be a completely original creation free of cliche and convention, but let me be the first to give you permission to blatantly rip stuff off.
What books do you like? What games do you like? What movies do you like? What about them is particularly compelling to you? Feel free to borrow bits and pieces from all over because, here's the secret, once you've recombined so many disparate elements into a single character concept, you'll find they seem to fit together in new ways that are, dare I say it, unique. And if a cliche or two make their way in, that's fine; cliches are often useful shorthand for larger, harder-to-express concepts, and you can absolutely use them as such.
My one note on character backstory however is don't overdo it. However much backstory you think you need as a beginner, you probably need less. Like, if your game starts at level 1, then you are likely not the King's personal spymaster who was betrayed by an ancient lich and protected by a dragon in exchange for killing its evil god. At level one you're a beginner, and you should count on the majority of your character's journey being ahead of you rather than behind you. Backstory sets the stage, and for that you need mostly just to answer two important questions: What does your character want? and Why does your character adventure? You can get more complex than that as you get a feel for the game, but know that complex backstories are mostly a fun, self-indulgent kind of thing to do for yourself rather than something that's going to come up in-game all the time.
My second big piece of blanket advice is simply to learn the system. Having a solid knowledge about how the rules work and how various abilities and mechanics work will not only allow your game to run more smoothly, but it will also allow you to figure out how best to achieve whatever character concept you want to build. Wanna play a character that's basically Wolverine? A good base knowledge about what classes, feats, and spells have to offer is going to be a huge help.
Now I know this one can be daunting since DND has this public perception of being super complicated and mathy and fiddly, but fear not. 5th Edition is possibly the most newbie-friendly edition to date, and the rules are fairly easy to grasp through enough exposure and repetition. If your once-a-week game isn't offering you enough consistent exposure to the nitty gritty rules, then I'd recommend maybe spending a little time between games leafing through your players handbook and skimming the rules, maybe remember questions that came up during last week's game and trying to find the answers in the book (the forums are also a huge help for specific inquiries about rules minutae, so skimming through these forums can be a big help). If you're less than excited about the prospect of just going through the handbook (I get it, that's not everyone's learning style) then I think D&D streaming shows like Critical Role are a useful resource. I'm not a huge fan of just watching other people play d&d, but I will absolutely say that just passively listening to a game going on while playing video-games or driving to work is just a great way to absorb game mechanics without even realizing you're doing it. With like 3 to 4 hour long episodes, there's just so much dang content in those shows that you're guaranteed to pick up an understanding of the rules being used, especially the important ones that are used regularly, that soon you'll find the system start to become second nature to you.
Hope that helps!
*edit* almost forgot, there are also a TON of channels on YouTube dedicated to helping people get into DND with advice and such. How To Be A Great Player is a good one, and Dungeon Dudes and Web DM also have a lot of good content for new players. If you're interested in DMing at all, too, then I cannot recommend highly enough Matt Coville's Running The Game series on YouTube.
Plan ahead but not too far ahead! Just the next 4-5 levels is enough. This will tie in with the tips you got from Charles as well and have you skim the rules as well as your class abilities.
Also, try not to multiclass at all, at least for your first character. It requires alot of thought, analysis and a deep understanding of the different class mechanics which you don't have yet at this stage. I nearly fell into that trap myself, hence the warning. :)
If you have time to plan an encounter which will not only make it favor your party but will also make for some epic moments/memories with your fellow players. Discuss your options with fellow party members as well, sometimes, something you can do may not be known by others and mentioning it will give them ideas of things they can combo your ability with to great effect! Many things can be used in very creative ways, not just spells (though they excel at that).
Enjoy yourself and try to think outside of the box when things seem grim, revisit your character sheet and take a look at your options. Most times, yourself or one of your party members will find a way out through clever use of an ability or spell.
I've been playing D&D for about 4 years now. This is the advice I would share with you.
-Don't be a greedy treasure troll. Share the loot you find with the party. If you come across something that others may be able to use better than yourself, give it to them. This will build the friendship you have with the group and everyone will have a better time.
-Make sure to spend some time understanding your character page, the rules, and what you're going to want to do during combat. Don't worry about needing to ask for information especially when you're starting out, just keep in mind that it'll take up time from the session every time you do.
-Take notes on the names of places you visit, the NPCs you meet, or anything else of importance. It'll be very useful to be able to recall the information and it also saves the DM from having to repeat themselves.
-Work on your IRL speaking skills. D&D is a roleplaying game. It may feel uncomfortable acting out your character and their conversations. Learn to get comfortable with it because you'll be doing this all campaign long.
Don't worry about being the "best" possible version of your character. Every table is different, but 5e on average trends in favor of the players. Unless you've got a kill-em-all DM who's actively trying to kill your party, you'll be able to thrive without min-maxing every aspect of your character.
Also, if you're playing a spellcaster, plan ahead at least as far as your next level. I've been at tables where players level up at the end of the last session, then don't pick their new spells until the start of the next session and everyone has to wait while they decide which spells they want. This is more or less true for all class features... if your class gains a unique feature at the next level, you should read up on how it works befor eyou get it so you'll be ready to use it, but magic tends to be the biggest time sink for that kind of thing because there's so many options, even for classes with an extremely limited spell selection.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
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Whenever possible, ask other players/player characters for their knowledge and opinions. Opinions especially.
Express when you think another player or the DM does something cool. Tell your DM if you had fun at the end of the session.
If it seems like it fits the fiction that your character would do something stupid or selfish, or otherwise behave like less than an excellent team player, explain why you feel that way and check if anyone's got a problem with it first. If they do, don't do it! Consider changing something about your character to cause it to make sense, or invent a reason, but barring that, just ignore the bad writing.
If you can't show up to the game, tell your DM as soon as possible!
And of course... Only one Monty Python reference per night! Er, I mean, have fun! ;P
Don't stress about roleplaying too much. At the beginning, its perfectly fine to do what you would want to do. Eventually, you'll understand your character's personality a little more and will be able to figure out how they would react to a situation, but get the feel of the game before you worry about 'would my character really do that?'.
As a DM of formerly new players, I can definitely say you will get better at DND as you go along. I had a player who had trouble roleplaying at first, and now they are totally in character. Don't worry if you don't get it at first.
The most important piece of advice:
Have fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Only spilt the party if you see something shiny.
Ariendela Sneakerson, Half-elf Rogue (8); Harmony Wolfsbane, Tiefling Bard (10); Agnomally, Gnomish Sorcerer (3); Breeze, Tabaxi Monk (8); Grace, Dragonborn Barbarian (7); DM, Homebrew- The Sequestered Lands/Underwater Explorers; Candlekeep