Apathy Games

Introducing a New Player – Keep the Adventure Simple and Quintessential

So the time has come to plan your adventure for the session, but you have a new player coming who may not know what’s going on. And chances are, the current adventure arc is full of complexities that the newcomer doesn’t understand and that would take hours to explain. This is a problem.

Here’s what you do: Create an adventure that goes back to the very basics of the game, but that fits in with the current arc.

The Quintessential Adventure

Every game has a few adventures that define it. D&D has the dungeon crawl into the undead tomb for a lost artifact. Shadowrun has a basic data-steal where the players break in to a building and steal important files. Whatever it is for your game, build that. Even experienced players enjoy returning to their roots occasionally.

Remove complications

No matter how nuances your campaign may have become, set that aside. Try to have just a single motivation behind the adventure, though preferably that motivation still ties in to your overall story. For example, the game of complex courtly intrigue that the players are caught in has lead to a discovery. Duke What’s-his-name’s close confidant has set off to find a powerful artifact, and hasn’t come back. The duke comes to the players and asks them to go and find his friend and the artifact if possible, and return. During the whole of the adventure, the players are far away from all the complications of the game.

As Gamemaster, you should tell the other players that you’re doing this, and why. As a player, you should work to help the new player enjoy this basic experience by setting tone, improving your descriptions, and just giving advice.