Teaching New Players How to Play RPGs

One of the less discussed challenges of being a GM is the task of teaching new players the game in your system of choice. Juggling trying to tell a compelling story, jumping between NPCs, running monsters, and then breaking your train of thought to answer rules questions from players can be overwhelming. But our games are fun and it’s incredibly rewarding to see players start to grasp rules and embrace their characters as they interact with your game world.

Do Your Homework 

Your success in teaching others really hinges on your own understanding of the rules and system you want to play in. You don’t want to deflate your pacing by spending agonizing minutes looking up a rule while new players get bored and start looking at their phones. So reading and taking some notes on your system of choice is probably in order (see below for more thoughts on reference materials). You may also find others online at various TTRPG fan sites, message boards, or blogs that talk in depth about running your system or choice and how to resolve rules questions and issues that come up during play.

But reading a ton of material can be difficult and it can be difficult to conceptualize how certain rules work or a game will run in person based on the rules on the page. To break this up and try another learning style I suggest looking for video creators discussing your system of choice or an actual play of the game if you can find one. Just like Critical Role demystified D&D 5e for many people, watching others play the game can make a complex and densely packed character sheet or stat block seem more intuitive when you see the product of their use at someone else’s table. It’s important to remember too that your game will be your own interpretation and implementation so don’t beat yourself up about your story or if it isn’t as smooth as some of the videos you might find. 

Pregenerated Characters Can Help

I’ve tried this both ways, both using pregens and building characters with new players. Pregens are helpful to get playing quickly so you can really start the fun part of the game where you will spend the most time. After all, if the players don’t enjoy actual gameplay their TTRPG career will be short. A player can love playing and hate make characters and go a long way. 

On the other hand, creating a character provides an attachment, motivation, and sense of ownership in a TTRPG game. Players will remember the characters they make themselves and often be more invested in the game if you can tie their ideas in. 

The approach you take depends on your group, which leads into my next thought…

Know Your Players

Unless you’re in an environment where you already know people like RPGs or are interested and willing to put in the effort to learn a new one, it helps to know your players. If they’re your friends or family outside the game then you probably know them pretty well and that can help you teach them specifically and understand the best ways to approach the game with them. This will help you judge how to approach your scenario and encounter design too. The ultimate goal is to create a fun experience for yourself and everyone you’ve invited to your table. 

Sometimes you’ll encounter people interested in playing who haven’t had the chance that you don’t already know. For them, encourage their continued enthusiasm. They will probably be some of your most motivated and invested players (and maybe even future GMs!) 

Trying to rope in people you don’t know very well or don’t already have a positive relationship with can be stressful, but it can also be rewarding to build a friendship based on gaming. It tends to help if these people already have experience playing TTRPGs when trying to teach total strangers a new system. In these cases, playing something they’re familiar with to develop a gaming friendship and relationship might help before proposing a transition to a new system.

Make Your Own Screen Notes

This is a bit of a personal one, but perhaps it’ll work for you. I like to play with a screen, which I know not all GM’s use. I use my screen even when I run fully virtual games, both to set my own atmosphere and to hold my notes.

I found that my system mastery increased when I created my own reference notes for the game I was playing. In the photo at the beginning of the article I have on the far left my consolidated version of all the combat rules and conditions for 5e that I had trouble remembering. I keep this up for every game so that I can quickly reference it. My sheet takes up less space than the same info does on a printed screen, and writing it reinforced the rules for me. It also has information that never gets printed on 5e screens from WOTC because I found it relevant. 

I do the same with subsystems and Homebrew rules for my game so have a reference and don’t have to carry all the rules in my head while trying to teach them to players.

I plan to and am doing the same thing with every system that I plan to run, whether that be Shadowdark, Shadow of the Demon Lord, or Classic Traveller.

Final Thoughts 

Taking others on a journey to lands and places that only exist in our collective imaginations is a rewarding experience. Sharing that with others and teaching them how to play can be difficult, but is the catalyst to those amazing experiences. I hope these thoughts are helpful in some way for GMs and veteran players who want to help others enter the TTRPG hobby or involve their friends and family in this awesome hobby.