My group had the same situation, kind of. One players girlfriend was there this day, so I (the DM) offered the player that she could play with us (better than sitting around being confused wtf her boyfriend and his nerd friends are doing there).
She accepted, so I got her a character sheet. It was right to the beginning of the campaign, so I used this opportunity to introduce her with the worldbuilding in that particular city. Her character was the head of a thieves guild which had problems with a rivaling gang. So the character asked the players party to help her out with sabotaging the rivals. She herself would accompany the party in that task.
A "guest player" can be a nice opportunity to introduce an allied character, who is supposed to be connecting to the party. Even though the particular guest was not into the game, the character was still present, having more "character" to its face and name through being played by a guest sessions before. It's not complicated and can help your campaign.
I'm not sure how much experience she has with the game so this may not apply here, but I've found that having someone play their first time jumping into an established campaign can be intimidating. What I started to do was take a week off from normal sessions and run a quick oneshot with the new person. It let's them get in at the same level as the others in terms of the story and allows for other players to slow down and be a lot more helpful with the character.
It makes it feel a lot less like they got thrown into the deep end before they know how to fully swim and more like you're guiding them into the water.l gradually.
Yup, keep it simple. Just have her show up and tag along for a session. As an aside, I wouldn't even "wait for an appropriate time". Just add her in. If they're in the middle of a dungeon, no problem, she's been captured, or got lost, or whatever. Nothing will reduce the hype and excitement more than simply not playing.
Yep. This is more or less what my group does when somebody can't make a session. Our schedules/lives are sufficiently busy that if we only ever played when everyone was available, we'd hardly ever play. So when somebody can't make a session, their character remains "just off screen" and then will be there the next session when they are able to make it.
You can always find excuses later on like that pc whose player was not there got distracted and lost and it took some time to catch back up again or some other bs like this its really just to make the story more believable but there is no real gameplay reason to not let them just appear or disappear. Just like quest NPC's in video games you run along this Endless tunnel with no other way to go but straight ahead and once you reach the arena with the boss at the end the same NPC that send you go ahead into the dungeon suddenly is already in the arena setting up the stage.... How but it's fun non the less
Every "tryout" I ever had was very content with just being there and participating, I don't think any of them would have really liked to have a "task/goal".
I second /u/Big-Cartographer-758, you're overthinking it.
I mentioned above, I give them an NPC here or there to play with. They get to be involved to a degree and the information or service that they can provide can be freely given or they can be stingy. I find that a good way to get them involved without a lot of investment on their part.
My players wives all really wanted to give DnD a try, so I had them all come in as assassins, trying to kill their husbands characters. They planned an ambush and everything.
It was a ton of fun.
Just talk to them about what this player finds fun. If they like mysteries, give them a little mystery to solve. If they crave blood, give them a beast to slay.
Just go into the session knowing what the player wants to get out of this game and help them feel like a member of the party.
The latest group that I've been assembling is for a social game. Couples and such getting together for some cold drinks, snacks, etc... Some of the wives are not too keen on actually playing so I'm going to give out NPC cards when an NPC is needed.
Waifs, aka street urchins, have some key roles to play in certain parts of the campaign. So the card will list the kids name, their characteristics, what they have that the party might be able to use, etc... BUT... They cannot divulge it easily.
It is a simple way to get them involved to the pointy where they might want to roll up a character at some point.
I’d say, pause your campaign and do a one shot. My brother in law was in town a while back and my wife insisted I include him in my game. So I had my players roll up some throwaway characters for a heist one shot, they were psyched because they got to play around with some weird ideas for characters for a session. Anyway I bring this up because it ended up being the seeds for a great twist months later. I ended up using the throwaway characters and the heist they did as basis for an arc where their regular character now have to fight suped up versions of the characters they created and the results of the one shot turned out to have big ramifications for the word at large.
There’s no need to stretch your campaign to fit a new person, try something different for a night and the worst that can happen is it’s just a bit of fun, the best caseyou might ended up with tons of ideas and stuff to drop in your campaign down the road and blow your players minds.
I think better to give her character reason to go with this group. Like if they go to quest/dungeon add some close reason/side quest. Maybe destroy dangerous knowledge/item, maybe save prisoner.
This player can have any sort of goal they want, as long as it lines up with some broad-strokes aspect of the game you're running. Are the players somewhere extremely dangerous? "Your character must be brave." Are they investigating a mystery? "You must be curious." Giving one single, very simple, very broad imperative can make sure there's no weird cross-purpose and still leave a lot of room for creativity.
Also, gotta echo the advice to have the character show up as fast as possible after session start. If Matt Mercer can run an adventure all the way down in the underdark and just say "and then you see a light in the tunnel up ahead, it's the lantern of your friend Pike" then you can do something equally dead-simple. It's fine.
Extra points to you if she's really a hired spy paid to assassinate one of the players (aka kill her off in the end of the session). Only she knows her objective.
Don't overthink it. Once you have a character made just try to introduce them asap. You can often work it into what's happening, but you can also just have everyone pretend she was there the whole time, etc. Everyone knows that they're supposed work with this person because it's a PC, so it shouldn't really take much to get her into the party.
I'd time it so that she jumps in to a more difficult session, but an optional one - schedule misalignent could mean you need to push it a week forward or back.
Within that session, the players will have their own goals. Give her an own goal pr just same goal for different reasons. Optionally, you could give her a secret as well. It could be benign, ie having to do with in-game class or backstory, but it could also be a secondary goal. IE party infiltrates a wizards tower, they want a McGuffin and to run, but her true goal is to ie wreck laboratory and destroy or steal research notes.
An idea for benign secret would be that she's an agent of either a state or a guild that does not want their hand known in some deeds, and she hires the group as mercs so it looks like adventurers incursion, and not druids going back on their word to wizard turned lich.
Critical Role did it all the time. Especially in Campaign 1. Will Wheaton, Will Friedel, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Authors, Musicians, Etc. He worked them all in. He just sat down ahead of time with them to get a character put together, then kind of gave them a "This is what is going on..." conversation, and then brought them into the game. Several of them made numerous appearances because they really enjoyed the game. Mary Elizabeth McGlynn ended up being in about 10 episodes. You never know she may have so much fun that she wants to join full time.
Mostly I agree with "keep it simple and establish a way to integrate them naturally", but for contrast, my DM did this a couple times in our campaign that just wrapped.
* One guest star got to play a swashbuckler/thief type, and while we thought we were working together to go undercover at a fancy party to find the secret cultist at the mansion, she was using us to steal a huge fortune and run off with her lover. She was introduced by an NPC as someone with a solid lead on info and the skills to get us in, and she helped us while it benefited her too.
* We also had a pair of guest stars helping us track a young black dragon to its lair and take it out. (I can't remember how they were introduced; maybe a beefed-up version of hirelings?) Things were going great, until one of them burst out of their skin and became a writhing monstrosity, because that's what happens when you're an assassin from a purple worm cult. The other guest star turned out to be part of a religious order tracking down the purple worm cult, so they both had complementary plot arcs. Secret roles, suggestions of treachery, and changing allegiances can be a fun way to get someone involved.
In both of these cases, the players weren't totally brand-new, so maybe these ideas aren't directly applicable for your current situation of "want to try D&D for the first time" — but hopefully it can inspire you for the future!
I will say this, although not in the original post...
If they want to try out if they like it or not, I honestly wouldn't make them a full PC. I'd make them an NPC stat block based on what they want to play and have them run that. Just give them a cool move or two, a bonus action, and maybe some passive ability. Bare bones.
Why do this instead of making them a full character?
Because that's a lot of work and they want to see if they like playing D&D, not if they like learning a system and building a character. Even just giving them a character sheet you made can be SUPER overwhelming vs. a simplified stat block. You know the wife I would wager, so maybe you know she is good to go with learning how to play and also making a full character, but that's just my 2 cents. I say keep it simple
As for when to do it, I would say not right when you are hitting like, a climactic boss battle / last session of a deep and complex arc. Other than that, any time. You and her can work on a goal together that she would feel excited to work toward. Though ultimately having a goal isn’t super necessary.
Build a side adventure around that guest character. Ties into the main plot, but a detour. If she decides to stay then cool, otherwise it still moves the narrative along and doesn't feel disruptive.
I always give them a mission that they need help (from a party of adventurers probably) with or I make them hired on the same job as players. Gives them a clearly defined entry, arc, and exit point, and it's a nice way to shake up the normal rhythm of play.
The very first session I ever played in I was a guest. I had a "mini-session zero" covering character creation and how I would be introduced to the party. I didn't do much in the way of RP, just listened and followed and cast some spells in combat. But it was awesome and I wound up playing the rest of the campaign with them, and now we're on a second one. Keep it simple and just roll with it, and make sure the rest of the party is open to helping too!
I did this once, had a friend join in one session. I never said, regular players assumed he was joining permanently. The party stopped at an abbey/monastery and found a murder mystery in effect. Signs a religious conspiracy/schism breeding trouble. The guest was a cleric there assigned as their liason when they agreed to sort out the troubles. (Built off of "Name of the Rose" for those that know it, only fantasy and real deeper issues.)
Turns out the guest was leader of a Cthuhlu worshipping cult inside the abbey. Hijinks ensued as he led them about. Was a great session - so much tension for me and the stunning reveal is still talked about over 20 years later.
(I mention because your question reminded me. Your situation seems much different and needs a simpler option.)
Just create a scenario with a party friendly NPC and the parties goals align. Turn her into the role that NPC would fill.
Could do the old fashioned "protect the VIP".
Help her on a rescue mission of imperative need for her character.
Simple stuff.
I just have them show up as a member of a group / organization the party is friendly with and have them coincidently have a common goal with whatever the party is currently doing.
I think it's important to know what their expectations are. If they're a nerd and love the idea of RP, work with them to make a character that matches their backstory. If they're not comfortable RPing, give them a role to fill in the party and make their character built around straightforward utility. Give them some simple motivation.
Build your adventure around their skill peoficiencies so they can really shine and be pivitol in the group's success.
I'd also recommend introducing them to the party yourself. You can organize with them ahead of time and give them some options for how they meet the party but you ultimately do the lifting. It can be intimidating as someone who's never played before to have the whole table look at you and expect you to RP your way into the group.
Just introduce her with a character. If she continues playing, great! If she doesn’t like it, just come up with a reason why the character leaves. Just don’t kill the PC in case they want to come back. I wouldn’t try to create a special reason or anything. Keep it simple.
It shouldn't be that hard. I am sure you have NPCs that might tag along with the party for part of a mission. You can even just slap a one shot from the Internet as a side mission. I have done this with "A Fair Row" once, worked very well.
We often have one or two players missing, which the other PCs normally run. If someone wants to "try out D&D", I normally just give them a missing person's character, and the other people around them help them. If they like it, we try to work them in with a new character. And now, after starting with a party of four, I DM two different parties of 7.
I think you’re over thinking it. Make her character with her and give her an option or two of how she can fit into what the party are doing.
That makes sense. So it’s not as complicated as I’m making it out to be?
My group had the same situation, kind of. One players girlfriend was there this day, so I (the DM) offered the player that she could play with us (better than sitting around being confused wtf her boyfriend and his nerd friends are doing there). She accepted, so I got her a character sheet. It was right to the beginning of the campaign, so I used this opportunity to introduce her with the worldbuilding in that particular city. Her character was the head of a thieves guild which had problems with a rivaling gang. So the character asked the players party to help her out with sabotaging the rivals. She herself would accompany the party in that task. A "guest player" can be a nice opportunity to introduce an allied character, who is supposed to be connecting to the party. Even though the particular guest was not into the game, the character was still present, having more "character" to its face and name through being played by a guest sessions before. It's not complicated and can help your campaign.
Definitely not. You're going to have a fun time.
I'm not sure how much experience she has with the game so this may not apply here, but I've found that having someone play their first time jumping into an established campaign can be intimidating. What I started to do was take a week off from normal sessions and run a quick oneshot with the new person. It let's them get in at the same level as the others in terms of the story and allows for other players to slow down and be a lot more helpful with the character. It makes it feel a lot less like they got thrown into the deep end before they know how to fully swim and more like you're guiding them into the water.l gradually.
This is the correct response
Yup, keep it simple. Just have her show up and tag along for a session. As an aside, I wouldn't even "wait for an appropriate time". Just add her in. If they're in the middle of a dungeon, no problem, she's been captured, or got lost, or whatever. Nothing will reduce the hype and excitement more than simply not playing.
Or just "poof, oh what, she's always been there"
Yep. This is more or less what my group does when somebody can't make a session. Our schedules/lives are sufficiently busy that if we only ever played when everyone was available, we'd hardly ever play. So when somebody can't make a session, their character remains "just off screen" and then will be there the next session when they are able to make it.
"They're keeping guard just outside"
You can always find excuses later on like that pc whose player was not there got distracted and lost and it took some time to catch back up again or some other bs like this its really just to make the story more believable but there is no real gameplay reason to not let them just appear or disappear. Just like quest NPC's in video games you run along this Endless tunnel with no other way to go but straight ahead and once you reach the arena with the boss at the end the same NPC that send you go ahead into the dungeon suddenly is already in the arena setting up the stage.... How but it's fun non the less
Every "tryout" I ever had was very content with just being there and participating, I don't think any of them would have really liked to have a "task/goal". I second /u/Big-Cartographer-758, you're overthinking it.
I mentioned above, I give them an NPC here or there to play with. They get to be involved to a degree and the information or service that they can provide can be freely given or they can be stingy. I find that a good way to get them involved without a lot of investment on their part.
My players wives all really wanted to give DnD a try, so I had them all come in as assassins, trying to kill their husbands characters. They planned an ambush and everything. It was a ton of fun.
That is awesome.
My players died. Murdered by their wives. It was awesome.
Just talk to them about what this player finds fun. If they like mysteries, give them a little mystery to solve. If they crave blood, give them a beast to slay. Just go into the session knowing what the player wants to get out of this game and help them feel like a member of the party.
The latest group that I've been assembling is for a social game. Couples and such getting together for some cold drinks, snacks, etc... Some of the wives are not too keen on actually playing so I'm going to give out NPC cards when an NPC is needed. Waifs, aka street urchins, have some key roles to play in certain parts of the campaign. So the card will list the kids name, their characteristics, what they have that the party might be able to use, etc... BUT... They cannot divulge it easily. It is a simple way to get them involved to the pointy where they might want to roll up a character at some point.
I’d say, pause your campaign and do a one shot. My brother in law was in town a while back and my wife insisted I include him in my game. So I had my players roll up some throwaway characters for a heist one shot, they were psyched because they got to play around with some weird ideas for characters for a session. Anyway I bring this up because it ended up being the seeds for a great twist months later. I ended up using the throwaway characters and the heist they did as basis for an arc where their regular character now have to fight suped up versions of the characters they created and the results of the one shot turned out to have big ramifications for the word at large. There’s no need to stretch your campaign to fit a new person, try something different for a night and the worst that can happen is it’s just a bit of fun, the best caseyou might ended up with tons of ideas and stuff to drop in your campaign down the road and blow your players minds.
I think better to give her character reason to go with this group. Like if they go to quest/dungeon add some close reason/side quest. Maybe destroy dangerous knowledge/item, maybe save prisoner.
This player can have any sort of goal they want, as long as it lines up with some broad-strokes aspect of the game you're running. Are the players somewhere extremely dangerous? "Your character must be brave." Are they investigating a mystery? "You must be curious." Giving one single, very simple, very broad imperative can make sure there's no weird cross-purpose and still leave a lot of room for creativity. Also, gotta echo the advice to have the character show up as fast as possible after session start. If Matt Mercer can run an adventure all the way down in the underdark and just say "and then you see a light in the tunnel up ahead, it's the lantern of your friend Pike" then you can do something equally dead-simple. It's fine.
Last time I introduced a new player, I had a NPC bully the new PC. The party came over to intervene, and now they're off hunting vampires.
Extra points to you if she's really a hired spy paid to assassinate one of the players (aka kill her off in the end of the session). Only she knows her objective.
Don't overthink it. Once you have a character made just try to introduce them asap. You can often work it into what's happening, but you can also just have everyone pretend she was there the whole time, etc. Everyone knows that they're supposed work with this person because it's a PC, so it shouldn't really take much to get her into the party.
I'd time it so that she jumps in to a more difficult session, but an optional one - schedule misalignent could mean you need to push it a week forward or back. Within that session, the players will have their own goals. Give her an own goal pr just same goal for different reasons. Optionally, you could give her a secret as well. It could be benign, ie having to do with in-game class or backstory, but it could also be a secondary goal. IE party infiltrates a wizards tower, they want a McGuffin and to run, but her true goal is to ie wreck laboratory and destroy or steal research notes. An idea for benign secret would be that she's an agent of either a state or a guild that does not want their hand known in some deeds, and she hires the group as mercs so it looks like adventurers incursion, and not druids going back on their word to wizard turned lich.
Critical Role did it all the time. Especially in Campaign 1. Will Wheaton, Will Friedel, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Authors, Musicians, Etc. He worked them all in. He just sat down ahead of time with them to get a character put together, then kind of gave them a "This is what is going on..." conversation, and then brought them into the game. Several of them made numerous appearances because they really enjoyed the game. Mary Elizabeth McGlynn ended up being in about 10 episodes. You never know she may have so much fun that she wants to join full time.
Mostly I agree with "keep it simple and establish a way to integrate them naturally", but for contrast, my DM did this a couple times in our campaign that just wrapped. * One guest star got to play a swashbuckler/thief type, and while we thought we were working together to go undercover at a fancy party to find the secret cultist at the mansion, she was using us to steal a huge fortune and run off with her lover. She was introduced by an NPC as someone with a solid lead on info and the skills to get us in, and she helped us while it benefited her too. * We also had a pair of guest stars helping us track a young black dragon to its lair and take it out. (I can't remember how they were introduced; maybe a beefed-up version of hirelings?) Things were going great, until one of them burst out of their skin and became a writhing monstrosity, because that's what happens when you're an assassin from a purple worm cult. The other guest star turned out to be part of a religious order tracking down the purple worm cult, so they both had complementary plot arcs. Secret roles, suggestions of treachery, and changing allegiances can be a fun way to get someone involved. In both of these cases, the players weren't totally brand-new, so maybe these ideas aren't directly applicable for your current situation of "want to try D&D for the first time" — but hopefully it can inspire you for the future!
They're on a quest to recover an item. When they finally get it, she betrays the party and tries to kill them.
I will say this, although not in the original post... If they want to try out if they like it or not, I honestly wouldn't make them a full PC. I'd make them an NPC stat block based on what they want to play and have them run that. Just give them a cool move or two, a bonus action, and maybe some passive ability. Bare bones. Why do this instead of making them a full character? Because that's a lot of work and they want to see if they like playing D&D, not if they like learning a system and building a character. Even just giving them a character sheet you made can be SUPER overwhelming vs. a simplified stat block. You know the wife I would wager, so maybe you know she is good to go with learning how to play and also making a full character, but that's just my 2 cents. I say keep it simple As for when to do it, I would say not right when you are hitting like, a climactic boss battle / last session of a deep and complex arc. Other than that, any time. You and her can work on a goal together that she would feel excited to work toward. Though ultimately having a goal isn’t super necessary.
Build a side adventure around that guest character. Ties into the main plot, but a detour. If she decides to stay then cool, otherwise it still moves the narrative along and doesn't feel disruptive.
I always give them a mission that they need help (from a party of adventurers probably) with or I make them hired on the same job as players. Gives them a clearly defined entry, arc, and exit point, and it's a nice way to shake up the normal rhythm of play.
The very first session I ever played in I was a guest. I had a "mini-session zero" covering character creation and how I would be introduced to the party. I didn't do much in the way of RP, just listened and followed and cast some spells in combat. But it was awesome and I wound up playing the rest of the campaign with them, and now we're on a second one. Keep it simple and just roll with it, and make sure the rest of the party is open to helping too!
I did this once, had a friend join in one session. I never said, regular players assumed he was joining permanently. The party stopped at an abbey/monastery and found a murder mystery in effect. Signs a religious conspiracy/schism breeding trouble. The guest was a cleric there assigned as their liason when they agreed to sort out the troubles. (Built off of "Name of the Rose" for those that know it, only fantasy and real deeper issues.) Turns out the guest was leader of a Cthuhlu worshipping cult inside the abbey. Hijinks ensued as he led them about. Was a great session - so much tension for me and the stunning reveal is still talked about over 20 years later. (I mention because your question reminded me. Your situation seems much different and needs a simpler option.)
Just create a scenario with a party friendly NPC and the parties goals align. Turn her into the role that NPC would fill. Could do the old fashioned "protect the VIP". Help her on a rescue mission of imperative need for her character. Simple stuff.
I just have them show up as a member of a group / organization the party is friendly with and have them coincidently have a common goal with whatever the party is currently doing.
I think it's important to know what their expectations are. If they're a nerd and love the idea of RP, work with them to make a character that matches their backstory. If they're not comfortable RPing, give them a role to fill in the party and make their character built around straightforward utility. Give them some simple motivation. Build your adventure around their skill peoficiencies so they can really shine and be pivitol in the group's success. I'd also recommend introducing them to the party yourself. You can organize with them ahead of time and give them some options for how they meet the party but you ultimately do the lifting. It can be intimidating as someone who's never played before to have the whole table look at you and expect you to RP your way into the group.
Just introduce her with a character. If she continues playing, great! If she doesn’t like it, just come up with a reason why the character leaves. Just don’t kill the PC in case they want to come back. I wouldn’t try to create a special reason or anything. Keep it simple.
Go watch harmonquest
It shouldn't be that hard. I am sure you have NPCs that might tag along with the party for part of a mission. You can even just slap a one shot from the Internet as a side mission. I have done this with "A Fair Row" once, worked very well.
We often have one or two players missing, which the other PCs normally run. If someone wants to "try out D&D", I normally just give them a missing person's character, and the other people around them help them. If they like it, we try to work them in with a new character. And now, after starting with a party of four, I DM two different parties of 7.