[RPG] How to convince new players to read and learn the basic rules before sitting down to play

dnd-5enew-playerssystem-introduction

Everyone in this story works mostly together. Some work friends and my wife were talking about playing D&D, and I was appointed the DM. I've played the game once 20 years ago, so I've spent the past few months buying the resources and learning as much as I can about the game so I can make it as enjoyable for then as possible, we are yet to have our first session.

But to make it easier so I don't have to teach them literally everything I asked them to read the Basic Rules so they have some idea of what they are in for and the expectations of them and me are.

But they came back with "its too hard to read it, I learn by doing, that's what we have you for".

I'm super pissed by this, I've spent so much time and effort learning this game and they can't be bothered to put any effort in.

My question is should I let them know how much it's annoyed me, and reiterate they need to know stuff, or just ignore it and carry on?

Best Answer

I think that if your players say that they learn by doing then it is a good idea to listen to them. Otherwise you will just end up banging your head against a brick wall. The dynamic of every table playing a campaign is different and, as their DM, it is your role to set things up to make the game enjoyable - without neglecting your own sanity of course!

Here are some articles that might be helpful in finding some further guidance with this.

Keep it simple

It is important to give new players the support they need, e.g help them with their character creation so they don't feel overwhelmed. There are a lot of boxes to fill in a character sheet. As a DM it is important we do not forget this or assume others know what to us may seem "obvious".

There are more suggestions here: Keeping it simple for new players

Learning rules, wait, what...

There are some great suggestions about how to manage this in the article below, but one thing I would suggest is: patience, and more patience. It can take some players much longer to learn rules than others. The 5e of D&D has some rule economy in it which is a glob-send! Still, for someone who has never played a tabletop RPG, it might feel quite daunting. So, your being patient is essential. As is suggested in the article, if you have other experienced members in your team, ask them to buddy up and help those who are newer. Another tip is to provide them with a cheat sheet/summary of the main mechanics and terminology.

Plenty more here: How to play with friends who don't want to read the rules?

The homework

Yuck, even the word is enough to send crowds running for the hills. I personally enjoy it - you might too as a DM. But, not everyone is the same. In my experience as a DM, the only reasonable homework I expected was for spell-casters to read up on the next tier of spells, when they were about to go up a level and acquire a higher spell-slot. This saves a lot of time. They did not memorise them, but had a good idea what the the spell did. As DM, you can decide this with your players. Again, making these decisions collaboratively is important to have them on board.

There is more food for thought here: How can I get my players to do extra “homework”?

Tic toc

If you find that after a fair few sessions you have still got one or two stragglers who for neither love or money want to put in the effort to learn the basics, then I would suggest using a timer. In the lower levels it may not make that much of a difference if someone forgets how to roll for initiative, or where their skills are on their sheet, or what a spell does, or how to roll a saving throw, or how to calculate crit damage, but later on it will make a big difference. They might have several attacks and a bonus attack, plus companions and minions, etc. If every player takes a long time to make decisions on their turn in combat at this stage, it can bring the game to a grinding, and boring, halt. Zzz.. so learning the essentials in the first few levels is key.

One of my favourite strategies is using a simple time limit, as a gentle nudge. I love visual aids so I tend to use a 1m or 2m sand timer which the players can see on the table. This encourages them to think ahead and be responsive. If the timer runs out, so does their turn. Next... It may feel mean the first time, but they soon become quick-thinkers after missing a turn.

There are some other excellent suggestions in this article: How can I speed up combat?

Last, and not least: Session Zero

I would definitely recommend setting up a Session Zero to help the players learn some of the basic mechanics of the game. If you are DM for 5e for the first time, it will take some getting used to also. So this will be a win-win for all of you. I particularly suggest making it a collaborative experience.

See: What is a session 0?

Bring plenty of snacks!

Note: thanks to MikeQ for some of these suggestions.