Quote from: estar;565354Since it is 2e and beginners, I would go with 4d6 drop the lowest, straight down the line. Stat bonuses and High Stats are more important in 1e and 2e.

This. Though if you are going to use the 3d6 drop where they may method definitely think about giving them 3-4 floating points no score above 18 and possibly let them do point swap 2:1 also. Nothing is worse for a new player than to get ganked 2 minutes into the game. High scores won't affect it as much as with experienced players because it's not likely they would be gaming the system. Or powergaming at least until they know the ropes.

Quote from: Opaopajr;565821You're right. Next time I'll mandate 2d6+1 straight down. And the only money to find is the copper inadvertently swallowed by the rabid wildlife mauling the peasantry afield. It'll also be perpetually raining and muddy. And I'll need a table of old fashioned diseases...

Or he could, y'know, just use the rules as written for stats and coinage and hit points and such.

Oh, and this stupid bullshit is beneath you. Or at least I hope it is.

Quote from: Black Vulmea;565878Or he could, y'know, just use the rules as written for stats and coinage and hit points and such.

Oh, and this stupid bullshit is beneath you. Or at least I hope it is.

In all fairness, he's responding to my stupid bullshit.

Quote from: Gib;565882In all fairness, he's responding to my stupid bullshit.

*looks back upthread*

True enough.

So fuck you, too.

Playful sarcasm is wholly lost in translation within fora. Maybe if I put it in the form of a limerick?

Quote from: Opaopajr;565884Playful sarcasm is wholly lost in translation within fora.

:duh:


I need to see my ortho about my knee. That jerking can't possibly be good for it long-term.

Quote from: Black Vulmea;565886:duh:


I need to see my ortho about my knee. That jerking can't possibly be good for it long-term.

I don't know, I've had a "fuck you" coming for quite some time. Good work.

Don't worry, if we ever get a veteran game together we'll play that 2d6+1 Fantasy Fucking Vietnam. I'll include all that and more. That way when your knee hurts you know it's just more rain coming for your PCs... along with relentless evil hordes... and you're only armed with fists of mud and body parts of the fallen. Lamb of God, Pantera, or Therion for the soundtrack?

On a serious note: Brendan, why don't you run 2e w/o WP/NWP. Should be quicker to roll up a character that way and get to the playing sooner. In that case I might actually give weapon specialization to the fighter still; perhaps 1 weapon specialization every 3 lvls?

Quote from: Opaopajr;565893Don't worry, if we ever get a veteran game together we'll play that 2d6+1 Fantasy Fucking Vietnam. I'll include all that and more. That way when your knee hurts you know it's just more rain coming for your PCs... along with relentless evil hordes... and you're only armed with fists of mud and body parts of the fallen.

Sign me up!

Quote from: Opaopajr;565893Lamb of God, Pantera, or Therion for the soundtrack?

Yes.

Quote from: BedrockBrendan;565345Any thoughts?

You can get a few adventure ideas from S. John Ross'  Big List of RPG  Plots, mix and match to keep things fresh, then off you go!

While horribly cliche, nothing beats the old sewer level for easing into play.  Some large rats to kill, maybe a kobold or two; traps to find; puzzles to solve...  And you can keep it pretty limited in scope so it is quick to set up, much like an arena only interesting to explore.

Quote from: Gib;565418I can't believe the coddling shit that is being posted in this thread.  Fuck the noobs. Remember the integrity of your campaign is the most important thing. Have at least 5 save or die moment in the first half hour of the game; if they can't handle it, they don't deserve to be your friend; fuck, they don't even deserve to have friends. Players come and players go, but when you're old, alone and covered with bedsores, your sparkly magical kingdom will still be with you.

Quote from: Opaopajr;565821You're right. Next time I'll mandate 2d6+1 straight down. And the only money to find is the copper inadvertently swallowed by the rabid wildlife mauling the peasantry afield. It'll also be perpetually raining and muddy. And I'll need a table of old fashioned diseases...

Pussies.  As players, we never used a die larger than a d4.  For anything.  Only the DM got to use the bigger dice.  And we liked it that way!

Quote from: BedrockBrendan;565449this is why I was thinking of doing 3d6 straight down. They are both creative people so I think they may find it more interesting to work from the hand they are dealt.

I've gone over to "roll in order", I've been using it for Labyrinth Lord and it makes for far more interesting characters and avoids a host of problems with 'dump stats' and 'builds' etc.

Whether you use 3d6 or best 3 of 4d6 will determine how likely PCs are to have bonuses, with 1e/2e stats penalties are fairly rare either way. As long as  NPCs use similar distribution to PCs there should be no problem - eg in a 3d6 world few Fighters will have a damage bonus from STR. If using published 1e/2e adventures, be aware that many NPCs have extremely high stats that may need toning down.

For a starting adventure, the old B-series ones are great - B1 In Search of the Unknown is probably optimal for 2 1st level PCs, with B2 Keep on the Borderlands a bit tougher, and B5 Horror on the Hill similar but ridiculously deadly for 1st level PCs; it would suit 2 3rd-4th level PCs. B4 The Lost City is nice if you want something more exotic.

Well, if you want to get them used to Roll In Order style of play, then I would start them out with 2d6+6 down the line.  3d6 in order for AD&D is rough since the ability score bonus thresholds are higher than in OD&D/BD&D.  

If you're looking for a good starting campaign area then I would suggest N5: Under Illefarn.

If you're just looking for an adventure, then I would suggest B9: Castle Cadwell and Beyond.

Obviously, you could tailor these to mold into an existing campaign world of your choosing.

Quote from: Philotomy Jurament;565496Set the right tone: have them roll up three PCs, each, with the second two being "backups, just in case..."  

yes.  this is not humor.  I actually agree.

Quote from: BedrockBrendan;565345So I will be running my cousin and her boyfriend through their first game of Dungeons and Dragons. I decided to use 2E, simply because right now it is the edition I know best. If they end up liking the session,I will probably encourage them to buy the first edition reprints and start a small campaign using those however since I am looking forward to getting mileage out of the new editions.

For first adventure I was thinking a pretty standard small area map with some obvious dungeons to explore, nothing terribly clever or fancy but modeled on my early experiences of the game. Maybe a couple of nice villages and a local villain or two.

For stats it will be 3d6 straight down the line and I plan on letting the dice fall where they may (figure better they get used to pc death early on if it comes up).

Any thoughts?

See, this is when I realize you live somewhat close to me....