Getting started in a game ofDungeons & Dragonscan be a great way to spend time with friends. No matter how experienced the player is at D&D or tabletop games in general, it can be great to get involved in an adventuring party. As your campaign gets rolling, you might be surprised that more people want to join your game as players.
It can be more difficult for a DM to add a player later on in a game when it comes to both them as a character and as a new person interacting with people at your table.Thankfully, there are a few things to keep in mind that can help take theweight off the DM’s shouldersand allow for the new player to join the party smoothly.
9Clarify Character Requirements
Not Just Level
Before you begin the work on adding your new player to the party, you should make sure this new player is all set when it comes to their character. Adding a character later in the game can be more difficult than starting off at session one or zero.
Touch base with them often during their character creation to ensure they understand what they need to build. Have a clear level in mind, and let them know what items and money they would have access to, so that they can start at the same standing as the other characters in their new party.
This also goes for things like magic items and tools.
8Understand The Tone
Comedy, Grimdark, Somewhere In-Between?
As your game develops, it will take on a tone. This goes for both long-term campaigns and even one-shots. As the world is filtered through your description and your party’s action, it will be dynamic, sometimes even taking on a tone you didn’t realize you were setting up.
Prepare your new player by letting them know what kind of game you are playing. No one wants to walk into a new group with a comedy character and be completely surprised when the tone of the game isactually quite somber. You don’t have to walk them through everything, but a couple of examples of what’s happened in the game may be a great way to anchor them into the mentality while they create their character.
7Know How It Will Affect The Team Dynamic
Skills For Everyone
Your new player will come to the table with ideas about what they want their character to be. With an already set party dynamic, you’ll want to prepare yourself for how their new character will affect the dynamic when it comes to play.
You don’t have to tell them that they can’t play any certain class or species, just understand how to balance the party out if there are, for example, two rogues, or a newly added cleric to a party with other healers. Knowing what this new character will add can help keep everything running smoothly for you and the party at large.
6Pick Your Moment
The Perfect Timing
There is quite a bit of setup for adding a new character late in a game, but the actual moment you introduce them needs plenty of thought as well. There are a few things to think about here. Mainly, where your party is at the moment, and what would suit the new character best for their introduction.
You can do casual and calmlike at a tavern, dynamic while in battle, or even tense as the party discovers them during travel. The choice is yours, but understand how your party may react to each of the options.
5Get Your Player Up To Speed (Or Don’t)
Lore Dumping
The new player in your game will have missed out on a good number of events, storytelling, worldbuilding, and character interaction. This can leave them in the dark about a lot of background and inside jokes your party may be privy to. As the DM, you may want to fill them in about where the rest of the party is and what they’ve been up to until their introduction.
Or, you may choose to leave them in the dark about most of it. Having them go in ‘blind’ can allow for some organic character and player dialogue between everyone, but it can make the new player feel even newer. Know what is best for this new player and understand what balance you want to bring to that.
4Prepare Your Party
A New Face In The Crowd
While most of the effort on your end will be setting up your new player, you should also take some time to inform the rest of your party about the change to their roster.
Really, this can be as involved or casual as you see fit. The real work is making sure the players themselves are ready and willing to have another face at the table, which shouldn’t be too hard with a coop game like D&D. It also doesn’t hurt to verify all the characters are stable in the story as well.
3Know How It Affects The Story
No Traumatic Backstory Necessary
Depending on where you are in your game, you will probably have a rough idea of how the next few sessions or arcs are going to go. You may even have an idea about the ending of the game.
Adding a new character will change that a bit, or should at least. Make sure you are adjusting the overall story to give space for this new character. This can be really easy to do by just allowing them to interact with the story you have already set. But also make sure to involve their backstory and wants as a character and player.
2Show Off The New Player
A Moment Of Heroism
From the moment a new player enters your game, they’ll be wanting to show off their skills. It can be a great benefit for everyone in the group to allow for this to happen in a dynamic way early on.
Allow your new character at least one moment to show off what they can do. This can range from one dramatic moment where they save the day, or a handful of little moments where they can show off their skill checks, attacks, or spells. This will not only make this new player feel welcome, but also show the value of having this new character to the party.
It can be devastating for a new player to fail their first few rolls. Keep that in mind when you are setting the threshold for success and failure for those first few checks.
1Allow For Combat And Downtime
Teambuilding Exercises
After the initial moment of introduction, your new player will be well on their way to getting accustomed to the world around them. For those first few sessions after they are introduced, have the full range of your game for them to experience.
Throw some combat their way, have them RP a bit, explore the world, andinteract with NPCs. This will let them see you as a DM and understand how you set everything up, and also let them be fully immersed in the world, allowing their character to use all the various features of their class, too.
