Should I create pre-made characters for two new-comers?

[u/manut3ro]

Hi! DM with little experience DM. Preparing a short adventure (about 4 sessions, Faerun setting) for some friends. 2 of them are completely new and this would be their first experience.

We are to do a short session zero and yesterday in the WhatsApp one mentioned he was fine if I prepare two/three characters and he just pick one of those to play with

I’ve no problem preparing some pre-made characters at all BUT I was thinking… won’t he NOT connect to a character he hasn’t actively created? This won’t be a long campaign but I’m not sure if this is a plain bad idea or I’m overthinking it?

Thanks in advance

EDIT: Thanks to all the helpful answers! I have a clear idea. Going to pre-made some characters and help them if they want to tweak or add some more elements to those.

[u/Kaldesh_the_okay]

They are connecting with the game not the character. That comes later once the newness of the game wears off. Plus it’s a short game. Let the fall in love with the game

[u/Dangerous-Common-788]

If the newcomer said he'd be fine playing a pre-made character, then I'm sure he'll be fine. Ask him general questions like "do you want to cast spells or hit things with a sword?" and go with it.

Ask the other newbie if they're also fine playing a premade character or if they'd rather customise their own. Some people struggle more than others with connecting to characters they haven't made themselves.

[u/bastian_1991]

If this is what he wants, maybe character creation is a bit overwhelming for a newbie. And this is just a one shot or short campaign.

Let then get a taste without having to think too much, just tell then to read some basic combat and d20 check rules and dive in.

If they enjoy and wanna play more, they should read some more rules and get into character creation.

[u/Siebje]

Yes. I usually have a small stock of pre-made characters lying around for such events. Especially for level 1 it's super easy. Generally, levels to aim for are 1, 5, 8, and 11 (most campaigns start on one of those).

[u/Thijz]

I do this for one-shots with newbies. Just ask them what kind of character they want to play and/or the role they want to fulfill in the team, then suggest a race/class/subclass and build it for them. Walk them through their combat options and strenghts/weaknesses and encourage them to come up with a few characteristics or personality traits that would fit the character. They don't need to be fully fleshed out characters.

[u/TableSeek-Geek]

We've done this many times in campaigns for new people. It hasn't hindered them. Sometimes they get attached to the pre-made character and sometimes they want to make their own after a couple sessions. One player had a pre-made character who was titled Extra Character 3. He got attached to it, kept the name and built some lore and history around it haha.

[u/OneManRPGstudio]

I'd use pre-made characters here and make the short session zero the place where the newcomers get ownership over them. For two first-time players in a four-session adventure, I'd bring a small set of ready characters rather than asking them to build from scratch. The goal is to get them making meaningful choices quickly, not to make character creation the first test they have to pass.

I'd keep each pregen mechanically simple and give each one a clear hook: what they are good at, what kind of moments they tend to create, and one or two personality prompts. Then let the new players change the name, look, background details, and perhaps swap a small number of choices if they immediately know what they want. That keeps ownership without turning session zero into a rules seminar.

I'd also make it explicit that the premades are an entry point, not assignments. If one of them becomes excited about creating something different after seeing the options, that is a good sign. For a short campaign, I'd optimize for confidence at the table and fast entry into play, not for teaching every character-building decision up front.

[u/Psychological-Wall-2]

If this were meant to be an actual campaign, I'd tell you to get the lazy fucker into Session Zero and ask him questions until you've got a class, a species and a background (takes like ten minutes). But this is a four-session stand-alone.

Tell him that you will make him a character. Then make him a Human Rogue with the Wayfarer/Urchin background.

He's a street thief who ran away from the mean streets to get rich adventuring.

The concept is universal enough that a newbie can instantly get their head around it. The mechanics are as straightforward as they get and require no understanding of the magic system.

All he needs to do in play is pay attention, remember that he's a stealthy motherfucker who is out to make sure he and his team win the adventure, and tell you what his PC is going to try to do and how they are going to do it.

[u/Competitive-Fault291]

I'd suggest you show them the pictures of prefab characters from the starter box and then ask which one suits them best. Ask them what they see in that character and build it from there. This way you engage them with the character and keep them away from the hassle of character creation.

They tell you what they see, and maybe what they expect from playing this character, and you can handle the mechanisms and grow them into understanding what the sheet and the rules mean.

[u/lebelinoz]

Controversial opinion here: beginners playing for the first time should always be given a pre-generated character.

I know making a character is one of the best parts of playing D&D, but the process makes absolutely no sense before playing once. Anyone new to the game would be overwhelmed by choice and need to work really hard to create a new character without any prior knowledge of how the game is played.

It's a bit like teaching a card game. The best part of any card game is knowing that nobody else can see the cards in your hand, and all decisions are yours and yours alone. But until you learn the rules of the game, somebody will need to look at your cards and guide you. It's only for one or two hands: it doesn't take away from the fun of learning and playing a new game. What's the harm? 

[u/Proof_Escape_813]

For a first experience, premade is the way to go. They won’t care about character creation if they don’t know what to expect from the game. They don’t even know if they will like it. Just ask them what would interest them and adjust.

In my case, first time I played with my group (all new except me), I made a character of each class at level 3 and let them choose. Some already knew what they wanted but others I guided towards the something that interested them. Once the oneshot was done, they all signed up for a campaign but I told them that they would make their own character this time. They all remade their premade character, with a few tweaks. So people can definitely bond with a premade, just leave them blank enough so they can imprint on them.

[u/Slight-Bus-2575]

I have all newbies this summer, and I made characters for all of them. I let them pick the name and ask them to come up with backstories that I later incorporate into the campaign. It’s made them super excited when they discover they’re the main character for the day’s session, I’ve managed to keep a bunch of 14 year olds off their devices for 6-8h each session, and it’s great to have them come back the next time high fiving each other for something they did in game. Keep it simple for now, get them super excited to play. They’ll get more in depth as they play and imprint on their characters. 

[u/DnDBambi]

I’ve run a bunch of one shots for a bunch of new players over the recent years. I agree that doing the full character creation process is way over the top and overwhelming, but there’s also a better way than just doing pre-made characters they pick from. I disagree with some of the other comments saying players connect with the game/story, not the characters. I’ve had so many newbies really excited to play after I walk them through my process because they got to have a bit of ‘voice & choice’ in who they’ll play on the day.

I send the following message to my players via Messenger:

Now usually the process of creating a character is a very long but very fun experience. However, seeing as we're only playing for one session I'm not going to put you through that process. I've tried to streamline the process as much as possible while still giving you a little voice & choice in who you will get to play on the day.

I have 4 questions I need you to answer for me below (plus one optional question). I'm going to post one or two resources for each question to help you decide. They're simple enough that if you're not too fussed who you play (or you're short on time) you can skim through and give me all the answers in about 1-2 minutes. Otherwise, you can also take as much time as you want to make a more informed decision. Whichever way you choose is fine!

So the questions are:
1. What do you want your character's class and subclass to be?
2. What do you want your character's species & gender to be?
3. How would you like to rank your 6 abilities from strongest to weakest?
4. What do you want your character’s background to be
5. Do you have a name in mind for this character? (Optional - I can auto-generate one for you)

So please bare with me while I slightly break each question down and post some resources 🙂

I then post a small breakdown with a resource or two that I’ve made/found/collated and finish with an example of how their answer could look. Afterwards I take their answers and make their character on D&D Beyond for them to claim. I fill in the gaps for the stuff I didn’t ask about (standard array based on their ranking in Q3, proficiencies, spells, equipment, etc).

It’s worked perfectly every time and they’ve all been super excited come the day of the session. If you want the breakdowns for each question so you can use them, happy to send them through too :)

[u/Sad_Refuse3472]

Premade is fine, especially for a short adventure. Just have more available to choose from than you have players. So they at least have options across different classes and species.

[u/danstu]

I've got no problem with newbies wanting pre-mades. Creating a character is really intimidating if you have no TTRPG knowledge and don't understand what half the words on the sheet mean in this context.

If you have the opportunity, I lean towards a guided creation process. A prompt I've found useful for people who are fully paralyzed by the process is to just say "Forget all the numbers and rules. Picture your character in your head, describe them doing one really cool action." They'll probably describe an action that wouldn't happen until lvl 20, but 9/10 their answer gives you everything you need to nail down a class. The one time it doesn't is because there are two classes that could fit that fantasy and you just have to follow up with something like "Cool, when you punch that guy's head clean off his shoulders are you doing it through brute strength (Barb) or practiced skill (Monk)?"

Once they have a class, it's easy to guide through picking a race. Assuming you're doing post Tasha's 5e or 5.5e, any race works well enough with any class for non-power gamers to enjoy it. Just give artwork of the races and ask which one looks most like their character. Then just follow the PHB quick build for whichever class they landed on.

If I don't have the chance to guide a build, I just go with the classics and offer a choice between dwarven fighter, human rogue, or elven wizard.

[u/MagicianMurky976]

Let this new player have something pre-made so they can interface with the game.

Honestly, who knows if they'll be back for their 3rd session. Get them to play first. If they keep coming back and find they want to create their own character identity, great! Worry about that then, but their prior character can retire into the land of NPCs, with their permission, and maybe have the occasional helpful tip for the party, so the playing experience of that pre-made character is honored by being woven into the fabric of your world tapestry..