Your chronicle is six months in. The political landscape is established. The Prince has enemies. The Anarchs have a plan. Three coteries are circling each other over a territory dispute that started before anyone can remember. The players know each other's characters, each other's grudges, and each other's tells.
And someone new just signed up for next session.
This is one of the most important moments in any chronicle's life, and it's one that Storytellers often handle on instinct rather than with a plan. A new player who feels welcomed, oriented, and connected to the game after their first session will come back. A new player who spends three hours standing in a corner while established characters have conversations they can't follow probably won't.
Here's how to make sure it goes well.
Before They Arrive
The onboarding process starts before game night. The window between "I'm interested" and "I'm walking through the door" is where you set expectations and remove anxiety.
Reach out personally. When someone signs up or expresses interest, a direct message from the Storyteller (or a designated point of contact) goes a long way. Introduce yourself. Ask what kind of character they're thinking about. Answer questions. The goal is to make sure they feel like a person invited them, not like they submitted a form.
Help with character creation. Don't just hand someone a rulebook and tell them to show up with a sheet. Walk them through it, or pair them with an experienced player who can help. If your chronicle uses the Cities of Darkness chronicle tools at citiesofdarkness.com, point them to the online character creation system and offer to be available while they build. A character that fits the game's current landscape is better for everyone than one built in isolation.
Give them the situation, not the history. New players don't need a recap of every plot beat from the last six months. They need to know the current state of things: who's in charge, what the major factions are, what the general mood is, and what their character would reasonably know walking into the domain for the first time. A short briefing document or a five-minute conversation covers this. Keep it to what matters right now, not what got you here.
Coordinate with your existing players. Tell your regulars that a new player is coming. This is not optional. If your established players don't know someone new is showing up, they'll default to their existing dynamics and the new player will be invisible. Give your veterans a heads-up and ask them to make an effort to engage.
The Buddy System
The single most effective onboarding tool is another player.
Assign the new player a buddy: an experienced player whose character has a reason to interact with theirs. This isn't a babysitter. It's someone who can make introductions, explain unspoken social dynamics in character, and make sure the new player has someone to talk to during lulls.
The best buddies are players who are already politically active and socially connected. A Herald who introduces the newcomer to the court. A Brujah who takes them to an Anarch meeting. A Nosferatu who fills them in on who's really running things. The buddy gets roleplay out of it, and the new player gets a guide who makes the world feel alive.
If you can, match the buddy to the new player's clan or faction. A new Tremere paired with the established Tremere contingent has an instant social circle. A new Anarch introduced to the Anarch community has allies on day one. Shared allegiance gives people a reason to talk that doesn't require any setup.
Character Hooks
A new character shouldn't arrive in a vacuum. They need a reason to be here and a reason for existing characters to care that they are.
Work with the new player before game to establish at least one connection to the existing chronicle:
A pre-existing relationship. Maybe their character knows someone already in the game. An old acquaintance, a shared sire, a business contact, a grudge from a previous city. This gives them an immediate scene partner and a built-in reason to engage.
A useful skill or resource. If the new character brings something the existing cast needs, whether that's a particular Discipline, a professional background, or a connection to something the plot currently demands, established characters will seek them out. A doctor arriving during a crisis involving injured ghouls has instant relevance.
A problem that involves others. A character fleeing trouble from another domain brings a story with them. Something followed them. Someone wants them back. The problem becomes everyone's problem the moment it crosses the domain border, and now existing characters have to decide how to respond.
A role to fill. If there's a vacant court position, a faction that needs members, or a coterie with an open seat, steer the new character toward it. Structure gives new players something to do immediately rather than having to manufacture their own relevance.
The goal is to avoid the "mysterious stranger in the corner" problem. A character who shows up with no connections and no hooks has to do all the social work themselves, which is a tall order for someone who doesn't know the other players, the political landscape, or the social norms of the game.
First Session Management
Game night. The new player is here. Here's what needs to happen.
Make an introduction happen early. Don't let the new player drift for forty-five minutes hoping someone talks to them. Within the first fifteen minutes, their buddy or the Storyteller should be facilitating an introduction to at least one group of established characters. In Camarilla games, the Prince's court opening is a natural moment for this. In Anarch games, someone bringing the newcomer to where the action is serves the same function.
Give them something to do. Have a plot hook, a rumor, a request, or a problem that involves the new character specifically. An SPC who needs something from them. A situation that their background makes them uniquely suited to handle. Anything that puts them in motion rather than in observation mode.
Check in. During the session, find a moment to step out of the Storyteller role and ask the new player how they're doing. Are they having fun? Are they confused about anything? Do they need help finding someone to interact with? This takes thirty seconds and can save someone's entire experience.
Don't overwhelm them with mechanics. If they need to make a challenge, walk them through it in the moment. Don't front-load a rules tutorial before the game starts. Learning by doing is faster and less intimidating than a lecture, and it means they're playing from minute one instead of studying.
What Established Players Can Do
Storytellers can set the stage, but the existing players are the ones who make or break a new player's experience. Here's what helps:
Talk to the new character. It sounds obvious, but it's the thing that most often doesn't happen. Established players get absorbed in their ongoing plots and forget that the person they've never seen before is standing right there with nothing to do. Walk up. Introduce your character. Ask them who they are and why they're in the domain.
Share information. Not secrets, just context. "The Prince doesn't like surprises, so you'll want to present yourself at court" is the kind of in-character advice that orients a new player without breaking immersion. You're not metagaming. You're being the vampire who knows how things work and is choosing to help the new arrival.
Include them in your scenes. If you're plotting with your coterie and the new player is nearby, find a reason to bring them in. "We could use a fresh perspective" or "You're new here, what do you make of this?" costs you nothing and gives them a moment of inclusion.
Don't test them. Some veteran players treat new arrivals as targets: picking political fights, challenging their knowledge, or trying to establish dominance in character. This is the fastest way to ensure someone never comes back. There's plenty of time for in-character conflict once the new player is comfortable enough to enjoy it.
The Second Session Problem
The first session usually goes fine because everyone is making an effort. The real test is session two.
By the second game, the novelty has worn off. Established players return to their routines. The buddy might not think to check in. The Storyteller is managing other things. And the new player, who had a decent first night but hasn't yet built their own momentum, shows up and finds that nobody is looking out for them anymore.
Plan for this. Follow up between sessions: a message asking what they thought, whether they have questions, what they want to do next time. Make sure their buddy knows to connect with them again at the next game. Keep a plot hook active that involves their character specifically. The transition from "new player" to "regular" takes about three sessions. Until then, they need a little extra attention.
Using the Tools
If your chronicle runs on the Cities of Darkness network, the tools can help with onboarding in a few practical ways:
Character creation. The online character creation system at citiesofdarkness.com gives new players a structured process they can work through at their own pace, before game. You can review the sheet and offer feedback before they arrive.
Between-session connections. FangBook lets new players start building their character's social presence before their first game. A profile, a few posts, a friend request to their buddy's character. By the time they walk in, they already have a footprint in the game world.
Downtime actions. After their first session, the Downtime Actions form gives new players a way to follow up on things that happened at game. It's a low-pressure way to stay engaged between sessions and build the habit of playing between games.
Discord. Your chronicle's Discord server is where between-session relationships develop. Make sure new players are invited, introduced, and included in the channels that matter for their character.
The Long Game
Every established player in your chronicle was new once. The ones who stuck around did so because someone made them feel like they belonged. The ones who left often did so because nobody did.
Onboarding isn't a one-time event. It's a culture. A chronicle where established players habitually engage with new arrivals, where the Storyteller builds hooks for incoming characters, and where the between-session community includes rather than ignores newcomers is a chronicle that grows. One that treats new players as an interruption to the existing game is a chronicle that slowly dies as natural attrition takes its toll and nobody replaces the players who leave.
Build the culture. Assign the buddies. Create the hooks. Check in after the first session, and the second, and the third. The payoff is a chronicle that keeps growing, keeps bringing in new perspectives, and keeps being worth showing up for.
Cities of Darkness is a fan-run chronicle network using Laws of the Night V5 by By Night Studios.
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