First Time Player Characters
When a new player first gets interested with all the possibilities of gaming, they may begin to feel overwhelmed with all the options available to them. To make it easier here are a few suggestions on choosing a character type with some side advice from years of gaming.
Easiest race: Human
The easiest race a new player can choose is a human. Humans do not have any racial ability modifiers, and get more skill points and an extra bonus feat when they are first rolled. This means that what you have ability-wise stays how you selected, and you get a little extra.
The other favorites of fantasy are elves and dwarves. They have racial ability modifiers, and lack the bonus skill points and feat that a human gains. If you've seen Lord of the Rings you know about elves and dwarves.
Halflings and half-orcs are a little more challenging, but can be just as interesting to play.
Classes that are easy to pick up and play: Fighter and Rogue
Fighters are your combat characters. They gain many feats which help your character's combat even more. Dungeons and Dragons has a lot of fighting, and fighters are always helpful. In no time a new player will be a welcome ally, and the game won't feel boring.
It should also be noted that fighters also do not have to deal with learning spells or other class options. For new players it can be confusing to keep up with all the special abilties other classes have, and since the fighter lacks these elements the player can focus on the roleplaying.
All a fighter needs to worry about is health, armor, and weapons. A fighter's most important ability scores are Strength and Constitution.
Rogues are a little more challenging to play than fighters. They tend to be more sneaky than typical fighters, and because of this they have less hitpoints. They gain the ability to sneak attack, but you can only sneak attack under special circumstances. Rogues tend to be the ones in a party that find traps and treasure, and unlocking locked doors.
Dexterity is important for rogues, because that helps rogues hide and move quiety. Dexterity also helps with armor as rogues tend to wear lighter armor to keep them quick.
Classes that are medium difficulty to pick up and play: Ranger, Cleric, and Scorcerer
Rangers play as a mix between a fighter and a rogue, with a little magic tossed in with higher levels. They also get an animal companion, which can be helpful in games with a low number of players.
Clerics are important because they keep the party alive, and therefore have a lot of responsibility. They tend to focus in a certain domain for the types of spells they learn, and they are always good to have around to fight the undead.
Scorcerers are arcane magic users, unlike clerics which are divine. They have low hitpoints, but their spells can be very powerful. Unlike wizards, scorcerers know their spells and do not have to worry about spellbooks. They also get a familiar which can give them a small bonus to different aspects of their character.
Classes that are moderately difficult to pick up and play: Barbarian, Druid, and Wizard
Barbarians look like fighters at first and can be played as such easily, however, the true power of a barbarian lies in the rage ability. When enraged, a barbarian's ability scores change temporarily and this affects many other scores of the character such as hitpoints, armor class, and damage. They are temporary changes, but can be tricky to keep up with.
Druids gain an animal companion similar to a ranger, but are heavier on magic. They choose spells more like a cleric, but they tend to be able to only use a small selection of spells when underground. The easiest way to think about what a druid is like is to imagine a cleric draws power from nature.
Wizards play almost identical to scorcerers, however, they keep their spells in a spellbook and not entirely in their head. They memorize a handful of spells they have access to, but can have an unlimited number of spells in their spellbooks.