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Rixx
2010-02-08, 07:15 PM
I'm going to be running a Pathfinder game soon, and I have a bit of a plot-related concern. My three players have all (more or less) gotten their character concepts decided. The trouble is, I'm having a lot of trouble seeing how their characters are going to be ending up working together, as well as how they're going to be tied in to the first plot.

Basically, I made a premise for the first "arc" of the campaign, and from there I plan to build new arcs based around their characters and their actions. The characters all have a reason to go to the city that will be the first arc's setting, but they currently have little reason to work together or even meet.

The setting: The adventure begins in the small but prosperous nation of Gallece, in the capital city of Brightwall (so named for its tall city walls built out of metal-rich stone, which reflects the sunlight). Famous for its extensive library and arcane school, as well as its relatively lax immigration policy, many who seek knowledge and adventure journey there.

The conflict: The current noble in charge (who is an honestly fair and just ruler) is having trouble with mischievous bandits camping just outside his city. What he doesn't know is that these bandits are followers of the true successor to the throne, a hot-headed but kindhearted individual of truly royal blood; the head noble's family gained their power in a coup two generations ago, and the current noble just barely wrenched the power away from his ambitious and cruel kin. The PCs will have to find a way to resolve this villain-less conflict.

The characters: The following are the PCs' characters:

Ramalas Leafwing: Elven Ranger. A member of the highly reclusive and rarely seen elven race, Ramalas has been tasked by his king to gather information and seek the cooperation of the nearby humans, for the mystic statue that grants the elves their power has gone missing somehow. Only with the help of the nearby human city can they hope to retrieve it.

Celia "The Face-breaker": Human Barbarian. As is customary for her tribe, she left her home in the frigid southlands in order to slay a mighty beast and bring back its head as a rite of passage. Never one to be upstaged, she won't rest until she has slain the mightiest beast she could find - in the meantime, to feed herself, she has taken up work as a town guard. (The player has said that she'll do whatever she's ordered to.)

As-of-yet unnamed: Half-elf Monk/Oracle. Raised in a monastery on a secluded mountain where those of mixed human and elven blood live, she was blessed (or rather, cursed) with strange divine powers she doesn't understand. Despite her gentle nature, she now wields a strange and terrible control over the forces of life and death. Encouraged by her mentor to seek the aid of those who understand magic, she has traveled to the city of Brightwall to seek aid.



They all have great backstories and good reasons to go to the city, but I can't think of any (non-contrived) reason to keep them together. Granted, they're all very cooperative in terms of keeping the story moving, but I don't want to have to force them together via external influences. Any ideas?

Skorj
2010-02-08, 07:44 PM
You have to give them a stake in the game. Give them a reason t care whch side wins, or to care that the conflict is settled non-voilently, or some kind of reason to care at all about the outcome of your set-up.

People of various backgrounds and personalities can come together given a common goal, but I don't see that goal in "PCs will have to find a way to resolve this villain-less conflict". Why should they?

sheltem
2010-02-08, 07:51 PM
Any ideas?

Have you tried that question on your players yet? If they are anything like my players, each of them should be able to come up with some general ideas about situations in which his/her char would need/seek the aid of other people. If any of those ideas overlap with those from the other chars: Problem solved.

If that didn't work (or is out)... the elven ranger might (should, but let's not assume here) seek the help of inner city nobles anyway, who could then send him out on a "token of good will"-mission to find out more about the bandits camped outside (seeing how he's a ranger and good at that and all), while sending the Barbarian (already employed by the town!) as his bodyguard. That would only leave the monk to be included somehow, for which I don't have any spontaneous ideas, sorry.
Though that whole idea might be out, depending on what you understand as "forcing together via external influences".
Also, that could be a way to keep the ranger interested. He needs the help of one side to fulfill his eventual goal. A help that will only be given as a boon of gratitude when the current dangerous situation is decided (in whichever way). And if it ends up nigh impossible for all the characters to find a common goal, to all stay for the long run... there's always friendship, especially among good-aligned characters like your group seems to consist of.

I often find the first forming of the party one of the most difficult situations, especially because of the unpredictability of new characters (or even new players). And "You all sit in the same tavern, get going." kinda sucks. :smallwink:

I hope you get your show on the road and let us know how it eventually went, the setup reads like the beginning of a very fine campaign.

valadil
2010-02-08, 09:04 PM
I vote for tying their plots into one.

The statue was stolen by the guards. Who knows why? Maybe one of them is corrupt and using his position to gain personal power and wanted to study the statue. Convincing the barbarian to go against the corrupt guards will be challenging though. Let's give him some extra incentive to turn on the guards. The strongest beast in the land is a dragon, tamed by the captain of the guard and used as a mount during wartime. As far as unnamed, maybe the elves know of her new magic. Except that that puts the elf at the center of two plots. Maybe you should start out that way but have it be a dead end. Instead, the barbarian tribe is more spiritual than barbaric, and led by a shaman. One of their coming of age rituals instills one tribeswoman each generation with powers as described by the monk. How she ended up with those powers without the ritual is a mystery to be solved. Oh and just to bring it back home, the other person who mysteriously gained these powers is the corrupt guard, after having seized the statue.

Altima
2010-02-08, 10:24 PM
Ramalass: he's obviously helping the nation to ingratiate himself to whomever eventually cements his or her control over said nation. In the mean time, jumping back and forth through the two known powers in the area may give him some clues.

Celia: guard duty is boring. You won't meet many fierce creatures, and you certainly won't be able to slay them all by your lonesome with your fellow guards willing to jump in at any opportunity. Also, adventure work pays better and allows the freedom she so naturally (barbarian) longs for.

As-yet-unnamed Monk: She may as well put these powers to use helping people/finding wealth. See above about ingratiating herself and possibly finding answers to her condition.

Rixx
2010-02-09, 03:24 AM
Thanks for the suggestions, all! I'm getting some really neat ideas here...

Unfortunately, asking them to tie their stories in is out of the question, since I'm keeping the reason for the conflict a secret from them. The fact that neither of the sides are evil is supposed to be kind of a twist. (Unfortunately, that rules out corrupt guards - I have the guard captain rolled up, and he's a very honorable man, as well as the most formidable fighter in the kingdom.)

Okay, so, going off all your suggestions, here's what I have so far:

Ramalas and the monk meet each other before making it to the city. Since Ramalas is a member of a highly reclusive race, and the monk has both human and elven blood, he realizes that she could be integral to good relations with the human settlement. He strikes a deal with her - he will allow her access to his kingdom's elven lore and magical knowledge if she helps him gain the support of the human nobles.

When the two of them make it to the city, Celia is assigned to both as their bodyguard and to keep an eye on them, as they are both simultaneously diplomats and possibly foreign conspirators (as it's rare for those of elven blood to show their faces). From there, they can find out about both sides and decide what moves to make.

Of course, I'll run it by all of them and see if they have any changes / suggestions to make. I don't want to decide too much for their characters - I usually prefer the "hands-off" approach.