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ElenionAncalima
2014-07-11, 10:34 AM
A gaming group I am a part of is going to be starting up a new Pathfinder Game (most likely Rise of the Runelords). However, due to some problems we have had in the past, the GM is making it mandatory that we are not some random group of people who meet in a tavern, but a group who already knows each other quite well. He is currently suggesting the mercenary company option, but would probably be open to other suggestions as long as it made sense.

I am actually excited about this and have been wanting to do this for the last couple of campaigns. Myself and another player have already decided that, since we are both being Oracles, we are going to be twins. Since he is going to be Life Mystery, while I am Ancestor Mystery, I think we can have a good life/death, yin yang thing going on.

The trouble is working in the other two players.

One player is a shy and nervous roleplayer. She is going to be a Elf Magus (Kensai from the looks of it). She seems enthusiastic about creating a group backstory, since she tends to get sidelined when she has to establish relationships in game. However, she has a hard time coming up with backstories beyond, "I'm a quiet scholar and you are my friends", and will definitely be looking to the rest of us to come up with a better connection.

The other player has a tendancy of being last minute and fairly brief with his backstory. Ordinarily I would just let him be (writing backstories isn't everyone's idea of fun), but the GM is really cracking down on the roleplaying. He hasn't picked a character yet, but expressed interest in being a Rogue or Ninja.

What I am looking for is some suggestions for possible inter-party connections that I can field to those two players to make the creative process a little easier for them.

Sallera
2014-07-11, 11:51 AM
It sounds like a fairly knowledgeable, scholarly group overall - perhaps run with the investigative theme? Running an official (or unofficial) business together gives you both a reason to stick together and an easy presence in the gameworld for the DM to send people (i.e. hooks) to you. Depending on your particular character interests, an independent archaeological interest (any D&D archaeologist needs a trapfinder, really), a private detective agency, or something else along similar lines could let you do a bit of a 'job interview' with the other players to flesh out why they joined.

Craft (Cheese)
2014-07-11, 09:18 PM
The Elf Magus: Your character (The Ancestor Oracle) has had a divine vision of this character's violent, horrible death. You haven't told her about this vision yet (and exactly how and when you saw it happen should be vague), but you never stray far from her side, hoping to be able to prevent that fate when the day comes.

The Rogue/Ninja: You have a mysterious empathetic bond with this character. You feel each other's pain, joy, and sorrow, though you didn't realize the source of these feelings until you finally met some years ago. Both of you travel together to try to discover the meaning of this bond, and depending how you feel about it, a way to end it.

Averis Vol
2014-07-12, 03:30 AM
You guys could flip to the connections chapter in ultimate campaign. Just roll on a chart and bam, they give you a connection. It works well for the two people who kind of half ass their stories because they don't have to worry about rewriting anything, and if you other two were going to flesh out a full concept anyways, it should be easy to say, "oh, I met the magus here and the ninja here, because of x and y event."

ElenionAncalima
2014-07-14, 07:43 AM
You guys could flip to the connections chapter in ultimate campaign. Just roll on a chart and bam, they give you a connection. It works well for the two people who kind of half ass their stories because they don't have to worry about rewriting anything, and if you other two were going to flesh out a full concept anyways, it should be easy to say, "oh, I met the magus here and the ninja here, because of x and y event."

I am probably going to bring this (http://www.afistfulofdice.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Background_Generator.pdf) just to get some ideas going...which is pretty much just a compilation of some of those tables.