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View Full Version : How to get a party together?



Scalenex
2018-07-11, 04:00 AM
I remember a few years ago reading a thread with about 100 different ideas for getting an adventuring party together.

I cannot find it. Anyone able to link me a thread like that?


My group just made characters for a homebrew system we are beta testing. It uses White Wolf's d10 based skill system, but the setting is pretty typically D&D. For those not familiar with White Wolf's system, it is a skill based system without levels and classes.

I think I have the mechanics worked out. I have a really in-depth fantasy world that I literally spent years on and wrote a hundred pages+ of material for, most of it will never come up.

Now I just need a plausible set up for my disparate group of characters to decide to be an adventuring party.

I figure for a first major plot, a group of villages are being extorted by orcs. The orcs collect a yearly tribute to bribe them off from attacking, but one village stole another's tribute just before the orcs are coming and the PCs happen to be around when this happen.

I'm thinking there are two two thieves. One is just greedy. One is a sociopath worshiping an evil god who is hoping to incite the orcs to destroy the village because it will be fun to witness.

Alternatively I was thinking of starting the PCs with escort minor Mcguffin or person from point A to B. Then they bump into the village tribute problem in the course of them.

I got a dungeon idea, so I'm thinking maybe they find a treasure map either on the orcs or one of the tribute thieves. I hoping after the orc thing and the dungeon that the story will pick up it's own momentum.



I got two rookie players (but who are nerds who know the basics of fantasy settings) and two experienced players who I played games with for years.



One experienced player is playing a gnome who is a favored soul who has a lot of innate divine magic powers from my campaign's Lawful Neutral goddess, Khemra, who very rarely empowers gnomes like this. He chose to have his character have amnesia and he gave me a blank slate to come up with the source of his powers.

I think the answer to the mystery is going to be that his character is the product of a forbidden love between one of the goddess' spirit minions and a mortal gnome. Probably make the spirit a female and the gnome a male. That way the player's character would have been raised in the spirit realm and then had his mind wiped when he was deposited in the material plane as confused mortal.

I think it will be fun to gradually leave the player a trail of breadcrumbs to follow to find out his character's origin and that while he is a beneficiary of Khemra's blessings, he is something of a bastard child.

He also wanted his character to be a gnome of the people. He took a Merit to be seen as a folk hero with the peasants, so I can probably have peasants ask for his help as a story hook, but that may be lazy DMing.

I have lots of background material for this guy but I don't want to make it the gnome show and alienate the other players, particularly the new players. The gnome is very min-maxed to be good at two things: social interactions and magical healing. Cannot fight his way out of a paper bag.


The other experienced player has a simpler backstory. He is playing an Elf of noble birth but something of a bumbler/black sheep of the noble family, so he is sort of taking up an adventurers life to avoid disapproving relatives. This player likes jack of all trades character so that's what he made. He's got a huge assortment of skills, but apart from archery none of his abilities are exceptional. He's got a dash of arcane magic, a little bit of invocation and a little bit of abjuration.


One rookie player is playing a half-orc lady who is very good at hitting things and making them fall down. She is also capable of taking hits and not falling down and is very knowledgeable about nature. Pretty lost at social actions not related to intimidation.


The other rookie player wanted to play a Dwarf that blows things up. So he loaded up on invocation based magic. Kind of a one trick pony, but he is good at stealth and has a bit of manipulation based social skills. He wants to go with a sort of wandering hobo vibe, which is okay I guess. I suppose it would be easy to incorporate him into a group.

I think we got a good balance.



Anyway if the game lasts a long time I have lots of epic quest ideas, but right now I just want to test out the new play system with some low level style adventures. Anyway I got two weeks to figure out the greatest first session ever.

I have played RPGs a very long time, but I haven't actually had NEW players in my group in almost ten years.

Quertus
2018-07-11, 10:24 AM
Wow, that was a lot of text.

My best general advice is this: tell your players what they'll know "within the first 15 minutes", and ask them how they'd like to be introduced to the game.

Make them invested in having a party that works together, and leave the details to them.

GentlemanVoodoo
2018-07-11, 12:44 PM
Starting intro sessions needn't be complex. You are trying to string to many items together. Pick one that stands out the most to you as you are the one writing the story. Player input should be considered but not focused on so much at this point. Once you resolve the intro adventure then take these into consideration. As to a opening scenario, bandit raid occurs, people are kidnapped for reasons, party must save. A simple and classic opening that can be expanded to later adventures as needed.

Honest Tiefling
2018-07-11, 12:55 PM
My best general advice is this: tell your players what they'll know "within the first 15 minutes", and ask them how they'd like to be introduced to the game.

This, pretty much. Perhaps tell them that this village will be needing some help. They either need a hook to be from the village or otherwise helping out in some fashion. If they are REALLY stumped after a moment, give them a list of hooks. I'd have some generic ones, plus one tailored to each PC so they have a choice.

As for the gnome, if Khemra doesn't empower gnomes often...Does she empower others? Would people hearing about this favored being accidentally mistake someone else for being the magical healer? I would say the elf, given domains, but perhaps the tall, burly half-orc somehow accidentally gets treated as the healer...Or his bodyguard.

Another idea is to think of hooks for your two rookies. Your two experienced people don't seem to need help in the slightest. One of those thieves? Yeah. Dashing swashbuckler type, popular with the lads and ladies, charming to all she meets...And openly detests orc and all filthy orc-blooded. Have her be involved with the thievery, and openly insult the half-orc. A social urbanite would make for an interesting foil to the nature loving socially inept half-orc.

For the dwarf? Have the thieves steal something from him. That usually works quite well, even for wandering mages. I suggest leaving a trail of magic doodads for him, such as having the thieves working with a guild of mages that might have something of interest. Well-respected, legal, mercantile mages might make for an interesting foil for his character, and present antagonists he'll want to pursue due to their act of theft and potential for larceny on his part.