Frustrating Character Introductions

[BRC]

So, I had a somewhat frustrating session last night, with almost the whole time being taken by a rather frustrating character introduction.

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Let me start by saying that I have nothing against the player in question. He's a great guy, and might be a great player (Don't know, have not played with him outside this one session). He just took a direction with the character that made it very difficult to introduce them to the group.

For context, we're going through HoTDQ, what you need to know is that the party has gone through considerable efforts to remain incognito while hiding from the powerful cult whose agents we are following. The new character, a Gnome Wizard, is replacing a PC (Gnome warlock) who we've been running as a mostly-passive NPC since his player moved away.
We were killing time while the new player finished up his character sheet by hanging out in a museum dedicated to the characters from a previous campaign the DM (and some of the players) were in. Afterwards, the new player walks up to us in the street, and basically says "I know who you are".

Okay, considering we're paranoid, heavily armed, vaguely-heroic types, that's a risky move, but not the worst one.

The problems start after that.
I think the player was trying to make their character an engimatic spymaster type. They answered all our questions with vague proclamations about "We have mutual enemies". Nothing to make us trust them.

And then they lied.

after about fifteen minutes of pressuring them for a straight answer about how they recognized us, they claimed that they were a friend of the recently departed PC, who had told them about us. A quick sending spell to the character in question confirmed that this was not the case.

So now, in-character, we're on guard.This gnome knows things we've been trying to keep secret, they lied to us, they claim to be friendly but are clearly hiding things.

The rest of the session is basically spent trying to pull teeth from this new character to get a reason to trust them. Eventually we get the story: They used to work for, and have contacts in, the Cult. The Cult is on to us, which is how they recognized us (And now we know to change our distinguishing features),the Cult betrayed them and killed their family.

But this was after three real time hours of questions met with vague, "I know more than you" answers. Eventually it reached a point where the Player was honestly trying, but had dug themselves so-deep in-character that they were not sure what to say.

So the lesson here is, just because you're a PC, don't expect the rest of the party to instantly trust and accept you without good reason.

Anybody else have stories of frustrating, annoying, or just poorly handled character introductions?

[Madfellow]

Myself, I'm a big fan of the "You seem trustworthy," trope. Everyone at the table knows what's going on, so let your characters break character for just a minute to move things along.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIaIdv79Xz4

[BWR]

Myself, I'm a big fan of the "You seem trustworthy," trope. Everyone at the table knows what's going on, so let your characters break character for just a minute to move things along.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIaIdv79Xz4

That works as long as the PC doesn't mess up by making too many mistakes like the OP. At some point there isn't really anything you can do to salvage an IC situation without hitting the reboot button or passing it off as a bad joke.
I've had players like this - they have their own logic and what they do makes sense to them even if it doesn't make sense to anyone else. You can either just punish them by having their weirdness have (what is to you and everyone else) sensible consequences or you can just make creative interpretations of their action and give some odd consequences and let the game progress smoothly without making them feel like idiots all the time.
The best thing to do when a player makes an odd choice like this is to just point out OOC what the likely consequences of the action will be and ask if they really want to do that. Sure you risk spoonfeeding them the correct answer but pointing out big obvious blunders in minor situations makes for a smoother more enjoyable game than getting stuck over minor issues like PC introduction.

As for bad character introductions, in a L5R Gozoku campaign one of the PCs died and the player wants to bring in a new character from the same clan - which is known to the PCs for being a hotbed of traitors and one of the principle parties behind the imprisonment of the Emperor and manipulating his heirs to their advantage. Now the PCs know that not all members of said clan are traitors since the dead PC was also of the clan, but they have no way of knowing that this particular one is trustworthy and they can't risk the lives and freedom of the two imperial heirs they are protecting on the off chance that this new guy is ok. It is a headache for the GM to handle but we'll probably handwave it away by "someone else trustworthy vouches for you" despite there being very good in universe reasons this wouldn't be possible.

[Calen]

The most annoying character introduction I have seen was at the start of a campaign. The DM basically said you are all in jail. OK no big deal. But then the DM basically hands out all the players "known" backstories as a monologue. I would have much rather had the chance for the players to talk to the other prisoners to get the stories.

[Jay R]

I was the frustrated GM in a similar situation, in a game of Flashing Blades (roleplaying in Paris in the time of the musketeers). I was introducing a new PC, so I arranged that the group was trying to find a contact in the secret organization. Both the original party and the new PC had signs and countersigns. They were supposed to meet in a tavern.

The new PC started by trying to pick the pocket of a wealthy-looking gentleman, who, as it happened, was a PC. He got caught, they fought, and they chased him out of the tavern. Then they tried to make their contact - whjom they had just run off.

Every time the new PC tried to get back into the tavern so he could meet up with them, the group threw him out - through the window, and then went back to annoying the other patrons and trying to find their contact, whom they had just defenestrated.

They eventually annoyed one drunk man enough that they got into a duel, which their guy lost. (They were convinced he could beat any drunk fencer. Yes, the guy was drunk. He was also Athos.)

Only after Athos had wounded their best fencer, and still wouldn't respond to their code words, was the would-be pickpocket able to sneak up and give the countersign without being attacked.

[DrBurr]

I call this Friday Night, I run an open game for a G-Mod Server I administrate. Every time someone is added or rolls a new character they pull stuff like this. I've seen countless characters just walk up say hi and suddenly they're all best friends. I've seen characters spend the night stalking the established PCs and then seem puzzled when they're characters aren't trusted and I've seen people show up and immediately try and kill another Player or a friendly NPC.

This isn't helped by the fact that none of them can stay alive longer than a month. Eventually I just roped some of my Saturday players to manage the group to prevent constant character death and introduction.

[ClockShock]

How familiar was the player with the style of game and the situation/personality of the other PCs? I'm guessing not very as this was his first session. It sounds like everyone else was expecting him to be totally clued up on the situation and seamlessly step into their expectations of what their newest party member would be, which seems unreasonable if you ask me.

More should have been done OOC to ensure the players (new and old) understood how the new character was going to enter the party.

(Perhaps it's lost in the telling, but that sending spell to the departed PC/NPC seems really cheap. Poor guy could have easily been trying to latch onto something, anything, to ease the transition, and everyone else basically said "No. You're not allowed to know that character. Now we hate you.")

[BRC]

How familiar was the player with the style of game and the situation/personality of the other PCs? I'm guessing not very as this was his first session. It sounds like everyone else was expecting him to be totally clued up on the situation and seamlessly step into their expectations of what their newest party member would be, which seems unreasonable if you ask me.

More should have been done OOC to ensure the players (new and old) understood how the new character was going to enter the party.

(Perhaps it's lost in the telling, but that sending spell to the departed PC/NPC seems really cheap. Poor guy could have easily been trying to latch onto something, anything, to ease the transition, and everyone else basically said "No. You're not allowed to know that character. Now we hate you.")

New player was a friend of DM and most of the group. I don't know how much the DM had told them about the group.

And, this wasn't a question of us saying "No, you don't know this other person". The DM was the one roleplaying the Former PC in question, and he and the new player had presumably talked about his character before. Had he wanted to, he could probably have established himself as a contact of the departed PC while he and the DM were building his character. It was the DM who had the Former PC/NPC answer "No, I've never heard of this guy before".

[ClockShock]

New player was a friend of DM and most of the group. I don't know how much the DM had told them about the group.

And, this wasn't a question of us saying "No, you don't know this other person". The DM was the one roleplaying the Former PC in question, and he and the new player had presumably talked about his character before. Had he wanted to, he could probably have established himself as a contact of the departed PC while he and the DM were building his character. It was the DM who had the Former PC/NPC answer "No, I've never heard of this guy before".

I'm not familiar with the specifics, of course, but it sounds like there just needed to be a little more planning.

DM could have solved it before it got out of hand, but chose not to

[gom jabbarwocky]

The only thing I have to add to this conversations is that as a result of many games starting in a bar or the like, most of my PCs have a reputation for being alcoholics. I figure if my PC is in a bar, what do people do in bars? They drink. So that's what most of my characters are doing when they are introduced. Not drinking to excess or anything, just doing what people do in bars. For some reason, other people who did not come to the same conclusions I did found this odd, and drinking a lot becomes one of the character's defining attributes.

[Lord Torath]

While on an urgent mission to retrieve a vital artifact, a new player introduced his character by having him stumble, stinking to the high heavens and drunk, into our camp. All in favor of telling this obviously capable and trustworthy soul our secret mission? Yeah, I really wanted to tell the group to make him comfortable, then move our camp before he could wake up.

[Seto]

From a first-time player who hadn't quite grasped the concept of roleplaying yet :

"My character walks up to you :
- Hey, can I join you guys ?
- Hum... Who are you ? And why do you want to "join us" ? And in doing what ?
- Uh, well, you look strong."

[Galen]

Sigh ... some people tend to think being difficult and and haughty constitutes good roleplaying. I hope that player won't make that mistake again.

[Mikeavelli]

Myself, I'm a big fan of the "You seem trustworthy," trope. Everyone at the table knows what's going on, so let your characters break character for just a minute to move things along.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIaIdv79Xz4

This is the best way to perform introductions, especially with players that are somewhat new to role-playing.

I've seen some amazing introductions and role-playing dynamics that broke from this mold, but they've always happened when the entire group is very experienced, and everyone is on board with what's happening.

[mephnick]

From a first-time player who hadn't quite grasped the concept of roleplaying yet :

"My character walks up to you :
- Hey, can I join you guys ?
- Hum... Who are you ? And why do you want to "join us" ? And in doing what ?
- Uh, well, you look strong."

Perfectly acceptable.

In fact, anything more complex generally comes off as pretentious and tedious.

It's a game, get it going.

[Frenth Alunril]

I have seen this twice, in one case a character didn't answer any questions and just tagged along. In the other case, the character actually came across as delusional and mentally unsound.
After both of those experiences, kicking one player, the other leaving as fallout, the party has agreed to rp only with characters that aren't "brooding dark mysteries."

And now I have to explain why there is a temple good Drow in the area...

[Solaris]

Perfectly acceptable.

In fact, anything more complex generally comes off as pretentious and tedious.

It's a game, get it going.

Arguably more realistic, too, judging by how often I've seen the same sort of thing happen in MMOs and the like.

Not terribly applicable to this situation, though, given the secretive nature of everything. I'd say the fault lies with the 'enigmatic' spymaster trying too hard and the GM failing to throw them a bone with the sending. That's... that's really, really bad on the GM's part.

[Jay R]

Action is a much more effective way to get them together than talk is. If you all here the same scream, or if the main party is set upon by gnolls as the new PC is walking by, there is no problem getting together.

In a starting Champions game, I once used the following:

GM (to player 1): While scanning the emergency networks, you hear about a building on fire.

GM (to player 2): As you sit down to enjoy your coffee at the local Starbucks, you hear screams outside.

GM (to player 3): You see black smoke rising a couple of blocks away.

GM (to player 4): You notice that it seems to be getting very warm in here.

[icefractal]

I don't really like playing out "You seem trustworthy" in character; it feels like putting a napkin in your sandwich and eating it because they're both on the table.

If it's really an OOC thing, just keep it third person, don't even pretend it's IC:
"Trogdor introduces himself to you and after some discussion joins forces with you. Moving on ..."

Which is fine in most campaigns.

[Averis Vol]

I had one player who tried to play himself off as a "master swordsman". Normally, I don't care. yea, he was only like level 4, but whatever, i'm all for PC's with goals.

I am not all about how he went about presenting himself though.

Long story short, he stalked the party, sitting back while they got beat on, and once they beat all the thugs that had assaulted them, he came out and introduced himself, challenged them to a fight, claiming he was a master. Normally, this would have been laughable, but the party (a rogue, paladin and sorcerer) had a collective 20 hp left. So he, being a warblade, traipses in before they agree to the fight, and steel winds the the rogue and sorc into the negatives, takes one hit from the S&B paladin and drops him too. Hee barely stabilises them, and basically says "I'm your leader now, you answer to me," and tried to claim the leader position.

The party went along, and when he slept that night, the rogue and sorcerer brutally murdered him, like, color spray against his helpless status and just let the rogue go murder happy.

[jedipotter]

I avoid this type of stuff most of the time by just saying ''you are all playing together, so deal with it''.

The OP gives a classic example of what I want to avoid: Wasting Time.

[The Grue]

In an Eclipse Phase game I recently ran, I took steps to avert this pitfall by having each player come up with a call-and-response known only to their Firewall handler, and then giving every player one other person's codephrase.

So the first time everybody meets, there's a great exchange of non-sequitors that would make Maxwell Smart proud. I think one of them involved ordering drinks.

[Mr Beer]

Hee barely stabilises them, and basically says "I'm your leader now, you answer to me," and tried to claim the leader position.

The party went along, and when he slept that night, the rogue and sorcerer brutally murdered him, like, color spray against his helpless status and just let the rogue go murder happy.

LOL, of course. What did he think would happen?

[Jay R]

What group of PCs ever seemed trustworthy?

[Jay R]

The only thing I have to add to this conversations is that as a result of many games starting in a bar or the like, most of my PCs have a reputation for being alcoholics. I figure if my PC is in a bar, what do people do in bars? They drink.

In a medieval tavern, they are equally likely to eat a meal or rent rooms for the night to sleep.

[Kelb_Panthera]

In a medieval tavern, they are equally likely to eat a meal or rent rooms for the night to sleep.

Or set the place on fire. PC's have an unfortunate tendency to set things on fire.

A lot.

Whether they mean to or not.

[Solaris]

LOL, of course. What did he think would happen?

I'd call that one natural selection.

[Zrak]

I specifically avoid this by trying to always play characters who will basically go along with it no-matter what. Sometimes it's a barbarian who's easily impressed by meaningless, enigmatic prattle and thinks this new guy is super cool; sometimes it's a pompous aristocrat who's pretty sure this guy is his servant, he's not really paying attention and he doesn't really care; sometimes it's a paranoid wizard who doesn't believe the guy for a second but opts to keep him close to observe the "spy" and learn what They are planning. PCs and even NPCs the party is supposed to let tag along often just get such bad introductions that I feel like a reason to just roll with it is one of the most integral aspects of any character's backstory.

[Mr Beer]

I'd call that one natural selection.

I mean most D&D characters are essentially remorseless professional spree-killers so it seems like an odd decision to violently humiliate them and then mere hours later, trustingly go to sleep in their company.

[Solaris]

I mean most D&D characters are essentially remorseless professional spree-killers so it seems like an odd decision to violently humiliate them and then mere hours later, trustingly go to sleep in their company.

Hence, natural selection. Ol' boy was quite literally too stupid to live.