Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Steve Russell 08-17-03, 09:16 PM	I am getting ready to write a character driven campaign (this means the plot is the characters, not a quest to get the mcguffin) This is part of a problem with a current campaign I am invisioning and I am trying to create a character hook that allows for a party of diverse characters to want to be together. Yet still not destroy the background characterizations of each individual player. I don't want to force a party to be together I want to have a valid universal background development. Mercenary company? (under contract desertion etc.._) Family? (This can limit a person's race) Retainers (this only works for honorable characters or a very harsh house) Military Service (desertion, drafted, inscription) Adventuring Guild. (character dynamic becomes a group project with very little kept secret) I am hoping someone has a fresh Idea
Irrion 08-18-03, 11:05 AM	What about this? Going off the "family" idea, what if all the characters were raised by the same person/persons. Maybe it's a family who adopted children of many different races, or maybe it's an orphanage where they all had shared experiences. The only problem with this is that it limits the PCs ages, and with the longer-lived races that could be problematic. Alternatively, what if they were all in one place when a mysterious event happened? Say they were transported into the future or the past, or they all woke up from their rooms in an inn to discover it abandoned (save for the other PCs) and found a strange mark on their bodies, or realized they had special powers. Another option would be to geas them into doing some kind of quest for a person none of them like. It would be part of the story for them to try to find a way to resist the compulsion and get revenge on the person who did this to them. In doing so, they would work together and rely on each other. Just a few thoughts...
Steve Russell 08-18-03, 11:24 AM	yes I have had a campaign with the orpahns (orphans of tren jagtail) that did the time travel event (that kept happening) I have a group that are wards of a noble house I have had the geas group (though mine was an epic bond) I like the idea of superpowers from an event reminds me of rising stars by jms, I might use the heroic paths idea maybe the powers will leave if they get too far away from each other. anyone else have any ideas
Puskara 08-18-03, 12:25 PM	Make them slaves. The MM II has a fantastic race of Yak-men that are brutally evil. They lull people into their city with hospitality. Once the weapons are put away they clap them in irons. You could have them be the children of slaves. They could serve in the same house. This would restrict them form having some classes and skills at the first level but it would also let you give them some additional class skills based on their unique situation. You could even create special classes just for that first level. I originally conceived this idea for an evil campaign where you don't start out evil. I would MAKE you evil through abuse. You could take it in a different way of course. Puskara
Steve Russell 08-18-03, 02:49 PM	the problem with the slave idea is the objective is freedom once freedom is obtained there is no reason for the party to remain together. This campaign will remain from level 1-30th.
PhaedrusXY 08-19-03, 01:12 AM	Well, freedom might not be so simple. Have them enslaved in a kingdom that condones slavery. Have them only know of the neighboring kingdoms from vague rumors they've heard from other slaves. Maybe not all of them will have to be the sons and daughters of slaves. You could have one or more of them be freshly captured and somehow they all escape together. Then they'd have to try and find somewhere to hide out from the authorities and their former masters. Things like this tend to bind people together in ways as strong as family ties, or more so. Perhaps they might get involved in a movement to smuggle slaves out of the country (i. e. the underground railroad of the Southern U.S. before the civil war), or even start such a movement, or maybe even get involved in a rebellion (i.e. Star Wars).
Steve Russell 08-19-03, 03:58 PM	I know for a fact that there will be no type of slavery in this game there will be indentured servitude. I have seen slavery done so many times not to mention the slavers series. at this point I view it as my lack of creativity if I fall back on making the party slaves.
Veii 08-21-03, 01:24 PM	Don't start them together. That's the easiest way and you might be surprised how quickly you can pull a group together by intertwining their backgrounds. Example... Say you have: 1. a LN fighter who is the bodyguard of a 14 year old dethroned noble (travels with the fighter.) Main objective: Get the kid back on the throne. 2. a NE wizard who is bent on vengeance and power to achieve that vengeance. 3. an elven ranger archer, CG, who is hunting orcs. No particular long term goal. 4. an half-elven CN bard who is a complete screw up. Also in possession of a cursed lute that plays a single song that is so beautiful any who hear it get depressed when it ends. Suicidally depressed. Very diverse group here BUT if you players "play into the game" that is not ignoring plot hooks and actively seeking to help you, the DM run a good game, they should be able to find a reason to stay together without an issue. 1. The figher needs help. Can't get a 14 yr old back on the throne alone. The wizard may have questionable motives, but he can't question her power. The ranger is a fine companion and a good friend. A bit rebellious and stubborn at times, but a good man none the less. The bard is a complete moron, but even morons are useful. Every group needs a distranction. At times his antics are funny. At other times, they cost the group. He would like to be rid of him, but the wizard like the idiot and the ranger thinks his hilarious, so the fighter must endure it. 2. The wizard wants power. These others are useful tools. Done. 3. Ranger has no definate plans. Groups like this tend toward the wilderness. Orcs to hunt there. Why not? He won't like the wizard (if the wizard is stupid enough to make his alignment obvious) but once the wizard sees how good a shot the ranger is, he will clean up his act a little bit to appease him (again, if he's smart) 4.The bard thinks the fighter is great to mess with. Those LN types are so uptight anyway, he could use some loosening up. The bard likes to wander (what bard doesn't). Why not wander with these guys and have some fun along the way. In character driven campaigns, make sure the characters have goals or motivations that can take a long time to pan out. At the same time however, make sure that their goal is not so big or important that they are too busy to accept your plot hooks. I had a player once who tried to convince me that it was a reasonable character background to have a 1st level cleric be sent out by his church to recover a relic that was stolen by a powerful wizard. Nope. Sorry. Doesn't work. Exactly why would a 1st level person be sent to do this? On the other hand, a 1st level person being sent to assist someone in doing this (eventually having the senior cleric die or dissapear when the player is of sufficient level to quest for it himself) would be acceptable. Don't let one player overshadow the campaign! Since you are letting them essentially dictate the foundations of the major plots, don't let them reach beyond their scope. They are 1st level characters. Encourage your players to leave room for growth in their character.
Steve Russell 08-21-03, 02:14 PM	yes but all of those are short term goals we are talking about 1-30th level and probably 3 years of real play time I don't see just the players backgrounds as keeping them together. yet again if you don't metagame the issue the characters have plenty of motivation not to work together.
Israfel666 08-21-03, 05:03 PM	It seems to me you're stuck between the hammer and the anvil (as we say here in Italy). You want the characters to be created without any restriction. Because of this, inevitably not all of them will want to stick together (very rarely six random people are going to). They will stick together only if forced to, against their will. But you don't want to force the players - you want them to follow their characters' desires and goals. Sounds as if you're stuck in a lose-or-lose situation.
Steve Russell 08-21-03, 05:11 PM	probably but I think the one idea of a group gaining powers when they are in close proximity works out rather well also I have thought of giving the players the choice as organizations try to recuit the group because of their powers. yes it is a challenging puzzle but it could be very rewarding. I have become very active in the character creation and I think the key is controling the outcome of thier actions not the actions (as any good gm would have relized from the begining) I am looking forward to this design more than any before.
SovereignGift 08-24-03, 11:27 PM	They could all be suspects in a crime (murder?) and have them all be slightly guilty in some way, but they all have to prove that they weren't the one who was the final cause. They may all have different motives, but the same desired ending. This could evolve into any direction you desired, and would be a good way to introduce character histories and enemies as the game develops.
TargothII 08-25-03, 12:52 AM	The thunder rolls though the sky. Deep in the night the rain pounds the roof over your head. It's impossible to sleep...but something draws you down into a deeps slumper. There you dream...no, not a dream a nightmare. You see a town. You recognize it as [whatever city you want them to meet in]. It is over run with Kobolds. They smash and burn everything. Diseased rats run through the city spreading their disease. Over it all you see the largest kobold you have ever seen! It's features are more dragon like that any kobold you remember seeing. It laughs gleefully as it calls power down from the heavens to cause more death and suffering. You have to stop it! You feel it in your bones. You can not let this come to pass! You must get to [city], before it's too late! When you wake up you see the outline of [glowing symbol] fading into the back of your hand. Not sure what has happened or why, you begin packing for the journey ahead. Read this or something similar to your players. When they get to town they notice others with a similar mark on their hands. No one else can see this mark but them. Why where they chosen? What have they seen? Is it a seen from the future? a possible future? You can chose. I chose kobolds but you can insert any monsters that you want. The important thing is that they get the message that they are the only ones who can stop it. You might vary the story a little giving each player a little fragment of information that the others don't have. Only together can the get a more complete picture of events. that should allow them to make whatever characters they want. Backgrounds can be as strange as they want. They are each special and together they will over come some great evil. Is that what you are looking for?
TargothII 08-25-03, 12:53 AM	Originally posted by TargothII The thunder rolls though the sky. Deep in the night the rain pounds the roof over your head. It's impossible to sleep...but something draws you down into a deeps slumper. There you dream...no, not a dream a nightmare. You see a town. You recognize it as [whatever city you want them to meet in]. It is over run with Kobolds. They smash and burn everything. Diseased rats run through the city spreading their disease. Over it all you see the largest kobold you have ever seen, standing on the ruins of a tower! It's features are more dragon like that any kobold you remember seeing. It laughs gleefully as it calls power down from the heavens to cause more death and suffering. You have to stop it! You feel it in your bones. You can not let this come to pass! You must get to [city], before it's too late! When you wake up you see the outline of [glowing symbol] fading into the back of your hand. Not sure what has happened or why, you begin packing for the journey ahead. Read this or something similar to your players. When they get to town they notice others with a similar mark on their hands. No one else can see this mark but them. Why where they chosen? What have they seen? Is it a seen from the future? a possible future? You can chose. I chose kobolds but you can insert any monsters that you want. The important thing is that they get the message that they are the only ones who can stop it. You might vary the story a little giving each player a little fragment of information that the others don't have. Only together can the get a more complete picture of events. that should allow them to make whatever characters they want. Backgrounds can be as strange as they want. They are each special and together they will over come some great evil. Is that what you are looking for?
Steve Russell 08-25-03, 01:28 PM	This is something I have tried to avoid predestiny the problem is what if thier character design would care less about the town. I don't have alignments in the game. My games don't always require heroic resolution. I like the idea of a more grim and gritty design with greater freedom for character creation. Plus I have done something similar with the mark in the past but I think I will mark the people with super powers perhaps the same way Immortals sense each other in highlander.
SovereignGift 08-25-03, 04:59 PM	One of my favorites was based on blackmail. All the players are blackmailed for something they did (or was just alleged) or a certain ability they had. The players were then to choose whether the gave in to the blackmail and came to the meeting place, or to seek revenge and try to eliminate the blackmailer shortly after. Either way, they were where you wanted them.
Steve Russell 08-25-03, 08:42 PM	but again only together for a short peirod of time and they still may go their seperate ways one character could decide to kill the blackmailer the other to work for him. Cool if you are reading a story bad if you are trying to run a game and not split up the party.
SovereignGift 08-25-03, 09:50 PM	ok, here is one from a friend. Their parents sold their souls to a demon, devil, ect, before birth for their own gain. Now it is time to pay the piper and they are all summoned. None of them can actually die because their souls are already spoken for and will be revived.
Israfel666 08-26-03, 06:32 AM	A variation on the "family" thing: give all of them some celestial/fiendish minor quality (I suggest elemental resistance 5) and make them all descendent of a single celestial/fiend, their grandpa or great-grandpa. This allows for different races (heh... outsiders are perverts, I know :D) while giving them a single "family" background. It may not be enough to make them stick together, but it's quite useful considering you don't want to railroad them in any way.
Steve Russell 08-26-03, 01:19 PM	I am not against railroading (trust me I did it with a epic magical bond that would not let the part get more than 300 yrds from each other without teleporting them all together.) I am just looking for something different than the norm. I really do appreciate everyones suggestions.
Irrion 08-26-03, 03:17 PM	SR: The epic magical bond campaign intrigues me...would you post a little more about it? It sounds like an interesting plot device. Do you have any ancedotes about the characters' experiences together? I can imagine there might be some humorous ones. Also, to expand on the idea of the group gaining powers together, what if their powers get stronger if they are all together, or if they gain access to new powers by being in close proximity to each other? There was an 80s comic book series in which the heroes could join psionically in order to manifest a powerful avatar, which they controlled jointly. Something along that idea might work too.
Morka 08-26-03, 04:32 PM	That reminds me of Baldur's Gate. Create an NPC who is a Bhaalspawn, and the PCs are either friends from childhood, friends of those who raised the Bhaalspawn, a new lover, etc. I suggest your Bhaalspawn be a sorceror or bard with a charisma as high as possible, this way everyone will want to be with him. In the first adventures, he could save the life of a family member or close friend of each PC, so they would have some debt with him and would stay with him to protect him. He will have a great heart, but being a Bhaalspawn, he will always be in trouble. Evil organizations will want to use him, lawful organizations will want to keep him close to protect the population. There could be some other Bhaalspawn as midterm or longterm vilain. It's not really new as idea, but it could be cool to start it in another place than the Sword Coast.
Trydan 08-26-03, 04:43 PM	A shared dream or vision could also be a good binding point. A set of bizaare circumstances gets them together (coincidence, fate or direct intervention), and th discovery is made. Another option is that they are all cursed in some way. Alternatively, being travellers on journeys with a common destinations.
SovereignGift 08-28-03, 01:36 PM	Since you liked the Highlander theme, what if you crossed it with something like Young Guns. The person that will bring them all together is a mentor (or watcher type) that has helped each of the players at some time. He may have even spent time with each individually, maybe he was on a journey or quest. The players could have been outcast, due to a common ability or sensory. (may have a similar artifact as well?) When the mentor turns up missing, they join to find him. He has been reported killed at some point and they vow to avenge him - thus making the groups commitment stronger. The twist will be later when they realize that he is not dead but has been turned evil and is now the mastermind against them. This allows him to know all their weaknesses and more difficult to fight. Also, now they can't kill their enemy, they must save him and gain enough skill to turn him back.
Steve Russell 08-28-03, 09:18 PM	The mentor idea is night but the mentor to mastermind is so cliche its trite
SovereignGift 08-28-03, 10:54 PM	I'm sure you are quite a bit more experienced than I, so hopefully you will put up with my unworthiness. :bow: I have heard more stories than I have played, but that is slowly changing. Hopefully my ignorance will eventually come across something that is new. Sooo, here I go! :D Your group of travelers or militia, takes refuge in a cave. As some of the members explore, they activate a trap that reveals the true nature of the cave. It is a temple to the elder gods, and by tripping the trap, causes everyone in the cave to start turning into avatars of the elder gods. This is to be a long term effect, happening gradually, with no normal magical cure. Fry them as you wish. Any closer???
Steve Russell 08-28-03, 11:42 PM	Irrion the campaign was called the Starweave and it has more anacdotes than thier are grains on the beach so I will not bore you The bond was very complex ritual spell cast by Extraplaner invadors who wanted to maniputlate a group of adventures into becomeing leaders of a city state. the characters are bonded to each other can only go as far away from each other as you the dm decide and they grant each player an extrasensory form of perception (exp detect magic, legend lore, viewings, fortellings etc..) If a party member dies the rest of the group feels it and risks dieing as well. The Weave can suggest a direction to go and can teleport members to the location of another character (DM's discression) The bond made them immune to all divinations as if they were an artifact.
arcept / shambler / David parker 08-31-03, 02:41 PM	if the characters are truely the story than i think that running several MINI encounters that start to mix and mingle in the town and overlap so that they start seeing each other all the time would be a good hook. player one and player two have a mini rival going on since they are both thieves... trying to one up each other in town player one and player three meet as player one is helped by player three to escape from the law (knowingly help or unknowingly) Player two and three might not ever meet this way... on purpose at first. then when they do meet they realize they are related player one then hires player four to do something and player four then hires player two to help him... large town.... with a small town attitude.... so how long have you lived in 3 points? hey, i dated you a few years back didnt i? Give the characters the story.... focus on them like you said... bring them together with very VERY personal events.... then when they are rapped up in the chain, jerk it hard and pull them together. just my thoughts... -that guy dave
SovereignGift 09-03-03, 04:29 PM
Taskdragon 09-04-03, 12:37 AM	pleases delete post
Steve Russell 09-04-03, 03:03 AM	soverign gift who the hell are you and why are you here messing with me, I know I am dense but dayton ohio, registerd in august and only following replying to my posts and knows my birthday. Which one of my lousy @#$% players are you! (your character is so dead)
Lhiannon Sidhe 09-04-03, 05:04 AM	Group 1 (I DM): Male Human Cleric (Acolyte in a small town temple) Female Dark Elf (Not Drow!) Barbarian Male Dwarven Fighter Male Halfling Sorcerer Why they travel together: The first session I DM'd, only the Cleric and the Dark Elf were present. Dark Elves, in my home brew society are seen as a race of criminals, thus, the Dark elf, who had been abandoned as a child and living in the wilds ended up being caught and arrested, the Cleric stood up for her, and she was released, under the condition that the Cleric would be held responsible for any crimes she committed. The Cleric then recieved a mission from the Reverend Mother of his temple to transport a holy relic to a nearby city, on the way, they encountered the Halfling. This particular halfling has ADHD, and decided to travel with the Cleric and Dark Elf, his reasoning: "Why not" After a while, they ended up becoming friends. Upon returning home, the Cleric learned that his Paladin father, whom he believed dead, was actually imprisoned by the heretic Empire to the south and set out to save him, the Dwarf, the blacksmith in the Cleric's town is the last of his clan, his clan was wiped out by said Heretics and the Dwarf decided to accompony the Cleric in order to get a chance at revenge. Group 2: Female Half-Elf Druid (My character) Male Dark Elf Ranger Male Hobgoblin Sorcerer Male Human Rogue Why they travel together: The (good) Dark Elf escaped from his (evil) city with the help of the half-elf's elven father, during the process, the father was slain and the Dark elf made a promise to protect the half-elf girl (who is only 18... only a child by half-elf standards). The Human and the hobgoblin were travelling together (I can't remember why, now) and happened to be passing the Dark elf and half elf on the road when strange shadow creatures attacked them, it was obvious they could not win, so the half-elf lead everyone to the saftey of the Elven city near her grove. Within the city, the Elven coucil explains that a planar portal from ancient times has become unstable and the shadow plane is slowly seeping into the mortal plane and 3 artifacts are required to make the repairs. Half-Elf volunteers everyone for the job...
Jet_Black619 09-06-03, 05:50 AM	I like the idea of the mercenary company...say they were all specialists in a company that is almost wiped out behind enemy lines during a war. Them being the only survivors they would have to stay together in hostile territory. They could have quite a few adventures just trying to get home in one piece. Once they get back to wherever the company is based they find that almost all of the company's officers have been killed. Being the most experienced members still alive they get voted leaders. This gives them a reason to stay together (profit and power) and gives them the freedom to move the story in whatever direction they wish by choosing who to fight for. They can become heroes by supporting the worthy or villians by assisting tyrants. The family/orphan connection could work if the company was the only family they had ever known. Also, since ancient wars were almost always fought in the summer they have some freedom if they decide to adventure on the side.