Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Sebmagic 11-08-04, 08:59 PM	Hey, this is my first post on this forum and I look into it as some help I can get with my RPG experience. I've played D&D in the past and we just got the ECS over the summer. My bro started a game as the DM with the adventure provided in the book and we bought the other books. That game goes well, but he prefers playing for the moment, so I started a game of my own... There are 2 players, 1 level 6 warforged and 1 level 5 monk, it's pretty much hack and slash, but I want to depen the storyline and they want to also. My questions, what are the easy step to develop rpg ? What do I need to prepare so I dont get overwhelmed in a 2 players game w 1 DM ? What kind of rewards should I look into giving them so they develop well and enjoy it ? Thanks, Seb
Save-vs-DM 11-08-04, 09:32 PM	First of all, welcome to the Eberron boards. Now to your problem. First of all, a lvl 6 and a lvl 5 are about an EL 3-4 party, depending on ability scores (if they're higher than a 28 point total, then they're porbably an EL 4 party). This should help you design encounters. As for introducing roleplay. First of all, start slow. It's going to take many months of coaxing and leading by example to get them used to roleplaying. At first I'd try to stay in character as DM as much as I can. Roelplay the NPCs as often as you can, to the best of your ability. Often this is enough to pull some players into short bouts of roleplaying. If one of your brother's starts roleplaying, as soon as he stops give him roleplay XP right then and there. I'd suggest 25-50xp per level rewards. Let them know just what it was for. In short, bride them. A lot. As they start dropping into character more often, break up a hack and slash session by dropping an NPC into the middle of a dungeon crawl. This will get them used to roleplaying during a dungeon. In time you can try and coax them to roleplay during combat, even if it isn't much. Start giving small bonuses in combat when they act in character or describe something well. A +2 bonus to AC or attack isn't too much if they roleplay something well. I hope this advice helps a little bit. But I'd also suggest sitting down with your brothers and telling them you'd like to see a bit more roleplaying. Cheers, SvD
Sebmagic 11-08-04, 10:52 PM	Save-vs-DM, ok, I'll sit down with them and discuss how I want the things to look like in the future. It should work just fine. As for NPC's and the environnement itself, should I design a portion of Sharn or a small village, or it would be better of if they travalled (easier I mean). I know it's a matter of choice and of the decision they make, but I can provide them with missions (good or evil) and then they make their way through my world.... As for xp reward, to your experience, should I reward them one, or multiple per session... I would give multiple to really stimulate them and force them to interact (3hour sessions and more). Oh yeah, another question, is it best one enemy EL 4 or a couple doing EL 4 ? They have it really easy cutting down orcs and even the ogre from the Forge of Fury adventure, should the orc run away if they know they don't stand a chance ??? Thx, Seb
Save-vs-DM 11-08-04, 11:14 PM	As for NPC's and the environnement itself, should I design a portion of Sharn or a small village, or it would be better of if they travalled (easier I mean). I know it's a matter of choice and of the decision they make, but I can provide them with missions (good or evil) and then they make their way through my world.... IF you can afford to buy the new Sharn sourcebook (This Friday, yay!), I'd say stick them in sharn, headquartered in one district. I would suggest sticking them as part of one faction or maybe a member of the guards for a noble. The important thing is to really flesh out half a dozen or so NPCs that they can interact with on a regular basis. Take some time to create personalities for them. This constant interaction will help them become more acustomed to acting in character. You can always branch out from Sharn once they have the hang of roleplaying. Make sure to give some of your villains personalities too. As for xp reward, to your experience, should I reward them one, or multiple per session... I would give multiple to really stimulate them and force them to interact (3hour sessions and more). I'd go ahead and reward roleplaying XP immediately, but add up encounter XP at the end of the night. Once they know that their roleplaying is being rewarded (after 5-6 sessions or so), then you can probably just do it all at the end (it's what I do now). Oh yeah, another question, is it best one enemy EL 4 or a couple doing EL 4 ? They have it really easy cutting down orcs and even the ogre from the Forge of Fury adventure, should the orc run away if they know they don't stand a chance ??? It really depends. One CR 4 monster is going to be harder to kill than a bunch of 1/3 CR orcs, usually (though with two players this might be tougher). A few other general notes I should have added. 1. Make sure you listen to what your brothers want. I think what you're really looking for is a sort of "middle ground." It's their game as much as yours, and some sort of balance needs to be struck. Adventure Design Notes: If you're having trouble designing adventures, try this trick (one I use a lot). Work backwards. If you know that you want your adventure to end in a fight in a church of the silver flame, start with that. Now you need to work backward one step. So in the example, how do they get to the church? In general, work from the final encounter all the way back to the hook, one step at a time. Another good tactic is just to write up a set of adventures that can happen anyway in some order. Then, no matter where your PCs go, the next thing happens. It looks like you planned it like that, but it really could have happened anywhere. Edit: I forgot to mention two things. 1. I strongly suggest you start them at first level. Starting at first level helps you build a much more rounded character. There is no substitute for struggling through first level to really build a character and show you the characters strengths and weaknesses. 2. If you have unearthed arcana I'd suggest making them gestalt characters, provided they have a decent understanding of the mechanics. This won't make them a LOT tougher, but it will give them some depth that they'll otherwise lack. Good and great luck with your game, SvD
Raffadus 11-09-04, 12:58 AM	You should try and keep them in one area for awhile. But dont force them to do it, pc's hate that. Keeping them in one place allows you to have consistancy to your environment and makes it easier for you to add more and more detail to their world. Giving them a patron may also help you out. A patron that sends them out on missions will make it easier on you to come up with adventure hooks. Basically every session the patron just tells them what he wants them to do. A dragon marked house, the morgrave university, a noble house, or even a criminal organization are all good patrons. Also I wouldnt level them up to fast no more than everyother session. You need to make sure you can judge what they can handle and what they cant handle. Mostly dungeon crawls broken up with social encounters should be what you are looking for. You may also want to think about giving them a henchman or hireling to even out their party.