Mixed Groups... [Archive] - Wizards Community

Mixed Groups... [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Pallis
10-10-04, 02:47 PM I've had several players draw up their character sheets and character backgrounds for a forthcoming home grown adventure I'm due to run shortly. Upon looking over those character backgrounds I saw that I've got a party comprised of three humans, a warforged, a half elf, and a shifter.
What really interested me, however, were the potential dynamics brought to the table by the three humans and the shifter; of the humans - one came from Breland, another from Karrnath and the third was a Silver Flame zealot from Thrane. I take it that these countries were heavily involved against one another during the Last War - and backgrounds notwithstanding - the group have promised that such history will not cause problems as, in their words: 'Khorvaire is recovering, people are looking to the future, not wallowing in past conceits'.
My point is: can a group made up of people from the various nations involved in the Last War ever truly trust one another? Have the effects of the Last War made a difference to your game in character relationships...?
To top it off, we've also got a Shifter and a Silver Flame cleric...
This is either going to be the most fun at the gaming table or the quickest roleplaying session in recent memory...

:fight!:
Korhal IV
10-10-04, 03:24 PM The Silver Flamer wouldn't have a problem with the Shifter - the Church, after all, formally declared its decision that Shifters weren't demonspawn after all. Whether the Shifter appreciates this generous gesture on their part is entirely up to him - I would imagine, though, that after so much persecution there'd be a reluctance on his part to do anything that might stir it up again.
Breland instigated the Last War, against both Karrnath and Thrane, but frankly after a hundred and two years of backstabbing and fighting and so forth it's entirely irrelevant to everyone who did what when. If all the PCs have agreed that it's nobody's personal fault, it's acceptable to leave it there.

Anyway, sounds like you have a diverse, interesting party. Hope you have a good time at the table!
jedi8187
10-10-04, 03:59 PM The Silver Flamer wouldn't have a problem with the Shifter - the Church, after all, formally declared its decision that Shifters weren't demonspawn after all.

Actually, the Church never chased Shifters, as Shifters can't pass Lycanthropy, witch is what the whole thing was over. Not prevelant to the thread, but might be.
Teranthus
10-10-04, 10:12 PM Tension is always a good way to add to roleplaying within the group, so I think that your group should have a lot of fun. I would be more worried if they were TOO buddy-buddy with each other, ignoring all the background and the potential for conflict. The shifter and the zealot should not get along all that well, just from the extent of the distrust, even though the Church has declared shifters to be acceptable. As a DM, it would be best to encourage friction, rather than trying to make all of them work as a smoothly-functioning team.
In our campaign, our party has a fair amount of friction, what with the changeling always taking the form of an elf and thus irritating the Dhakaani hobgoblin just by her mere existence. We also have a half-orc, which also irritates the hobgoblin, but he is more acceptable, because it is always good to have some big muscle that is completely expendable. But one of the best parts of the intra-party roleplaying is the friction from these characters. Sure, once we know that the changeling is not really an elf, the hobgoblin will stop leaving her unconscious body lying around until the poor overworked halfling can get around to healing her and may start actually inviting her on adventures rather than having her just show up tagging along after the halfling, but until then, we enjoy our verbal sparring.

Teranthus
polt
10-11-04, 08:36 AM I think that, although the Church never chased Shifters, there still is knights who think they are just as bad as Lycans.
BuddyL33
10-11-04, 10:20 AM I could very easily see a Puritan Knight of the SIlver Flame not liking a shifter.

As for the mixed groups, there are ways to get them together. I run a game in which the party is made up of a Tiefling, an Aasimar, a Kalashtar, and a Warforged. The Aasimar doesn't have any ranks in Knowlege: Planer, so he doesn't know for sure that the Tiefling is what he is, however I told him there is something that doesn't sit well with him but he can't place a finger on it. The warforged basically dislikes all fleshy creatures due to atrocities in his past. In order to get them together, I started the campaign off with them as slaves on board a ship. That ship was then attacked by something they couldnt' possibly defeat. They were in turn rescued by a group of pirates. The captain of that ship has now made them crew members as payback for her generosity to them. She took them to a strange city which none of them have ever been to. Now they find that they all have something in common. So far it has gotten them to work together. I think that is a big key in something like this is presenting them with a commonality that they can all relate to.
JohnnyONeal
10-11-04, 10:47 AM A lot of classic fantasy stories throw together people who might otherwise be at odds with each other. By fighting together, they learn that they have more in common than they think, that people from other nations aren't evil, et cetera.

I've heard great stories about veterans who fought each other in war coming together and getting along. War pretty much always involves some dehumanization of an opponent, and there's something inspiring about "rehumanizing" the same people. The lesson is that the people on the other side aren't automatically bad guys; everyone has their reasons for fighting. Veterans often understand this very well.

If the soldiers were poor grunts or conscripts, maybe they realize that they have more in common with foot soldiers in other armies than they do with their wealthy commanding officers. If the characters were the wealthy commanding officers, maybe they recognize that their former enemies were simply following the same code of honor or conduct that they were.

As for the shifter and a Silver Flame cleric, for some reason I see them having a snappy but close relationship, a la Gimli and Legolas or Wolverine and Cyclops. :)

None of these ideas should be forced on the PCs, but you should make it clear to your players that there are plenty of in-character alternatives to simply hating or distrusting one another.
billseurer
10-11-04, 10:57 AM My point is: can a group made up of people from the various nations involved in the Last War ever truly trust one another?

Perhaps the Real World can answer your question.

People somehow came to trust Germans, Italians, and Japanese people after WW2 (and WW1). There are still a few crusty old curmudgeons who don't but most people do.

Then again there are ethnic/national feuds in some places that go back many hundreds of years just waiting to boil over again if they aren't already.

So the answer is: Maybe.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Pallis 10-10-04, 02:47 PM	I've had several players draw up their character sheets and character backgrounds for a forthcoming home grown adventure I'm due to run shortly. Upon looking over those character backgrounds I saw that I've got a party comprised of three humans, a warforged, a half elf, and a shifter. What really interested me, however, were the potential dynamics brought to the table by the three humans and the shifter; of the humans - one came from Breland, another from Karrnath and the third was a Silver Flame zealot from Thrane. I take it that these countries were heavily involved against one another during the Last War - and backgrounds notwithstanding - the group have promised that such history will not cause problems as, in their words: 'Khorvaire is recovering, people are looking to the future, not wallowing in past conceits'. My point is: can a group made up of people from the various nations involved in the Last War ever truly trust one another? Have the effects of the Last War made a difference to your game in character relationships...? To top it off, we've also got a Shifter and a Silver Flame cleric... This is either going to be the most fun at the gaming table or the quickest roleplaying session in recent memory... :fight!:
Korhal IV 10-10-04, 03:24 PM	The Silver Flamer wouldn't have a problem with the Shifter - the Church, after all, formally declared its decision that Shifters weren't demonspawn after all. Whether the Shifter appreciates this generous gesture on their part is entirely up to him - I would imagine, though, that after so much persecution there'd be a reluctance on his part to do anything that might stir it up again. Breland instigated the Last War, against both Karrnath and Thrane, but frankly after a hundred and two years of backstabbing and fighting and so forth it's entirely irrelevant to everyone who did what when. If all the PCs have agreed that it's nobody's personal fault, it's acceptable to leave it there. Anyway, sounds like you have a diverse, interesting party. Hope you have a good time at the table!
jedi8187 10-10-04, 03:59 PM	The Silver Flamer wouldn't have a problem with the Shifter - the Church, after all, formally declared its decision that Shifters weren't demonspawn after all. Actually, the Church never chased Shifters, as Shifters can't pass Lycanthropy, witch is what the whole thing was over. Not prevelant to the thread, but might be.
Teranthus 10-10-04, 10:12 PM	Tension is always a good way to add to roleplaying within the group, so I think that your group should have a lot of fun. I would be more worried if they were TOO buddy-buddy with each other, ignoring all the background and the potential for conflict. The shifter and the zealot should not get along all that well, just from the extent of the distrust, even though the Church has declared shifters to be acceptable. As a DM, it would be best to encourage friction, rather than trying to make all of them work as a smoothly-functioning team. In our campaign, our party has a fair amount of friction, what with the changeling always taking the form of an elf and thus irritating the Dhakaani hobgoblin just by her mere existence. We also have a half-orc, which also irritates the hobgoblin, but he is more acceptable, because it is always good to have some big muscle that is completely expendable. But one of the best parts of the intra-party roleplaying is the friction from these characters. Sure, once we know that the changeling is not really an elf, the hobgoblin will stop leaving her unconscious body lying around until the poor overworked halfling can get around to healing her and may start actually inviting her on adventures rather than having her just show up tagging along after the halfling, but until then, we enjoy our verbal sparring. Teranthus
polt 10-11-04, 08:36 AM	I think that, although the Church never chased Shifters, there still is knights who think they are just as bad as Lycans.
BuddyL33 10-11-04, 10:20 AM	I could very easily see a Puritan Knight of the SIlver Flame not liking a shifter. As for the mixed groups, there are ways to get them together. I run a game in which the party is made up of a Tiefling, an Aasimar, a Kalashtar, and a Warforged. The Aasimar doesn't have any ranks in Knowlege: Planer, so he doesn't know for sure that the Tiefling is what he is, however I told him there is something that doesn't sit well with him but he can't place a finger on it. The warforged basically dislikes all fleshy creatures due to atrocities in his past. In order to get them together, I started the campaign off with them as slaves on board a ship. That ship was then attacked by something they couldnt' possibly defeat. They were in turn rescued by a group of pirates. The captain of that ship has now made them crew members as payback for her generosity to them. She took them to a strange city which none of them have ever been to. Now they find that they all have something in common. So far it has gotten them to work together. I think that is a big key in something like this is presenting them with a commonality that they can all relate to.
JohnnyONeal 10-11-04, 10:47 AM	A lot of classic fantasy stories throw together people who might otherwise be at odds with each other. By fighting together, they learn that they have more in common than they think, that people from other nations aren't evil, et cetera. I've heard great stories about veterans who fought each other in war coming together and getting along. War pretty much always involves some dehumanization of an opponent, and there's something inspiring about "rehumanizing" the same people. The lesson is that the people on the other side aren't automatically bad guys; everyone has their reasons for fighting. Veterans often understand this very well. If the soldiers were poor grunts or conscripts, maybe they realize that they have more in common with foot soldiers in other armies than they do with their wealthy commanding officers. If the characters were the wealthy commanding officers, maybe they recognize that their former enemies were simply following the same code of honor or conduct that they were. As for the shifter and a Silver Flame cleric, for some reason I see them having a snappy but close relationship, a la Gimli and Legolas or Wolverine and Cyclops. :) None of these ideas should be forced on the PCs, but you should make it clear to your players that there are plenty of in-character alternatives to simply hating or distrusting one another.
billseurer 10-11-04, 10:57 AM	My point is: can a group made up of people from the various nations involved in the Last War ever truly trust one another? Perhaps the Real World can answer your question. People somehow came to trust Germans, Italians, and Japanese people after WW2 (and WW1). There are still a few crusty old curmudgeons who don't but most people do. Then again there are ethnic/national feuds in some places that go back many hundreds of years just waiting to boil over again if they aren't already. So the answer is: Maybe.