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DarkAdder
Clan Star Adder
Star Commander
Joined: 10-Jan-2004 00:00
Posts: 604
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 Posted: 26-Jan-2004 00:36 Post subject: And they gathered for...? |
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Okay, I need a hand from the Game Masters out there. I can run some good games (D&D, Vampire, Mechwarrior RPG, Cyberpunk, Etc.) but my weak point is trying to explain -why- a group would form, or how a new PC joins the group.
How do the rest of you explain a group or new character? 
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Nightmare
Lyran Alliance
Kommandant-General
Joined: 03-May-2002 00:00
Posts: 2214
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| Posted: 26-Jan-2004 01:12 Post subject: RE: And they gathered for...? |
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Let the players do the explanation before starting the game. Obviously you'll have to brief them on the setting first. A D&D party may have formed in one single village, local kids out to defend their home who get a taste for adventure. A vampire coterie can be formed in many ways, but all members should have some reason to be there. Let them think of who is what and why they still hang together, what they did in the past. Mechwarrior is easy if you have a unit the PCs should belong to, isn't it?
It's not forming a group that's the problem, it's letting new characters join in a reasonable way. If the group is taking orders they can just be ordered to add a member, and he should make sense. Self-employed people, on the other hand, need a reason to allow someone in. They must be searching for a new member, or perhaps agree to let a relative or friend join. Think, think, think.
It's situations like a certain "evil" campaign I play that should be avoided. Most of us play reasonable characters, humans, half-elfs and such who try to look respectable. Why? Because we've set ourselves up as lords over a new territory, that's why! Building a city and recruiting settlers is much easier if we look like nice chaps, innit? Whereas the necromancer, the Sharran priest, the vampire lady and the assassin have formed an inner circle bent on taking over the surrounding lands in the years to come. 
And some idiot wants to join with a drow priestess of Lolth? Yeah, she's evil, but hardly able to seem anything else, is she? 
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Sir Henry
Team Bansai
Senior Tech Specialist
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 4899
Location: United States
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| Posted: 26-Jan-2004 12:56 Post subject: RE: And they gathered for...? |
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Common Goals.
They have a vested interest in defeating the opposition.
Wether it be Gold or Glory, Life or Limb or just for the Adventure.
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Sir Henry
A Dragon in the disguise of a bunny, is still a Dragon.
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Oafman
Draconis Combine
Tai-sho
Joined: 18-Nov-2003 00:00
Posts: 1657
Location: United States
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| Posted: 26-Jan-2004 13:17 Post subject: RE: And they gathered for...? |
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I have had several characters added in the middle of the battle. Sitting in the coffee shop that gets attacked, start fighting back only to realize someone already is.... that kind of stuff. Or you could always do the X-men thing and bring in new characters under the auspices of 'training' them to be better with their skills. For me it all depends on what system and the current status. I even had one character that came into the game as a hired mercenary then just kind of stayed there.
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Festina Lente!
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Kyu Kage
ComStar
Captain
Joined: 16-Sep-2002 00:00
Posts: 503
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| Posted: 29-Jan-2004 04:33 Post subject: RE: And they gathered for...? |
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Depends on the setting and what the characters are like.
In Cyberpunk for example, if evreyone wants to play chipped street fighters, and one wants to play a hacker, you simply make them a gang/unit with some tech support.
There's no hard and fast rule for introducing characters...
If it's just a short game, then it doesn't really matter.
If it's going to be a campaign though, especially if you like to RP stuff, then the 'beginning' really does matter. Although you can gloss over most of the details and flesh it out over time as the situation calls for it...
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Sir Henry
Team Bansai
Senior Tech Specialist
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 4899
Location: United States
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| Posted: 29-Jan-2004 06:46 Post subject: RE: And they gathered for...? |
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You came to the right place DarkAdder (reminds me of BlackAdder), some of us have 20+ years GMing.
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Sir Henry
A Dragon in the disguise of a bunny, is still a Dragon.
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DarkAdder
Clan Star Adder
Star Commander
Joined: 10-Jan-2004 00:00
Posts: 604
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| Posted: 29-Jan-2004 08:51 Post subject: RE: And they gathered for...? |
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Ive been playing for quite a while, too, fifteen years, easy. Heck, my dad, my brother, and myself (figuratively) wrote the book on how to play TSRs Star Frontiers. Good system, worth looking into.
But for the most part, all Ive done is play, Ive only stepped into the gurus shoes recently. I can handle the combat, and what happens if the group goes off track (A gazeebo? WE ATTACK! HUZZAH!!!!!!!), but like I said. Im not all that great with getting the campaign off the ground to begin with.
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Col. Dwight Chandra
Lewis' Executioners
C.O., Alpha Co.
Joined: 15-Aug-2002 00:00
Posts: 170
Location: United States
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| Posted: 29-Jan-2004 11:04 Post subject: RE: And they gathered for...? |
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Quote:
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On 2004-01-29 08:51, DarkAdder wrote:
.... TSRs Star Frontiers. Good system, worth looking into....
...A gazeebo? WE ATTACK! ... |
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heh...heh...heh...
Yeah, Star Frontiers. A great game that I always loved. Too bad that it fell right in the middle of TSR's early "Let's-make-everything-into-an-RPG" phase where they released Star Frontiers, Boot Hill, Gamma World, Top Secret, and others games in the space of a few years. I also loved Gamma World. Cool concept.
Out of curiosity, the "gazebo" reference reminds me of a funny story that a friend emailed me a while ago about some clueless adventurers thinking that a gazebo was a kind of monster....is that where you were coming from?
But to get back to your original question, I have kinda given upon trying to "role-play" the introduction of characters into the game...If anyone asks, "why should we embark on this adventure?" I just tell them, "because if you don't, then the game is over and we all go home." Introducing new characters into an existing game goes the same way...I just had too many instances of a new player coming into the game....spending weeks creating the perfect character....only to be slain by the other PCs two minutes after his introduction. SO, while I usually make up some kinda cover story for this new PC and where he comes from, it's usually understood that the new PC should be taken under wing.
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DarkAdder
Clan Star Adder
Star Commander
Joined: 10-Jan-2004 00:00
Posts: 604
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| Posted: 29-Jan-2004 11:19 Post subject: RE: And they gathered for...? |
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yup, the dreaded gazeebo monster. If anyone has ever played the Munchkin card game, its in there. And you cant run away from it, you MUST fight it.
Otherwise, theres always the group that entered town in the middle of a festival. The GM described everything, the carts, the vendors, the jugllers, the stray dog that was heading down the alley. The groups reaction? "We follow the dog."
But back to the topic.
The 'play or go home' strategy is a good one, Im going to have to remember that. Getting new PCs into the mix is usually not a problem, Im good at thinking on my feet like that. I guess I just need 'plot hook' ideas, mainly.
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Oafman
Draconis Combine
Tai-sho
Joined: 18-Nov-2003 00:00
Posts: 1657
Location: United States
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| Posted: 29-Jan-2004 11:55 Post subject: RE: And they gathered for...? |
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These are all reasons why I have let others GM so far.
If you ever get a chance to play Floating Vagabond, I highly recommend it. All of the scenarios are based around a bar that floats between dimensions. Great fun. (bribing the GM with alcohol at the game sessions is encouraged.)
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Sir Henry
Team Bansai
Senior Tech Specialist
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
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Location: United States
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| Posted: 30-Jan-2004 06:25 Post subject: RE: And they gathered for...? |
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I didn't know Vagabond Floated... I thought he tromped everywhere..... 
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Sir Henry
A Dragon in the disguise of a bunny, is still a Dragon.
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chihawk
Clan Blood Spirit
Master Bartender
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 8072
Location: United States
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| Posted: 30-Jan-2004 17:47 Post subject: RE: And they gathered for...? |
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Quote:
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On 2004-01-30 06:25, Sir Henry wrote:
I didn't know Vagabond Floated... I thought he tromped everywhere.....
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Roller skates usually...
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DarkAdder
Clan Star Adder
Star Commander
Joined: 10-Jan-2004 00:00
Posts: 604
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| Posted: 30-Jan-2004 17:53 Post subject: RE: And they gathered for...? |
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Whatever gets you from point A to point B, right?
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DarkAdder
Clan Star Adder
Star Commander
Joined: 10-Jan-2004 00:00
Posts: 604
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| Posted: 31-Jan-2004 22:30 Post subject: RE: And they gathered for...? |
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Okay, so getting a character into a group, or forming a gourp has been covered. Now what do I do when someone has to leave a group?
Lets say a regular gamer who goes to college gets his new semester schedule, and he cant attend the regular games.
How can you handle the departure of a PC during a campaign. Its not too much of a problem during lulls in the action, or between scenarios. But how do you handle it right in the middle of a module, or even in the middle of combat? Hey, its happened to the group I was in. Hour 3 hour session was one big rumble, with lotsa dice rolling.
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Nightmare
Lyran Alliance
Kommandant-General
Joined: 03-May-2002 00:00
Posts: 2214
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| Posted: 01-Feb-2004 00:38 Post subject: RE: And they gathered for...? |
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In an ideal world the leaving player would have told you in time so you could come up with a satisfying solution. 
It's his fault. NPC the character until it can make a graceful exit.
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A tree fall in the forest, and no one is around, and it hits a mime. Does anyone care?
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