I'm running a DnD game at a local convention in november and am playtesting it a bit. I had a curious question regarding what players people will pick. I will give you guys the info they will have, and I want to see what what PC's you would pick for your group. It will help me balance them a bit.
based on what they know and personal preference, what 5 PC's would you choose for a balanced party?
Here's the info they will have:
Escape from the Lost Island
The war has ended. Now you prepare for the long sea journey home. But when disaster strikes the sailing vessal, your lives are put in danger. Washed ashore in a hostile land with just your wits and friends to survive. Can you escape from the Lost Island? 3.5 conversion of a classic. Roleplaying emphesized, Characters provided
They also will be told that characters will have spells preassigned, and be given useful equipment and magical items. All characters are designed to be balanced and useful. In fact all of them could be considered invaluable to the group.
Here's the player choices and all the information they will have:
Amur Human paladin lvl 1, noble warrior from the sand people tribes, fights with an enchanted blade of his homeland. Was a leader among his unit.
Drake Dwarven Barbarian lvl 1, Last of his kind, hopes to die in glorious battle that legends will be written about. Incredably strong and known to rage in combat.
Tromble Human Cleric lvl 1, Joined the war to end suffering among his people. A healer at heart, but realizes that sometimes battle is the only way to end suffering. Prefers defense to offense.
Spout Human Rogue lvl 1, Dissappointed that the war ended before she could properly loot the fallen. Looks for opportunity at every encounter (to get rich!) Deadly with a bow.
Mykul Half-elven Bard lvl 2, The heart and morale booster of his unit. Quick witted and known for his diverse talents. recieved high merits in combat, despite his lack of training.
Piper Halfling Wizard lvl 1, Often belittled for his stature, but well liked by all. Recieved his wizard training at the Bonadil school known for its unusual methods.
Zilas Elven Sorceror lvl 1, Joined the war as a representative of his people. Even at his young age is a hardened battle mage.
Now which 5 PCs would you choose for your party? What if you could choose 6? Which one would you NOT want in your group?
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If I had to organize the party, I'd push that we use:
Drake, Tromble, Sprout, Zilas and Amur
If we used six, I'd add Mykul.
I'd make the cleric's affinity to his deity more obvious, or even offer the option of 2 clerics of fairly different gods, or a cleric or druid as options. If this was the case, the 6 person party could have included those two.
For a pre-set scenario, I'd take a sorcerer over a wizard, since I'm sure the sorcerer spells will be set to the ones that are needed. :) Plus they're just more fun if you know it's a one shot session and you're only 1st level when the two classes are fairly the same par. To create more interest here, maybe mention their favorite spells.
Sprout seems quite useful - the only rogue option, and deadly with a bow!
I'd chose Amur, Drake, Tromble, Zilas, and Sprout.
Drake and Amur are the only "fighters" of the group and as such are necessities, and the fact that they use two different styles of fighting is really good. Tromble as the party cleric is a must have just for healing. I prefer the variety of spells that a sorcerer can cast compared to that of a wizard who has to prepare his spells, hence ther reason for Zilas. And I feel that a party Rogue is integral to the well being of an adventuring group, their sheer diversity of skills makes them so useful in alomst any situation.
Are you also planning on predetermining the skills for each character, or will that be up to the players? I feel that some character specialization from each player is needed in order for good role playing.
A bit from my Hoarde
Pfffff! My group would pick anything but a bard or cleric.
based on what they know and personal preference, what 5 PC's would you choose for a balanced party?
This vaguely resembles the old AD&D Adventure Module N4 'Treasure Hunt', in wich the players started marooned on a deserted Island as level zero commoners (escaped slaves) and made their way up to first level. The players would inch their way up a class depending on their actions on the island. At the end of the adventure, the one who actually used the rusty bastard sword to defend the others became the fighter, the one who tried to decipher an old book they found (a spellbook) became the magic-user, etc... I used this adventure to introduce a new group of players to the game of D&D. It made it easyer for players who have never played the game before, as they pretty much acted the way they would if they were in that situation. It was pretty interesting.
Back to the subject... I would play anything you'd throw at me, just because I make it my mission to say that ANY character is playable, if you want him to be. If I had to actually cross one off my list though, there's only the paladin that comes to mind. Only because of the fact that I see paladins more like a prestige class. They are supposed to be the "champion" (or "protector") of the church, and at 1st level, you're not champion of anything.
Ultradan
OK, the characters which interested me the most:
Drake, Tromble, Spout and Drake with either Mykul or Amur as the fifth character. Amur seems like too easy leader choice, I would pick him to group only if I knew some leadership conflict were expected, otherwise I'd go for Mykul.
No, that is not the most powerful combination, but who cares.
From your description Zilas the sorcerer sounded the most boring even while sorcerers would be better than wizards in one-shots.
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I'm assuming that because this is a 'shipwreck' type adventure you chose not to include a druid or ranger (also, a druid would be hard to explain in the context of the war set-up). I tend to agree with Dragnlvr... Amur, Drake, Tromble, and Spout are pretty much necessities. Zilas also probably edges out Piper for the spell slingers.
I think Wakedown made a good suggestion about adding a second cleric of a different 'flavor'. Possibly add a Fighter as well just to have more selection between the strong-arm types.
If I were sitting down at your table, I would pick Amur...I'm somewhat partial to paladins.
PS: Ultradan-That's a great idea about using 'Treasure Hunt'! Thank you! My wife has expressed some intrest to play when/if I get another group up. She understands the basic concepts, but remains semi-mystified by the mechanics.
PS: Ultradan-That's a great idea about using 'Treasure Hunt'! Thank you! My wife has expressed some intrest to play when/if I get another group up. She understands the basic concepts, but remains semi-mystified by the mechanics.
If you can't find the module, I can always E-Mail you the adventure synopsis if you need some ideas. Just ask...
ultradan@hotmail.com
Ultradan
In order of my desire to include them in the adventure:
Zilas - no spellbook, great possibilities
Mykul - when I read the description I thought "gotta have 'im"
Spout - another obvious choice, picked immediately
Tromble - the only cleric, and with an affinity for healing = no-brainer.
I reread the list of descriptions half a dozen times, struggling to choose a fifth character (Does there have to be 5?). None of the remaining characters particularly appealed to me. I briefly considered the halfling wizard because the usefulness of a small, light person on the island seemed obvious. But two spell-casters and no real fighter-classes made me nervous. Since you requested a well-rounded party, I reluctantly chose Amur as the final castaway. His weapon prowess and leadership skills should come in handy but there's just something about him I kinda don't like. Oh, well. It wouldn't be the first time we included a character for balance issues over interesting role-playing.
Drake
Tromble
Spout
Zilas
Mykul
6th choice: Amur
Last choice: Piper
Amur
Drake
Tromble
Sprout
and am I the only one who actualy wants poor little Piper?
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am I the only one who actualy wants poor little Piper?
Not at all. I think that Piper is one of the more interesting characters in the long run (from what's presented), but if it's a tournament one-off kind of adventure, I would probably go with a 'higher utility' type character. Not munchkining, just a different mind-set than for a long range campaign. If we were talking about a long running series of adventures, I would be most tempted to try the bard. The fish out of water angle could be very interesting and over over time (assuming some non-hostile contact with natives) could be the real mouth-piece of the group, maybe even go native.
wizard, bard, rouge, and cleric. i think you need a regdar though. a straight up fighter. the barbarian is nice but it doesn't have that good old soldier feel that you should have when comin home from a war. and they help alot in every fight, not just the first fight like most barbarians.
and am I the only one who actualy wants poor little Piper?
Ah, I noticed I had typoed and chosen Drake twice when I meant Piper...
Yes, for a one-shot a sorcerer makes more sense than wizard and that's why I even considered Zilas, otherwise Piper is so much more interesting character.
Yep, I'd leave out the bard and the wizard as well.