Things are all set for my first session playing the AoW, my players have put alot of hard work into their characters and backstories. All in all we are pleased with things and cant wait to play this weekend but...
The problem is nobody has taken my advice and created a back-up character 'just in case' the first adventure IS as deadly as people say so.
I have rolled up five 1st level characters and five second level characters as back-ups to hand my players when, or if they bite the big one.
I have left the 'back-ups' without details such as eye/hair colour, sex, alignment, deity etc so the players can add those details themselves.
So far I have a human fighter, human ranger, half moonelf druid, half drow dread necromancer and a strongheart halfling bard. All of these are our first level back-ups.
The following are second level back-ups: human fighter/wizard, human warlock 2, orc barbarian/rogue, earth genasi archivist 2 and lightfoot halfling urban barbarian 2.
What I need now is quick and easy 'plug-in' backstories that fit any character, fitting them into Diamond lake.
Detailed but short enough to give flavour and can be scanned over quickly so the player can jump straight back into the action and the game isnt held up to much. These backstories need to be ambiguous so they work with almost any alignment and class/race but still have hooks and be interesting.
I know this is asking a lot but Im too dumb and 'drained' right now to come up with anything remotely cool, converting the AoWs to the forgotten realms, dragon coast region has left me running on fumes. I think I might have studied the far-realms too much!
Advice for working a new pc into the adventures 'mid-encounter' would be incredibly helpful.
I was wondering if DMs here had any good ways for getting a new character into the thick of things right after the death of a previous one, are there any encounters that are quite deadly and how would you go about inserting new characters into the whispering cairns dungeons in a logical way and without much trouble?
Thanks.
The problem is nobody has taken my advice and created a back-up character 'just in case' the first adventure IS as deadly as people say so.
...
What I need now is quick and easy 'plug-in' backstories that fit any character, fitting them into Diamond lake.
...
Advice for working a new pc into the adventures 'mid-encounter' would be incredibly helpful.
After my first unexpected death, I ended up doing the same thing.
Cleric of Hextor - Masquerading as a Cuthbertian Flaggelant, but actually seeking to find and destroy a temple of Hextorian heretics. When he learns that the heretics are more spread out than just this temple, he stays on to destroy every last vestage of them.
Barbarian/Ranger/Warrior type - Was an indntured servant forced to work in the mines and has just recently paid off his debt and is looking to make some money. Even hunting monsters can't be as dangerous as working in the mine.
Rogue - Made a reasonably good living working the veiled corridor of the Emporium, but really doesn't like working with all the dirty miners and has a few otehr skills that may be worth turnign a coin.
Wizard - Allustan's apprentice, it's time he goes out and learns a bit about the world. Dragonchess will only get him so far.
Woodsy Type (Druid/Ranger/Scout) - Tales of unkillable undead are a great concern to the Lodge. Asked to work their way into the adventurers group and learn what they can, help if their cause will serve nature.
Monk - After a startling vision, the head of the order sends you out to stop the worms from breaking forth.
Warmage/Sorcerer/Psion - I actually don't have this one, but I would thing Demon Boy is a good example of a starting story on this one. Worked as a freak at Zalamandra's emporium.
That should be plenty to get you started, as for working them in... they all have reasons to be looking for the party and unlike some of the other modules, the party can turn back to go to town at any point they like.
Try these. They've got a little detail to them, but not too much I hope. I'm trying to think of things that would be cool and a little atypical, to help grab players' imaginations. Good luck, and I hope I've been of help!
Human fighter: A military deserter hiding in this crap hole of a town, looking to make enough money to do whatever it is he/she needs to.
Human ranger: A vigilante of some sort with an agenda to push, perhaps formerly of the Lodge (maybe he left with feelings that the druids didn't act fast enough?).
Half-elf druid: There is a strange disease in the wilds, possibly caused by pollution from Diamond Lake, but maybe related to something in a cairn. He needs to investigate.
Half drow necromancer: The offspring of a male drow wizard that killed a priestess of Lolth in one of the drow cities. Maybe he's trying to blend peaceably with surface races, maybe he has evil necromantic designs, or maybe he's seeking revenge against something, perhaps the drow themselves for "exiling" his parent.
Halfling bard: He's in town on a bet that he can't do something. Once he gets going on the adventure, his curiosity keeps him going (or maybe it's the loot).
Human fighter/wizard: He started training under a master in one art (fighter or wizard), then decided it wasn't for him and switched for some reason. He's in debt and needs money.
Human warlock: He's following strange dreams of skulls writhing with worms and surrounded with flames, maybe accompanied by voices whispering the names of people and places. Does he seek to stop an apocalypse, or cause one?
Orc barbarian/rogue: If full orc, he lost a challenge for tribal leadership, but managed to live due to his wit (which is greater than normal for an orc). Now he's using that wit in "civilized" lands. If half orc, he was a rogue for whatever reason, but his family was murdered. He developed a rage that sometimes flies out of control, and is one a quest for some sort of vengeance.
Earth Genesai archivist: Easy- he'll jump at any chance to learn about the cairns, or anything pertaining to the region they are in.
Halfling urban barbarian: A gang member or vigilante, or maybe an escaped exhibit from the Emporium.
In our Eberron campaign, we've got a warforged fighter who we're playing with the "anmesia" backstory. An artificer wakes him up in a mine, he decides to become a miner. That is until the day that he discovers he knows how to fight. This could work with any race, really.
I'm NPCing an Elvish Cleric of "The Silver Flame", which I believe is Cuthbert in the Greyhawk version. In my story, he (mistakenly) had a divine experience which was the product of a wizard's spell gone wrong, but since then, he has been a fanatic. This works well in Eberron, with the detachment of gods to the world, but could work in any campaign setting.
Don't forget the "Free City" as a source for your characters. We have a halfing rouge who has left Sharn because of a love lost. She is eager to get involved with anything that might help her forget--however, subconsciously, she knows adventuring will only draw her back to Sharn, where she might find some kind of resolution.
Thanks for the ideas guys, I am getting ready to play my first game tonight.
Ive put each of the backstory suggestions onto an index card and will hand it to the the player along with their new character sheet. (if someone dies that is.)
Wish me luck!