*sigh*
I had each player start the game seperately, all of them converging on the abandoned mining office. After spending the night, the PC with the map (psion) suggested that they all head over to the cairn to see what they could find. The one character who'd been travelling the road heading for Diamond Lake decided that he'd take the one of the PCs, and head into town, leaving the map-bearer all alone.
Not to be thwarted, the map-bearer decides to head off to the cairn all alone.
Along the road to Diamond Lake, the other 2 PCs (cleric and sorcerer) run into a group of miners heading north. Trying to hook the PCs into heading back north, they ignore that one as well.
The two eventually arrive in town, where they go to a eatery to get some quick grub. The sorcerer player had to leave, so the cleric struck out on his own. Seeking work, he discovered that he could talk to Smenk. So he goes to one of his buildings, and next session will start off with him negotiating some sort of deal.
Back at the cairn, the psion met up with the miners that the other 2 PCs ran into. He psionically charmed the leader to help him investigate the cairn, and I've had to slow up his progress (has only made it to the busted arcane device).
So now I have to figure out how to get the sorcerer back up to the cairn, and the best way to get the cleric (a dwarf) there as well.
I figure one of the easiest ways for the dwarf is to have Smenk feed him some false information about a cult who's trying to take over one of his mines (whispering cairn), supplying him with a map to get there.
The only major problems are the psion and the sorcerer. The sorcerer's backstory was that he was beaten and robbed by the trio from Free City, and he now wants his stuff back. I don't foresee him heading back out into the wilderness. Plus, he's indebted to the Emporium, and they *will* come looking for him. Effectively, this character is useless to the overall storyline. Unless I keep running split parties the whole way through. *feels headache coming already*
I could just let the psion deal with the wolves, and the eventual rending he'll face. Unless he can pull something off with his limited psionics, or has awesomely lucky attack rolls, I don't see him surviving the wolf attack.
Anyone got any advice? Thanks. :)
I don't really have any advice - I'm just trying to figure out how the heck your players ended up scattered to the four winds? Is this group usually this contrary? Was it just miscommunication - why would they not go along with the Psions plan? Maybe some more connections for the PCs or better bait would have helped?
Really once PCs meet up they should not be splitting up again unless something in the adventure forces them too – if they are maybe its time to figure out what the problem is. Players are a unit and if they can't find it in their characters motivations to adventure together then there is a problem either with the character design and motivations, with the DMs set up of the campaign or maybe with the current play dynamic.
In the first case I'd suggest that the players try and police themselves and also give them something to work with in terms of the adventure background – maybe even foreshadow by starting them out with the scene were they decide to take up your initial adventure and then let them figure out how their characters got to that scene. Generally speaking I figure its best to let the players figure out why it is they want to adventure together and why they want to go on the initial adventurer (or in a more open ended start up why they are looking for adventure in general). In this case you may want to be ready to jump in to help them figure out why a Grey Elf or Upper-class Sharn Shape Shifter might be about to embark on this quest but otherwise encourage them to link and to be ready for your quest. For Age of Worms that is essentially the ground rules for character creation – Don't let them make Blackcloak Bob the loaner Ninja – it won't work and its disruptive to the campaign as a whole. If a player is headed down this path intercept them and explain that they need to create a character that wants to adventure with the other characters – you don't really care why the character wants to hang out with these people and go on quests with them but he or she must have that as a base motivation, the game does not work otherwise.
The other potential problem could be current play dynamic. Maybe your players don't want to go on a dungeon delve and would rather not save the world – I'd combat this in a meta-game fashion as well. No point in starting this kind of an epic if your players are not keen on the idea. Lots of times the players are ready to play ball and are willing to trust that their DM will throw something cool at them. However if your facing rebellious players acting in a contrary manner to what the DM wants it may be time to figure out what it is the players actually want to be doing – maybe their bored of being force fed even good adventures and want to play a game were they have more freedom to chart their own destiny. In that case now is not the time to run Age or Worms.
Hmm...as for getting your players together - maybe you should have a chat with them out of character and get this whole little mess fixed up 'cause if they are this out of sync off the bat there is some danger of them getting out of sync and derailing the whole campaign later on as well - This is a cool epic, no point in having it go off the rails after the second adventure. If your going to do it I'd start by getting your players in excited by the idea of this campaign even if you have to let out a little of the plot line to real them into being excited about playing in this campaign (but don't give away big secrets - keep it down to things they would learn anyway over the course of the first two or maybe three adventures).
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So now I have to figure out how to get the sorcerer back up to the cairn, and the best way to get the cleric (a dwarf) there as well.
No, YOU don't. THEY do. Railroading isn't something only DMs do; if players are set on having the train run off the tracks, they can do so, but they're not steering the campaign in a positive direction, either.
After having similar incidents in other games I've run, I've since settled on the more contrived but infinitely more workable "all of your characters are acquainted; let's put our heads together to develop a plausible way for that to have happened" method of kicking off ongoing campaigns.
You can still do this now, even with the game already in progress. It might involve some retroactive continuity, but that's the lesser concern right now.
Best wishes for a fun game for all!
Sometimes the easiest solution is some kind of "metagame" discussion with the players. What I would do in this case is round them up and just warn them of two things:
1 - The AoW campaign is very dangerous and challenging and somehow assumes that the characters stick together and cooperate.
2 - The AoW campaign is quite long and if they don't focus on their goals, they will maybe never see the end of it.
While they might enjoy having their side trecks and do things in their corner it probably means that the campaign is not going to progress and that their characters are going to die more frequently.
Insist on the fact that it is fine for you if they do, but you wanted to give them a chance to make an informed decision regarding their style of play, hence your telling them this.
After that, it's their choice to see how they deal with the situation. If it means that a character (or more) will have to face death because of their lack of focus/cooperation, you won't feel bad if it means their death...
Bocklin
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That's a scene in Dead Gentlemen Production's "The Gamers" which really applies.
In the film, the PC Wizard is accidentally killed by a party member. The player rolls up a new version of the Wizard (same essential character, different name). The new Wizard is encountered near the lair of "The Shadow" where he is to join the group.
*DM to players*: "Now I really want you to roleplay this guys. You've never met this man before..."
The players give the DM the "yeah, yeah" nod and this is how their "roleplaying" goes:
*********************
*Barbarian to Wizard*: "You look like a trustworthy sort. Would you like to join our party?"
*Wizard to Barbarian*: "Yes. Yes I would."
[finis]
********************
Lame? Yes. True to life? Damn Straight.
Results in the best overall game that advances the plot, insofar as it allows the party to DO the adventure?
Yup. Don't underestimate the power of matagaming when it comes to party formation.
"So, you are all in a bar..." may be cliche - but at least it works better than the OP's mess.
My group tried to do The Shackled City about a year ago.
The first encounter no one could identify the victium
and half the characters didn't want to get involved.
The game paused indefinitely.
I read the module and told the others we could not play it
now as I was not the DM.
Put The Age Of Worms aside and play something else.
Tell them their characters are null and void but don't
read the modules because they may be ready for it some day.
My group includes a Ninja who is the brother of the
Spell Thief.
They each have one half of a set of Weapons of Legacy.
Not all Ninjas are loners.
Don't start Age of Worms without characters with a common background or interests.
Thanks for the input everyone. Perhaps a few sidequests to get them working as a team, keeping them below level 5 to start the AoW arc. Or just work the seperate adventures in wherever I can, adjusting ELs for their level atm.
Thanks for the input everyone. Perhaps a few sidequests to get them working as a team, keeping them below level 5 to start the AoW arc. Or just work the seperate adventures in wherever I can, adjusting ELs for their level atm.
Must have gotten really lucky. I was just starting to explain what the backdrop would be like. I read the first few paragraphs of the backdrop article to the group, and when I got to the party about the drunks kicking the halfing down the street, the halfling in the party asks "Is that me? It probibly makes sense that it would be." I laugh and say "sure"
Then the Goodly female dwarven Cleric/Cook says "If i am near by I would like to put an end to that." I said "sure" This led to a roleplaying opportunity that ended with the drunk miners saying something very very Diamond lakeish but also so profane that I will not reprint here. This perked up the ears of the half orc figher (along with all my players) , who thought the miners may have pushed the limits of good taste... And just like that, half the party was together and bonded.
Screw that! Tell the players after a brief interval (which must have included marvelously exciting and gratifying personal adventures) they find themselves at the cairn, ready to do some adventuring AS THE DM HAS PLANNED. A bit of role-playing is a lot of fun. Treating the campaign world as if it were an ACTUAL reality, where everyone can run willy-nilly about as they want is no fun, at all. Get with the program or go play a video game (and see how far out of the story path you can wander there!).
I'll give them one more session of wandering around, and trying to do whatever they please. After tonight, if there are still players wanting to do whatever they wish, I'll arrange their arrival at the cairn. :)