Pregenerated Character Backgrounds

[Twigs]

I'm planning a game full of newcomers and am set on this adventure path to drag them kicking and screaming into the world of roleplaying, seeing as it's so full of fantasy staples (and I know Burnt Offerings and the first half of Skinsaw quite well). I'm considering preparing a set of plot-relevant pregenerated characters for the group, though consider this an exercise in my own curiosity as well...

How would you go about building a group of characters that tied in well with the region and the campaign's overall plot? I'd be very happy if you kind paizonians minced ideas with me, as story after story have proved you're a bunch of clever buggers, and wonderfully creative too.

As it stands, Shoanti characters don't seem like great picks with little presence in the adventure path (although I know very little about their links to ancient Thassilon, feel free to prove me wrong here.)

A character with some link to the giant menace (a black arrow ranger would be a fantastic pick) makes a lot of sense too.

A female varisian would make a fantastic target of Aldern's affections (though I fear pidgeon-holing an unsuspecting someone into this role might well fall a little on the creepy side)

From here... I'm a little stumped. A local or somebody based in Magnimar would work nicely... a Sanos forest gnome would get a small homecoming trip.

At risk of falling into the trap of inane rambling (again) I'll ask you. How much were your PCs tied in with the setting? Do you have any thoughts on how to accomplish this? What plot threads should be milked? With your knowledge of the adventure path, who would you make the stars of the show?

[snowyak]

Hiya,

Some of my players really delved into Shoanti/varisian lore, while others weren't very aware of the comings and goings of Golarian.

The party was the average rag tag band of strangers.
"Well, you seem trustworthy......"
Only when i did need to introduce a player who showed up late (playing a halforc) I gave the rest of the party the shiver :)

As for your question, I made the first session quite roleplay heavy with all the Sandpoint inhabitants, and the players really felt attached to the little village.

[Aeshuura]

Hey. Varisian and Shoanti should feel a connection with Thassilon, as they are descendants of the Empire. Thassilon's Caste structure had the Shoanti as the Warrior Caste and the Varisians were the Provider Caste. They tell stories of the Overlords, the Varisians speak of them as horrible and cruel rulers, while the Shoanti speak of them as Warlords that wielded terrific power.

What I did with my group:

My group, I blind-sided. They didn't have any memory of their childhood, only what happened within the last 10 or so years (100 for the three Elves)... When they met X in Skinsaw she revealed that they were, in fact, agents of Old Thassilon, in such deep cover that they forgot who they were and somehow survived for the past 10,000 years. They then made the choice that they would stop Karzoug's return to protect the people that they have grown to care about. Now they are starting Fortress and we have a little bit of strife, as one is a little closer to evil than the others feel comfortable with.

[Fing Mandragoran]

A few ideas...

Shoanti does work. Shoanti make their home on the storval plateau and were the military caste of the Thassilonian empire. These do not come up often early in the adventure path but in books 4-6 there are definite role play opportunities and special knowledge available for Shoanti characters. Shoanti characters would most likely be...
Fighter, Barbarian, Rogue, Ranger, Druid or Sorcerer.

A Pregen for a Shoanti character could be that he followed in Sheriff Hemlock's foot steps for some reason(you can make it up) and settled in Sandpoint. The character is a member of the Sandpoint Guard and present on the day of the festival. After the festival Hemlock gives the guardsman permission or an order to travel with the new Heroes of Sandpoint to protect them or merely as a way to have a member of Sandpoint be one of the investigators.

Varisian makes great sense as well. They were the social and working caste of the Thassilonian empire. These race of humans could have roleplaying opportunities throughout the AP. Traditional traveling Varisians are distrusted in towns and cities however are a great source of trade. Varisians that have settled in towns can wear down that distrust with the locals. Varisian characters would most likely be...
Bard, Rogue, Druid, Cleric(of Desna), Witch, Magus, Sorcerer, Alchemist, Wizard, Ranger, or Fighter.

A Pregen for a Varisian character could be one who has settled in Sandpoint as a local place to study, Id use this if I were a prepared caster most likely, or one who travels and happens to be in Sandpoint for the festival. The traveler could be a bard, druid, or cleric easily and have reason to be at the festival.

For a good wizard background you have 2 wizardry schools relatively near by in Magnimar and Korvosa. The wizard in question could have lived in Sandpoint prior to heading off to school and has returned for the festival. Perhaps it was the original "Late Unpleasantness" that sparked the individuals desire to want to learn how to fight and defend his hometown/family. However, since he/she was not a large person, or lacked fighting prowess, or perhaps has wizardry in his background through chosen character traits they chose to travel to one of the schools. They happen to have graduated from their 1st term of study and returned to Sandpoint to visit family just before the Festival.

Gnome is definitely a good choice but I warn you against this one as a pregen due to eccentric nature of the gnomes. In my game we had a gnome druid from Sanos forest. Roleplayed very well but I know the player went to great lengths in reading up on Golarion gnomes and preparing his characters personality and attitude. That said, a gnome from Sanos forest could be any class though I would tend to think barbarian would be a last choice. I say any class b/c of the eccentric nature of gnomes. If you do create a gnome pregen then I suggest the book Gnomes of Golarion before you do and loan it to your player so they understand the gnome themselves.

So there are some examples but certainly not all considering a pregen only has the limit of your imagination to fall on. Considering you have Magnimar with a large port just a few days travel to the south of Sandpoint you could theoretically put any pregen background in Sandpoint on the day of the festival. Also, dont forget dwarves, halflings, halforcs, or elves.

[Twigs]

Fantastic advice guys. I'd love to hear more about peoples parties.

Did anybody have a Black Arrow character in their game? I currently have a ranger in my own game as a black arrow, but we haven't yet gotten to HMM, so I'm curious how this played out.

[cynarion]

I have yet to start RotRL, but one of my players is quite enthusiastic and has already come up with his character background. He is an aasimar whose great grandmother was a bralani who fell in love with a Black Arrow ranger. Orphaned for reasons unknown, he grew up at the Turandarok Academy. His grandfather (a half-celestial) also joined up with the Black Arrows, but recently sought his grandson (the PC) out, finding him in Sandpoint and taking him away for a year of living off the land.

That makes the PC an aasimar ranger with a tie to the Black Arrows. Tell me that won't make things a lot easier to transition from Skinsaw to Hook Mountain...

: )