So, I'm running a party through the AP, and the party is...let's say 'less than optimal'. Went through Harrowstone with:
A Shielded Fighter/Trip Monkey
A Universalist Wizard whose constant contribution was the Ray of Frost spell and Hand of the Apprentice to attack with a dagger (now a longsword)
A Barbarian who did not rage once. All adventure.
A Cleric Used mainly for Channeling and Knowledge skills
And a generic Rogue
Needless to say, the first adventure was difficult. Now, a bunch of CHA-dumping misfits are to play Perry Mason. I don't see this going well. I thought about jumping in myself, but I've never liked GMPC's. Any suggestions for keeping themselves from too much more foot-shooting?
Well remember, Trial of the Beast is verdict-neutral. The outcome of the adventure doesn't depend on the outcome of the trial. I say let them Scooby-Doo their way through the legal proceedings. Who knows, maybe the meddling kids really will make a difference this time.
Well remember, Trial of the Beast is verdict-neutral. The outcome of the adventure doesn't depend on the outcome of the trial. I say let them Scooby-Doo their way through the legal proceedings. Who knows, maybe the meddling kids really will make a difference this time.
The investigations themselves worry me, if the first adventure is any indicator. Harrowstone was humbling to say the least. The fighter was the only one who was any real use in overcoming obstacles, and he was normally too busy trying to find some obscure rule combination that would allow him to bypass an obstacle completely to think of the obvious solution. No holy water, only one spirit siphon used. Just the Dwarven magic resistance racial trait to protect him from everything. Couldn't remember any of the dozens of items found just for overcoming the obstacles within, but he never forgot that SR. Maybe I should just sit back and watch the fireworks...
So, I'm running a party through the AP, and the party is...let's say 'less than optimal'. Went through Harrowstone with:
A Shielded Fighter/Trip Monkey
A Universalist Wizard whose constant contribution was the Ray of Frost spell and Hand of the Apprentice to attack with a dagger (now a longsword)
A Barbarian who did not rage once. All adventure.
A Cleric Used mainly for Channeling and Knowledge skills
And a generic RogueNeedless to say, the first adventure was difficult. Now, a bunch of CHA-dumping misfits are to play Perry Mason. I don't see this going well. I thought about jumping in myself, but I've never liked GMPC's. Any suggestions for keeping themselves from too much more foot-shooting?
The players guide tells people they need to be skilled. As a GM if my players "missed" it I would remind them. If they chose to ignore me then I would let them deal with the consequences.
If I were you I would allow them to do a rebuild. That is all the help they would get. You can't really force someone to succeed. Well then again as the GM maybe you can, but you should have to.
|
Maybe I should just sit back and watch the fireworks...
That would be a horrible waste of all your time, effort, and money spent on buying the AP.
Are your players having fun? If not maybe this AP is not for them. Maybe they (or you) just didn't get a good read on what it was going to be like. Reading this thread by my fellow RPG Superstar competitor Erik Freund will help immensely in getting a "Big Picture" view of the AP (especially his "String of Pearls" analogy).
Definitely ask you players if they like how things are going, ask them if they think their PCs are a good fit for the material. Point them to the Players Guide again. If they like the adventure but feel they've made some poor choices let them fix their characters.
--Vrocky Horror
Definitly sit the players down and have a talk to them...
Alternative...there is always Abot and Castello meets Dr Frankenstein...just a thought
Well remember, Trial of the Beast is verdict-neutral. The outcome of the adventure doesn't depend on the outcome of the trial. I say let them Scooby-Doo their way through the legal proceedings. Who knows, maybe the meddling kids really will make a difference this time.The investigations themselves worry me, if the first adventure is any indicator. Harrowstone was humbling to say the least. The fighter was the only one who was any real use in overcoming obstacles, and he was normally too busy trying to find some obscure rule combination that would allow him to bypass an obstacle completely to think of the obvious solution. No holy water, only one spirit siphon used. Just the Dwarven magic resistance racial trait to protect him from everything. Couldn't remember any of the dozens of items found just for overcoming the obstacles within, but he never forgot that SR. Maybe I should just sit back and watch the fireworks...
This either isn't the types of adventures suitable for your player's style of play or they didn't "get it" when they were making their characters. After stressing the skill side through out the AP I still had to restart after the group "swat teamed" the angry farmers at the funeral. Hack and slash this is not.
Ever think about making the characters yourself and allowing the players to choose which to play?
|
Do they play other PCs with greater skill? I don't know if this is a problem of low character capability, or actual player skill. If it's player skill, new PCs won't help.
Also, do the players know that the items they found would help in their encounters? If you say yes, how do they know? It's possible that they don't know the benefit, even if it's obvious.
I remember one problem time I had with a group of players. It was a Living Greyhawk adventure, and the players were this one guy who helped at the cash register at the FLGS, and a group of his friends that hadn't actually played before. Now, the FLGS guy (I'll call him Bob) wasn't the sharpest or most attentive guy around. The adventure, though, was supposed to be a free-form murder mystery.
I knew there would be problems.
Sure enough, within the opening scenes, the game started looking like this:
Me: ...and you find yourself in the library with the dead body! What do you do?
Bob's friends: (all stare holes into Bob)
Bob: Uh.... what?
I eventually simplified the adventure, fed them the clues, and ultimately, just winged it into a railroad so that everyone could get some action. It was a single adventure, so I didn't have to change the campaign structure, but if it were a long-term campaign, I'd have to make severe adjustments to my original premise, to make sure that everyone was having fun.
I would definitely check with the players first. Perhaps they don't understand what they're capable of, or what their PCs' specialties are. Ask them: what are they looking for in the advenutre? Do they like what they've done so far? Is there anything that they wish they could do, but can't? It's possible you might get answers like, "I'm a barbarian, but I'm not doing enough damage in combat. What can I get?" At that point, you can discuss rages and how they help.
Gothic Heroes from Legendary Games has some nice ready made PCs for the CC adventure path. Only $4.99, DBob says check it out.