Hi all
It looks like I'm going to have a small party for my ROTR campaign (a pleasant change of pace from the 6+ players I've had in the past) and I'm curious to know how you handled this?
I am leaning towards making judicious use of NPCs (Shalela, possibly Lyrie & Orik?) to help completement the gaps.
I will have three PCs:
- Dwarf Barbarian;
- Halfling Rogue (aiming for Rogue/Wizard/Arane Trickster);
The third player is looking to create a Cleric of some kind.
I think that works out quite well overall in terms of balance. Any thoughts or feedback would be greatly appreciated.
I also like the idea of Ameiko as a PC adventurer but I don't think that is a smart idea (she is needed in future modules and she has 'retired' from adventuring so has less reason to do so).
I am GMing a 3-person party, so here are my experiences:
- They had a bard, paladin, and sorcerer, so I attached a GM NPC barbarian to the party. This worked very well, as he contributed almost nothing to the roleplaying, but provided the frontline combat boost necessary.
- Unfortunately, though he was essential in Modules 1 and 2 (and even took the first death and saved a PC), in Module 3 you get NPCs coming out of the woodworks, and suddenly it's like a video game: "Which GM NPC do you want to take with you on this outing?" Gets annoying fast.
So I think the essentials for RotRL are:
(1) A front-line fighter. Check. Your barbarian will have epic fun.
(2) An arcane spellcaster, preferably a wizard. I'm worried about the multiclassing of your rogue. Can you convince him to go pure wizard?
(3) A cleric would be awesome for Modules 2 and 3. Check.
You've got your bases covered, so you occasionally want someone to help with back-up frontline combat, especially when your PCs are low-level. I would suggest:
Module 1: Sheriff Hemlock at first, then Shalelu in the final stages.
Module 2: Sheriff Hemlock. The problem arises at the end of this module, and I don't know that you can get past it with existing NPCs. Depends on how experienced your players are.
Modules 3+: Shalelu.
I'm interested in seeing how other GMs react. But I'm loving the small group dynamic, and the players are enjoying the GM NPCs, but I know the majority of posters on the threads say that GM NPCs should never be used, EVER, for any reason. Depends on your group.
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The vast majority of sessions I have GMed had from one to four players. I almost always have an NPC with the party. I threw Shalelu into the mix with the Glassworks through Thistletop. But no NPCs through all of the Skinsaw Man. Then Shalelu comes back for book three. But there are four PCs in my group.
With a three man party you could eventually add the wizard Lyrie, but that depend on how well she would mesh with your group. And there is always Orik.
If you can eventually add a wizard NPC, you could leave the player's choices alone. But I agree with NobodyHome's sentiments about having a wizard.
I haven't run my party through chapter 3 but, it seems having someone with trap finding seems kinda important in that chapter
Matthew -
That was my impression too. My take was that a skill monkey/trapfinder is kinda essential. A Rogue/Wizard/AT would fit that aspect well. The only problem is the Rogue 3/Wizard 3 multiclassing really *hurts* early on but could be obviated if Lyrie joins. It may be prudent to suggest he starts levelling as a Wizard early, so that he only has his first level as Rogue?
I will have a chat with the Rogue player. He seems pretty fixated on playing an AT though (reminiscent of another campaign we never finished). I am thinking I should suggest he take that Trait which ups his caster level. His goal was to be an archaeologist style character - which fits well with the whole lost empire of Thassilon.
Mazra/NobodysHome -
I was thinking of Hemlock and then Shalelu (Glasstop->Thistlepoint) and Ameiko (worst case, after she gets rescued if things go bad for the PCs she can help bail them out after saving her hide out of obligation, possibly to a new party) early on. After Thistlepoint, I am hoping Orik and perhaps Lyrie - assuming they aren't butchered (my PCs tend to be bloodthirsty sadly).
Our party has a bard who is *supposedly* a good replacement for a rogue, but he manages to set off most of the traps he finds. In spite of this, the party survives; the traps are more inconvenient than deadly. And every time the party steps into one, you can say, "Oh, weren't you going to be a rogue?"
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I've been running with a similar group (two-handed fighter, gnome bard, and cleric of Desna).
Instead of including an ally, I've been giving them max HP at level-up (half to balance it out, half because I hate rolling HP) and using the Fast XP track.
We're just starting Skinsaw Murders, but they haven't had any real problems yet. There were some tense moments in Thistletop, but definitely the good kind.
Cheers!
Landon
Running a group with a monk, cleric, and druid/sor (badger animal comp). No issues what so ever. I ran a NPC bard with them for awhile, he just got in the way. You should be fine if you have players that know what they are doing.
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The right group of three can definitely handle it. Bard and Cleric, or Druid and Cleric are good combinations in a three person party. It is just RotR seems to favor Wizards, and having one is helpful; but truly not essential. Plus Shalelu was designed to be with the party at some point. Orik is very much out there and available. And Lyrie is just so very interesting. So ready made NPCs to run around with the group are a part of the AP.