One of my players is making a reclusive witch and has decided that her character would not venture into Sandpoint for the festival. I think she's totally right so I've told her that is fine, I will find another way to rope her into the campaign.
She has a small dwelling in the raven roost foothills. I was thinking that she would overhear/see a robed Longshanks (Tsuto, but she won't know that) riding away from Sandpoint up the Lost Coast Road with a bunch of goblins. And could then decide what to do with that information. What I know of her character is that she is a bit cowardly, so it's highly unlikely she would investigate on her own.
I like the idea of different characters starting in different locations with different reasons for joining in, so what does everyone think? Would this work? Is there a better way I could get her into the campaign without the Swallowtail festival?
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Make the player come up with a hook to get them to be with the rest of the party, otherwise this is going to be an ongoing problem for the rest of the campaign.
Ciretose is right. If a player creates a character that has no motivation to go adventuring with other PCs, then it's going to be a GM headache. A reclusive hermit isn't a very good choice of character type for a cooperative RPG.
-Skeld
Arazyr: I know she goes into town periodically for supplies but is actively staying away during the festival because of the crowds.
Ciretose: I don't see this as a "problem" at all. I refuse to railroad my players and actually LIKE that she's staying true to her character. In my mind, it's up to the GM to make it work. We're the storytellers after all. I just thought maybe someone had another idea I hadn't thought of.
Skeld: Once I get her full character background, I'll be able to come up with a motivation to make her go along. It's not that she doesn't have ANY motivation, it's just that when the adventure starts, she's living away from society. This won't be a recurring "problem" (again, I don't see this as a problem but it's the word that keeps popping up) once the inciting motivation is there.
Would the character have any motivation at all to aid the people of Sandpoint, even if it meant braving crowds? Perhaps she could stumble upon some goblins and learn of the attack, getting there just in time to help the other PCs. I understand wanting to roleplay, but this would be roleplaying her right out of the beginning of the adventure.
It's up to you and your players. Honestly, I think you're making a good amount of unnecessary work for yourself.
At our "session 0," I told the players that they would be starting in Sandpoint at the Swallowtail Festival. They didn't need to work each other into their backgrounds, but they needed to include why they were there. The point of the Swallowtail Festival is for a bunch of adventurous strangers to step up, work together, and be heroic.
If I had a player who wanted to run a reclusive witch, I'd suggest that her PC knew that there would be a merchant at the Festival who is selling a particularly rare herb from a foreign land (or some other MacGuffin) that she needed, but the merchant is only there for the day of the Festival. She would need to put aside her reclusiveness for an afternoon and brave the crowd for this item. It could be a lot of fun to roleplay a reluctant festival-goer ("No, I *DON'T* want to pay a copper to throw that ball.") -- especially when the goblins attack ("Drat it all-- I *KNEW* there'd be trouble!")
If you do decide to do something else to introduce the witch to the rest of the game, out of respect to that player and the others, you might not want to have the witch player attend the session where you want to run Goblin Day. She'll end up sitting idly while you run a combat that will likely run two or three hours-- and that's just not fun. Likewise, the rest of your players would have to sit out the roleplaying of her "solo adventure" of getting her into the plot, so you might want to run that as a one-on-one solo adventure. But, again, that seems like a lot of extra work for a small payout.
This has come up for me from time to time.
I usually explain to the player that this is a team game, not a solo adventure game. If they insist and such a scene comes up I just say, ok no problem - you're out of the scene. I then proceed to focus on the other players. I might ask them occasionally if they're doing anything different. If they insist they are still doing their own thing, I continue to ignore them.
Eventually I will reach a point where they get the hint and get involved. Or I tell them they are out of the game and to make a new character. Of course, it has never gotten that far...
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Arazyr: I know she goes into town periodically for supplies but is actively staying away during the festival because of the crowds.
Ciretose: I don't see this as a "problem" at all. I refuse to railroad my players and actually LIKE that she's staying true to her character. In my mind, it's up to the GM to make it work. We're the storytellers after all. I just thought maybe someone had another idea I hadn't thought of.
No one said railroad. I said make sure they come up with a hook.
If I say I want to play someone who is reclusive and cowardly, it isn't an unreasonable question to ask "So then why are you going to want to go adventuring?"
I'm a little surprised that this is considered such a problem. I try to run more sandboxy games and I give my characters bonuses for staying true to their character, I don't punish them. Like I said before, using her background I'll be able to come up with something that will motivate her to join the main storyline so I don't see this being common. I was just looking for other suggestions than the one I came up with to get her hooked. I definitely don't see it as adding a lot of work to my preparation.
I appreciate everyone's input, even if I don't agree with it. Thanks for the responses.
And Ciretose, you're right...that is not an unreasonable question. I think she'll give me that answer in her background, even if not explicitly.
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No one is saying punish.
The player has a responsibilty as much as a GM to find a reason to be in the group.
If she can't come up with a motivation to come to a festival, how will she be motivated to go on the boar hunt? Or go to the glassworks? Or go to Magnimar?
It isn't to much to ask your player to have a hook of some sort to the rest of the group, even if it is something as simple as "I am friends with this other person in the group."
We aren't saying you tell the player to do anything. At least I'm not. I am saying you ask your player "What is going to be your motivation to participate in this adventure for the next several years."
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One of my players is making a reclusive witch and has decided that her character would not venture into Sandpoint for the festival. I think she's totally right so I've told her that is fine, I will find another way to rope her into the campaign.
She has a small dwelling in the raven roost foothills. I was thinking that she would overhear/see a robed Longshanks (Tsuto, but she won't know that) riding away from Sandpoint up the Lost Coast Road with a bunch of goblins. And could then decide what to do with that information. What I know of her character is that she is a bit cowardly, so it's highly unlikely she would investigate on her own.
I like the idea of different characters starting in different locations with different reasons for joining in, so what does everyone think? Would this work? Is there a better way I could get her into the campaign without the Swallowtail festival?
Someone in the village could mention her tot he PC's as a recluse who 'knows those parts'... but that would be Thistletop, not the Glassworks.
During the Sandpoint raid (and subsequent fights) you could run an 1-on-1 battle between the witch and one lost goblin to keep things interesting (you could roll all initiatives and go round-by-round alternating between her combat and the others) and drive home the point that the goblins pose a threat to the entire area.
Well, since you have a 'reclusive witch' living near Sandpoint, a good hook might be:
"Hey, these goblins were up to something in the graveyard. They had a human with them. I bet that reclusive witch is up to no good. Let's go talk to her! Grab some torches!"
Effectively, let her miss the first session (or let her help run goblins for you!), and then have the townspeople finger her as a suspect. They don't have to be murderous, just suspicious. This gives her a way to find out what happened, and a reason to be involved (to clear her own name). It also gives her an ongoing reason to be involved in the campaign. Once she helps the others out, the town can realize she's not a 'spooky witch' and be more welcoming to her. Even though she might be a bit of a recluse, she might still get pleasure from being appreciated and see the value of a good reputation.
Letting her see Tsuto might advance the plot a little too quickly. If everyone immediately knows to look for goblins north on the Lost Coast Road, they might skip most of the other stuff in town (and get in their heads a little too soon).
On others commenting about her reclusiveness, I appreciate your 'sandbox' sentiments. In a larger sense, however, the players DO have to come up with a reason to be in the campaign. In a completely sandboxed world, someone could just run a wizard in Korvosa and spend his entire life crafting magic items. There are tons of valid character concepts that exist 'in the wild', but people need to pick one that engages with your campaign. I think you've probably already solved this with the player in a way that isn't posted on the thread for everyone to see. My concern would be more: what kind of 'recluse' bands up with a gang of strangers, travels to Magnimar (when she hates cities), Turtleback Ferry, and then into the wilds of Varisia?
It's not that the PC won't be involved. It's that the character concept isn't being maintained. Think of Wolverine in the X-Men. The comics persisted, for years, in portraying him as a moody, irascible loner, when he was participating in one of the most visible, active superhero groups on the planet. He wasn't a 'loner', and acting like he was one was kind of ridiculous.
I make a distinction between 'railroading the players' and 'buying a ticket for the train'.
I don't see this as a problem either, given her background story, the DM can come up with a hook to include the character in the story. The only disadvantage to the player might be that his/her character is not included in the first session. But even that can be arranged by the DM. I would hand the player an NPC for the session, someone who will reappear in future sessions, so there can already be some interaction between the PCs and this NPC.
Letting the players see Tsuto too early would cause serious issues.
You could have Tsuto hiding his appearance when entering the graveyard (hey he does have Rogue levels!).