Best way to introduce a Replacement PC to the Group

[Tormsskull]

Hi everyone,

I've got a replacement PC (Ranger, not sure of race) that is coming into the game to replace the player's previous character that died. The player character died 2 sessions ago, and last session he was unable to attend due to holiday plans.

The situation right now is that the party is tracking down a young black dragon that they previously fought and almost killed before it fled. The group learned that some other adventurers spotted the dragon going into a large hole in the ground.

The group descended into the hole with a grappling hook and discovered an entire underground world, so to speak. The underground world has glowing mushrooms, numerous different types of bugs, a few different terrain types, etc.

I don't really want the new character to be from the underground world because that would give the group far too much information that I am hoping they discover on their own.

Can anyone think of a creative way that I could get this character into the group?

Thanks in advance.

[Tempestorm]

You already said that the group has heard that other adventurers spotted the dragon.

This new indavidual could be a member of an adventuring group that got seperated from his or her ocmpanions and joins with the PC's to track down the dragaon and, hopefuly, find their allies... or the lone survivor of a group that the dragon destroyed.

[Nawtyit]

New character: "Hello, my name is (insert name here) and I see your group has no (whatever your character is good at)."
PCs: "You seem trustworthy. Would you care to join us in our noble quest?"
New character: "Yes. Yes, I would."
DONE!

[Kolokotroni]

Does the ranger have perhaps favored enemy dragon? Perhaps he too is hunting the dragon the party is chasing. Maybe he is a famed dragon hunter that they would love to have around if they are going to follow a dragon into a deep dark hole.

[AndIMustMask]

they meet the party, looking for them--seems a person they helped out scraped the dosh together and hired them as a merc to help the party out for a year or two (they come with a letter from said NPC to back them up).

[Redneckdevil]

Are there spiders down there? The group could find him wrapped up in a web, by being ambushed by several spiders while sleeping nearby and has been wrapped up. He may hab e taken down quite a few of them but got poisened and eventually passed out and the spiders dragged him here and wrapped him up to eat later. He doesn't know where he is but he's thankful for the partys rescue and wants to pay them back.

Overdone? Yes, but it would fit

[Tinalles]

So the problem is the party is in a hole in the ground, and the new PC needs a reason to suddenly appear in that hole in the ground.

1) The PC was formerly a miner who was exploring a vein of precious ore, then got trapped when the shaft collapsed a few days ago, conveniently near the area. Party rescues.

2) Sinkhole! PC was going somewhere else, when the ground opened up and dumped the PC into the party's lap.

3) PC just has a thing for caves. Amateur spelunker maybe.

4) PC is an enthusiastic go-getter working for a fertilizer company, and is scouting the cave as a potential source of bat guano and/or fewmets.

5) PC is addicted to a variety of bio-luminescent moss with no other local source, and is in the cave to get a fix.

[Tormsskull]

Kolokotroni, Redneckdevil, and Tinalles - you guys are on the right track, great suggestions. So far, I like a combination of two of those. PC ranger saw the injured dragon, decided to try to hunt it, was beset by spiders, and is now helplessly wrapped up in a cocoon.

[Brolthemighty]

My most memorable, and one easily adapted to your situation. My PC had died while the group was in a dungeon, descending to a dragon's lair. The next session, they came across a complex in the dungeon that had obviously been used as housing for a garrison of guards. While exploring all of the rooms, they came across more and more signs of a few current inhabitants and started catching snatches of yelling echoing off the stone walls. As they follow the sounds (a skill check of course) they made it to a makeshift camp....complete with my new PC. A naked Dwarf slowly roasting over a fire.

Now that's an entrance. Caught hell for having a charred and mostly gone beard.

[The Crusader]

This is a weird one, and I don't highly recommend it unless other options aren't viable:

Just drop him in like he had always been there. The other PC's know him and know why he's there. He has just been in the background holding the torch (or whatever).

I have done that once with a new player that joined at a time that 'finding someone' just didn't make sense. It is horribly glaring and awkward for the first hour or so, and slightly uncomfortable for the first whole session. By the second, though, you won't notice it quite as much. It's an extreme solution that you should only use if other options aren't available or realistic, and you want to get the player in immediately.