I've got 2 new players coming in. I had a character die.
So I've got 3 new characters coming in during Book 1 during the scout the forest section.
The Phaendar NPCs are all known and none of these new characters are from that pool.
Does anybody have a good way to keep logically bring in new characters? Not just these 3 but in the future as well if necessary. Have they really just "been in the forest" this whole time? I was hoping for something more clever.
You may need to be selective about what info they have, so as not to spoil any of the surprises in Book 2. On the other hand, there is a hook lacking at the beginning of the Book 2 (getting the PCs to Fort Ristin), so maybe a PCs' backstory can be useful in this regard?
there's other villages which were hit by the Invasion.
There's outlying farms which are full of people who are running from the Ironfang.
There are people in the woods.
There are people coming to Phaendar - there's a bridge to town after all.
Lots of ways to bring in new PCs.
Are you just saying there's other villages or are they stated?
Aren't the roads blocked, which would not only keep PCs in but others out?
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there's other villages which were hit by the Invasion.
There's outlying farms which are full of people who are running from the Ironfang.
There are people in the woods.
There are people coming to Phaendar - there's a bridge to town after all.
Lots of ways to bring in new PCs.
Are you just saying there's other villages or are they stated?
Aren't the roads blocked, which would not only keep PCs in but others out?
people go around roads blocks all the time. just duck in the woods out of sight of the Molthunis, walk for a few miles, get back to the road. boom. done.
Maybe you can't get refugees out that way, but a few adventurous types (a.k.a. these new characters) would certainly be up for the challenge.
There's other towns nearby - an elven settlement is just a few miles away from Phaendar. And there's always farms around - those farmers are going to run from the Ironfang just like the townsfolk of Phaendar.
As the poster above said, there's rangers in the woods ... and even if these new PCs aren't actual rangers, those rangers need other people to help them out with stuff, they have families, trade relations, etc..
Like I said, there's lots of ways to bring in new PCs of almost any stripe imaginable.
Depends on where you have a death; you could have your player's create a backup character that is part of your refugee band from the beginning.
I've had my character's meet a variety of people in the forest that could have become characters. I kept Gilida alive. Vardalel Prennder. Cireo. There could be prisoners at any of the forts that were rangers. If you are in book 2 then the small towns on the Nesmian plains that are getting sacked could have escapees. Adventurers from Tamran sent to investigate what's going on. I had Novvi the underdark trade show up with a significant retinue. Perhaps someone from below is interested in joining the cause. Lots of possibilities.
They can also just be from Phaender. Edran managed to escape on his own. They just had to have been in a different part of the town, probably closer to the bridge, and probably made it across before the original PCs blew it. You could have all 3 new PCs escape together, perhaps even with another NPC refugee or two. They have just been doing their best to survive, same as the main party.
Another idea: they might not have initially escaped Phaender, but escaped the slave pens, barely. Their equipment will probably be limited to what they took off a Legion soldier they killed on the way out, but so is most of the equipment the party has at this point.
If cleverly disguised & applied a new PC could also be Molthuni, but it is probably easier to pull off once the later books (3-6) have been reached. Either a defector who has taken issue with Molthune's morale handling of the Ironfang Presence. Or as a Molthuni operative sent to investigate the truth of this new threat, even if it means teaming up with a ragtag group of Nirmathi rebels.
It's important to remember that Molthune as a whole is really not objectively evil. Much of the historical conflict is perspective and misinterpretation.