So far I've only skimmed the rest of the chapters beyond the first one, so I had a pretty simple question:
Other than in The Heroes of Undarin, would it be disruptive to have some of the PCs repeat characters?
We have two healers so we could transport those characters to Affair at Sombrefell Hall, and our party Ranger could appear in In Pale Mountain's Shadow.
Would this cause any major disruptions?
For Affair at Sombrefall you need the whole party to heal. Two clerics who can channel positive energy then the rest as Paladins, Divine Sorcerers, Bards or Druid. It’s not that the party would wipe without healers (well, they may) but in that chapter they are specifically testing those healing mechanics.
Yep, that's my point, could I port the healing Sorc and Bard from The Lost Star to Affair at Sombrefell Hall?
Yep, that's my point, could I port the healing Sorc and Bard from The Lost Star to Affair at Sombrefell Hall?
The players could clone those PCs, but are limited to the section's build rules and not limited by any choices they'd made. So as long as there was no mechanical impact, including death, I don't think the story impact matters. (From several DD perusals.)
It'd be odd though since all their non-healer buddies would be gone.
As long as they do not die in Heroes of Undarin, you can have the party "split up" and some of them showing up for side adventures, with the whole group coming together for "important missions" in part 4 and 7.
Just make sure you introduce character creation by explaining clearly what the focus is and which characters CAN return. Players might appreciate their character taking a sort of leading role and tying the adventure together, but should know that they won't be able to do that at all times.
Make sure, however, that you introduce Heroes of Undarin as dedicated crusaders who spent their life fighting the horrors of the Worldwound and thus cannot be their original characters.
The primary heroes are required to have the background in the adventure, those backgrounds are not available to characters for the other chapters. You'll also run into trouble with the assumed wealth. Primary characters get to carry forward loot, they don't from the other chapters. Assuming everyone survives, they could end up with far more stuff than expected without careful management.
For the record, I'm allowing any of my players the option of using their same character in subsequent portions if they fit the requirements for that.
The background skills are pretty insignificant at higher levels. The amount of loot you get in each section is pretty insignificant as well.
On the other hand, a player playing a character over and over again gives that player a certain comfort and confidence in said character which I think is important to playtesting the rules rather than player's ability to adapt to new rules. For me, I think that leads to more meaningful data. YMMV.
For the record, I'm allowing any of my players the option of using their same character in subsequent portions if they fit the requirements for that.
The background skills are pretty insignificant at higher levels. The amount of loot you get in each section is pretty insignificant as well.
On the other hand, a player playing a character over and over again gives that player a certain comfort and confidence in said character which I think is important to playtesting the rules rather than player's ability to adapt to new rules. For me, I think that leads to more meaningful data. YMMV.
Yep, that's gonna be what I do.
Plus, it's gonna be really epic when a battle-scarred Paladin from Undarin shows up for the last bit when everyone thought they were dead.