How does the party gel?

[Matthew Trent]

So I’m prepping to run this in the new year and trying to figure out how the party is supposed to come together.

Are they all expected to have the same patron? If not why is Orcboss judging the merits of the Apis consortium rep in combination with the reps from New Thasalon and a yoski merchant caravaner?

It is weird to me that they are even considered a party by the npcs, who ask them to go hunting as a group. Am I missing something?

[UpliftedBearBramble]

Throughout the adventure Ardax, or 'Orc Boss' judges the players as if they are a single group for combined efforts even if they don't don't fully culminate at the torrentmoot, and going further down the AP their patron and representation is mentioned once by him with no guarantee other than his word and no formal agreement in exchange for their complete and unwavering loyalty to him.

The element of unifying the players has to be something they decide for themselves, as the adventure depends on them being a group. It's left entirely up to DM and players if they are from different backgrounds, as the module and player's guide only give options and present the events to be handled. At some point they will realize they can't do it alone, and while NPCs like Dovarr, Kestrel, and Grothlyn are willing to help them the players are the driving force of the narrative.

My personal thoughts::

Having read the whole of the adventure path it's never mentioned again, nor is any deal struck even if they do have patrons. Book 3's conclusions focuses on Tar Bahpon and divinity, which don't concern the PCs at all if they take Orc Boss's offer of advisor with no guarantee of their personal safety. Belkzen remains unsafe due to wildlife alone, and there is no infrastructure of roads to facilitate the basis of trade or such a network. This is made apparent in Book 1 and 2. Ardax's speech for everyone to stick together will come to late, and he will immediately abandon the caravan to it's fate shortly after.

[Dragonchess Player]

There is definitely some strong meta-game pressure for the PCs to act as a coherent party instead of a diverse collection of "diplomats" for different nations/groups*. The GM should definitely: 1) Emphasize that the PCs' sponsors want to build better relations with/within Belkzen and 2) hold a "session 0" where the PCs get to know each other (and hopefully build some bonds between characters. The players should definitely take into consideration that the characters are diplomatic representatives and not some random "adventurer" during the creation process.

However, this is something better suited for individual GMs and their players to handle, rather than heavy-handed "railroading" within the AP. The GM/players will know the details of the individual characters much better than an AP written without a specific "party composition" in mind.

The AP does, in fact, supply that "railroading" as the "traditional" diplomatic mission is interrupted by undead hordes and other events. However, the PCs helping save Belkzen is probably the best way to accomplish their original mission of establishing a favorable relationship.

*- although orc diplomacy may include "elements" of negotiation that may not be common elsewhere...