Creating a fourth player

[Rapida]

Hello I seek seom help in a small problem I have. The problem being that I only have 3 players, and I was planning on taking them through CotSQ. Since I don't want to weaken every encounter they meet I figured I needed to give them some help. Since I can't find another player in this small town I wanted to give them an npc ally in game. The problem with that is I can't be bothered to roleplay it and the npcs they meet. Plus my players are prone to take any advice a npc party member gives them as the dm telling them waht to do. I don't like that so I decided to give them a construct npc. That is the problem though I'm not sure how to balance it. I thought maybe I could give them a level 8 fighter warforged (I would call it a lesser shield guardian). Then give it the wealth of a level 8 npc fighter. Then give the control of it to the wizard player, but let any of them control it in combat. The reason I posted was to get any advice on an alternative situation. Any advice? oh yeah sorry if my thoughts came out garbled, my mind is a chaotic place and all of this came directly from it without me organizing it (good luck )

[XCorvis]

That sounds perfectly reasonable. However, as an alternative, you could make the PCs gestalt charactes.

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/cl...Characters.htm

[Rapida]

I offered that solution to them and they didn't want to do it.

[Blade of Desecration]

Well, do you think you can handle a DMPC? Its actually pretty easy to play one, so long as you don't play favorites with yourself. Plus, it can sometimes allow you to introduce plot hooks you couldn't in another way. Just make a backup-type character, like a bard or buffing druid.

[Mr_GrinReaper]

^
|
|
|
|
That works very well. ^^

[Nightcloak]

Just to throw out an alternate solution, matbe you could run them through a mini-adventure to get them to a higher level to start with. A Prequel of sorts. You also may want to introducr action or hero points, as it allows for second chances - something needed for CotSQ I hear

[derbacher]

If they don't want to gestalt and you don't want a DM PC, then Nightcloak has the best advice. Just keep them about 1.5 to two levels above the CR and everything should prove challenging but do-able. I did this for three years with a small group (although I was running 1st edition AD&D at the time, so CRs were not thought of yet). When I taught 3.x to my kids, we did the same thing for the two of them and it worked out great. The Sunless Citidel was our training ground, and they got through it without loss of life at level two and three.

-----
Mission continues.

[themind]

Another idea would be Weapons of Legacy. This book is just awesome.

A Weapon of Legacy could give them a little more edge that could help fill in the gap of missing player. And the beuaty is, it doesn't have to be a weapon, any item could be used for a legacy.

[Mr_GrinReaper]

Sounds like an interesting idea up there, yea. Get them up a little higher before facing the real adventure, and I do like the action/hero points Idea, especially with the useful feats that then could be options, like the ones from Ebberon


Weapons of legacy? Never heard of it.

~
GrinReaper
"The Counterattack"

[themind]

It's a new book by WotC.


Weapons of Legacy

[Aust Diamondew]

Just make each PC 1 or 2 levels higher that should easily compensate for the lack of a fourth player.