WotBS Torrent and other NPC's in WotBS

Dracomaxis

First Post

• Feb 14, 2010

• #1

Hi, I was wondering how all of the other DM's are handeling Torrent and the other NPC's that come along into the party and "adventure" with them. While my party does seem to be disfunctional at times and needs the help from the NPC's I feel that it is bad to add more characters into the mix for Exp reasons.

Also, this is a question for EN publishing. Are Torrent and say Haddin and Crystal supposed to be apart of the encounters when say they are being ambushed? Or are they supposed to sit back and cower in fear or simply run away. I know that the book "says" that I should refrain from using them, but still if they are there, am I supposed to attack them or stay away and have a little island of saftey near them where the monsters will refrain from attacking near.

Thanks

 

log in or register to remove this ad

Morrus

Well, that was fun

Staff member

• Feb 14, 2010

• #2

They're supposed to be whatever you want them to be. If your party needs the help, use them if you wish.

Bear in mind that WotBS isn't going to hold your hand throughout the saga like the WotC adventure modules do. It's designed for more experienced DMs who are comfortable with making these choices. It's a saga of complex NPC motives and relationships, and every game will be different. Some of those NPCs have character arcs of their own which span the saga.

In my own game, I choose to hand out the NPC stat blocks to the players - the players control them in combat, while I roleplay them in other situations. They can choose to have the NPCs join in the fight or not depending on whether they need them and whether they feel their need equals their desire to not share XP with them. That may or may not work for everyone, though - it suits my own playstyle just fine.

In short - do whatever you feel most comfortable with. I'm sure that other DMs can share the ways they've done things, too.

 

Daern

Explorer

• Feb 14, 2010

• #3

I've kept it to just Torrent through the #2 module. I have also made up a "companion" stat block and allowed the players to control her in battle. I don't really have xp concerns, but I am planning to continue to limit the amount of npc riders through the campaign, mostly because I tend to forget about them and they clutter up the fights. For instance, it has worked really well to transfer all the Cristin's "visions" in the Fire Forest to a PC.

 

Dracomaxis

First Post

• Feb 15, 2010

• #4

Morrus said:

They're supposed to be whatever you want them to be. If your party needs the help, use them if you wish.

Click to expand...

Thanks, this is exactly what i was hoping for my second question. I especially like the idea of having the players control the npc's during battles, less work for me to do in the end.

 

B

Bercilak

Explorer

• Feb 16, 2010

• #5

I used Torrent as an active party member through the first module. I only have 4 players, so the extra NPC (especially a healing NPC) let me get away with not adjusting the Encounter Levels. However, having three NPCs in in the Forest is a bit more unwieldy. And, the players have now gotten used to Torrent's help, so every time she is "protecting the other NPCs," the PCs mock her. I like the addition of the NPCs for down time, when there's a chance to role-play a bit more, but the NPCs are kind of a pain in combat. (Especially since the PCs know that Crystin and Hadden are not completely useless.)

My only real beef with the NPCs is that I don't really know which of them has a character arc of his/her own, so I'm not entirely sure who could reasonably die.

I do like Morrus's idea of letting the players decide when, and if, they enter combat to balance party needs versus XP penalties. (Of course too little XP means the PCs wind up at the wrong level for certain encounters, and then I have to create the encounters to help balance them...)
--Berc

 

Daern

Explorer

• Feb 16, 2010

• #6

Three NPCs definitely seemed too much and I'm glad I didn't push that. My problem now is that my 5 pc party has an extra heal-bot. However, she has generally been a good foil for pcs. I am looking forward to RPing Tiljann as well, though perhaps I will have her ask to come along either. To think, WOTBS 3 accounts for 4 extra npcs! I'm sure it works for some, but I'd rather avoid it.

 

S

SkaSaxGuy

First Post

• Feb 18, 2010

• #7

I am also somewhat running into this problem with Torrent throughout the first few encounters.

Our group is on the larger side (6 regular players, one "guest") and I started with having Torrent just hang back and letting the PCs shine. When it came time for Torrent to nudge them, her opinion wasn't taken seriously because she wasn't pulling her weight.

I may let another player run her in combat (although I have several new players so I'm a bit hesitant to do that).

 

Morrus

Well, that was fun

Staff member

• Feb 18, 2010

• #8

SkaSaxGuy said:

I am also somewhat running into this problem with Torrent throughout the first few encounters.

Our group is on the larger side (6 regular players, one "guest") and I started with having Torrent just hang back and letting the PCs shine. When it came time for Torrent to nudge them, her opinion wasn't taken seriously because she wasn't pulling her weight.

I may let another player run her in combat (although I have several new players so I'm a bit hesitant to do that).

Click to expand...

Perhaps you should consider dropping her? After the initial encounter in the Poison Apple, any info she has can easily be given out in other ways.

 

B

Bercilak

Explorer

• Feb 19, 2010

• #9

I switched Torrent to a companion NPC using the stats posted on these forums by...somebody smart whose handle I don't remember right now. I gave control of her to one of the players for combat purposes, and explained that if she influenced the fight by changing hp values or providing bonuses, she would count as a PC for purposes of dividing the XP. While my players initially whined about her not pulling her weight, when I made them make the choice about making the fight easier or getting more XP, she suddenly guarded the rear (i.e. did nothing) without any complaints. In fact, the players have even been developing her personality a bit as she chafes about constantly having to protect Crystin and her grumpy old father.

 

Zinovia

Explorer

• Feb 20, 2010

• #10

Keeping in mind that I started before the official 4E version came out, I ended up removing Torrent altogether. The information was imparted by a different NPC who didn't go with them, with one of the players adding some more.

I didn't want them to have 3 or 4 NPC's hanging out with the group by the time they got through the fire forest. That seemed a bit excessive. Crystin and Haddin came along, and Haddin got himself killed off along the way after having suitably annoyed the PC's with his generally aggravating ways. Crystin went to the Lyceum with the party. Tiljann stayed in the woods and took the tree-sword thingy.

So the people they wound up bringing to Seaquen were Katrina and Crystin, but none of the rest. I will likewise reduce or eliminate NPC's tagging along with the party in future adventures as well, unless I feel some overwhelming need to have a character with them as a guide. If I do, I'll make it a companion NPC so it's easy and quick to run.