About Torrent and company...
Sorry_Charry
First Post
AM, I'm running the 3.5 version of the game, just finished Scouring, and have just started Indomitable. I have run into similar NPC-laden situations. They weren't hard to manage, and didn't hamper the game.
I handled Torrent in the first adventure as sort of a Resistance 'big wig'. It was her job to recruit the party for the snatch n' grab / courier gig... but not much else. I used her in the first few encounters (since she was still present), but very little after that.
I even had her stay in Gate Pass after when the party made good their escape (citing responsibilities to the city under siege).
Crystin and Haddin pose another problem. As it's likely that any party worth their salt will try to lug these two through the Indomitable Fire Forest. I've seen many of the posts here on the boards say that outright murder was the solution for Haddin, but I'm not sure the players I'm with will make that leap... at least until I force the issue with Haddin's dirty tricks.
At best, I expect them to run him off... not kill him.
To force the point, I've already had him charm the party's mage (into keeping quiet after he had determined that Crystin was under some sort of magical compulsion). Eventually, that will come back to bite Haddin I'm sure.
I've also decided that Haddin will be a vocal supporter of Kazyk's offer, as he would be the most likely to make a bargain with the devil. That's sure to strain his welcome in the party (they really are a bunch of do-gooders).
Crystin is another story, entirely. I am using psionics in the 3.5 game, so, rather than keep her as a sorcerer... I have statted her as a psion (seer).
But a character level does not an adventurer make.
In my game, she is still largely a scared and ineffective combatant. Sure, she'll get glimpses of the future when it's dramatically appropriate, but she will be the damsel in distress for the better part of Indomitable. When (if) she and her father make it to Seaquen... they will settle into whatever sort of life awaits them there (now that being said, I'm absolutely positive that Haddin's treacherous ways will not go unaddressed for the entire adventure... so sometime during the fire forest, I expect things to come to a head).
Amphimir Míriel
Explorer
Thanks Sorry_Charry, those were some good ideas... I think I'll follow your example for the most part, although I think Torrent will die heroically at the end of Scouring...
A question for Ranger Wicket et. al... does the Adventure suffer much if Torrent doesn't make to Seaquen? How about Haddin and/or Crystin?
A question for Ranger Wicket et. al... does the Adventure suffer much if Torrent doesn't make to Seaquen? How about Haddin and/or Crystin?
Haddin got a boot to the head without ever joining my party and no one cared, least of all the game plot.
Torrent being dead makes things a bit "interesting" since the villain of adventure #3 is related to her and, possibly worse, the party might not know anyone at all in Seaquen without her. On the other hand, she can easily leave the party to take care of other things once the heroes are introduced in Seaquen.
Crystin being dead stops her from dropping in with plot-related visions later, and also probably makes the party feel bad since she's cute. There's a note as to the fact that she still can drop visions on the party via just being a Trillith that looks exactly like her, but 'eh.
Torrent being dead makes things a bit "interesting" since the villain of adventure #3 is related to her and, possibly worse, the party might not know anyone at all in Seaquen without her. On the other hand, she can easily leave the party to take care of other things once the heroes are introduced in Seaquen.
Crystin being dead stops her from dropping in with plot-related visions later, and also probably makes the party feel bad since she's cute. There's a note as to the fact that she still can drop visions on the party via just being a Trillith that looks exactly like her, but 'eh.
Orryn Emrys
Explorer
I'm running the 3.5 version with a party of seven.
I never treat NPCs as "DMPCs"... but I do inject enough personality and perspective into them to give them weight. Torrent contributed in combat where appropriate, though I made sure to keep her contibutions fairly minimal and used her as support where possible (healing and such). Of course, with that big axe, if she's near an enemy she's gonna swing.
Torrent is still around, and an ally, and interacts with the PCs some when they're in Seaquen, but she hasn't traveled with the group since they first arrived there. (We're now in adventure #7.)
Haddin became too dangerous to keep around, and the party's rogue (who is now an assassin) took him out quietly in the Fire Forest. Crystin is an ally who later became a love interest for one of the PCs, but doesn't travel with them either.
I use XP, but will level NPCs "behind the scenes" if they're away from the party for a while and would best serve the plot at a higher level.
Torrent and Crystin, and later Three Weeping Ravens, are simply part of the expanding support cast which makes the game so much more dynamic. My players are very character-oriented and spend a lot of time (both in game and in specially-arranged situations outside the game) roleplaying, and the army of NPCs provides a means for their influence and knowledge to consistently spread beyond the scope of any given adventure... They're worth keeping around.
I never treat NPCs as "DMPCs"... but I do inject enough personality and perspective into them to give them weight. Torrent contributed in combat where appropriate, though I made sure to keep her contibutions fairly minimal and used her as support where possible (healing and such). Of course, with that big axe, if she's near an enemy she's gonna swing.
Torrent is still around, and an ally, and interacts with the PCs some when they're in Seaquen, but she hasn't traveled with the group since they first arrived there. (We're now in adventure #7.)
Haddin became too dangerous to keep around, and the party's rogue (who is now an assassin) took him out quietly in the Fire Forest. Crystin is an ally who later became a love interest for one of the PCs, but doesn't travel with them either.
I use XP, but will level NPCs "behind the scenes" if they're away from the party for a while and would best serve the plot at a higher level.
Torrent and Crystin, and later Three Weeping Ravens, are simply part of the expanding support cast which makes the game so much more dynamic. My players are very character-oriented and spend a lot of time (both in game and in specially-arranged situations outside the game) roleplaying, and the army of NPCs provides a means for their influence and knowledge to consistently spread beyond the scope of any given adventure... They're worth keeping around.
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