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Message: <blockquote data-quote="KidSnide" data-source="post: 5663447" data-attributes="member: 54710">I've done a number of things kind of like what you describe, but I'd agree with the general advice that this particular approach doesn't sound ideal.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Handing out NPCs for players to play for a session is a very useful technique.  It lets you put the camera on an interaction that is important to the story, but doesn't involve all the PCs, and it's a fun way to let the players pilot different race/class combinations.    That said, it is important to let the players play their characters.  Playing alternate characters is a fun change from a regular game, but players mostly want to play their characters.  Starting off playing alternates for the first 4 out of 5 sessions is too much, too soon. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Playing out a scene that happened a long time ago can also be good fun, but it can also be deadly boring.  Because the scene has already happened, the players know that they aren't changing anything (barring some strange time mechanics).  Because there is no "effect" at stake, it is important that the prologue scene provide a crap load of information.  Presumably, some of that information will be about the character (which is a lot more interesting after you've adventured with the character for a while), but you will engage the other players more if you provide useful, actionable information on the current game.    So, I'd say that - if you want to have these prologue adventures - do them later, once the characters are established.  And time those adventures so you can provide useful information about an existing setting/problem/situation that the players care about. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">As a lighter-weight alternative, may I suggest dividing your group in half and running a pair of short sessions in which subsets of the party meet and have some sort of formative experience together?  That way, the players get some extra spotlight on their first adventure (because they have to share it with fewer other players) and some relationships already exist when the party meets as a whole.    As an added bonus, this approach takes a lot less work than designing a formative adventure for each PC.</li> </ul>-KS</blockquote>

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