Is this a good idea? *my player stay out*

[ZSutherland]

My group and I have just started a new Arcana Evolved campaign taking place in the game's Diamond Throne setting. The characters are all human and level 3. IC, they are cousins and each members of middle-class merchant families. They adventure to avoid the drudgery of mercantile life.

Enton (Bear Totem Warrior) - played by my younger brother who is very new to gaming. The character is a pretty stereotypical fighter for a new player. He made a spectacular newb mistake last night by charging into a room where 4 kobolds were standing around examining a gem unaware of the PCs. He one-shots one of the kobolds, and the others proceed to drop their spears and sob pitifully about their fallen companion before demanding recompense of the large and edible variety. He felt pretty bad about it.

Xorn (Magister) - played by a long-time friend of mine and the most seasoned gamer. He's the least into the "role-playing" aspect of gaming, but more into it than he lets on. Very tactically minded and he's always enjoyed the challenge of a caster's limited resources.

Ada (Wood Witch) - played by my wife. She's nearly as seasoned as Xorn's player, but she focuses more on the IC aspects of play and less on rules and character maximization.

My typical campaign strategy is to start the PCs off with a fairly light adventure, usually a short dungeon crawl, that introduces the epic nature of the campaign. From there on out, it's usually them against the campaign's villian (via his lackeys of course) and the rest of the game world is little more than back-drop for their struggle. This time, I want to try something different. The PCs did set off the main story arch last night, but they don't know that yet. Instead of having it jump up immediately, I'd like to give it a few sessions to pick up steam. I'd like to drop some hints that something is going on during those sessions, but mostly occupy them with other things.

Right now, what I have in mind is to do a 3-part series. Each part (roughly one session I hope) will focus on one of the characters and give them some room and spot-light time to flesh out their characters' personalities and backgrounds a bit. I intend to start with Xorn and send the PCs into a ruin from the original dramojh invasion to recover a magister's staff that has some minor magical properties but is mostly just an historical artifact. I'd like to use the adventure to point out some non-casting facets of being a magister, such as "magic is a powerful tool, but real power comes from knowledge, wisdom, and understanding." I'd also like to include some obstacles that require magister abilities (easy since he's the only one who has complex spells and all knowledge skills) to overcome.

The second part is where I get a little hesitant. My wife has been playing in my games for years now, and we've always just treated her characters (all female) as one of the guys as it regards social custom of the game world. I'd actually like to take the opportunity to explore some notions about female characters in a pseudo-medival game world. I discussed it with her, using pretty vague terms so as not to give anything away, and she was interested in a story that involved some romance and the notion of arranged marriage. What I have in mind is for her parents to announce that they've arranged her marriage to the son of a wealthy merchant (for a dowry of course). I would need to make it clear that such a marriage would put a stop to her adventuring days, but I want to present it in such a way that she actually has to make a hard choice, so her husband-to-be will have to be appealing enough to accomplish that. I'll actually let her make the choice. If she marries him, she can retire the character but we can certainly keep her around as an NPC. If she doesn't, she'll have to deal with the ramifications of that decision.

So, onto questions. 1) What would sensible ramifications be if she chooses not to marry the guy? 2) Other than making her betrothed dashingly handsome and incredibly likeable, how can I pressure the decision (such as family pressure or the weight of social custom)? 3) How can I spread the "awkward situation" love around to the other characters, who are her family members but also her friends? 4) Is this just a really horrible idea to begin with? 5) Does anyone have any stellar ideas about what to do with part 3 when I focus on my brother's totem-warrior? He's a bit of a munchkin at this point, but I think that's mostly due to not being familiar with the concept or how much he can stretch creatively inside his character.

 

[arscott]

1) Well, presumably the family gets something out of the marriage, or they wouldn't arrange one in the first place. Figure out what the family is getting out of this arrangement. Then figure out what will happen, to the party and to the family, if they don't get that benefit. Then figure out exactly how mad/dissapointed/etc. that's going to make the family members, and how they're likely to react.

2) I think the best way to fully illustrate the gravity of the choice is to not present it as a choice at all. Railroad enough that it's slightly annoying. Make it clear that it's not just the NPCs in the game that expect her to get married--It's the game itself.

In terms of a campaign choice, not getting married is like a paladin becoming chaotic. It's not evil, it's not going to wreck the game, but it's going to raise some eyebrows, and it means that things will never be the same for the character.

3) Well, if they're friends, they're great go-betweens when direct appeals aren't working. They're definately going to be pressured to take a side, and they're going to seriously annoy people if they choose the wrong one. Plus, whatever ill fortunes the family undergoes as a result of the broken arrangement are going to affect everyone in the family. They're especially going to affect those members of the family nearest to the Ada, and those that took her side.

4) No. It sounds like fun, your wife seems receptive to the idea, and even if it works out poorly, it's going to be just one session. If worst comes to worst, you chalk it up as a failed experiment and go on with the campaign.

5) I'm not that familiar with the AU/AE classes. Is there a mystical aspect to the totem warrior? Would a vision quest or similarly spiritual adventure be appropriate? If he, as a player, needs to make discoveries about himself, then having his character go on a quest to make similar discoveries might facilitate that.

 

[Piratecat]

Make the potential husband-to-be a really, really nasty secret bad guy. That way when she spurns him, she doesn't have to feel guilty about it later.

For extra rat bastard points, make him a bad guy because she spurns him.

 

[Aristeas]

Well, you know these people better than I do, but:

1) If her parents have given their word that she'll marry the man, and she doesn't, there can be all sorts of ramifications of the broken promise. If they signed a paper contract the spurned suitor might sue them. Even if they didn't, they've likely made an enemy, and since you conveniently made him a wealthy and influential merchant, he's an enemy who could make things very difficult for them financially and socially.
2) Honestly, I doubt it's going to matter what other incentives you provide. You've offered her the option of a quiet life of luxury, and you've established bad consequences for her family if she declines. If those two things are enough to make her feel that the character would quit adventuring, she will, and if they aren't nothing else will be either. You want to avoid piling on the pressure, because it'll just feel like railroading.
3) This is going to be a problem. You described both of the other players as combat-and-tactics focused, meaning they're going to be bored out of their gourds by an entire adventure focusing on somebody else's arranged marriage. I would either a) have some fightable evil afoot across town for them to deal with, which involves them in the betrothal story because they want their healer for an adventure and she's got other things on her mind (which also makes the tension between adventuring and the quiet life more concrete in her head), or b) have something be not-quite-right about the suitor and have the other two be investigating it.
4) I'd be wary of it. I'd be miffed if a DM pulled this particular plot device on any of my female characters. True, you did ask her if she was interested in a plot about arranged marriage, but that's a plot about marriage is one thing and an entire adventure about pressuring her to retire is another, especially when it occurs in a three-part series where the two male characters get exciting plot things. But then, as a rule I go out of my way to avoid sexism as a plot device in roleplaying. In my experience it always turns out cliche, and nobody really enjoys dealing with it, and it's easy enough to say that in this fantasy world, women are just treated as people. Unhistorical, but so are dragons.
5) Not sure. I'd consider something relating to his totem spirit and his relationship with it, and explore his connection to the spirit world a bit.

 

[moritheil]

It seems that you should get the players' okay (in vague terms) so that if they get bored, at least you had their consent to do this.

I'm a little curious as to why charging in and dropping a kobold in one blow was an extremely bad mistake to make. Do you require that your PCs be good-aligned and non-xenophobic?

 

[arscott]

Make the potential husband-to-be a really, really nasty secret bad guy. That way when she spurns him, she doesn't have to feel guilty about it later.

For extra rat bastard points, make him a bad guy because she spurns him.

I dunno. That's a little bit cliché.

If you want real rat bastardism, you've got to make him a good guy. It makes the choice much harder initially, and he can come back later as an important ally to the party, but someone who's still very bitter.

 

[diaglo]

how's your english lit collection?

Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Persuasion, and Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

or Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte


i'd make the guy a total aristocrat who spends money like water. he needs to marry to cover some debts. his collectors are banging on the door to get the dowry.

 

[ZSutherland]

Well, you know these people better than I do, but:

1) If her parents have given their word that she'll marry the man, and she doesn't, there can be all sorts of ramifications of the broken promise. If they signed a paper contract the spurned suitor might sue them. Even if they didn't, they've likely made an enemy, and since you conveniently made him a wealthy and influential merchant, he's an enemy who could make things very difficult for them financially and socially.

True. What I have in mind for the benefit to both families is this. The husband-to-be's family owns several river and coastal shipping vessels as well as a shipping company. Her parents run a manufacturing group of some sort (nice rugs, silversmithing, etc.) The husband's-to-be's family gets a substantial dowry (I was thinking 10k gold since it's out of the PCs price range at the moment, but could make for an interesting few adventures if she decides not to marry and wants to pay her family back) and the knowledge that their sons holdings will be impressively enhanced later when he inherits her parents business. Her family gets a cut-rate deal on shipping their merchandise to the other major markets and the knowledge that the business they've worked hard to create will stay in the family.

2) Honestly, I doubt it's going to matter what other incentives you provide. You've offered her the option of a quiet life of luxury, and you've established bad consequences for her family if she declines. If those two things are enough to make her feel that the character would quit adventuring, she will, and if they aren't nothing else will be either. You want to avoid piling on the pressure, because it'll just feel like railroading.

This is a good point. I think other than making the suitor a very likeable character and conveying these points clearly, nothing else is really required.

3) This is going to be a problem. You described both of the other players as combat-and-tactics focused, meaning they're going to be bored out of their gourds by an entire adventure focusing on somebody else's arranged marriage. I would either a) have some fightable evil afoot across town for them to deal with, which involves them in the betrothal story because they want their healer for an adventure and she's got other things on her mind (which also makes the tension between adventuring and the quiet life more concrete in her head), or b) have something be not-quite-right about the suitor and have the other two be investigating it.

The main plot line will continue to evolve over the course of the series, and this session will be a great place for it to develop since they will be in their hometown with no other traditional adventuring to do. A few encounters with a couple of key NPCs and maybe an attack or two by hired thugs.

4) I'd be wary of it. I'd be miffed if a DM pulled this particular plot device on any of my female characters. True, you did ask her if she was interested in a plot about arranged marriage, but that's a plot about marriage is one thing and an entire adventure about pressuring her to retire is another, especially when it occurs in a three-part series where the two male characters get exciting plot things. But then, as a rule I go out of my way to avoid sexism as a plot device in roleplaying. In my experience it always turns out cliche, and nobody really enjoys dealing with it, and it's easy enough to say that in this fantasy world, women are just treated as people. Unhistorical, but so are dragons.

I'm approaching it with caution, but I talked to her about it a second time and was more detailed. She is now more interested than before. I pointed out that I was a) concerned it might be viewed as a social contract issue or b) that she'd just look at me and say "Well, I'm not getting married so what are we doing tonight?" She said it's not a social contract issue as long as the choice is hers, but that it sounded like a really fun role-playing opportunity, so she certainly wouldn't skip it to go poking around in a dank dungeon. I specifically came up with this plot device for her because she's the group's role-player. She likes her characterization with a healthy helping of situational conundrum. However, can anyone think of a good way to mix the flavor of her witchery into the mix? As for sexism, I don't see it. The young man in question doesn't really have any more choice in the matter than she does.

I'm a little curious as to why charging in and dropping a kobold in one blow was an extremely bad mistake to make. Do you require that your PCs be good-aligned and non-xenophobic?

If you're not familiar with The Diamond Throne setting, kobolds aren't a true-breeding race there. They are the asexually produced off-spring of mojh (one of the PC races). Also, AU is a game with no alignments and my other players have learned at this point not to recklessly attack humanoids of any sort if they aren't familiar with them or if they don't pose an immediate threat (plus their scared of kobolds). I didn't mechanically punish him for his mistake, but I used the kobolds' antics to embarrass him a bit, and used it OOCly after the game as a good example of AU/AE's moral ambivalence and that we weren't just running a hack-n-loot game.

Make the potential husband-to-be a really, really nasty secret bad guy. That way when she spurns him, she doesn't have to feel guilty about it later.

For extra rat bastard points, make him a bad guy because she spurns him.

Actually, I'm with arscott on this one. I was thinking of making him an Aristocrat2/Unfettered1 and, depending on how she avoids the marriage if she does, he abandons his familial responsibilities to further develop his swashbuckling and eventually becomes an occassional ally as he tries to win her in a way that she'll find more appealing.

 

[Piratecat]

I dunno. That's a little bit cliché.

If you want real rat bastardism, you've got to make him a good guy. It makes the choice much harder initially, and he can come back later as an important ally to the party, but someone who's still very bitter.

I think it may depend on what you're trying to accomplish. I recently finished a plot line where the person commited to be married to a PC really was a nice person, just as you described, so probably my view of what's clichéd is a little skewed. When I considered the nice guy approach, my first thought was "well, I've done that..."

The challenge, of course, is having the potential spouse by a good guy while not removing the PC from play. Interesting plot. The idea of him abandoning his family responsibilities is a great one.

 

[diaglo]

Actually, I'm with arscott on this one. I was thinking of making him an Aristocrat2/Unfettered1 and, depending on how she avoids the marriage if she does, he abandons his familial responsibilities to further develop his swashbuckling and eventually becomes an occassional ally as he tries to win her in a way that she'll find more appealing.

this just screams Cohort with the leadership feat for your wife's PC...