D&D 5E Running Rime of the Frost Maiden

[Paul Farquhar]

Phandelver is explicitly a "first time playing" adventure. Anything after that first time requires at least a little more consideration by the GM for how the party comes to be a party. "Hired to guard the caravan" is the thinnest, weakest "background" this side of "pressed into service by the Flaming Fist."

For my part, I am going to have the PCs all connected to different towns and know people in each of them so that when they go there, there's a real reason for them to care about things happening. I am also starting the PCs off at 3rd level so they will have a bit of "heroic mystique" about them, so there's a reason for locals to ask for help.

The thing is, there is no reason for the PCs to know each other, or even be in the same town. And none of the starting quests involve recruiting a group of disparate individuals to do X. They all start off by assuming the PCs are already a group, but the quests are too low level for them to already be a group, unless everyone in the party already shares a backstory.

 

[MarkB]

What it lacks, from what I have read so far, is a mechanic for bringing the PCs together as a group. I'm not planning on running it for several months yet, but I guess I will have to study the backstories the players come up with and then figure it out.

I think that's deliberate. Bear in mind that the book has a set of secrets recommended to be given out to players at the start. This isn't supposed to be a cohesive team who already know each other - it's meant to be a disparate group brought together by circumstance, who very much don't yet know whether they can fully trust each other.

 

[Reynard]

The thing is, there is no reason for the PCs to know each other, or even be in the same town. And none of the starting quests involve recruiting a group of disparate individuals to do X. They all start off by assuming the PCs are already a group, but the quests are too low level for them to already be a group, unless everyone in the party already shares a backstory.

I don't understand the complaint. The adventure is designed for a group of PCs to come into the scenario and start fixing stuff. It is inherent in playing D&D as a group to have the players and DM figure out how everyone knows each other. The adventure doesn't need to tell you how to do that part.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I think that's deliberate. Bear in mind that the book has a set of secrets recommended to be given out to players at the start. This isn't supposed to be a cohesive team who already know each other - it's meant to be a disparate group brought together by circumstance, who very much don't yet know whether they can fully trust each other.

The secrets make much less likely that they would come together at all, without a strong incentive. And the adventure lacks a "circumstance".

For example, one of the starting adventures involves the players being accosted by a fisherman whilst walking along the quayside. Which would work if they already knew each other and so had reason to be walking together, but doesn't work for total strangers.

 

[Reynard]

I think Frostmaiden has done something Avernus did not: it has created a sense of being a "campaign sourcebook" with lots of tools for running a campaign in Ten Towns with a strong through line surrounding Auril. But it is not actually "an adventure" and for me that is a big plus. I prefer to have a location detailed with lots of things to interact with (NPCs and side quests and mini dungeons and whatever), a strong thematic element (never ending winter and the inevitable doom of Ten Towns) without forcing me to railraod the PCs from one end of the adventure to the other.

Obviously, that's not what everyone was looking for, but I'm pretty happy with it on first blush.

 

[Reynard]

The secrets make much less likely that they would come together at all, without a strong incentive.

I think this is a player problem. Players should be responsible for figuring out why their characters are adventuring together and why they will stay together. I really dislike lone wolf PCs in what is ultimately an ensemble story. And they need to be willing to bite the hook, too. Everyone sat down and agreed to play the adventure. The DM should not have to bend over backwards to get them to actually go on it.

 

[MarkB]

The secrets make much less likely that they would come together at all, without a strong incentive. And the adventure lacks a "circumstance".

For example, one of the starting adventures involves the players being accosted by a fisherman whilst walking along the quayside. Which would work if they already knew each other and so had reason to be walking together, but doesn't work for total strangers.

If you're starting them off in one of the smaller towns, there simply isn't much town to go around. If they're in the town, they're more or less together by default.

 

[jayoungr]

Question for those participating in the thread: should we just make this our "enhancing" thread for this adventure?

 

[Reynard]

Question for those participating in the thread: should we just make this our "enhancing" thread for this adventure?

How terribly pessimistic.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

And they need to be willing to bite the hook, too.

If you want the knucklehead to bite the hook you need to make the bait look interesting.