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Message: <blockquote data-quote="BSF" data-source="post: 1228410" data-attributes="member: 13098">I hear you.  But, most of the characters have very developed backgrounds and there is almost not opportunity for overlap with each other.  Heck, one of the players has written up a 26 page history for his character.  Fortunately, that is handwritten, so it isn't as long as it sounds.  I have been looking for any way to link these characters and there just isn't a common thread that works very well so far.  I am sure that once I get them all together, things will fall into place very rapidly.  I'm just trying to avoid the arbitrary, dictated opening scenario.*sigh*  Each player has given me a lot to work with.  I have future plot hooks galore.  I am _so_ excited to run this campaign.  The existing players are developing more complex characters, we have a new player that will be new to gaming, and I am lucky to be adding an EN Worlder to the mix.  I am also trying to stretch my DM'ing abilities by stepping inot areas that I have not tried to adjudicate and storytell in the past.  At this point, I think I will railroad the initial adventure a bit and see if I can get the group to mesh.  Or, at least get a feel for what characters might not work within the group.  (Some of the characters have personalities that might be too self-serving and the rest of the group might not want to adventure with them any longer.)  Here is my initial plan:  I will go with my second adventure choice - helping a local lord deal with his loosely allied goblin neighbors that are being tormented by a faerie dragon.Because the local lord wants to keep this a bit hush-hush, he is looking for a group of adventurers that have no existing political ties to the City-State.  He will call in a small favor from a local wizard's Guild to set this all up.  The wizard's guild will assign one of it's apprentices (The Wizard PC) to the group.  Then, it will send out one of it's agents to pull together a group to check out the problem.  They are looking for a range of abilities that might help the situation.  Toward that end, they will enlist the aid of -an orphaned city guide that might not have a clean slate (The Rogue) -a spooky spell caster that they might want to learn more about (The Shaman - who the wizard will be instructed to keep a subtle eye on.) -a fighter type that seems a little unusual (The Psionic Warrior) -and the well-trained mercenary that will be there to defend the apprentice (The Martial-Artist).  They may also call in a favor with the local Sea God church (The Cleric) because the church often opposes City policies and do not have a strong political standing that will pose a threat to the Lord.  Finally, they may round out the party skills/strength with some cheap labor (The Wanderer).  I am thinking that the Ranger might actually serve the Lord in question and will be thrown into the mix when the party arrives to help out.  I think this will give them that initial hook and then the rest will fall into place over time. Hopefully, this isn't too arbitrary overall.  I really want the group to have a while to feel out the storylines they want to pursue and choose the directions they want to go.  Free Will is supposed to be a big component of this game thematically.  What do you all think?</blockquote>

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