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Finding a group who want to actually play in Planescape!

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Tue, 2005-11-29 16:53
#1
EOL
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Finding a group who want to actually play in Planescape!

Well, I've been a member of several role-play groups. They've generally been quite friendly, but I've never been able to run more than an occasional game in Planescape (which isn't really sufficient to appreciate the setting).

My current group seem to do a lot of system-hopping and we already have one D&D campaign (Eberron). I offered Planescape to them, but no one seemed even slightly interested. Even though an even newer group member was asked to run something before he had a clear idea as to what to do.

My last group were just about won over before politics split us up (don't you just hate that?). I've since moved too far away (I miss them, but that's besides the point here). Most of the other RPGers I know are World of Darkness-only fascists and wouldn't touch a d20 with someone elses.

I'm really keen to get behind the DM's screen again, I've always wanted to run Planescape properly (since 1994). But I've never had the chance.

Do I try and win my current group over, or look further afield? Should I at least get them to let me run a 'normal' D&D game so I can at least used to running games again.

BTW: I'm London based, own most of the original PS materials plus the key 3.5 rulebooks.

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Tue, 2005-11-29 20:11
#2
Clueless
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Finding a group who want to actually play in Planescape!

Has this new group done even a one or two shot of the Planes?

Wed, 2005-11-30 13:37
(Reply to #2) #3
EOL
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Finding a group who want to actually play in Planescape!

One of them has played it before, but didn't like it. Not a great start, but then again I believe the enjoyment of PS is HEAVILY dependent on who runs it and who plays - it's an acquired taste in both senses.

I may try to run one of the modules that'd work as a one off, but quite a few people are ahead of me in the queue. Our other D&D DM runs in a very different style to me, so the variety the group treasures would still be there. I'm just not sure how to convice them of the fact.

Wed, 2005-11-30 14:18
(Reply to #3) #4
Clueless
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Finding a group who want to actually play in Planescape!

Well, sounds to me like the *best* way to do this would be to take elements you know they like, and see what elements in PS match that and pair them together. One of the best DMs I've ever played under (this wasn't Shemmy) introduced Shemmy to Planescape in the following way:

Knowing that we like mystery and intense flavor to our settings he had us all create random characters around the planes. Describing a regular day for each person he went into heavy storyteller mode painting a picture of ourselve in our places, our lives and so forth - eventually painting each character into 'bedding down for the night'.

The next scene was each of us becoming aware of walking in a long line, with bags over our heads - tired, hurting, and generally utterly confused. (Styx water wiped everything in between.) The bags are ripped off our heads as someone rides by on a horse and we see we're in a line of slaves heading towards an unknown city in an unknown place and without any of our stuff (not even my characters familar). A fight breaks out about 500 feet down the line as the riders (there to free the slaves) start attacking the slave masters (snake like beings with whips) and yanking the bag, clearly a control system, off everyone they can see...

"You have about three rounds to get yourself untied and figure out where you are before the fight catches up to where you are."

It certainly got a fire going under us - and I spent those three round not helping the guys freeing part of the slave train (which was in the hundreds long) - but rather searching for my familar who was in the wagon about 15 people back along with everyone else's 'stuff'. Our monk decided to help fight thing off for a bit to buy us extra time, and so on... The one shot turned into a headlong rush of 'everyone grab your stuff and RUN while these guys hold off the slavers'. Whcih of course first involved making our way out of the realm in which this city was located.

We ended up pulling a sort of Underground Railroad act with all of us 'trained' characters watching over a ragtag group of escaped slaves ranging from a far too competant tiefling 9yr old, a young lost woman from the Beastlands with cat blood, to a old biddy of a biased lady ("Why she's little more than an *animal*!") from Excelsior.

Trying to feed everyone and get shoes on everyone was hard all by itself and led to one PC on PC annoyance as a new player was introduced on the second game. "Look, *you* may be out here on a lark just because you want to explore. *We* are trying to get home, so don't complain to me that we're going too slow and should leave folks behind to make better time so you can go sight see faster. Either help - or get out of my way." Hint: Never annoy the protective mageling leader with the fireball on hand by being spoiled. Especially when said mageling has kept himself on half rations for three days so that the injured and young can eat.

We trudged around one side of the Outlands all the way to the other side near the Tir on foot since we were pretty low level. Along the way we got a tour of the planes 'lite' as we went through the Hinterlands and the plane touched areas of the Outlands and got to meet a lot of different critters and people and hear about all these sort of places. Since it was planes 'lite' we didn't run into anything *too* nasty without plenty of chances to hide ourselves.

Mind you - this was almost off the cuff and very geared towards the sort of things that he knew already lit up the players, so it might not work for you. But it certainly gives you an example scenario to work within.

The best way to start people off on planescape is to find the elements of planescape that you already know they like - then slowly mix in the 'new' things to introduce them to. Like mixing vitamins in with the food you're feeding your cat. Eye-wink Hopefully they'll either not notice, or they'll love the little additions.

Wed, 2005-11-30 14:56
(Reply to #4) #5
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Finding a group who want to actually play in Planescape!

Interesting concept you had there.

My last group consisted of D&D veterans plus a couple of World of Darkness fanatics along for the ride. Most of them took the opportunity to dream up some of the most unusual characters imaginable. I somehow managed to get The Eternal Boundary to work for the following party:

- A African-style tribesman with inherent psionic ability
- A mad-scientist alchemist who accidentally sent himself to the planes
- An immature illithid
- A bardic charlatan who accidentally earned himself a level of cleric when his homebrew deity got a little too believeable
- A bipedal fire salamander
- A 'prime blood' human wizard
- An Arcadian aasimar Harmonium member (the only thing that could keep the rest of this lot in line!)

I wrote a few extra scenes to the game, such as brief encounters with Ylem and Kesto, and the group made me write another on the spot when they decided to pay the alchemists lab-mate a visit (I love impromptu plot twists!).

Something tells me this new group will make life a little easier character-wise, but they genre-hop so much that it's hard to guage their tastes. Our last D&D game was an old-school dungeon crawl.....

Wed, 2005-11-30 14:59
(Reply to #5) #6
Clueless
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Finding a group who want to actually play in Planescape!

What sort of tone do they tend to like? Serious or silly?

Wed, 2005-11-30 15:48
(Reply to #6) #7
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It's somewhere in between - whilst the games are serious, all of the groups have at least one slightly silly element to them. We haven't done much 'deep role-playing' yet, maybe when we try some other settings it'll play more of a part.

Wed, 2005-11-30 20:13
(Reply to #7) #8
ripvanwormer
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Finding a group who want to actually play in Planescape!

You might want to ask the Planescape Mailing List, too - I believe some of its members are Londoners.

Wed, 2005-11-30 20:18
(Reply to #8) #9
Clueless
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Finding a group who want to actually play in Planescape!

Simmo is at the least - thats assuming you don't want to try your hand at converting your current crew.

Thu, 2005-12-01 16:59
(Reply to #9) #10
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I may try to convince my current collective to possibly play a one off - one of the modules should make for a decent few sessions play. Currently too much of a queue of people wanting to run stuff. Same happened in my last group.

Whilst it'd be useful to get in touch with other people into the setting, paradoxically it'd be very hard to play the game if more than one of us knew the setting inside out. Or am I thinking the wrong way about this.

Sun, 2005-12-04 14:56
(Reply to #10) #11
princessbunny99
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Finding a group who want to actually play in Planescape!

I like the way that "Well of Worlds" shoves the characters into Planescape ....The PC's get sucked into a one way portal into Baator, have to make their way to another portal to Sigil while fighting off (or at least outrunning) a spinagon, some abashai and some bloodworms. After they get to Sigil, if the players really want to get home, they can get the jink to buy them there...but if they decide they want to stay, they can Smiling

-pb-

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