Party Motivations

Character Motivations

Instead of dictating the reason for your characters to be heading to this mysterious island, I decided to open this up for you, the players, to determine. In my experience, location-based sandboxes play out much smoother when the party has some strong motivation for engaging with the location. The adventure authors suggested a number of cool motivations, and each will give the adventure a different flavour. Here are their suggestions:

Shipwrecked: You were en route to some other destination when you were waylaid by storms / pirates / krakens etc. and washed up on the shores of a mysterious island. With limited reserves of fresh food and water, you must explore the island to find food and shelter, and to find a way to return home.

Assault: An organization has set up bases of operations on this mysterious island. This organization has enemies whose interests are threatened by this group, and they hire you to disrupt/destroy the threat.

Trade Mission: You embark on a trade mission to the island, either as the representatives of a merchant organization or as part of a self-funded enterprise. Establish trade relations with the natives and exploit the island for maximum profit.

Wilderness Expedition: A patron wishes to learn more about this mysterious island and hires you to accompany their expedition or conduct the expedition on their behalf. They might want to map the island, hunt for a rare beast, or find some unique macguffin rumoured to have been located on the island.

Custom Motivation: You can also suggest a unique motivation (or tweak any of the above motivations) to match the backstories of one or more of the characters in the adventure.

Whatever motivation we choose, it is important that your character has a stake in this motivation. Try to carve out a reason for your character to buy in. Location-based adventures work best when the story is driven by the players.

So what motivations sound like they would fit your characters and your preferences as a player?

Party History

How did your party come together? Are you strangers or a seasoned crew that has logged many hours in perilous situations together? What brought you together and how does each of your characters fit into this group?

Party History:
Hypco and I arranged a character bond during the application process. I can easily see them looking for a thief (Ynge) to handle the sneaky stuff. I am not familiar with the other characters, however.

Elspa (Barbarian, Wolf Totem) understands the value of a pack, alluding to how wolves can bring down larger prey by working together. She prefers those who share this opinion and has little room in her heart for loners or anyone that does not contribute; better that they set on as lone wolves than become a detriment and distraction.

Motivations:
If the party does not know each other from the beginning, I can see Wilderness Expedition as a reason for getting together. Elspa would want coin to survive and being paid to scout out the island seems convenient. Plus, she'd definitely want Ynge along with the assumption that a thief would come in handy.

If we already know each other, I would add Shipwrecked or Assault to the vote.

I don't think Rygnar was accepted so there isn't any prior character bond between us, at the moment.

Motivations:
Shipwrecked would work best for Ryte. He would've hopped aboard a ship, most likely as a stowaway, to get as far away from his old company as possible. I'd say storms or krakens as Ryte would most likely try to sweet talk the pirates into letting him join with them.

Party History:
Ryte knows he couldn't survive by himself so his first priority would be to look for someone who could. While not a "thief", Ryte is light on his feet this could be a reason Elspa took interest in letting him join.

Whoops, sorry, misread which character was accepted.

I had already set Ygne up with a personal motivation for going to the island. She hopes to make an incredible discovery and then stuff happens and then she's rich! Obviously, she hasn't thought the plan through all the way, but what better place for there to be riches secreted away than somewhere called the Isle of Dread?

As far as being together as a team, Ygne wants to be around people that like her and hates being around those that don't. Her friend/enemy list is very fluid, mostly determined by the latest action each person on the list has done. A close friend calls her an idiot? She doesn't like him much anymore. An enemy gives her a really shiny dagger as a gift? Hey, he's not so bad, really! There are points on either end of the spectrum where people become bound in place. There are some people that become so close to her that no matter what they do she'll stick beside them and believe they can do no wrong, and there are others that have done something so highly offensive to her that no matter their efforts she'll never like them. She enjoys working together as a team, though sometimes she'll attempt to prove her usefulness to her friends and inadvertently bite off more than she can chew by herself.

I could see Ygne taking a part in any of the suggested reasons for us going to the island, so I'm willing to let others pick what suits their characters most. I could also see her grouping with the others in the hopes of forming their own expedition in an attempt to get rich. Or at least that would be Ygne's intent.

As far as joining together, Ygne would be eager to tag along with some others that took interest in her, especially if they thought she was going to be useful (for her thieving abilities); bonus points if they expected to find some manner of wealth.

I already had shipwrecked in mind for Jarveena as noted in her backstory but am willing to adjust if I can find a reason for her to leave the Sea Witch. Ygne can be part of the ship's crew if you wish, MoMo. Unfortunately I can't make the same offer to the others as it's an all-female crew.

Jarveena is fiercely independent but is no idiot and so will realize there's safety in numbers, so I can imagine her joining the group after washing up on the isle.

Well, Ryte would be a stowaway in the shipwrecked scenario, so surface level, I don't see a reason why he couldn't be on the Sea Witch and it doesn't conflict with anything as the Sea Witch was bested by a storm and not pirates.

Works for me. The crew wouldn't have taken too kindly to a male stowaway if he was discovered, so if Jarveena washes up onshore and discovers Ryte had been on board all along then that will make for some interesting interaction.

When everyone was putting forward their character ideas I was reading them once as myself and once more as Jarveena. Ryte's story was one that really resonated with Jarveena so I can see them forming a bond once the initial shock and wariness has passed. :-)

Would the crew of the Sea Witch take Elspa?

Oh, right, I forgot about Elspa! Yeah, all females are welcome as long as they can do their share of the work on board!

Elspa would love to learn how to work a ship. And being part of a crew fits well with her worldview of being in a wolfpack.

Ygne might've taken passage on the Sea Witch (for maybe legitimate vessels wouldn't have taken a 'filthy urchin' anywhere, and she certainly wouldn't have a problem with their piracy), but she likely wouldn't have joined up as a member of the crew. She'd be opposed to anything that earns her a wage, honest or not. She's more into "get-rich-quick" sort of affairs, or heist-like jobs that would be called "The Big One." Basically things that are too good to be true.

I'm flexible, though. So, if it's easier for us, then I could see her being influenced by the captain to help out for a time. If it's fun, she'd end up doing it for a little while at least, until she remembered her goal of forming her own Guild.

I had planned on her actually being headed to the Isle of Dread in the hopes of finding some kind of great discovery there. Could be that she was on the Sea Witch praying to make it to the island somehow when they became shipwrecked.

Maybe the Sea Witch was headed to the Isle (instead of being blown off course while heading somewhere else) because they heard of a marvelous treasure there. Maybe they would have gone recruiting, having lost some people on the last raid. Ygne and Elspa might've joined then for their own reasons. This could have been when Ryte snuck onto the ship as well. Just throwing ideas out there :-)

I wonder what Ezeriah is playing?

Maybe we could roll my stealth vs every PC on the ship perception to see if he is found before the crash. Depending on the outcome, it could either be right before the crash (Hey a dirty stowaway *crash*) or moments before (Hey a dirty stowaway, let's throw him overboard, the storm will take care of him *overboard* *lady merriment* *crash*) or they don't find him. Definitely some interesting interactions incoming either way.

Great discussion so far. I really like where this is going.

I've been communicating with Ezeriah; he decided he couldn't give his full energy to this game at this time so he gave up his seat for somebody who could. I asked Naatkinson to take his place and he graciously accepted. So we'll bring him in on this when he gets the invite. Ezeriah will be reading along with our adventure, I hope that's okay.

I agree. Ezeriah steered me down the direction of the Sword and Sorcery genre and looking into D&D's roots. That wasn't his intention exactly, but his passion for gritty low magic D&d was infectious.

I'll second that. Sad to see him go, but also excited to have Naat joining!

I agree. Ezeriah steered me down the direction of the Sword and Sorcery genre and looking into D&D's roots. That wasn't his intention exactly, but his passion for gritty low magic D&d was infectious.

It looks like the Shipwreck motivation is the one we're going for. I'm excited about that because it's totally not what I expected. There are still some loose ends to tie up:

1. Did the Sea Witch set sail to find the Isle of Dread, or was it on some other business when it sank?

2. HypCo was suggesting rolling a stealth check vs. the characters who were crewing the Sea Witch to see what the status was at the time of the Sea Witch's sinking. Are people down for that or would you rather just decide. This will probably impact Naatkinson's character who is also male.

3. After we answer these questions, you can turn your minds to imagining what your characters were doing right before the Sea Witch sank. The ship was taken by surprise a once-in-a-century storm near the island and ran aground along a reef. If you want some more details, feel free to ask, but also feel free to take some narrative control. Create other crew mates, ship features, whatever you need to tell your story. We will start the adventure by telling those short stories, and any features you invent will become cannon within our game.

I have no preference either way. I originally imagined the latter, but suggested the former just to fit with Ygne's motivation of seeking a big score.
Could be fun, yeah. :-)
So far we've got the Captain, Leatha "Fishwife" Gabranth, who took Jarveena in. Jarveena owes Leatha her life. She will be really torn up when Leatha ends up as fish-food and the Sea Witch ends up as kindling.

Just me spitballing ideas here:
Since, I don't think at least, Naat's character isn't the stealthiest of types, being a stowaway brings up trouble (mostly how'd he sneak on the ship with a glaive). So maybe we do a mix between Shipwrecked and Trade Mission, this way it is easier to meld characters together and it gives to the story more. Ygne and Naat's character could be on the trade mission ship, so Naat's maleness doesn't interfere with the all-female ship rules and Ygne gets the profit story, it also allows Jabes' ship to be on some other business, as imagined.

How we end up together at the island:
The Sea Witch is caught in the storm, just as the Trade Mission ship is, causing the two ships to crash into each other. Gives another reason why there is so few survivors.

Again, just spitballing, I'm just a stowaway so I'm fine either way.

Works for me! Maybe the Sea Witch was even chasing the other ship down when the storm struck, blew them both off course, and smashed 'em together!

That sounds smashing, lads! I'm all for it.

Sounds good to me, HypCo! Clean and simple :)

Looking at their personalities (specifically their love for fighting, being unafraid to spill blood, and especially the recklessness), Frick and Ygne look like they'd get along spectacularly. More than just trade partners, do you wanna be buddies, Naat? :)

Absolutely! It's always nice to start with some sort of connection to at least one member of the party :)

Things are really coming together. It'll be fun to bring in the trade mission because it offers some additional details that I'll share with the players of the PCs on the Trade Ship once that is solidified. So, the Sea Witch was chasing after the Trade Ship (anyone care to name her?) when a once-in-a-lifetime storm struck, smashing both ships into each other. I am going to add in the additional detail that as far as the crew of the Sea Witch is concerned, this island was not on any of their charts.

Currently, the party is starting out like so:

PC's on the Sea Witch: Elspa, Jarveena, Ryte
PC's on the Trade Ship: Ygne, Frick

HypCo, you can switch ships if you like, your call.

Are the crew of the Sea Witch pirates? Maybe it was said, or at least implied, but I wanted to be sure. Elspa would sign up with the crew regardless, applying muscle and ferocity to both the Sea Witch and her opponents.

Going off her background on her player sheet, I'd say they are pirates.

Also this: That was how Leatha found her. Leatha "Fishwife" Gabranth, captain of the all-female crew of the Sea Witch, was the most fearsome corsair of those seas.

While it would be easier for Ryte to be aboard the trade ship, I think I like the stowaway idea more.

HypCo, to expedite the process, you can roll a stealth check vs. the party's passive perception. You can give yourself advantage or disadvantage depending on how you view your plan - for example, if stowing away was a well-planned covert act, give yourself advantage; but, if it was it more of a last-minute desperate act give yourself disadvantage. I'll leave it up to you.

Elspa's passive Perception is 14.

I'll just straight roll. It wasn't well planned but it was premeditated. Ryte knew to get away from the murder, his best bet would be a ship and he wanted to leave a ghost.

That'll beat everyone's passive perception score I'm pretty sure!

Motivations:
Lost in "abandonment" and a foretold downfall, Rygnar makes his way to the island in search of his chain holder. With nothing but his meager belongings, he "persuades" a fisherman to set sail with him. The fisher remains afar from the island and seeing no way to convince Rygnar to not go, gives him his pack and a 'good luck'. Rygnar swims for Rygnar must as he will not see this telling become reality.

Party History:
Elspa found Rygnar on one of her hunting trips and found his size would be a formidable ally and slowly nursed him back to health. Rygnar saw Elspa has his savior and in turn viewed her as a kid-sister, staying close by her wherever she went. Until he saw an opportunity that was beneficial for her and one in which he couldn't follow her.