[UA] Tied-Down Characters

[Ted Prodromou]

The only way I can think of doing it is to take it out
of game for a second and say something like this:

"Hey guys, there are going to be plot elements that
require you to leave Jersey City.  As a GM, I promise
that you won't get screwed for traveling to a place
where your magic isn't usable.  I'll scale all the
challenges appropriately and so on.  You guys cool
with that?"

At that point, once you have their out-of-game buy-in,
you'll have a much easier time with making plots that
force them out.

Some things that could force them out to other places:
- A magic location that solves their problems.
- Someone they're chasing who hides away elsewhere.
- A cabal they need to meet.
- An invitation from someone.


As far as usefulness, have it be a mission that ties
into their other skills, or their background stories,
or some other parts of their characters.  If they
don't have their central powers, they can at least
play with other stuff about their character.

Alternately, go with Deus Ex Machina and have Alex
Abel load 'em up with artifacts!

Hope that helps!  Let us know how it goes!

Ted


--- James Knevitt <jknevitt at gmail.com> wrote:

> No, not like that. Yet.
> 
> In the campaign I'm about to start up features a
> bibliomancer, an
> urbanomancer and a mundane (who'll probably be an
> adept eventually).
> The campaign is set in beautiful Jersey City, and
> most of the action
> will stay there.
> 
> However, New Jersey is so diverse that the
> characters will want (or
> need) to get out and about eventually. With a
> bookworm and a rat in
> the group, this looks like it will be a problem. The
> bookworm is tied
> to his Library (granted, he can always go with the
> "travelling
> library" option), and the rat, well, as soon as he
> leaves Jersey City
> he's for all intents and purposes a dead battery.
> 
> Can anyone offer suggestions as to how I can get
> these two (the
> urbanomancer moreso) out of the city and still have
> them retain their
> 'usefulness'?
> 
> -- 
> James Knevitt
> jknevitt at gmail.com
> 
> "The problem with defending the purity of the
> English language is that
> English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We
> don't just borrow
> words; on occasion, English has pursued other
> languages down alleyways
> to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for
> new vocabulary."
>    --James Nicoll
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