Out of the Abyss: Multitude of NPCS

[yasu-sakai]

Hi,

After the TPK in Princes of the Apocalypse through Encounters, I have decided to start up Out of the Abyss. Ive been reading through, got my npcs cards ready to go. I do however am wondering how all of these are going to work having so many npcs trying to escape to. Did people involve these guys in combat, keep them out, or have scenes where one gets chopped down?

I think some people are going to react badly to not having their stuff but Im very much looking forward to the game.

Should I assign the other prisoners to the current characters?


Any advice is great appreciated.

[darrenan]

Initially I had them all involved. I payed attention to which NPCs the players gravitated to, and then quickly moved to prune the group down a little to keep only the most engaging NPCs. Because the whole thing kicks off in the cell, the players have plenty of time to get to know them before anything really happens.

For instance, the twins immediately jumped over the edge and ran away as soon as they were freed. The half-orc sacrificed himself delaying the drow as the rest of the group escaped, etc. Some of them are ineffective in combat (Stool, Shuushar) and will need to be protected (or not).

Over time, they also get naturally pruned out. You can use Buppido to kill off NPCs as the party journeys through the underdark, and eventually the NPCs start reaching their destinations and leave the party. The players may even decide they don't want the NPCs around and tell them to make their own way. But at the start, yeah, it's a lot to handle as a GM.

[darrenan]

Also, I did not delegate control of any of the NPCs to the players. I felt that was just too spoilery.