apprentice04 wrote:As a side note, how do you get the party together initially that doesn’t feel forced but natural and fluid?
I suppose this is forced, but my favorite cliche is the characters don't know each other, but all happen to be in the same area individually. There's an attack or some other significant mutual threat, and they need to work together to survive. Think Rio Bravo, Assault on Precinct 13, From Dusk til Dawn, Dawn of the Dead (2004), etc
A variation on that I'd like to try but haven't fleshed out yet: Each character gets a 1 on 1 introductory session where they roll into town for whatever reason of their own. They each have a run-in with the same annoying npc. Npc winds up murdered, and the pcs are all under arrest as suspects.This is when they meet up and play begins as a group. Here's the clever part I need to come up with: Each character got a clue during their earlier session, insignificant by itself, but when put together in comparing notes will reveal the real murderer, means and motive.
I'm sure it's been done before in literature, and I'd very much appreciate it if someone could point me to it.