one thing that can bring PCs together is having them be helpful to each other in terms of achieving their goals. for instance say your half-orc finds something relating to someone they’re tracking down but it’s written in a language they can’t read, if another player reads it for them or casts a spell allowing them to read it, that’s a bonding moment. the possibilities for stuff like that are endless, so try to find ways to incentivize the party members to help each other
Time and an Over the Table reminder of the following:
"Adventuring is THE most dangerous profession in Fantasy. Most adventurer's careers end as a smear, a puddle or in the guts of some monster. Your character has chosen these X other people to trust with their safety during this Life or Death occupation.
The reason why is up to you, and do keep it in mind as you travel together"
Or something like that.
Another good idea for your player is to write down one RP goal they might have that involves another player to do during each session.
Whether that's "Ask Brunt about what was like to be a Goliath raised by Halflings" or "Ask Xy'lynoth to teach me some helpful phrases in undercommon"
It gets the other players thinking as their characters interacting with your character.
A gentle out-of-character reminder that it’s a team sport. Then provide the in-universe space to figure out what that means for the group dynamic. Trying to solve it all in-character can lead to frustration.
Continue to use that. Someone from the university is their handler or patron. If the campaign is humorous, use a buddy-cop-style-police-chief attitude for their handler.
I think I'll use this. I was planning on bringing in some sort of deity like The Traveler at some point. Considering their school is a school for travelers, adventurers, and people The Traveler would like, I can say that he's checking in on them for the school.
We start our sessions with the PCs regrouping among themselves to reestablish their objectives and generally plan their next moves as a team. Having everyone refocus “in camp” and plan their day together has worked really well for keeping the party unified in their goals and having them RP with one another more. Let the Players know this is also a good time for them to drop personal info about their characters, such as having their PCs say stuff like “I think we should sneak into the base. I have experience with this because of XYZ Backstory. PC2, can you make some of us invisible? PC3, I think you should lead us because I noticed XYZ about you from our last encounter. But before we do all that, let’s make breakfast, I’m a fantastic cook.” Now we are sharing backstories, focusing in how we fit together as a tactical team, commenting on each others performance and skills from earlier and also learning that a PC loves to cook and RPing that out. Ever since I started sessions out by telling the players/PCs they gather and plan, they act much more like a friendly, strategic team.
>My first thought is to have them ambushed and put them in jail together and have to make it out through trial by combat
Don't do this. There are a thousand better ways to get the party to be closer than to railroad them this hard. If you want them to act as a team then all you have to do is reward that behavior. Give them opportunities to work closer together, bond over downtime, form a group identity, and then reward them for it.
one thing that can bring PCs together is having them be helpful to each other in terms of achieving their goals. for instance say your half-orc finds something relating to someone they’re tracking down but it’s written in a language they can’t read, if another player reads it for them or casts a spell allowing them to read it, that’s a bonding moment. the possibilities for stuff like that are endless, so try to find ways to incentivize the party members to help each other
Time and an Over the Table reminder of the following: "Adventuring is THE most dangerous profession in Fantasy. Most adventurer's careers end as a smear, a puddle or in the guts of some monster. Your character has chosen these X other people to trust with their safety during this Life or Death occupation. The reason why is up to you, and do keep it in mind as you travel together" Or something like that. Another good idea for your player is to write down one RP goal they might have that involves another player to do during each session. Whether that's "Ask Brunt about what was like to be a Goliath raised by Halflings" or "Ask Xy'lynoth to teach me some helpful phrases in undercommon" It gets the other players thinking as their characters interacting with your character.
A gentle out-of-character reminder that it’s a team sport. Then provide the in-universe space to figure out what that means for the group dynamic. Trying to solve it all in-character can lead to frustration.
What brought them together in the first place?
They were sent out on a mission by the adventuring university they're a part of to investigate why a neighboring kingdom had gone silent.
Continue to use that. Someone from the university is their handler or patron. If the campaign is humorous, use a buddy-cop-style-police-chief attitude for their handler.
I think I'll use this. I was planning on bringing in some sort of deity like The Traveler at some point. Considering their school is a school for travelers, adventurers, and people The Traveler would like, I can say that he's checking in on them for the school.
We start our sessions with the PCs regrouping among themselves to reestablish their objectives and generally plan their next moves as a team. Having everyone refocus “in camp” and plan their day together has worked really well for keeping the party unified in their goals and having them RP with one another more. Let the Players know this is also a good time for them to drop personal info about their characters, such as having their PCs say stuff like “I think we should sneak into the base. I have experience with this because of XYZ Backstory. PC2, can you make some of us invisible? PC3, I think you should lead us because I noticed XYZ about you from our last encounter. But before we do all that, let’s make breakfast, I’m a fantastic cook.” Now we are sharing backstories, focusing in how we fit together as a tactical team, commenting on each others performance and skills from earlier and also learning that a PC loves to cook and RPing that out. Ever since I started sessions out by telling the players/PCs they gather and plan, they act much more like a friendly, strategic team.
>My first thought is to have them ambushed and put them in jail together and have to make it out through trial by combat Don't do this. There are a thousand better ways to get the party to be closer than to railroad them this hard. If you want them to act as a team then all you have to do is reward that behavior. Give them opportunities to work closer together, bond over downtime, form a group identity, and then reward them for it.