d100 - Introductions for Newly Minted PCs In Medias Res

Sometimes one finds oneself in a situation where there is an immediate need to Introduce a new PC to a Party whilst the adventure is currently in progress. Their character falls, and after the comforting clatter of dice, they have made a new one: But by what means do they get ushered into play?

Here is a table that might supply a skosh of inspiration or at least some “starting points” for these sticky situations where there’s need for a Sudden Entrance, Stage Left. Like most of my tables, it might need a bit of strategic tailoring to the specific situation and taste. Remember the Trick behind all those seemingly stray Capital Letters: Capitalized Words can always be freely substituted/specified/adjusted to fit.

I’m afraid that most of these might impinge on Player Agency a bit, but I’ve always felt that a player character’s Prologue was fairer game for such things, and it’s a small price to pay for being able to leap back into the action I suppose. I’ve tried to shy away from some of the ones I’ve seen used that put the Character or Player in some of the more uncomfortable spots, and leaning into a bit of mystery and unanswered questions to flesh out in play is never a bad thing in my book. One could even just have them roll (or even select!) an entry that strikes them as that final step of creating their new character. A bit of brief, hopefully actionable backstory never hurt anyone, and who knows where it could lead? 😊

Several of these entries are ones I’ve found myself having to use in the past, some even served as Session/Campaign Starters in their own right or Premises for One-Shot Games, so I’m sure there might be a bit of additional hidden utility in this table if one approaches it from other angles.

d100 - Why This Hireling Decided To Join

Padding out a Party with Hired Help to assist with Treasure Schlepping or having some additional Free Hands to help Light your way can be an incredibly fun addition to these games. Here’s a Hundred Reasons why someone would potentially risk life and limb to join up with a band of Adventurers on what may just be a very temporary/terminal basis.

My preference is always to avoid portraying my Hirelings as automatons, and they aren’t really intended to be used by the Players as fodder or trap springers. That’s a sure-fire way to earn a very bad reputation back in Town and definitely will dry up the pool of prospects. That is, if it doesn’t anger their kin/friends, or engender an additional complication...hmm...that reminds me of another small table I put together recently:

These are people, sometimes with Families, and generally with a keen sense of self-preservation. More importantly, there’s usually a motivation for participating in these dangerous endeavors. They usually find themselves allying with the PCs because they see it as a way to stack the deck in their favor, but making it home safe is still important to them. If you don’t survive, how are you going to regale your friends with those tales of adventure and spend any hopefully hard-earned shares?

Most Referees do not relish the thought of spending table time “Talking to themselves” so these NPCs can sometimes justifiably fade into the background a bit. To remind myself to portray them, I like to assign them a number (from 1-20, chattier ones get a lower number, and I might assign a second/third number on subsequent delves should they decide to accompany the PCs again). Whenever this number comes up on a die roll, I’m reminded to comment/quip/contribute briefly (this also works for those making those Sentient Swords that are capable of Speech a little less mute). This keeps them a little more present and often provides just enough decoration to make them more memorable should they decide to “stick around” for future forays.

Since they often can serve as a pool for replacement PCs in the event of one succumbs to some of the more horrible fates that await, I suppose you could even consider this a little bit of “Backstory” for the new Character. Giving them a little more motivation or a complication that may just lead to more adventure down the road 😊.