Group Composition



Does is make a difference who is in the group? Of course it does. A Jedi and a Sith would need a VERY compelling reason to work together. A group a ragtag rogues will need a different story than a unit of Fighters and Clerics.

Mixed groups will need different reasons for being together than groups that are held together by a certain unity. All of this makes for excellent story fodder. Work it out ahead of time. Figure out how to use the group dynamic to create tension, while avoiding player killing within the party (unless that is an acceptable part of your campaign).

Every strange combination has a story in it. The Game Master simply has to ask- why would these two be travelling together? A Paladin is not supposed to work with evil characters. But what if the evil character works for an organisation that is holding a group of nuns hostage unless the Paladin cooperates? What if the Paladin is geased? What if the evil character is the Paladin's sibling and the Paladin is risking expulsion from their holy order in an attempt to redeem their sibling? What if the evil character is using a magic item to mask their alignment, because they have a mission that requires the Paladin's help? Even the most seemingly unbreakable rules of party composition can be bridged by an interesting story hook that the Game Master thought up by asking the question 'why?', and letting the results spill out for a while.