CCT Journal 3: Players & Characters

I have 3 players. It is a little less than I would like. Ideally there would be 4-5 players in a D&D game so that if 1 has to miss a week the game doesn't feel too claustrophobic. Also that way you have enough different personalities and strengths at the table to keep things interesting. But I live in a small town with very few gaming hobbyists. I've looked. I've advertised. 3 is what I've got and I'll take it.

2 of the players are D&D players through and through. One of them has only ever played 2nd edition until now. The other has dabbled in GURPS and other stuff, but comes back to D&D because he likes the 'kill stuff - get loot' paradigm.

D&D is not my favorite role-playing game. I prefer games where the focus is on the narrative and players and GM have a lot of freedom to improvise for the sake of a good story. But D&D is where I got my start like most roleplayers and it retains some nostalgic interest for me - and Pathfinder is leaps and bounds better than any previous or current iteration of the game. So I'm having fun.

Here are the characters we have in the party:

Pansa (M Drow Ranger CN) An interesting aspect of interacting with this character is I am occasionally finding myself having to clarify what I would define as "evil". Many people play Chaotic Neutral because they believe it gives them a license to do whatever they want. Not my take. This character is happy though if he gets to succeed at shooting stuff, do cool acrobatic flippy stuff, and find uses for weird items found lying around. He wants to be a Sable Company Marine and have a hippogriff to fly around on, so that gives me plenty of hooks to get him into the story.

Hrungar (M Dwarf Fighter NG) Interestingly this is the character that does the most "speaking in character" even though the player is the least experience role-player in the group. He speaks in dwarven cliches and its thoroughly fun. Sometimes keeping it simple is the best advice. He drinks a lot, threatens people with his axe, and is very protective of his fellow party members - all bearing fun fruit at the table. He has a guilty past as a drug addict and paying for those past mistakes is how he's being pulled into the story.

Safiya (F Half-Elf Oracle CG) The Oracle is a new class, not even released yet, as part of the Pathfinder Advanced Players Guide. She is the healer and the magic damage dealer rolled into one - convenient for a 3 person party. The source of her powers as an oracle is a big mystery which will keep popping up through the story again and again.