The Fellowship in Game Play

Where and how the PCs meet these NPCs is easy to decide, since much detail has been given on their habits and places they visit or spend time at. The major question to decide is, why is their involvement with PCs desired? There is a wide gamut of options, depending on part on the experience levels of the PCs, but possibilities include:

1. The PCs need some assistance with contacts or training. These NPCs may be either trainers themselves, or contacts (Fischer especially).

2. The PC party is under strength for some adventure and needs help. One or more of these NPCs will be interested in joining, the others not being so available (e.g., Fischer is off on one of his mysterious trips abroad, Marie is in Onnwal, Geren is in the Gnarley Forest).

3. One or two PCs are looking for a party of NPCs to join. This is a good way of working if you have only one or two players, having their PCs work wth a subset of these NPCs (running them all is too much hard work unless two DMs are involved).

4. Simple companionship. Being involved with NPCs of similar beliefs and ideals on a long-term basis is unusual for PCs in many campaigns-NPCs are customarily encountered as henchmen, tutors, patrons, and so on. These NPCs can well be played as equals, their experience levels and magical items being progressed at a similar rate to those of the PCs. This allows the DM to script off-stage adventures for the NPCs using simple narrative style, and as PCs and NPCs adventure independently (maybe sometimes joining up) they can both make contacts, friends, and acquire information, which can be helpfully exchanged with the other group. This also allows the DM to feed information to players about events, and possibly adventure opportunities, in distant places given the contacts these NPCs have. It also introduces such simple pleasures as having a friend's home to visit for a meal, or having some one to take out to the theatre or to dinner.

5. Patronage. The Fellowship would love to learn more about the Torch, and they have enough money to pay for this. Perhaps they have accepted a commission for an adventure of their own and then discovered a possible source of information about the Torch they would pay the PCs well for.

There are many possibilities indeed, but there are two major considerations to keep in mind here. First, this group is strongly good-aligned, and save for exceptions like druids, neutrals will not be trusted until they have had good reason to know the trustworthiness of such people. A party of PCs must be predominantly good-aligned to befriend this group.

Second, this group is not particularly physically powerful. The best AC in the group is - 1, and the highest Strength score is 16. They do. however, have a lot of magical ability between them, and a high degree of mental ability and potential. This is a thoughtful and smart group, and should be role-played accordingly.