New guy into existing group/...

[garhkal]

I cannot remember if i have asked this before so here goes.

What do you all do when you get a new player joining an existing group?
DO you start him out as normal, or give him a bump up..
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[cheshire]

In my last few campaigns CPs I've handed out as well as an average of how many were spent on skill rolls. I've gotten a good ballpark idea of how many CPs the new player should have, and then given the newbie a bump.

When I didn't used to keep track, I would try to eyeball things and give them a bump.
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[masque]

I generally wait for a new campaign to start up before including new people. But I don't think I'll be including new people for a while, the last one wasn't that great.
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[Whill]

I bump them up, but never quite to the level of the other PCs. New PCs shouldn't start out at a point others had to earn their way to, but then again it is rediculous to have them way behind the others because then it becomes too unbalanced and the new guy feels worthless.

The last time I played as a player was at Origins Game Fair this Summer, and I played a new starting-level PC in convention adventures with characters that had put literally dozens (if not hundreds) of CPs into their characters, and it was absurd. I ended up being the official initiative roller for the group because I couldn't do much else.
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Star Wars D6 Damage

[garhkal]

Was that with the sparks group?
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[mdlake]

In principle, I have no problem with bumping, but I rarely find the need. Our campaigns rarely last more than forty sessions, and often less than thirty; new players arriving early in a campaign aren't significantly outstripped, and those arriving late are likely to wait a few weeks and start fresh with the new one. Add that I favor rules-light systems like OtE when I'm GM and that my group doesn't go in for lots of combat, which is more sensitive to power balance than other RPG staples, and the question rarely arises.

When it does, however, I'm unabashedly in favor of as big an xp bump as necessary to make everyone feel like a useful participant.

[Whill]

[garhkal]

I will pass on your 'discussion points' to the sparks council. ANd thanks for the cudos on our love of D6!~
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Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!

[Whill]

[garhkal]

To them since we have tiering in effect for most baddies (well above mook status), it should be up to the gm whether the baddies get tiered or not when it comes to mixed groups.
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Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!

[Pel]

I agree that adding new players into an established and experienced group can be difficult if not impossible to pull off well. If one gives the new player enough skill points, sorry CPs (1st Ed. Flashback!) to catch up, then those points were not earned and may cause tension between players.

One also cannot simply toss a shiny new character into the fray and see what happens. At best, the newbie will be ineffectual and the player will feel left out. At worst, the newbie will become quick target practice for any adversaries and could endanger the entire party, although the latter provides a bounty of roleplaying opportunities.

What about a mix of some CPs and unique skills? Perhaps not totally unique, but some skills or abilities lacking in the other party members, but necessary to advance the campaign. Sort of filling a niche and rounding out the party. I've had some success with that over the years. I found it very engaging and enjoyable to all involved.
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Aha!

[hazardchris]

When we would have "Guest Players" I would usually give them a ballpark number of bonus Skill Dice and let it be that. We were running a Rebellion-era game where the PCs were Rebel Operatives, so bringing in new characters was easy enough just by having him temporarily assigned to the group.

I also pulled what I call the "Lando Trick" a couple of times. In that I introduced the new player along the lines that Lucas introduced Lando, with the new Character being a friend of one of the old who could help them out of a tight spot.
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[bobenhotep]

i used to keep track of total cp a character earned. a new guy would have 1/2 as many cp as the guy with the least cp. i did like this in d and d with xp also to calculate noob levels.