Hi everyone,

I'm planning to run, a small 2 hour ish intro campaign to DnD for some work colleagues (all but one are newbies )who have no idea what DnD is. This will be my first time Dm'ing. But I have quite some player experience and want to jump in Dm'ing

I'm trying to keep it simple, I'm running a simple hook. I told my players. You have been hired to escort a small convoy from City A to City B. Lv3 party from there they will encounter challenges to teach them the basics.

I asked for backstories... One player wants to be like Ezio for assassin's Creed, and other want to run like the rogue in WoW. I send them critical roll videos to show them a little bit how it will be... And found  some compromise.

But my biggest headache now, is a player who wants to be the son of Achilles and wants godly powers ect... I don't want to be a NO DM but he's having a little bit of issue. So getting him from mythical Greece to Faerun, is not impossible (Magic or via Ravenloft). But, I'm having a hard time getting him to get into the hook. Why would a half god want to protect a simple convoy and the get to grip he's lv3 champion and that a couple of hobgoblins with good rolls can take him down...

I think he's hoping more for a troyan war scenario where he can live a power Fantasy...

Say that he's being tested. To prove that he's worthy of his true powers, he has been sent by Achilles, as a mortal, to help those in need. As he performs heroic acts, his powers will grow (a.k.a. Leveling up). 

Nice, that might work 😃

Every D&D PC gets powers that could be considered "godly," so this would not be a problem to me. The player just needs to understand that they will have to earn those powers like all the other players. Whether your Second Wind comes from a godly boon or just your own grit is entirely up to how you want to describe it.

But it sounds like the real thing you're apprehensive about is a player that wants to play out a power fantasy. It might help to explain that these first sessions will serve to teach the others how to play. Maybe later you could do a higher-level game where they can truly feel like demigods.

Quote from Watcherjeff >>

Why would a half god want to protect a simple convoy and the get to grip he's lv3 champion and that a couple of hobgoblins with good rolls can take him down...

I think he's hoping more for a troyan war scenario where he can live a power Fantasy...

 
Well start with Achilles has died before this character was born.  As a result, Achilles was unable to take and dip his child to the River Styx; similar to how Thetis dip Achilles when he was a babe. The character is now as mortal as everyone else in the campaign. 

As far as why the character takes the job?  If they character wants to achieve glory then they need to accomplish glorious things. Set it up that the convoy will allow him passage to a land that can offer him adventures while providing him a source of income.  Or maybe he heard a rumor that the Argo has set sail again and he is seeking the crew in hopes they will take him to the Nereids and he can meet his grandmother.  The destination of this convoy is in proximity to the port where the Argo is rumored to be traveling to. 

Or you can have the character believe what their mother told them, despite it being an obvious lie cooked up by her to avoid telling him she was raped by an unknown man.

Maybe be frank that his character probably won't be powerful/important enough to live up to the backstory? And then if he still wants to go for it, the dissonance is his issue to rationalize.

Alternatively, any chance you could swing having the character not know his heritage and only just be coming into his power?

 Achilles was not a god even if Thetis been able to dip the heel of his foot in it would have made only made him immortal, he had no other power. His father ensured his son was trained to be the strongest and most experienced warrior in the Greek army. So, it is entirely okay to say no to this player.  Now if you were going to continue beyond this introductory campaign.  you could give the character his weapons and armor that when detect magic  is cast it glows, but the magic is not awakened. As the Character gains levels and does things that Achilles would do the weapons and armor could awaken and grow stronger.

Asking for a background for what appears to be a two hour one off is not a good idea your time would be better spent making characters and writing backgrounds for them and allow the players to choose their character,

Thanks for the replies everyone!

I really want to give the players the freedom to explore their backstories, as a player I always prefered DM's who would let me choose who I was. but I was always into D&D so I know the lore of Faerun, Ravenloft, Grayhawk, Planescape, DarkSun & Dragonlance like the back of my hand.

Right now, I'm a player in one standard bi-monthly campaign and once a month a local Café does a DnD evening where you get a different DM and do a (4:30~5 hour one shot). Some of my work colleague got curious to try after I described the ambiance of the one shots. Some want to join the monthly evening (to try) but I wanted to give a taste of what it will be (Plus test out my Dm chops). But I don't want to cut their imagination or enthousiasim for playing...   

I like the idea of making it a test, you are stripped of you powers and I might describe the action surge as a devine gift... So maybe I'll make a stories where the greek gods hurls him into Faerun and he has to do hercules type tasks (But more mundane) with some stripped powers (maybe give 1 or 2 things extra to make him feel good like darkvison or something) 

My two assassins (The WoW and Assasin creed) , have not officialy given me their back stories yet, but I was talking to one of them, and he is thinking and developing a " I need to get out of Dodge fast and sneaking out with a legitimate convoy story..." which I think works with the hook quite well.

The fourth, is a Dragonborn sorcerer and knows DnD so i'm not worried about him...

The fifth hasn't reacted assides that he definatly wants to play so my figers are crossed....  

Quote from Mog_Dracov >>

Or you can have the character believe what their mother told them, despite it being an obvious lie cooked up by her to avoid telling him she was raped by an unknown man.

 While this would definitely work, you'd want to get the player to sign off on it first. Never override a player's backstory without telling them or without up-front consent. Also really, really don't put **** in a backstory without talking about it first, even if you do have blanket consent to tweak a character's history.

Quote from BatJamags >>

Maybe be frank that his character probably won't be powerful/important enough to live up to the backstory? And then if he still wants to go for it, the dissonance is his issue to rationalize.

I think this is key. Make it clear that legendary feats of demigodhood are not going to be within the scope of this one-shot. He can keep the backstory, so long as he understands this story is more Book 1 Percy Jackson than Troy (2004).

Quote from Watcherjeff >>

(maybe give 1 or 2 things extra to make him feel good like darkvison or something) 

I wouldn't even go that far, unless you're also giving the other players extra stuff too

You don't want to encourage "it's in my backstory so I should have it. no matter than I'm low level" kind of behavior

Nothing makes me feel like the old man yelling at clouds as much as DMs demanding backstories.

Or you could just say no and have him cut it down to three correct sentences.

Its a back story not a novel.

Quote from TheGnome5786 >>

Or you could just say no and have him cut it down to three correct sentences.

Its a back story not a novel.

 I'm one of the lesser heroes from the Percy Jackson books who isn't actually 100% sure that he's descended from Zeus, but I feel it in my bones to be true!

If a player wants their character to have godly powers, they need to select a race, class, and (if allowed) background that grants them.  They don't get to simply claim bonus stuff because they wrote a totally cool backstory.  Also, remind them that they're playing a beginning character and don't get to have an epic-sized backstory because they're just starting out.  Also, consider reminding him what the campaign is set up as and have him think about the whys and hows of his character getting involved.

Thanks for the advice everyone!

I know i'm going to have to set realistic expectations. To my colleague, I want to balance out his fun VS having a wrecking ball wannabe half-god running along. 

For giving players stuff, it was my initial idea if they said they for example lived in daggerdale for years, I might have given them a little house/hut in Dagger falls but I think this was taken took far. My plans (per the plot hook I sent ) where to start litterally  at daggerdale (I know it a village but for my story I made it a city) spend one night there for roleplay (Tavern, pickpockets, ect...) next morning convoy heads to Anthars dell. 1 or 2 battle encounters, then call it a night. Then plan something more elatorate if they like it. 

But as mentionned higher, I like (and I think I will use) the idea of he's an outisider and he's being tested, stripped of his power he needs to figure how to survive as a simple fighter.

You don't have to move the character from Greece to Faerun. The Forgotten Realms is called that because it used to be part of Earth, it split away and was forgotten. The Forgotten Realms deity Tyr is actually Tyr Odinson. He's brothers with Thor. 

Lore wise, Achilles was born to mortals and his mom dipped him in the River Styx as a baby which gave him his invulnerability. As the son of Achilles he would have no special powers. Achilles was not a deity and his invulnerability wasn't genetic. 

When a player wants godly powers you tell them no. They get to read the Player's Handbook and other source material and choose from what's available. Sure, they can make their character as powerful as they want in their backstory. And in that case, do something similar to what Robert Hartley did with Baradun in Viva La Dirt League D&D's campaign - his powers were nullified by a BBEG and he's got to slowly get them back by leveling again. 

point of fact: mortal or not, Achilles was twice related to Zeus and not all that distantly. his mother Thetis was a daughter of Nereus who was son of Oceanus who was Zeus's first-cousin. his father Peleus was a son of demigod AEacus (and Endeis, another nymph) who was son of AEgina (yet another nymph) and Zeus. he's not on Hercules' level, but he's also not from peasant stock.

...but, having said that, it doesn't at all guarantee god-like power. even Hercules with his inherited strength wasn't immediately immune from damage (and certainly not psychic attacks!!) and had to earn his immortality. i really, really like the earlier suggestion of "i lost all my inherited strength as a test" whether or not that's a lie or delusion. plenty good reason to go adventuring regardless of truth.

alright here you go.

their backstory is totally 100% completely undeniably and reliably true.

BUT! they were juged by Zeus to have used their powers to carelessly, and were stripped of them and sent down to the material plane until they can prove their worthiness in feats of goodness. every time they level up its because Zeus has judged them to be worthy of a fraction of their power, and at 20th level, they become a full demigod again! that's why the care about the caravan, because they have to be a hero to get their full powers back!