Source
r/Gloomhaven•
Plan-Six

Question – catching players up that don’t play every adventure

My wife and I are going to be playing Gloomhaven together and another couple has expressed interest in join us on some adventures. But we don’t want to only play the game when they are available, so we will be moving ahead more often than not(also we have played 4 players and it’s a bit slow for our taste).

Is there a good resource for how to catch players up if they miss a bunch of sessions? Or should we just play it by ear?

Posted Dec 26, 2018, 6:56 PM UTC

2514
ASnugglyBear•

I suggest a power ballad performed in costume.

Lyric poetry is also a good recourse.

48
Mgshamster•

We have a 9 player group, and obviously only four can play at a time. So not everyone plays every session. This allows the game owner to play on a regular basis while the rest of us can get in some game time as we can around family and other life obligations.

As mentioned, the mechanics are easy. But for story, we're all in a Facebook messenger group together. When it's city/road event time, we share the card with the whole group and give 15 minutes for everyone to respond before making a decision. Then the results are shared.

At the beginning and end of every scenario, we also share the plot. And we do a recap each time to catch everyone up.

That way, everyone gets the story and has some input on what happens on the road and in the city, and those who can physically make game are able to enjoy the perks of playing.

30
deedeethecat•

This is an ingenious idea and I love the idea of a large group because it can be hard to keep going with smaller groups. I also feel bad if life gets in the way and I need to cancel. Mind you, my partner and I play with another couple and we've played almost every weekend for over a year, however long ago that it was first released.

1
sesharpma•

Some posters have said that they have lost track of the story even when they were present for all scenarios, when moving from one plotline to another opened earlier. I started keeping track of our path through the scenarios, so we could always go back and refresh ourselves on why we were supposed to do a particular mission. I used pencil and paper to draw the tree, but there is surely an app out there for this.

Song or poetry is perhaps excessive :-), but a little roleplaying might be more fun than just summarizing the story so far.

"Hey, glad you guys showed up. We want to climb this giant beanstalk into the clouds to stop this giant from coming down and eating people, but he looked too big for us to handle alone. Where did the beanstalk come from? Well, doofus over there spent all his money on some magic beans, and for once it turned out not to be a scam. Oh, he got them from some old Quatryl lady we met on the way to rescuing that princess from the tower. You remember that note we found. You didn't miss much; she turned out to be a Vermling princess. We had to fight her whole clan to avoid one of us having to marry her. They had a shaman ready to do the ceremony. "

8
smi1ey•

As others have said, the game balances for mixed level parties. However, for our rotating players, we give 5g and the standard xp reward (based on the difficulty level) for each scenario they missed that we completed. They get nothing if we fail a scenario. It’s not a lot, but it does help them feel like they aren’t falling super far behind.

4
HoleyerThanThou•

I'd suggest just forming a separate party. That way they don't get left behind and you can try out other characters. You do know what is coming but from my experience it might help you get a clearer idea of what the story is or take the path not traveled.

4
anyram•

We use this to keep track of the scenarios we have completed/unlocked and how they connect. https://dmungin.github.io/gloomhaven-scenario-tree-ng/

You can also make notes and keep track of if you looted the chest at the end (important if you replay it in casual mode). Might be helpful to catch them up on which scenarios you’ve completed and how they fit in the overall campaign.

4
Natural-One•

Mechanically, it is super simple. They have their characters, and they come along when they are there. The game balances for party composition decently. As far as plot...well, the plot is fairly weak, so just a couple notes as to what objectives have been achieved, what happened, and what you're going for right now is enough for it to work.

3
Plan-SixOP•

If they miss like +5 adventures and prosperity increases, would it be a good idea to level them up as well?

1
BSA_DEMAX51•

If they want to, they can always choose to level up such that their level is equal to the town's prosperity. They don't have to, though. It'd be their call.

4
Natural-One•

If prosperity increases, then they can level up to prosperity automatically. I'd do it if they're the kinds of people who can grasp with the tactics changes that new cards can bring. If you jump multiple prosperities (e.g. 2 to 4), you can have them level to 3 with the first scenario and level 4 on the second. They'll be the same level, but be advised, they will still be less powerful due to having fewer perks and poorer equipment.

Those are the official rules. Now, even with the adjusted levels based on composition if you and your spouse are level 5 and they are level 1 your difficulty will be level 2, which might make it hard for them to contribute due to the power level disparity. If it is more fun for your group to have everyone be the same level (or thereabouts) and contributing every time...just boost their level a bit. Prosperity gains happen slowly and are very swingy based on event cards, so house ruling as needed for this little thing won't break the game and could increase the overall enjoyment.

2
ProphetOfNothing•

The rules state when prosperity increases all new characters start at the current prosperity level AND any characters below the prosperity level may level up to it, if they choose. The only downfall is they don't get the new character gold, but we house ruled they do (15 gold per level).

Also since scenario level takes the average party level into account it never really feels like they are useless if they're a couple levels behind, and can level up pretty quickly since they're getting more xp/scenario than they would by playing at a scenario level higher than their own.

These two things generally mean if someone misses 4 or 5 scenarios they are never really more than 1-3 levels behind and don't feel useless in new scenarios.

(Source: personal experience. We have 1 player of our 4 who routinely misses 3 or 4 scenarios at a time and still manages to be quite a partne potent party member)

2
deadpool809•

I actually maintain a "the adventure so far" story, to remind all the players what they have done, the choices they can make, and how we all got there. Just a paragraph on each scenario, what happened, and why. I find the rest of the party really enjoys it, and it helps keep "the story" strong each session.

2
random_actuary•

We ran into that in our group of 4, where I was starting to pull away. If other people miss, too bad. But if the host misses, gotta reschedule.

Here are some ideas:

- Run through one of the set of kickstarter campaign with your friends. Lets you and your wife try different characters. One downside is you don't make progress on your main campaign, but that just extends its life. Another downside is that switching the modifier/item decks around can be a pain.

- If they get behind, you and your wife can run through some scenarios with their characters. It'll give you a fresh experience. You'd want to let them re-choose the perks, items, and level-up cards of course. One downside is that if you're doing the non-canon hidden retirement goals, you can't make progress towards their goals.

- You could also run a separate party with you and your wife. This has pros and cons similar to the kickstarter campaign but lets you still make progress.

1