Shadow of the Sea Lord - Building Relations and Project Hiatus

Firstly, this'll be the last post in this series for a bit. I'm at the point where I need to work on plot and that means spoilers I want to keep from my players, whom I hope are also among my readers. As such I'll be going radio silent until, with all probability, after GenCon, at least as far as this project goes.

Building Relations

Two weeks ago I detailed how I intended to lean into trope and start off in a bar. With a bar fight. Because pirates.

I expect this to go a long way to generating the forward momentum I need for the game to get underway smoothly, but it's not the only thing. I need to be sure to give the players and their characters ample reasons to stick together. The best way (I think) to do that is to ensure that the players on on each other's sides. That means establishing relationships between the PCs that connect them together, via their back stories, so that the group can form up around common bonds with a common purpose.

Eren Auma

• Eren was apprenticed to the same inquisitor as Qart at the same time. Eren doesn't blame Qart for the accidental release of the demon.
• Eren and Fairhilde met during their respective times wandering the world. The two bonded over dwarven culture, and their own mutual free spirited natures. 

Dettah Isan

• Alyse & Dettah met when the two were working security for a merchant. They formed a casual friendship based on their mutual admiration for the flair for the dramatic each brought to conflicts and combats. 
• Dettah and Zags met shortly after the Great Green Fire. Having both seen the lowest of lows in life they found common ground. The pair have worked together with Zags' rage and Dettah's grace serving as unique counterpoints when defending their clientele. 

Qart Eyesore

• Qart used to work with Eren during his days of henching for an Inquisitor. Qart liked the human, who seemed more willing than most to actually see other cultures rather than dismiss them out of hand.
• Qart met Alyse because he was selling and she was buying. Their mutually mercenary natures created a friendship built of a love of haggling and getting the best of the big folk. 

Zags Gash

• Dettah and Zags met shortly after the Great Green Fire. Having both seen the lowest of lows in life they found common ground. The pair have worked together with Zags' rage and Dettah's grace serving as unique counterpoints when defending their clientele. 
• Zags owes Fairhilde his life. The monk found him in the aftermath of fight for his life, and dragged him to temple to be healed. Though the dwarf thinks nothing of the deed, she also appreciated that Zags feels he needs to repay her in some way.

Fairhilde Goldheart

• Eren and Fairhilde met during their respective times wandering the world. The two bonded over dwarven culture, and their own mutual free spirited natures. 
• Zags owes Fairhilde his life. The monk found him in the aftermath of fight for his life, and dragged him to temple to be healed. Though the dwarf thinks nothing of the deed, she also appreciated that Zags feels he needs to repay her in some way.

Alyse Swifthand

• Qart met Alyse because he was selling and she was buying. Their mutually mercenary natures created a friendship built of a love of haggling and getting the best of the big folk.
• Alyse met Dettah when the two were working security for a merchant. They formed a casual friendship based on their mutual admiration for the flair for the dramatic each brought to conflicts and combats.