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In my world, I have an NPC (Baron) who made a deal with a devil (Stan) which requires Baron to maintain a diary in exchange for immortality. The many volumes of the diary serve to give Baron his immortality and also are leading to Stan taking dominion of the realm (unless, or maybe if, the players intervene).

I really dig the idea that reading a volume of the diary transports the reader into the memories of the author. "Reading" here includes the stipulation that when the book is read aloud, all within hearing distance get teleported into the memory. However, if the person holding the book chooses not to read out loud, or the entire party isn't within hearing distance, this scenario comes with the risk of the party being split.

My central fear is that the party is separated at the time the book gets read, and I have to find a way of effectively running two games simultaneously. Party splits aren't uncommon in D&D, since there are published dungeons with traps that split the party, but it's a difficult scenario to run.

What GM techniques or strategies can I use to run a game in which the party has been split for an extended length of time?

Akixkisu
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Andrew Micallef
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    As it stands, this will likely attract random opinions instead of good experienced-backed answers. Could you clarify the problem a bit? Are you specifically looking for existing rules/mechanics for entering someone's memories? If not, could you elaborate on why "teleport them all anyway" isn't going to work at your table? – Red Orca May 01 '22 at 02:03
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    What makes you think a fighter would not be literate, high ranking soldiers were often literate. Bard would almost certainly literate. Also you are the DM you make the rules, maybe reading the book teleports everyone present. – John May 01 '22 at 02:10
  • @RedOrca I guess I am looking either for existing rules/mechanics or experience of other gms with a similar situation. But I agree to your point and will try to clarify. I suppose my fear is that the party might be seperated when they encounter the book. – Andrew Micallef May 01 '22 at 02:29
  • @RedOrca does that make it a bit clearer? Although your request for clarification made me think more deeply about the problem and gave me a better insight to how I might avert it from happening. – Andrew Micallef May 01 '22 at 02:51
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    It sounds more like your actual question here has nothing to do with the specifics of the "teleporting into another character's memories" situation, but rather that you want to know how viable it is, as a GM, to have half your party in one place and half in another. Is that correct? – thatgirldm May 01 '22 at 04:01
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    @thatgirldm Actually, yeah I think so – Andrew Micallef May 01 '22 at 04:05
  • Unfortunately, I’ve got to VTC, even after the edit. “Do you have experience with splitting the party” is still an open ended discussion prompt. – Thomas Markov May 01 '22 at 04:19
  • Your question may be better suited for a traditional discussion forum, see here for our curated list. – Thomas Markov May 01 '22 at 04:40
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    The other way this question could go is to focus more on the "how can I do this while ensuring the party doesn't get split" part. That might be more directly answerable with experience, especially since more common things like teleporter traps have similar issues. – Ryan C. Thompson May 01 '22 at 04:54
  • @AndrewMicallef Hey I am following you. I have created a question here that might be received better. Feel free to edit it to be more accurate. I'd leave the examples though. They might not be your exact concerns, but they might have the same solutions to your concerns. – Daron May 01 '22 at 15:00
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    OP, I took a significant hacksaw to the question to try to narrow it down and make it eligible for re-opening, based on your comments here. If you don't agree with my edits, please feel free to revert. Other RPG.SE members, PTAL and see if this is more directly answerable. – thatgirldm May 01 '22 at 20:32
  • @thatgirldm I don’t think the edit resolved the issue, though it is a step in the right direction. For me, the trouble there is that splitting the party is not a priori an issue. It is not a problem to be solved. It’s like asking “what strategies can I use to run a game with two clerics?” We need to know either what problems have arisen, or what problems OP is trying to avoid. – Thomas Markov May 01 '22 at 23:35
  • Thanks for the surgery @thatgirldm I don't disagree with your edits. I guess I also agree with the assessment that this is too open ended. I don't know how to rephrase the question to narrow it further. I guess the solution is to stop worrying about all the wotifs and just roll with whatever happens, and reserve the right to correct course if it does get out of hand – Andrew Micallef May 02 '22 at 01:10
  • OP, yeah, honestly that's your best course of action :) sometimes GMing is about taking what your players giving you and running with it! – thatgirldm May 02 '22 at 01:21
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    Do existing questions on this subject not answer your questions e.g. https://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/59896/how-to-handle-a-group-of-inexperienced-players-who-split-their-party-more-often?rq=1 https://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/57027/how-to-keep-the-group-engaged-when-the-party-is-split?rq=1 – Nepene Nep May 02 '22 at 09:46
  • @NepeneNep Actually yeah, those two give fantastic examples and tips on how to handle exactly what I wanted to handle – Andrew Micallef May 02 '22 at 10:20
  • Title of this question present different problem than the body. Please try to make it consistent. – Mołot Oct 17 '22 at 10:56

1 Answers1

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Make the triggering clause include a contingency of keeping the group together to focus on the desired part.

When you worry about long-distance travel with a logic component that would split the party, you can adjust the initial clause to have a contingency that keeps the group together.

On the spot, I could generate the idea that the book doesn't only transport the entities in immediate proximity but also those included in the reader's thoughts or similar shenanigans.

The trick here is not this specific or any other solution but lies in the approach to make the story fit the party instead of focusing on the party as consumers of the story.

The desired part is that the diary transports the party to the memory realm — the set-piece you and your players want to experience, so make them do that.

The consequence of splitting the party is not the set piece you want to focus on, even though it could be, but you choose whether or not it is the case. Eliminate the option by designing the set-piece in a manner that doesn't detract from its appeal. You already see that splitting the party is undesirable, and there might be some other unplanned weird interactions — follow the logic that makes you and your players experience the game you want to play. You don't need an air-tight explanation, and if you want one, you can rationalise it after the fact.

Akixkisu
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    I'm not sure what justified this question being reopened, but thank you for articulating what I believe to be the right way of handling this :P – Andrew Micallef May 02 '22 at 10:15