1) My players are completely unfamiliar with the setting. As such, I am planning on starting the game in a gate town (Ribcage probably, they like evil places) and not introduce Sigil for a long time.
2) One of my players played Torment and has a very bad opinion of the City of Doors and the Planescape setting as a result (I don't know what his problems is, the game rocked). He has been complaining for quite some time about the upcoming campaign.
3) As some older players have left the area, they have been replaced with some newer members who are altogether inexperienced with DnD, 3.5 or otherwise. I fear that teaching them not only DnD, but Planescape, will be a task nearly impossible.
Ok, I would greatly appreciate help on this topic, preferably constructive help.
Except for that one who doesn't like Torment. If you don't like Planescape, even after playing Torment, I don't know what is wrong with you. But seriously, it's no fun to play with someone who is set against the campaign in general. Do you need to put this guy in the party if he's already decided he hates where the campaign is going?
Maybe starting in a good-based gate town would be easier, since they won't have to deal with the "everything's turned on its head" feature of many evil gate towns.
Except for that one who doesn't like Torment. If you don't like Planescape, even after playing Torment, I don't know what is wrong with you.
That's fraggin strange I tell you... most of the people I know who've played Torment have later gotten interested in Planescape in general. In fact, there was a guy this past weekend at Enworld NC gameday who noticed my LoP DM screen which was being used by one of my players who was running a PS oneshot game, and the guy said, "Oh cool, you're playing a Torment game?"
We paused and looked. "Planescape, what Torment was based on. It's a game unto itself, look into it."
He blinked and replied, "Seriously? Cool! That game rocked!"
He wasn't, till then, aware of the books, setting, etc. Another convert.
I fear that teaching them not only DnD, but Planescape, will be a task nearly impossible.
Ok, I would greatly appreciate help on this topic, preferably constructive help.
It can be done. I introduced everyone in my current group except one (an unnamed WizO) to the setting (she introduced me to DnD in the first place). They all adore it now, and I was the same way when I was first introduced to the game.
I'd suggest that you go light on the use of Sigilian cant though. At least at first. Go too into the quirks of the setting and they might not give it a chance.
I'd suggest that you go light on the use of Sigilian cant though. At least at first. Go too into the quirks of the setting and they might not give it a chance.
I disagree with that one. I've introduced a total of 11 people to the PS setting, 7 of those people I introduced to D&D. The thing that really got most of them in into the setting was the fact that my NPC's used Sigilian cant. At the end of each first few games, they would talk about the weird slang the NPC's were using and thought it sounded cool. A couple even wanted to borrow the Planewalker Handbook to learn some cant after I showed them the glossery. And the page in there with "Cant for Primes" really got them chuckling. The rogues wanted to learn that section just to make fun of primes that start using it. They don't all necessarily use the cant themselves all the time, but they seem to like hearing it. PS is exotic (which is what usually turns people onto the setting)...the cant makes it seem even more exotic.
It helps if you're good at roleplaying your NPC's though. If you use cant, do it naturally. Don't make it seem forced. It's good to use a couple of words in the same sentence, but not too many. That way they don't hear just one word and notice it's obvious you're throwing it in there. And it's good not to use too many words in a sentence, or it's obvious you're just showing off the cant that you know. A good reference would be watching British movies. If you're American, Snatch and Lock Stock 2 Smoking Barrels are good movies to see guys using slang yer not used to hearing.
From what I've seen, players new to PS seem to latch on to the setting everytime I use the "quirky" stuff. They liked the Chaosmen and how funny/weird they were, they liked the Harmonium because they hated them for bullying them around, they liked dealing with Takers cause they would get annoyed at how they charged for every little thing, they liked Wooly Cupgrass cause he'd accidently drink their potions when identifying them and the results were comical, they liked the crazy "useless" magic items Akin would try to pawn on them in his Friendly Fiend shop, and they liked hearing the cant. This was all from just starting in Sigil. They liked the setting before even travelling the planes.
When I moved my Clueless players from their demiplane to Sigil, I bombarded them with cant to enhance their feeling of being far away from home (poor, poor portal orphans...). I've let up on it somewhat now that their characters are more used to being in Sigil even though my NPC's would still be slinging cant left and right. I figure that their PC's are more able to deal with it than they are as players, so I let up a little.
I've played through Torment, but I was wondering if there is a site where I can find Sigilian cant dictionary or post them. I know the standard stuff, but include them so that my players can use them (eventually).
Try http://www.mimir.net/cant/
basically a tiny flame from his finger. ;) to drop the hint of the magic being skewed I over-exaggerated the effect, singeing all the hair off the poor victim.. Did my players catch the hint?? No, they immideatly cast a FIREBALL in the next encounter which occured in a narrow hall.. lol they survived the ordeal, but only becuase they were higher level than the encounter called for normally.. and man could I not stop laughing at them.. I love DMing willing idiots some days..