Quickleaf
Legend
I recently had a flash of insight after reading David Noonan's article about Czikszentmihaly's "Flow": http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dd/20060127a.
When you, the GM, sit down to compose an adventure you want to challenge the players. Yes, the adventure must challenge the characters – but what does that mean, really? A bunch of dice rolling and interesting interpretation. But what keeps the players engaged, what makes them immersed in the game? Clear goals and feedback are essential – typically this takes the form of character hooks and experience/hero points, respectively.
The next step is crafting an adventure which challenges the player’s skills.
There’s no hard and fast formula, but you could do worse than include one of each of these player challenges in each adventure you write (I'm certainly trying to do so from now on):
Acting: Challenge the player’s interpersonal skills, and acting ability. In some situations this can be as simple as testing whether they can keep a straight face during an outwardly funny scene. In others it is a complex challenge which requires stepping inside the character’s mind and attempting to depict this fictional character convincingly to the group.
Creative: Challenge the player’s creative ability. While this is constantly happening in the game, a creative challenge is one which is passed by displaying great creativity. This may be in the form of a poem, a sketch, a short story, a meal, etc. Such creative acts can be done away from the gaming table, though it’s not necessary. For example, an ogre might be distracted by a convincing story.
Dilemma: Challenge the player’s beliefs. In order for this challenge to work it must also be a real decision for the character to make. For example, a priest of a war deity has no compunctions about resorting to violence, but put that same priest in a situation where unruly troops are looting the dead and attacking villagers and you’ve got a dilemma. The best dilemmas are philosophical questions guised with action and specifics.
Puzzle: Challenge the player’s reasoning ability. This is typically done with a riddle, cryptic prophecy, bit of cryptography, or, you know, one of the CRPG type puzzles.
Teamwork: Challenge the player’s ability to work in a group either as a subordinate, leader, or equal member. This emphasizes the social relationships between the players more than tactical considerations, so it’s more a matter of articulating clearly a proposed plan, and artfully voicing criticism without dissenting.
Tactical: Challenge the player’s ability to think strategically. This need not be limited to combat. For example, a player may have to decide which noble house to approach with a request for financing, or perhaps play two houses off each other to get the highest bid. Another example of non-violent tactics might be the decision of whether to organize a protest against a tyrant or appeal for “peace observers” from a respected nation.
But I'm no good at...
A player might complain that they're a poor actor, uncreative, hate (seemingly) unsolvable dilemmas, have trouble with puzzles, can't lead but want to play a leader, or have no grasp of strategy. My answer is to use the character's aptitudes to help the player (without providing an easy out or solving it for them). For example, a character can make an Int test to gain varying hints on the puzzle.
Any thoughts about other ways to challenge your players? Experiences of what has (or hasn't) worked?
When you, the GM, sit down to compose an adventure you want to challenge the players. Yes, the adventure must challenge the characters – but what does that mean, really? A bunch of dice rolling and interesting interpretation. But what keeps the players engaged, what makes them immersed in the game? Clear goals and feedback are essential – typically this takes the form of character hooks and experience/hero points, respectively.
The next step is crafting an adventure which challenges the player’s skills.
There’s no hard and fast formula, but you could do worse than include one of each of these player challenges in each adventure you write (I'm certainly trying to do so from now on):
Acting: Challenge the player’s interpersonal skills, and acting ability. In some situations this can be as simple as testing whether they can keep a straight face during an outwardly funny scene. In others it is a complex challenge which requires stepping inside the character’s mind and attempting to depict this fictional character convincingly to the group.
Creative: Challenge the player’s creative ability. While this is constantly happening in the game, a creative challenge is one which is passed by displaying great creativity. This may be in the form of a poem, a sketch, a short story, a meal, etc. Such creative acts can be done away from the gaming table, though it’s not necessary. For example, an ogre might be distracted by a convincing story.
Dilemma: Challenge the player’s beliefs. In order for this challenge to work it must also be a real decision for the character to make. For example, a priest of a war deity has no compunctions about resorting to violence, but put that same priest in a situation where unruly troops are looting the dead and attacking villagers and you’ve got a dilemma. The best dilemmas are philosophical questions guised with action and specifics.
Puzzle: Challenge the player’s reasoning ability. This is typically done with a riddle, cryptic prophecy, bit of cryptography, or, you know, one of the CRPG type puzzles.
Teamwork: Challenge the player’s ability to work in a group either as a subordinate, leader, or equal member. This emphasizes the social relationships between the players more than tactical considerations, so it’s more a matter of articulating clearly a proposed plan, and artfully voicing criticism without dissenting.
Tactical: Challenge the player’s ability to think strategically. This need not be limited to combat. For example, a player may have to decide which noble house to approach with a request for financing, or perhaps play two houses off each other to get the highest bid. Another example of non-violent tactics might be the decision of whether to organize a protest against a tyrant or appeal for “peace observers” from a respected nation.
But I'm no good at...
A player might complain that they're a poor actor, uncreative, hate (seemingly) unsolvable dilemmas, have trouble with puzzles, can't lead but want to play a leader, or have no grasp of strategy. My answer is to use the character's aptitudes to help the player (without providing an easy out or solving it for them). For example, a character can make an Int test to gain varying hints on the puzzle.
Any thoughts about other ways to challenge your players? Experiences of what has (or hasn't) worked?
