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How should a GM handle refused plots
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<blockquote data-quote="Blue" data-source="post: 7096404" data-attributes="member: 20564"><p>Embrace it. They have just handed you an opportunity.</p><p></p><p>I throw many more plots at the PCs then they can handle. This gives the players the choice to get involved in what plots interest them, and also guide how they want to effect the world. Lots of player empowerment thought their choices they guide everything.</p><p></p><p>On the flip side, a plot that the players don't follow (at this point) is dynamic. If it's something that the players are interested in I'll use that as an opportunity to have others deal with it - often advancing goals not aligned with the PCs. This gets it off the table because <em>there is nothing worse for a DM to do to his table then forcing players to go through a plot they are not interested in and have rejected</em>.</p><p></p><p>On the other hand, if it's a choice of other plots that have caught their attention first (maybe time sensitive, or character arc, or nearer-and-dearer to the PCs hearts or coin purses), then just have it grow. When they get back to it, plans have advanced (which is good, because PCs may have advanced as well) and not its in a later stage. Go for it from there. Maybe it won't even be on the PCs radar for a while and then will rear it's ugly head in a nastier configuration because it was allowed to grow.</p><p></p><p>This keeps the world dynamic - things happening outside the scope of the PCs breathes life into your setting.</p><p></p><p>Your third question comes back to your very first line: "Sometimes players refuse a plot the referee is significantly invested in.". The DM should absolutely also have fun. But it's a group game - so should everyone else. There was a recent thread about retaining women gamers that had a part along the lines of "I saw she liked intrigue games, but I switched to dungeon crawl and she was bored and left". In that case, it wasn't about retaining a player because she was a woman, it was about retaining a player because the DM wanted to run things that didn't interest them. Take this to heart.</p><p></p><p>Not to say you can't mine it for ideas, tie it in differently, or what have you. But forcing it on the players will mean a bad time for everyone. Trust me, forcing players to run on an adventure they actively don't want to be on is not a fun experience for the DM as well.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Blue, post: 7096404, member: 20564"] Embrace it. They have just handed you an opportunity. I throw many more plots at the PCs then they can handle. This gives the players the choice to get involved in what plots interest them, and also guide how they want to effect the world. Lots of player empowerment thought their choices they guide everything. On the flip side, a plot that the players don't follow (at this point) is dynamic. If it's something that the players are interested in I'll use that as an opportunity to have others deal with it - often advancing goals not aligned with the PCs. This gets it off the table because [I]there is nothing worse for a DM to do to his table then forcing players to go through a plot they are not interested in and have rejected[/I]. On the other hand, if it's a choice of other plots that have caught their attention first (maybe time sensitive, or character arc, or nearer-and-dearer to the PCs hearts or coin purses), then just have it grow. When they get back to it, plans have advanced (which is good, because PCs may have advanced as well) and not its in a later stage. Go for it from there. Maybe it won't even be on the PCs radar for a while and then will rear it's ugly head in a nastier configuration because it was allowed to grow. This keeps the world dynamic - things happening outside the scope of the PCs breathes life into your setting. Your third question comes back to your very first line: "Sometimes players refuse a plot the referee is significantly invested in.". The DM should absolutely also have fun. But it's a group game - so should everyone else. There was a recent thread about retaining women gamers that had a part along the lines of "I saw she liked intrigue games, but I switched to dungeon crawl and she was bored and left". In that case, it wasn't about retaining a player because she was a woman, it was about retaining a player because the DM wanted to run things that didn't interest them. Take this to heart. Not to say you can't mine it for ideas, tie it in differently, or what have you. But forcing it on the players will mean a bad time for everyone. Trust me, forcing players to run on an adventure they actively don't want to be on is not a fun experience for the DM as well. [/QUOTE]
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