How Do You Get Your Players To Stay On An Adventure Path?

Ralif Redhammer · Sep 24, 2015

There’s something I read in the 4e Players Strategy Guide, of all places, that really struck with me. It was something along the lines of “there’s an implicit contract between DM and player that, yeah, you can do anything you want, including ignoring the obvious hooks for the adventure the DM has worked on. But if you do so, you’re probably going to have a poorer gaming experience.”

For my part, I try to account for the most likely possible player choices, but I will let the players go off on tangents and improvise. But I’ll also try to eventually steer them gently back on track. Maybe an NPC or an added encounter reinforces the danger they’re ignoring. Or the tangent they’re going on eventually just leads back to the main path.

I’ve seen other DMs just outright tell players “You’re not going to find anything there,” or “You investigate the mysterious library but find nothing of interest.” I really try not to do that, but especially in convention play when time is an issue, I can see the necessity.

delericho · Sep 24, 2015

Celebrim said:
Oh they had more than that, they just didn't realize it.

Well, quite. And it's only an issue if you want them to move "off the rails" - in which case you need to make sure they know they have choices.

Of course, and ironically, in that case you've got the DM negating the players choice to stay with the plot they're following. After all, they've chosen to stick with the plot rather than do all those other things, and it's not like that's not a valid choice, even if it's a case of the majority overruling a single player.

cmad1977 · Sep 24, 2015

I don't do much of anything. My players are adults and none of them have the need to be the 'special snowflake'. They've warped the rails plenty though, which I like.

And manacles. Manacles will keep your players right where you want them

Zak S · Sep 24, 2015

cmad1977 said:
I don't do much of anything. My players are adults and none of them have the need to be the 'special snowflake'.

I don't understand-- how do your players even know that going east instead of west will make them a subadult who wants to be a special snowflake?

That is: how do you structure the campaign so that the known path is always obvious?

cmad1977 · Sep 24, 2015

Zak S said:
I don't understand-- how do your players even know that going east instead of west will make them a subadult who wants to be a special snowflake?

That is: how do you structure the campaign so that the known path is always obvious?

Clearly by railroading my players mercilessly.

Zak S · Sep 24, 2015

cmad1977 said:
Clearly by railroading my players mercilessly.

"Railroading" though is essentially just a feeling players have when certain techniques are employed and they experience it as negative--what are the techniques you use?

Like there's a Save The World plot with NPCs pointing the way, there's just going "Nah there's nothing over there", there's magical restraints, etc. What are the methods you use specifically?

Morrus · Sep 24, 2015

Players know they're playing an adventure path. They buy in to the social contract. I've never had an issue. As long as people know what type of campaign they're playing, they'll play that type of campaign.

A well-written adventure path makes this easy and natural. A less well-written adventure path doesn't.

Crothian · Sep 24, 2015

Before the campaign we always talk about what the campaign. If it is an adventure path then the players have agreed to be railroaded to some degree As to how to keep them on the right path I provide hints and clues to them so they know where they are expected to go. But they also know that there are times they can go off the path an it really doesn't matter. I can get them back to the path in time to participate in the next plot point. When we did Kingmaker the players got off track of the AP to explore things on their own for over nine months of gaming. When they were done with what they wanted to do we went back to the plot of Kingmaker.

Zak S · Sep 24, 2015

Morrus said:
Players know they're playing an adventure path. They buy in to the social contract. I've never had an issue. As long as people know what type of campaign they're playing, they'll play that type of campaign.

But even published adventure paths don't always signal "This Strategy Is Not Part Of The Path"--so what techniques do you use to signal to players what is and isn't on the path?

Like if they go "Ok we sneak into the goblin camp using an illusion" do you just go "That's not on the path, investigate what happened to MeadowTown instead"? How does it work?

Morrus · Sep 24, 2015

Zak S said:
But even published adventure paths don't always signal "This Strategy Is Not Part Of The Path"--so what techniques do you use to signal to players what is and isn't on the path?

Like if they go "Ok we sneak into the goblin camp using an illusion" do you just go "That's not on the path, investigate what happened to MeadowTown instead"? How does it work?

It's not really any different to a single adventure. I imagine you've run published adventures from the TSR era before (or some of WoTC 3E adventures, perhaps) so you probably have an idea of what a published adventure looks like. It's just several of those in a row. Some adventures within a given path might be more linear or more sandboxy in themselves.

How Do You Get Your Players To Stay On An Adventure Path?

Ralif Redhammer

Legend

delericho

Legend

cmad1977

Hero

Zak S

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cmad1977

Hero

Zak S

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Morrus

Well, that was fun

Crothian

First Post

Zak S

Guest

Morrus

Well, that was fun

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