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<blockquote data-quote="Lehrbuch" data-source="post: 7144757" data-attributes="member: 6811402">Two main strategies, I think:One is to encourage the players to create PCs who have their own goals (which might develop and change over time as the PCs achieve things). And then, as DM, let the PCs act on those goals and achieve things. If you do this, then there's no problem with the PCs idly waiting around for NPCs to give them quests, as the PCs already have their own thing to do.The other strategy is to have NPCs do things that the PCs have to respond to. The most obvious is for NPCs to attack the PCs, but it could be more subtle, such as a city council increasing taxation when passing through the city gates, or an arch-mage casting some sort of aura-spell that accidentally (or deliberately) affects all spell-casters in the kingdom, or whatever. The point is that if NPCs do things that direct affect/annoy the PCs then the players will eventually organise themselves to investigate, without needing a quest handed out to them.Too often DMs actively prevent these strategies. The first is prevented by the DM being afraid to give the players control over what the PCs are going to do. The second is prevented by the DM making the mistake of having the direct victims of antagonist NPCs be other NPCs (rather than the PCs being the direct victim).</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Lehrbuch, post: 7144757, member: 6811402"] Two main strategies, I think: One is to encourage the players to create PCs who have their own goals (which might develop and change over time as the PCs achieve things). And then, as DM, [I]let[/I] the PCs act on those goals and achieve things. If you do this, then there's no problem with the PCs idly waiting around for NPCs to give them quests, as the PCs already have their own thing to do. The other strategy is to have NPCs do things that the PCs have to respond to. The most obvious is for NPCs to attack the PCs, but it could be more subtle, such as a city council increasing taxation when passing through the city gates, or an arch-mage casting some sort of aura-spell that accidentally (or deliberately) affects all spell-casters in the kingdom, or whatever. The point is that if NPCs do things that direct affect/annoy the PCs then the players will eventually organise themselves to investigate, without needing a quest handed out to them. Too often DMs actively prevent these strategies. The first is prevented by the DM being afraid to give the players control over what the PCs are going to do. The second is prevented by the DM making the mistake of having the direct victims of antagonist NPCs be other NPCs (rather than the PCs being the direct victim). [/QUOTE]

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