At wits end

[kigmatzomat]

New game or long-running one?

It could be that they had a different vision of the game world/campaign and have realized they are now at odds with the reality. They'd rather not ditch their characters so they are hoping you, the only person who knows the entirety of the campaign, can provide them the hook they need.

When my players hit this point I say "tell me about your character before the game started" and use that to draw out goals.

 

[KaosDevice]

It's this whole reason why I like Ars Magica and the whole troupe style play. The players have a built in sense of belonging and ties to other characters in the group. Lazy, sure, but effective.

 

[BigFreekinGoblinoid]

I think Mark & toofalls may be onto something. The reason for your players feeling they need more motivation may stem from boredom. Sometimes waiting for even four other players actions seems like forever, and all of your ideas are gone by that point. Consider that nine people may possibly be too large of a group. Perhaps two groups ( DON"T just lump those four all together if you can avoid it! ) is the answer if you want to keep everyone in the game. Then make them battle each other in a massive misunderstanding that leads to double TPK's. Just kidding about that last part.

 

[Darthjaye]

Ok, now this is my suggestion. The heck with hand feeding them a backstory and reason for being. Go get a DVD called The Gamers (I think it's from Deadgentlemen Productions but you might want to google the title to make sure) and put their unimaginitive butts in front of it. If they can't get a chuckle and simple insiriation from that flick tell em to go home and find a movie called "Hawk The Slayer" or any number of fantasy genre movies. If that doesn't work their terminal and dump em. D&D is about imagination and if they can't work up their own reaons for being there, on their own, then they have bad character concepts and/or no real ingenuity.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

You could always suggest some really bad backgrounds that no one would accept(you know, "I am on a quest to save pizza" or something similarly stupid) and tell them that if they can think of better, that's fine. Of course, if they're the kind to run with jokes, its a bad idea.

 

[Turjan]

You could always suggest some really bad backgrounds that no one would accept(you know, "I am on a quest to save pizza" or something similarly stupid) and tell them that if they can think of better, that's fine.

A quest to save Pizza the Hut? Sounds marvellous !

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

A quest to save Pizza the Hut? Sounds marvellous !

See, if you have players like Turjan, its a bad idea.

 

[DarrenGMiller]

The rogue in me wants to tell you that in the house across the street from you, some poor Vampire the Masquerade GM is wondering why his players never showed for the game.

Agh! You very nearly caused me to ruin my monitor, or at least cover it with what I was drinking when I read this.

DM

 

[Andor]

Has anyone considered the idea that maybe the players HAD a motivation and the game is not fulfilling it? I've had games like that.

ME: What kind of game is this?
GM: It a McGuffin hunt to Save the World!
ME: Sweet! I'll make a character who wants to do that.

...
GM: Cool, but for now we're running through this nifty module I bought.
ME: Does it have anything to do with the plot?
GM: Not a thing.
ME: So... The world is in jeopardy, and we're mucking about in a dungeon we're not suited for, and getting our asses kicked hard, for no reason?
GM: Yup.
ME: Can you please give me a reason to do this, instead of going off on my own to save the world before the clock runs out?

 

[SteveC]

Everyone comes to the table for different reasons. Before a campaign begins I pull aside each one of my players and have a conversation with them about goals so that I can take notes and try to work some of thier ideas into the game. Mabye the players in question don't have a clear idea of the game world, or your setup. Maybe they want to develop deep personalities and want to stay in synch with what you have planned for the game.

From the tone of your post I'd say you are reading too much into it. With 9 players in one game they are going to be starving for time to develop their characters to that high rolelaying level. Pehraps they feel as though they are redundant because there are so many other players. I think, for a group that enjoys intense roll playing and not just a beer and pretzles group there to roll dice and mash orcs, 9 players isn't manageable. I have 7 in one of mine, and getting themes in for every member has yet to happen after 3 years of running this campaign.

Regarding the Paladin and his/her interest in exploring sexuality... as long as they aren't being offensive about it and are just roleplaying, then why not? Roleplaying is about living through another persons eyes in my opinion (another reason large groups are a problem). If he/she is making folks uncomfortable, dusrupting the group by making a big joke out of it, or taking up more than his fair share of your time, then that person needs to be talked to.

This is one of the reasons I really like EN World, I have some suggestions to offer on a post, and then I see that someone has already said them for me! Seriously, though these are excellent points. The best GM I have ever played with used a very strong carrot approach to get the group to work on their motivations and backstory, by offering extra XP as story awards, but he also tailored the game to the individual player's interests. We've had several new players to our group join, and it was great to see people really getting into the game this way.

But, and this is a big but, that isn't for everyone. We've had several players who just wanted to come and kill some orcs over the years, and I think the GM needs to say to the players that's okay too. You never know when a player will get more involved if you give them the chance!

So my advice for this situation: go to the players with these problems as a group and say "okay, how do all of you know each other and why would you risk your lives to stick together?"

--Steve