Do you like plots?

[Quasqueton]

As a Player (not a DM), how much plot do you like in a D&D game?

Are you satisfied with raiding dungeons without thought as to any behind-the-scenes reasons for going in?

Are you excited by deep, convoluted plots for everything and everyone?

I'm finding that perhaps I'm putting way too much thought into my campaign. It seems that the PCs/Players only question/note/figure out about 20% of what I put in the campaign. When I make a dungeon (in the ancient, lost underground site sense), I tend to consider who built the place, what it was built for (if different than what it is being currently used for), what happened to the original occupants, how the new occupants came to it (or why the original occupants are still there after a very long time), what special items or persons the PCs can find/meet in the dungeon, who sent the PCs to the place, why they sent them, who might want to stop them, etc.

But the PCs/Players often don't seem to give those ideas any consideration. I'm thinking I exert way too much mental effort in this.

I'm not complaining about my Players. I'm am wondering though if my Players' lack of interest in the minutia of my campaign plot and locations and people is a normal thing, or if they are unique. Do you or your Players delve into the whys and wherefores of your campaign?

Quasqueton

 

[Crothian]

I'm adaptible. I go with the group. One game I'm in has the compledx plots and the story lines that twist together and its a lot of fun to unlock the clues and put things together.

Another game I'm in we are in the 4th session of a dungeroin crawl. It is very plot light, we just go where the DM points. But it is also fun, I really wasn't expecting to be enjoying it as much as I do.

In both games though, I have great groups. As long as the group is good, I'm happy with any type of game.

 

[Warehouse23]

DMs need to strike a balance between intricate game worlds and fast moving, fun ones. The goal, afterall, is immersion--the point where the players are engrossed in the world.

On the one hand, I like backstory--it helps a player understand the dungeon--and often helps disarming traps and riddles.

On the other hand, it's too much when the DM weaves an elaborate story arc, regarding the primal forces represented by each character...without telling the PCs that there is a grand metaphor running the game. I only want so much symbolism in a D&D game....

 

[billd91]

There's a middle way between plotting and just playing to hack. Personally, I like that way best.
But when it comes to figuring out who made a dungeon and why, even if it's not something the PCs are likely to care about or even be able to discover, figuring that out might still be of use to the DM. Sometimes having that detailed backstory helps the DM come up with other good ideas. It also certainly contributes to the versimilitude of the world because everything seems to fit together better whether the players perceive exactly how those joints and connections work or not.

 

[Storyteller01]

MUST>>> HAVE>>> PLOT!!!


j/k. Seriously, I enjoy a good story, but I can relagte it during a dungoen crawl campaign (so what happens at the bar during down time).

As for overthinking a story, it happens. We create these hugely elaborate stories, and the players barely notice. But if you think about it, how often do the heros in a book know the answers at the beginning, or know what exactly they're looking at when they find it?

Use it to your advantage. Make a previous detail the central point of a later adventure (you have to decipher the anciet scroll. What a minute... don't these look like the carvvings in X dungeon?).

It works for me anyway. Players tend to pay attention so they don't miss any details.



PS: Speaking from DM experience, don't do this all the time! SOmetimes players just want to play, rather than have a story told to them (gets boring or frustrating rather quickly)> Find a combo that works for your players.

 

[sniffles]

There's a middle way between plotting and just playing to hack. Personally, I like that way best.
But when it comes to figuring out who made a dungeon and why, even if it's not something the PCs are likely to care about or even be able to discover, figuring that out might still be of use to the DM. Sometimes having that detailed backstory helps the DM come up with other good ideas. It also certainly contributes to the versimilitude of the world because everything seems to fit together better whether the players perceive exactly how those joints and connections work or not.

I agree!

I'll bet your dungeons are a lot more interesting than a random dungeon, Quasqueton. As a player I'd find it hard to take seriously a dungeon that seemed completely random and therefore illogical, even if I never learned any of its history. I think the DM having thought about that type of detail will make the campaign more intersting, and therefore more fun for me.

 

[Gunton The Terrible]

As a player I always like to know that my PC matters. A DM who uses plots centered around the PCs keeps his players more interested. When RPing my PC he may not care what the original creators of the dungeon had in mind. Only what is there now. However, having that information may help in the adventure. Knowing what to expect from the structure of the place may benefit the PCs tactically. It also may provide clues to future adventures if there is something unique to the place. A certain type of room or trap that would be recognizable in a later adventure could benefit the PCs. And knowing why it was there adds flavor to the world.

I know some like the “kick down door, kill guardian, take treasure, rinse, and repeat” style, but not me. Don’t get me wrong I like my PCs to kick the baddies around, but knowing why the PCs are doing it makes it more fun. Beside there are plenty of good video/computer games that cater to that style.

As long time DM and player I will warn to not over plot. Give the PCs a chance to catch their breath and enjoy some of their spoils. Not every adventure needs to be life or death for some region/people/world.

 

[mmadsen]

Are you satisfied with raiding dungeons without thought as to any behind-the-scenes reasons for going in?

No.

Are you excited by deep, convoluted plots for everything and everyone?

Only if it shows naturally "on screen".

 

[I'm A Banana]

I'm a storyteller. I can't help but love stories. I don't play D&D for the grind of the game. Not that that's not a fun way for people to play, but I've got an acting background -- I need a MOTIVATION.

 

[jonesy]

I like finding out that a seemingly meaningless quest somewhere in the distant past was really a meaningfull part of one of the DMs plotlines.

I like campaigns where with enough information everything could be connected together into one huge image of the world.

I like being on a quest we got while on a quest we got while on a quest we stumbled into, and having all of them still active at the same time affecting each other.

I like murder mysteries where everyone seems to have a motive, and they all cross paths.

I like it when everyone you meet has detailed reasons for doing what they do.

And I'm the same plot obsessed monster as a DM.