For the sake of adventure

[Quasqueton]

Whatever happened to being an adventurer just for the sake of adventure?

Would your group of PCs go look for the lost city just to see if they could find it?

Would your group of PCs go explore the old, abandoned mines just to see if anything was there?

Would your group of PCs go track down the bandit raiders just to put a stop to their attacks?

Would your group of PCs go into the Haunted Forest just to test themselves?


Do your PCs need plot hooks or rewards to go on an adventure?


The thread on the old Temple of Elemental Evil prompted me to ask this. The poster was lamenting the lack of plot hooks or reasons for the PCs to go take on the ToEE. Back in the days when the ToEE was a new publication, we didn't seem to need a reason to adventure. "Temple of Elemental Evil? Sounds interesting. Let's go!"

Has this sense of adventure gotten lost in all the new rage of in-depth characterizations and personalities? What happened to "adventurer" as a basic career path in the D&D world?

Quasqueton

 

[Ourph]

Has this sense of adventure gotten lost in all the new rage of in-depth characterizations and personalities? What happened to "adventurer" as a basic career path in the D&D world?

Quasqueton

Beats me. I stopped playing with a group about a year ago because of just this type of thing. I couldn't stop thinking of the game as a game and they couldn't stop thinking of the game as some kind of fantasy soap-opera. It's probably got a lot to do with the personality of the players and what they want out of the RPG experience. I find that most people who would probably share my views about how to have "fun" playing a P&P RPG have migrated to console games, computer games or MMORPGs.

AFAIC, if the evil half-demon Wizard builds a dungeon, I will come!

 

[Quasqueton]

if the evil half-demon Wizard builds a dungeon, I will come!

That's the spirit!

Quasqueton

 

[Sado]

I like to feel like I'm a character in a fantasy novel or movie, so I want a decent plot.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

I tend to like having a reason to do things. i.e. Why go to the Temple of Elemental Evil?

To put a stop to the elemental evil a'brewin'? Cool.

Just to stop in and have a look around? Ugh.

I tend to think of Indiana Jones when someone uses the word "adventurer." But Indy always had a reason to enter into the forbidden temple, even if it was as simple as getting some crackpot old man's pet rock back.

 

[italianranma]

I know how you feel. My friends begged me, so I'm DMing an "evil" campaign (as it is, only one PC is evil, but we're working on that ) and I have a hard time convincing them to work together let alone go on an adventure. They actually looked the plot hook right in the face, metagamed that "Oh, this is probably the plot hook." and told me flat out that they didn't see why their characters would go out of their way to do something simple, like seek revenge. "My character thinks of 'live and let live.' And besides, I'm not done scribing all those scrolls I need." I have to stick it to them (like threatening the cleric to loose her spells). Currently I have this problem solved, they're out in the wilderness. They're lost, and no one has any ranks in survival. They're at the mercy of the plot hook, or they'll starve to death. hehe

 

[Jupp]

Heck yeah, this kind of playstyle is the one thing that fascinated me the most back then when I started to play 1e. We were were DM friendly players then since he only had to give us that little hint like "There is that place in the desert where there is said to be a collossal treasure buried in a pyramid"....and off we went to explore the Desert of Desolation without a second thought or without to worry about anything called plot and epic storyline. It was the grandest time we ever had so far in D&D.

Now we started a new campaign some 2 years ago and it slowly turns out that it will be a hell of a railroading thing with that save-the-world-against-all-odds plot where we are doomed to be the epic heroes that were born for this sole purpose :/

Dunno but I liked the explorer thing more than the epic plot stuff. Perhaps I am too simple to appreciate the other one *g*

 

[Prince of Happiness]

All about the adventuring. Plots, angst, etc...that's all window dressing for me. I wanna send my character to cool places and do cool things!

 

[kolikeos]

i have three players in my game, one needs a plot to get moving or else he'll stay at home, one just likes to test his combat abilitys against all kinds of monsters so he'll go just about anywhere for just about any reason, and one who just follows.

i myself prefer a plot then just hack-n'-slash-and-take-their-stuff. i remember playing toee (the computer game) and i did not like going to the temple for no reason, just because i have no other choice.

 

[Vlos]

Well you can sort of get your players into this type of mindset. When they finish off an adventure and are in a town, just don't have any "plots" jumping out to meet them. Give them a vacation from the hustle and adventure. While they are relaxing in town, have the NPCs talk about the old mines and how it would be nice if they never ran dry, or what every happend to told Sage that lived in the valley south of here.

These are good ways for introducing more "hidden" or ancient plot lines. Because they area they are "checking out" is older, it could contain info about an even older place. For example in the Sage tower, a journal could explain the sage was researching an old civilization that was rumored to exist (somewhere) and he went off to search for it, which was his last entry. Maybe his notes talked about how to get there and such. And that one of the notes mention an item, that the PCs missed in a previous dungeon or lair. Some type of key, the sage didn't know of it, but figured he could get by without it.

Now the PCs can go back and get the key they know about or just go straight to the area in search of the sage or civilization.

You don't always need "of the kings daughter was taken" plots.