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<blockquote data-quote="Merkuri" data-source="post: 5664002" data-attributes="member: 41321">Stop and think about why they're making characters like that.&nbsp; Most likely they're not purposely trying to make your life miserable.&nbsp; It could be that they enjoy a different type of game than you are presenting.Maybe next time ask your players, &quot;What type of campaign do you want to play?&quot;&nbsp; Talk with them about what they expect out of that type of game.&nbsp; Make sure everyone is on the same page and excited about what's coming up before they make characters.See my previous post.&nbsp; Thinking of it in terms of a story will drive you insane.&nbsp; Do not do more than bare-bones planning more than a couple of sessions in advance.&nbsp; You can have a grand idea of where the story arc will take them over the course of the campaign, but avoid the temptation to flesh it out very far in advance, and be ready to scrap or severely modify it at a moment's notice.If you expect your players to ally with group A and they alienate group A and side with group B instead, then start thinking about how group B can help them, and what group A can do as their enemies.Note that I said &quot;if you expect your players to...&quot;, not &quot;if the players are supposed to...&quot;&nbsp; If you assume that the players are supposed to do something and they don't then you're heading for a railroad.&nbsp; If they do something they're not &quot;supposed&quot; to do then you'll find yourself getting angry at your players for ruining your awesome plot.&nbsp; Your job is not to give them a plot to follow.&nbsp; Your job is to lay out awesome situations for them to react to.&nbsp; You are setting scenes where they can kick butt and be challenged and think up creative solutions.If you find you have really creative players, try coming up with sticky situations for them and DO NOT come up with a solution ahead of time.&nbsp; Let the players come up with the solution for you.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Merkuri, post: 5664002, member: 41321"] Stop and think about why they're making characters like that. Most likely they're not purposely trying to make your life miserable. It could be that they enjoy a different type of game than you are presenting. Maybe next time ask your players, "What type of campaign do you want to play?" Talk with them about what they expect out of that type of game. Make sure everyone is on the same page and excited about what's coming up before they make characters. See my previous post. Thinking of it in terms of a story will drive you insane. Do not do more than bare-bones planning more than a couple of sessions in advance. You can have a grand idea of where the story arc will take them over the course of the campaign, but avoid the temptation to flesh it out very far in advance, and be ready to scrap or severely modify it at a moment's notice. If you expect your players to ally with group A and they alienate group A and side with group B instead, then start thinking about how group B can help them, and what group A can do as their enemies. Note that I said "if you expect your players to...", not "if the players are supposed to..." If you assume that the players are supposed to do something and they don't then you're heading for a railroad. If they do something they're not "supposed" to do then you'll find yourself getting angry at your players for ruining your awesome plot. Your job is not to give them a plot to follow. Your job is to lay out awesome situations for them to react to. You are setting scenes where they can kick butt and be challenged and think up creative solutions. If you find you have really creative players, try coming up with sticky situations for them and DO NOT come up with a solution ahead of time. Let the players come up with the solution for you. [/QUOTE]

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