I have the following and unusual problem...
First of all, we never, ever use modules or plots written by anyone else. All games are directly from the DM. Additionally, all my D&D groups were round-robyn DM (usually with me as the "main" DM though).
My original gaming group, where I learned to play, etc (back in the 80's and 90's when I was in high school and college), there was rarely a DM-driven plot or anything. All the players had very active and specific things they all wanted to do. Figuring out whose goal was to be sought first was the main issue. The player set a goal (be it get a specific magical item they were looking for, free all the slaves working in a local township, etc), and the DM had to come up with a plot around that goal. Sometimes you got prior warning and were able to write up a game... most of the time, you just winged it on the spot. If I ever did have a plot in mind that didn't involve me, there was a pretty good chance it might get ignored for their own goals.
My current gaming group rarely initiates things, but are extremely reactive. They'll very rarely go seek out goals, etc; but they are more than eager to take on things when they are presented. They're, if anything, too self-railroaded... they'll jump at even the slightest hint of a plot element, eager not to miss what the DM had in mind.
As a player, I'm still pretty self-goal driven, although I always try to make those goals things which won't interfere with existing plots, etc. Or make it something that can simply be done at the same time as the DM's plot.
As a DM, I'm fairly torn. I miss the complete chaos and utter surprises of the old style, player run campaign. On the downside, this style led to a hodge-podge of shallow plots which weren't in any way linked. In the newer, plot-driven games, I'm able to compose amazingly elaborate and interesting stories which span real-life years.
In the last year, I've been trying to have the plots simply be background stuff that unfold on their own, and aren't player dependent. For example:
A) Players are hired by NPC to go see into the attacks on the people of a nearby village.
B) Players encounter refugees as they leave their old village, headed for somewhere safer.
I basicly have ten or twenty such events in the setting background all happening at once. If the players are close enough to the event, they get to know of it early, and be involved in some way if they want. Otherwise, the events are found out much later... and if they are ignored, the world doesn't end. The world does change though. A village or town they used to frequent, with friends, etc might be dramatically changed or destroyed etc. The advantage of having many such events at once is that it adds to the drama. Deciding which one to take on, or if any, can create alot of interesting situations.
Anyway, just my 2-long-winded-cents
.
First of all, we never, ever use modules or plots written by anyone else. All games are directly from the DM. Additionally, all my D&D groups were round-robyn DM (usually with me as the "main" DM though).
My original gaming group, where I learned to play, etc (back in the 80's and 90's when I was in high school and college), there was rarely a DM-driven plot or anything. All the players had very active and specific things they all wanted to do. Figuring out whose goal was to be sought first was the main issue. The player set a goal (be it get a specific magical item they were looking for, free all the slaves working in a local township, etc), and the DM had to come up with a plot around that goal. Sometimes you got prior warning and were able to write up a game... most of the time, you just winged it on the spot. If I ever did have a plot in mind that didn't involve me, there was a pretty good chance it might get ignored for their own goals.
My current gaming group rarely initiates things, but are extremely reactive. They'll very rarely go seek out goals, etc; but they are more than eager to take on things when they are presented. They're, if anything, too self-railroaded... they'll jump at even the slightest hint of a plot element, eager not to miss what the DM had in mind.
As a player, I'm still pretty self-goal driven, although I always try to make those goals things which won't interfere with existing plots, etc. Or make it something that can simply be done at the same time as the DM's plot.
As a DM, I'm fairly torn. I miss the complete chaos and utter surprises of the old style, player run campaign. On the downside, this style led to a hodge-podge of shallow plots which weren't in any way linked. In the newer, plot-driven games, I'm able to compose amazingly elaborate and interesting stories which span real-life years.
In the last year, I've been trying to have the plots simply be background stuff that unfold on their own, and aren't player dependent. For example:
A) Players are hired by NPC to go see into the attacks on the people of a nearby village.
B) Players encounter refugees as they leave their old village, headed for somewhere safer.
I basicly have ten or twenty such events in the setting background all happening at once. If the players are close enough to the event, they get to know of it early, and be involved in some way if they want. Otherwise, the events are found out much later... and if they are ignored, the world doesn't end. The world does change though. A village or town they used to frequent, with friends, etc might be dramatically changed or destroyed etc. The advantage of having many such events at once is that it adds to the drama. Deciding which one to take on, or if any, can create alot of interesting situations.
Anyway, just my 2-long-winded-cents
.
