How to stop my players from doing these things?

[blackshirt5]

OK, I'm sure every DM's had these problems. I'm planning a d20 fantasy campaign for after my Exalted game, and I wanted to start thinking about how to end these problems.

1) The "Loner" hero. you know the type; doesn't really have a backstory, or his backstory consists of "my family was killed; I'm the only one left." Often seems to be a dodge to get out of having their background "exploited" to help the story.

2) The really really odd PC. I have one player(you know who you are!) who, while I can understand his reasoning somewhat behind it, it gets tiresome. This guy can NEVER, EVER play just a normal PC. Just once, I'd love to see him play a normal PC race and class, instead of being asked "can I play a werewolf/halfdragon/ninja/psion?". I like to offer a diverse range of character classes and options, but he ALWAYS has to pick something outside the normal range.

3) The PCs not knowing each other. Now, I'd like to keep a fairly wide range of options open(see above, I know I'll get the complaints if I don't), but I'd like to avoid the "you all meet in a tavern" cliche. How to get the PCs together but keep the options open for what they can play?

 

[EricNoah]

Give XP or action points or hero points or whatever points to those who come up with good backstory or develop prior relationships between characters.

As to the "weird character" thing -- the PC needs to learn (maybe the hard way) why being "different" is a hard, lonely life.

 

[Nifft]

Co-opt them. Make them do the work for you. Respect their decisions, but reward those which fit your world -- not that fit your style, per se, but that fit your world.

So, what I'd do is tell them, point blank, that they all know each other. Tell them that they grew up in the same village somewhere, and you want them to tell you how they all know each other.

Reward them for a family tree. Guy wants parents dead? That's okay, was he raised by an uncle? If he wasn't raised by anyone, he's got no GP to start, and his available starting class list is quite restricted.

Anyone with a background gets a roll on the Random Background Goodies table -- starting bonus Feats, skills, a very minor magic item or alchemical item (or even MW flute or silver weapon -- you get the idea).

Anyone with allies or contacts -- your players will know the concept from Exalted -- gets rewarding story hooks. If they have no allies or contacts, then the people who give them their missions are basically out to screw them -- because who cares, they're just a bunch of dirty mercenaries. (This is what I do IMC -- if you know someone or they have a reason to care about you, they act like they care about you. Otherwise, they use you like a disposable nightsoil rag.)

-- N

 

[blackshirt5]

Well, with the werewolf PCs, he always wants to be one who can control it. The next time he asks, I'm pointing him towards the Hengeyokai, and the Shifter PrC, because that's more what he's looking for. IMC, werewolves are evil. Always have been, always will be.

And I can understand his motivation(he wants to "keep things interesting" as well as, admittedly, powergame a bit), but it gets irritating. Just once, I'd love to see a sword and shield fighter. Once.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

Players avoid giving histories because in their experience, PC ties are things that the DM uses againt them. Try taking their family history and making it a positive. Don't have their sister get kidnapped, let their kid brother be someone who can help them. That way you break down the negative reinforcement that they've received.

 

[reveal]

As far as the "weird" characters, at least the guy in your campaign is just being weird for weirdness' sake. In my group, there's a guy who likes to play weird characters that are usually to the detrement of the party. It's funny because his character would all kinds of bad things done to him by the other PCs because they didn't like him either. But he just wouldn't take the hint.

But, in my current campaign, he's playing a normal character (d20 Modern) and is doing it very well, so hopefully he's coming around.

Speaking of my current campaign, I forced all the players to know each other. I didn't make them grow up together, I just made sure they knew each other. All PCs live in Boston. 2 of them grew up completely together. 1 was with the first 2 for a while but moved away. The last PC was the doctor to one of the other PCs and they became friends, which was how he knew the other 3 PCs.

Very plausible and MUCH better than the standard "you meet in a bar" crappy cliche.

 

[blackshirt5]

Players avoid giving histories because in their experience, PC ties are things that the DM uses againt them. Try taking their family history and making it a positive. Don't have their sister get kidnapped, let their kid brother be someone who can help them. That way you break down the negative reinforcement that they've received.

Well one idea that I really like, and that I think one of my players might use(he agrees it's a cool hook) is that of a character who's a sellsword; he's the younger brother of a famous paladin, who is resentful of being compared to his brother; so he has a background with his family, and they love him and all(if a bit overly critical but hey, you shouldn't blame a guy for a god's choices), but he can't stand being compared to his family. (thanks to the Legendary Class Compendium for that idea).

 

[derelictjay]

The classic, you meet at the tavern seem a little old. Yeah, I avoid it too. This was an idea I was gonna implement, in a campaign that didn't get off the ground, and I did something similar to in an old Shadowrun game some years back. Have one character interview for the others for their adventuring positions. Yeah, this seems like the, your in a tavern meet here. But keep the players from discussing their character, and have only the interviewer know, the more specifics of said character, of course that would make the interviewer character the default leader but when I was gonna try it, I knew that this player would rise to be leader anyways (highly charismatic). Just a thought

 

[LightPhoenix]

You could always have a sibling/relative become a cohort for someone that took Leadership.

Personally, I'd rather reward players who come up with a good background with something more personal that XP... maybe a family heirloom or some item of signifigance that doesn't cost money. Usually it's a minor magical item, but it could be any number of things.

 

[Zandy]

I can relate to how a player's "creativity" can wreck havoc in a carefully planned campaign. AND how the need to "power game" or be the best at whatever can override the group's enjoyment of the experience overall. We've had a power gamer recently leave our group because his style is hack-n-slash while the rest of us prioritize role-playing.

For the most recent start to our campaign (and I addressed this on a thread over the weekend about how much time spent preping), I started out creating a world and a home town for the group. Then I created 12 one-paragraph outlines of possible PCs. Each PC had a basic background that fit them into the village, but none of the descriptions implicitly stated that "PC X is a fighter" or the like, to keep the group guessing. The outlines contained only enough background to whet the appitite of the players. Then each player secretly requested first, 2nd and 3rd choice. A d20 roll decided conflicts. Surprisingly, the players didn't have a lot of duplicate choices, but I also tried to create a couple of outlines that would appeal to each player. (one other benefit; the unused PCs became very fleshed out NPCs!)

Then, I gave each player their PC background in greater detail. It detailed what class the PC was (we started at 2nd-3rd level). Each had some secret or two, which they could share if they wanted. I then worked with each player individually to flesh out the PC, adding in any ideas they might have, which most did.

Finally, in front of the whole group, we all roll the stats. We do 4d6, drop low, reroll 1s. Usually we take the stats in order, which makes for a REALLY fun and tense couple of minutes, but for this campaign I allowed them to rearrange the stats to fit their PC. (taking the stats in order really help cut down on the power PCs. They HAVE to adapt their character to the rolls, which isn't always what they want. Trust me, the whole thing is REALLY fun to be a part of...

Oh... they aren't STUCK on whatever class they ended up with. I don't care what they take in the future, I just wanted them to fit into the village. What path they take now is up to them.

To be honest, I wasn't sure how method this would work out. I was concerned that the group would feel controlled. It has turned out to be exactly the opposite. Since each player has a PC that is truly a vital cog in a functioning village, they feel part of the whole scenario. I give EXP rewards for playing their character correctly (as I envisioned it). Each one has done MORE than what I was hoping for, and it has made for an extremely enjoyable campaign so far (three sessions).

In my original proposal (with 4 DMs in our group, we have "by-laws" to keep things orderly. A DM has to submit a proposal to the group which they then vote on accepting, or ask for more info, or ask for changes), I stated that in this campaign, I would be the director. I would provide them with characters, then it would be their job as the performers to make the characters all they could be and mold them in their vision. THIS would make the campaign fun for all.

I couldn't be happier as to how it all worked out.

I know this was long winded, but I hope it gave you some ideas on how to "control" the game as the DM while still working with each player to make them happy and want to be a part of your world.