Individual Quests

[brainstorm]

My gaming group is 6 people strong, but only one of them cares to do anything in between adventures to learn more about the campaign or to develop their character. The rest are content to wait until the next session and go with what the group does. I've been trying to think of ways to get the other players more involved in the campaign without forcing the issue. My latest idea has got me psyched and I think it could work, but I thought I'd run it by this crowd to see if anyone has tried something like this.

Basically, this was inspired by video games that have many side quests in addition to the main storyline. Thinking of my campaign as the main storyline, I began wondering if I could introduce small quests that each player could be assigned that would involve them more in the game. I began thinking that the quests, in and of themselves would not interest my players unless there was something in it for them individually. So, I decided to develop "quest cards" that I would hand out to the players each time they were in a town. The cards would represent the various opportunities that the characters come across in towns to earn a little extra cash or to gain favors from power groups. Here's an example:

The Church of St Cuthbert is looking for information leading to the capture of a Binder; one who makes pacts with vestiges. The church is willing to pay 500 gp for information leading to the capture of a binder or 1,000 gp/level for apprehending and bring in a live Binder.

Player Notes:
- You may make Gather Information checks to learn more about and to try to track down the whereabouts of binders.

As DM, I know that there will be an upcoming adventure that will feature a binder, so this will not only give monetary incentive to the player that gets the quest, but it will also help to spread more knowledge of my campaign of potential upcoming encounters or even lead the player right to an adventure locale that I want them to go to anyway.

Thoughts?

 

[Three_Haligonians]

Nice Idea! I really like it.. consider it yoinked.

Perhaps, if you are open to suggestions, you could give each "sidequest" a Gather Information DC that the PC's have to meet in order to gain access to the card. That way you could have quests that are obscure, and tough.. but also more rewarding. Things like the nature of the quest (legal or illegal) and the alignment of the "quest giver" could come into play and add modifiers to the Gather Info rolls and whatnot.. as could the PC's reputation as they become more known in certain circles.

I realize your doing this to try and get them more into the game, so Gather Info checks might not be the first thing they do when they come into town. Maybe for the first couple, you could, as the DM, let them know the mechanic is there in case they feel like picking up some extra cash. Or, you could hand them a few "easy" ones (i.e. low DC) that they could get automatically. You know, sort of like "as you pass by the bar with the next round of drinks in your hand, you see a notice on the bulletin board that says ..."

Either way, I'm still yoinking this way cool idea

J from Three Haligonians

 

[Gilladian]

Just make sure that "every" side quest doesn't feed into a future adventure - that would seem quite contrived.

And maybe some side quests that PCs don't follow up on could lead to fame and glory for another (rival) adventuring party. So the PC who didn't bite sees that he or she could have gotten a good deal from following up on the lead.

I still think in the end the only one who will do much with these story lines is your one "involved" player. It is an unfortunate truth that you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink.

 

[brainstorm]

More quests

I agree that all of the side quests shouldn't be linked to the campaign directly, but many will be able to be fulfilled through the adventures I'm planning in the campaign.

Here's a few more quests I've come up with:

An organization called the Collectors of the Lexicon is seeking the Truename of a greater demon. They will pay up to 30,000 gp for this information. The exact amount will depend on the exact type of demon.

The Thieves Guild of Greyhawk is seeking any gems with an extraplanar origin. They are willing to pay 20,000 gp for an authentic extraplanar gem.

The Church of Wee Jas is seeking the following items; the wing-feather of an angel, a drop of angel blood or a lock of hair from an angel. They will provide a free 7th level or lower spell in return.

An organization called the Academy Necromica is seeking information pertaining to undead bearing small green, flesh-consuming worms. They will pay 500 gp for information leading to a site containing these undead and will pay up to 10,000 gp for a sample of one of these worms. Twice that amount for a living worm. Caution should be exercised in capturing the worms, due to their highly dangerous nature. They will pay up to twice this amount for a complete, worm-infested corpse.

 

[DragonLancer]

Brainstorm, how into the campaign are your players in game?

I ask because of something I did a couple years ago in a Dragonlance campaign that I ran. When there was a lull in the activities of the villains (because of PC actions) I asked each of them what interested them at this point. Over the next week I ran short one off sessions for each player (though two teamed up on one of them instead) that was a solo quest based upon what he had said.

-

One player (Mage) investigated a malady that had been afflicting children and may have been related to the actions of the Big Bad (it was), and he gained some insight into the cause of the overall campaign arc.

Another player (Dwarf Fighter) returned home to see what the situation had done to his people. He found a spy for the Big Bad subverting his leaders. He learnt that the enemy was reaching out to control the other kingdoms.

Third and fourth players snuck into Dragonarmy controlled territory to spy on them, and uncovered evidence to say that the Big Bad was manipulating them as well.

And finally, the five player returned home for a family wedding, but found out that the aforementioned malady was spreading to other races, not just the men, dwarves and elves, but goblins, ettercaps and the like. Only Draconians and animals seemed free of it.

-

Its not a perfect idea, and it takes time which you and your players may not be able to do, but if you can it might not be such a bad idea to do something like this. Good luck.

 

[brainstorm]

My players are interested in the main plot of the campaign because it is pretty linear, but most of them are not real proactive at following up on leads, doing research, or going outside of the parameters of the adventure itself. I have to lead most of them by the nose for this reason - not because I'm railroading, but because they literally sit around and stare at each other when they have to make a choice of things to do. So, I'm trying to come up with a sneaky way to get them to do extra things that will benefit them individually, thus spark an interest in doing more individually than following the rest of the group down adventure road.

 

[RFisher]

I've been trying to think of ways to get the other players more involved in the campaign without forcing the issue.

Sounds like a good idea, but this (quoted above) is the key. Just because you think it'd be more fun if a player does something doesn't mean that it will be fun for him. Tread cautiously & be willing to accept & make concessions to what works for each player.

 

[tbiaslorin]

Between each session, I generally have game-time progress at the same speed as real-time (unless they stopped in the middle of a tight spot). Thus, there is typically 2 weeks of downtime between each game that I allow them to fill up with whatever activities they want to attempt. When possible, I try to give their characters a direct benefit (or potential benefit) by their actions.

For example, one player started trying to randomly craft leather items at 1st level, and still does so often (now at 11th). I made all of the craft skills like other skills, and he can attempt to craft an item every 3 or 4 days of downtime (based on complexity and assuming he has access to materials and tools). He makes a DC check as normal to determine whether he does so successfully. If he rolls well, he gets the item he was shooting for; if he rolls very well, he may even get another half or full skill point in the craft. Additionally, the party members can try to research various things, from new spells to locations of magic items or lairs of powerful monsters.

This is part of a system of allowing players to improve certain stats or abilities (outside of levelling) due to ingame actions, and I've found that it is a great motivator to keep them thinking about what their characters do during their downtime. Providing items or money by doing particular things like the quests mentioned is a great idea, and I will probably expand my system with it. However, I think the best motivator for almost anything is character progression, even if it is just a skill point in leathercrafting, woodcarving, singing or lore.

The first 30 minutes or so of each session is dedicated to rolling and resolving these little side-activities, and the players love them. One player regularly tries to recruit for the local militia and his church, one does the forementioned leathercrafting, one likes to have his character look for herbs and other alchemical components, and one has recently taken up blacksmithing. I tend not to limit them to what they can try, so sometimes they will surprise me, such as the Druid spending his time consecrating a patch of salted earth or a player trying to bond with one of a town's Hippogriff chicks.

Thanks!