Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Fanaelialae" data-source="post: 9285314" data-attributes="member: 53980">That advice was written under the assumption that the players were struggling with being self-motivated, such as it were. If you have players that are struggling with being self-directed, having a rumor pan out as nothing is pretty much the worst thing you can possibly do, because by doing so you're anti-reinforcing the behavior that you're trying to reinforce. Later, once they're better at being self-directed, it's okay to sprinkle in the occasional dud as long as you don't overdo it. It has since been explained that this wasn't actually the issue though.As for how to avoid duds, simply put something interesting in the path of their investigation.The PCs hear a rumor that there's a Holy Avenger in an old abandoned keep deep in the forest. They trek out there, but the only thing they find is an old barrow. Inside are a bunch of undead and treasure. They didn't find what they were expecting, but they found something that hopefully made it worth their while. Perhaps they even find clues in the barrow pointing to the existence of the Holy Avenger (the old "the princess is in another castle" trick).The PCs hear a rumor that the town guards have been infiltrated by cultists. During their investigation they find no evidence of this, but there is evidence that many of the guards are on the take from a crime boss (giving them the option to confront that boss and take down the corrupt guards, or maybe even work with the boss). Either way, it's easy to see how this could lead to further opportunities for adventure.Or maybe they hear that same rumor of cultists among the guard. Their investigation turns up no evidence of this, but during the investigation they find evidence pertaining to a string of disappearances that the guards have been ignoring because the people who've disappeared were criminals. Following the clues they discover that a living nightmare (not the fiery horse kind) has been murdering people that it deems wicked. They can hunt down and stop this entity, or maybe even work with it (if that's how they roll). Maybe they even find a portal that the nightmare used to enter the PC's reality, and they can explore a nightmarish dreamscape. Up to them, but they found something interesting.Basically, something happening is almost always more interesting than nothing happening. If you have players that aren't used to the idea of investigating rumors, I find it best to make sure early on that something happens. That way you reward and encourage the behavior you're trying to motivate them into doing more of. If too many rumors turn out to go nowhere, the players are less likely to follow them in the future, IME.</blockquote>

Verification