Motivation

[Stone Face]

Hi All,

Something strange has being happening lately at our D&D sessions. Half of the party
did absolutely nothing all night. This has happened a couple of times before, but never
more than 1 person. The current campaign is interesting enough but i feel that the
party has lost all interest in the game. We have all being playing for over 2 years now
and we have taken breaks in the campaigns before but i am wondering if this is the end
of the party?

Has anyone else encountered this problem, and if so how was it resolved?
Should our DM do something? Please help!

 

[Hand of Evil]

Talk to the players/DM, it is possible that it is the type of game or they feel that are not involved in the direction.

But with that said sometimes people need a break.

 

[JoeGKushner]

What type of characters are involved in the game?

For example, if there is a mage, he should almost always be researching things, trying to uncover lost lore. Part of this is player driver and part of it GM driven. For example, if the player starts telling the GM that he's looking for ancient lore and going to libraries and confering with other mages, the GM should come up with names of organizations and indivudals for that player to interact with.

Clerics should be servicing the community when not adventuring. They should be working direclty for the church, copying down old lore, preaching the faith, healing the sick, performing marriage rituals, performing rituals of binding/truth, overseeing the spiritual health of the flock, etc...

Rogues should always be on the lookout for the next big score. Even if the adventurer isn't a thief per say, but an adventurer in the true sense of the word, he should be looking for the next event over the horizion. He should be seeking out ancient ruins to test his abilities against those terrible traps and madmen's designs.

Barbarians should be pitting themselves against their kin in matches of showmanship to showcase their strength. They should be taking over tribes, ruling over the wilderness and boasting about how their ways don't make them soft.

Etc...

 

[pdkoning]

I used to play in 2 groups, some people of those 2 groups played in those two groups, others in only 1 of the 2.
We played every week, one week group 1 on Tuesday the other week group 2 on Wednesday. But as the years passed, the tuesday group fell apart. Some players did not like it any more, the last months some player's just did not attend because they 'had other things to do' and so some of us did not have the warm feelings they used to have.
The wednesday group is also struggling and the frequency of gaming events is declining. (altough we still like it).

I guess this often occurs at some point. It means some of us need a break after playing for years, or we need something new: like a different rpg. (we always play 'traditional' D&D)

 

[deltadave]

Its your obligation as DM to keep everyone involved and having fun. If the players main characters aren't going to be involved, give them an NPC to play and some motivation to play them well (xp on their main character for example). I don't know about you but I'd be pretty discouraged to take 6 hours out of my life then sit around reading a book while everyone else roleplays, because the DM didn't get my character at least peripherally involved.

 

[Jdvn1]

It's kind of hard to say what the problem is, since it could be so many different things. Possibly, they're just roleplaying their characters. Their characters don't want to be there.

I houserule that all characters must want to adventure. Lots of people don't do this.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

Looks like it's time for another survey.

Every time I start up a new game, and periodically throughout each campaign, I ask my players for two things.

1. What are your character's goals? i.e. what sorts of things is the character interested in in the game world? What are his/her aspirations? What sorts of challenges does he want to face?

and 2. What are your goals as a player? What sorts of things do you as a player what to see your character do? What sorts of challenges would you like to see him/her face? What sorts of rewards would you find the most fun?

From both a player and a character angle, the DM needs to know what his players are looking for, then try to find cool ways to introduce these things into the campaign. It sounds like perhaps the DM has lost touch with the players here. He needs to reconnect and set up some chances for the players/characters to start working towards the goals that excite them.

 

[The Shaman]

Its your obligation as DM to keep everyone involved and having fun...I don't know about you but I'd be pretty discouraged to take 6 hours out of my life then sit around reading a book while everyone else roleplays, because the DM didn't get my character at least peripherally involved.

I take a very different view of the relationship between GM and player.

As GM I present the world - as a player in my game, it's up to you to decide how you make your way in it. I don't write adventures around the characters - I give them rumours and clues and let them choose their own path.

 

[Cor Azer]

It depends on whether its a game thing or real-life thing? Both cases can be resolved some-what by talking outside the game. Be blunt - ask what's up. Do a little survey like was mentioned.

If it turns out to be the adventures (and you're the DM) double check how you're presenting adventures and hooks. My email game derailed for a while because the current adventure seemed to be aimed at a particular character, whose player was busy with real-life stuff. Nobdoy wanted to volunteer ideas because they felt it wasn't "their" story. It took some time to nip that idea in the bud.