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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Water Bob" data-source="post: 5611763" data-attributes="member: 92305">My motto:  No prep work ever goes wasted. I may not use it all at once, but everything I spend time creating out of game makes it into the game at some point. With my earlier example, I was lucky in that the "new group" (the one formed after the thief took charge) was still interested in going after the holy relic.  My original story centered around the Church of Tyr.  The PCs were all of "good" alignment, and the Paladin and the Cleric were the leaders of the party. The first game session saw them bring in a thief because they needed his skills.  We played an entire adventure (that's when the animosity built) before the "relic" mission came up and the thief took over. As I say, I was lucky in that the thief--the new leader of the party--was still interseted in the relic. Instead of returning it to the church, he would sell it, instead. So...which your story changed, can you salvage, adapt, change your story so that it fits with the new PC vs PC dynamic? I'm not sure what your story is, but maybe you could change gears, do something else for a bit, and then bring this story back up at a later time.  Maybe assassins are out to get them unless they make good on their earlier agreement?  So, they're forced to finish what they started? All I'm saying is two things:  First, be creative.  I'm sure you can change your story a bit to somewhere, somehow not let your work go to waste. Second, never, never, never let your prep go to waste.  Cut it up into pieces and sprinkle it out.  Keep it for a diversion when the players give you a curve ball, and you need time to prep.  Whatever.  Use all of your work. If you put on your thinking cap, I bet you'll find a way to do it without railroading the players to where you need them to be. I always realize that if the players aren't going to where I want them to go, then I haven't given them enough story elements to want to go that way. Things I've used in a the past:  If the PCs have a beloved NPC that they like dealing with (maybe a merchant that they get a good deal on good from), have that person either killed or kidnapped--whatever fits into yoru story.  This is self-motivating if the Players really do enjoy the NPC. Whenever I see an NPC that the players seem to really like....I know I've got some ammo. Another thing I've done is give the players a curve ball.  Something that they weren't expecting.   For example, one time I wanted the PCs to follow a rumor to a cavern out in the woods some distance from the town.  I made the mistake of not making this important enough to the players.  They only picked up a rumor in an inn, and I thought this would be enough. It wasn't.  The PCs had decided to go a different direction entirely. So, I made the trip more personal.  That night, I had a PC wake up.  He had been "transported" some some strange cavern.  There was writings on the walls, but he couldn't read it.  And, he saw this gleaming sword sitting on a rock pedastal.  The PC reached for it, and I had the character wake up.  He was back at the inn.  It was a dream. Now, what I did was take the player out away from the others and played out this dream--that he didn't know was a dream until he woke up.  He figured he was magically transported somehow. After that, the player did all my work for me because I showed him a magic item that I knew he woud desire.  He got the rest of the players to go to the cavern--and all I had to do was sit back, smile to myself, and play out what I had created. The Point is:  You're the GM.  Be creative.  Figure out a way, in game, to get your players to do what you want them to do without them feeling railroaded.  Get the players to somehow want to do what you need them to do. Sometimes, it's not as hard as it seems.  Just think out of the box a bit.</blockquote>

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