Players Completely Ignoring Adventure Hooks

[Fedifensor]

When they pass up a juicy plot hook just move on. Then, three or four sessions later, have them hear about how the plot hook resolved itself -- and in a very beneficial way for the real heroes that took care of the problem. Do you have a fighter that's just dying for some awesome magic sword? Well, the NPC heroes that chased down the plot hook that the PCs ignored got his hands on a really cool sword during the adventure. Greedy players after lots of gold? Well, the resolution of the plot hook that they ignored included a ton of gold.

After three of four times of this happening and the players will be falling over themselves to chase down any leads.

Actually, there's another way to do this, that's a bit more realistic. Put your side plots on a timeline. If the players don't intervene, the bad guys move further along in their plots, and the next encounter with them is tougher.

So, in the example given by the original poster, wait a few months, then have an urgent message come from a priest of Helm, saying that the temple they visited two months ago has disappeared, and there is a large dimensional rift where the temple used to be (a much larger version of the previous one). If the players take the hook this time, they'll discover that their inaction the previous time got a lot of people killed, because it turned out to be more than the NPC's could handle.

Moral of the story: the PC's are heroes, not the NPC's. If they don't act like heroes, no one else is going to take up the slack for them.

 

[Allanon]

Nope, you are not alone. My crew needs to be lead along some of the time too. Funny you should mention it, but a couple of my players really are rocket scientists (engineers). One is just now learning that roleplaying can be a rewarding experience (not just bashing in the door, killing and grabbing the loot).

Between Bagpuss and you it's great to know more DM's are using 'brute' tactics to get their player's to roleplay or at the least follow the story.

A good tactic I've used when all else seems to fail is to have something taken from them. In this case have a faery filch some of there magic items (a ring or a nice looking sword) and have them know who did it. It works on my PC's, although with every tactic don't over do it.

 

[Stalker0]

Well, your player did exactly what he should have done given his alignment.


One way to get out of that would have been to have the next higher up priest come to the party and mention that the head priest sometimes takes unneccessary risks.

He cannot stop the priest from going, but would ask the party to go after him and makes sure he stays out of trouble.


This can work to your advantage, now you can have a high level npc with the party, with lots of healing, so the party can take challenges a step or two above teh usual if you want to spice things up.

 

[philreed]

Actually, there's another way to do this, that's a bit more realistic. Put your side plots on a timeline. If the players don't intervene, the bad guys move further along in their plots, and the next encounter with them is tougher.

While I do like your suggested take on the approach, it doesn't play on the greed that 99% of players feel toward new stuff. I've rarely encountered groups in which all of the players are dedicated to the story more than they are to new power and gear.

The plot timeline is an excellent suggestion, though. It puts into words something I just tend to do without thinking of it.

 

[Romnipotent]

have a malicious Uber Lich with mental Stats over 3000 each (muahahaha) turn them into puppies as he romps around with the High Clerics head on the end of a stave!
now they are puppies, and some are still characters (baleful polymorph)

 

[cmanos]

And the divine champion... says nothing. I wait a few seconds, and then have the high priest explicitly command the divine champion not to go with him and then dismisses the party.

Hmm....If I was an underling of a church and the High Priest commanded me not to follow him into something, I'd probably not go, risking insubordination and all. Then again, all depending on alignment and how the character is played...

Usually when things like this happen, I make things WORSE for the players.

In an early game in my campaign, the players discovered the inhabitants of a small mining town were under the influence of some 'shards of evil' that were implanted in their neck. The shards were pieces of a greater evil buried in the mine. After removing the shards from 10 people, they gave the shards to a local healer to take back to their boss.

Now these shards are evil and control minds.

And they gave 10 mind-controlling evil shards to the healer.

On the way back to their boss, they found her horse slaughtered and her wandering, covered in blood, in a near-catatonic state. Set up for Story arc 2.

If the players don't go along with what you want them to do, you have to railroad them sometimes, or make it worse if they don't do it. The next time they camp, have them attacked by unseelie fae and have one of the characters, perhaps the Champion of Helm, infected with some malignant fae majick. Nothing lights a fire under someone's character like the threat of a slow lingering death.

 

[cmanos]

By the point when they returned to the temple, I was expecting the divine champion to report the findings and then, you know, maybe ask for further instructions? But he A) acted as if it didn't matter to him at all the whole time; B) didn't show one bit of initiative in dealing with the manner; and

Well if you think he isn't pulling his weight as a Cleric of Helm, it is within your power to start giving him warnings from the god. Gods are not always subtle in their warnings....pillars of fire....dreams of four headed creatures....sheep opeing scross and blood raining from the sky....

If Helm became displeased with his Champion...what would he do?

But I do think having the high priest TELL him not to follow, the high priest of a Lawful Neutral god....is pretty much sealing the deal....

You need to invest more of your characters into the plot, not just trust them to go where you want to go. You also need to think, if they don't take the hook, how can I get them there anyway?

 

[cmanos]

Hope you are ready to stat out those who DID get the gold, cause when the greedy players catch wind, those NPCs are going to be hunted down.

Stats mean they can be killed...as long as their are no stats, you can do whatever you like...

 

[Barak]

What about the reverse problem?

I'm expecting to have nthe reverse problem. See, my players are used to extreme railroading. This was my first campaignas the DM, and since I was thrust into the role at the last minute, it was easier to do some railroading of my own. But I don't like it. But they take the least lil prod in a direction as an "Order from God".

My next campaign will be much more prepared. And I like campaigns peppered with plot hooks, with the players choosing what they'll do. Then some plot hooks "disappear" (solved by other adventurers, for example), and some evolve along the timeline, becoming much tougher (which works well, since the players probably levelled). And then you have the "stagnant" ones, which become cakewalk (good for morale now and then).

But, knowing my players, they'll go crazy trying to solve -everything- at once. Even though I plan to warn them about the change. Should be.. Interesting.

 

[philreed]

And I like campaigns peppered with plot hooks, with the players choosing what they'll do.

You may want to try some of these PDFs from RPGNow if you're looking for plot hooks to fill a campaign with.

Seeds: Fantasy (free)

http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=3069


Adventure Hooks (free)

http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=2573


And my own rumors PDFs . . .

http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=3087