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Message: <blockquote data-quote="clark411" data-source="post: 1063697" data-attributes="member: 4768">One thing that I have to ask when this comes up is how you think you're doing at providing clues, stimulus, and descriptions of environments / people in those environments.  If you know you're providing points of interest for players to go to, and the cast of characters is fleshed out, great.. but if you don't, realize that the player's resources are extremely limited.  Players won't go to the town fair to meet the special contact if they have no idea that the fair exists.  Being proactive in your mind may have the players actively asking what's going on in town, but sometimes players don't even realize they have the option to do it.  The mindset is somewhat automatic that sensory perceptions are a passive thing... that their characters will notice the bazaar without them saying "I'm looking around again!" everytime they go to town.  Playing a videogame, or watching a television show, or reading a chessboard gives us information in a very different way from roleplaying- the moment communication shuts down on either side of the screen regarding the environment, its like a player's character is blinded, deafened, and the world drops out from beneath them so long as they're just going to "The Usual Bar" or "The Nearest Biggest Church" or "The Same Shop We Always Go To."This issue may of course, have nothing to do with your problem.. but every time I've seen a player totally lost, it's usually due to a lack of input or leads (spawned by DM secrecy or a simple miscommunication of how things are found in game) rather than anything else.That said..Spycraft usually is a game about specific objectives and accomplishing them in the best way possible.  That's what spies of the genre presented in the books do.. they blow up the station after going through multiple fire fights at close range and emerge unscathed from the big explosion with beautiful lady in left arm, martini in right arm, and submachine gun strapped to their back... and their hair isn't mussed... so it's no surprise if players go for that in their character's attitudes and aspirations.If this isn't what you're going for, if you haven't already- spell it out for the players.  Make it clear that the world is a world of shades rather than black and white.  If you don't want to do this, make it clear in your NPCs that dish out plots, in villains, and in other agents.  Have their leaders talk about making compromises, or "making the best of the situation," and minimizing losses.  Have fellow agents talk about backup plans in case things go sour, as they always do.Also, in Spycraft campaigns it's usually good to have at least the first mission or two in the campaign be extremely well defined in terms of mission goals and the parameters of action.  If players begin with routine and things they MUST abide by.. it will spawn creative tendencies when they're given some freedom to make for interesting plans.  If they are seen by their superiors as incapable of coming up with plans without ridiculing eachother, fit that right into the game... Take that meta thought of beating the situation and have Control confront them over this.  Refer to the situation that agents are thrust into as a game, with lives being at stake.. make it clear that no one wins, no one lives forever (great pc game btw), etc. Its a common theme in the espionage genre, games.Additionally, the use of deadlines is helpful.  "You have 5 hours to deal with this hostage situation in the X Building in France before the No Tolerance Act kicks in and the police swarm the building.  Your flight will be leaving in 10 minutes, where you will meet up with other agents assigned to the case.  The flight will be 20 minutes.  I expect you to have a plan formulated by then."  You then get an egg timer, set it to 20 minutes, and when the team meets you say "You all board the private jet." and then put the egg timer down and let the clock start ticking.Alternatively, if they're just blatently metagaming, fold up your DM screen, get everyone's attention, and be explicit in your (and the system designers') lack of welcome for such talk and thought at the game table.  Go "Shame shame shame on you all." and what.</blockquote>

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