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Message: <blockquote data-quote="el-remmen" data-source="post: 3424008" data-attributes="member: 11">I thought I'd resurrect this thread. . . <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />We are playing out 6th session of this campaign this coming Sunday.I think the recurring theme for these sessions has been bickering and voting.  We have a group of characters with strong personalities and/or principles and there has been a good deal of conflict (both verbal and physical).I think part of this is because of the very open nature in which I am running this game.  In "<a href="http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=76999" target="_blank">Out of the Frying Pan</a>"  I started with a specific premise meant to limit choice from the outset: "Create a character looking to get out of being conscripted for the war." This allowed me to present a way for all the characters to fulfill this desire and get them on the road to adventure by means of this "way out" and then expand choice again once the characters were sufficiently bonded to "play together well" after a series of adventures along the way.In "Second Son of Second Son" I presented many options to these young noble characters from the very beginning, not including the possibility of any one of them presenting hooks from their own backgrounds.  But, since the characters are having a hard time agreeing what their charter is really together for, there has been a lot of discussion, sometimes with fists. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />I don't mind the fisticuffs and not getting along.  Generally I think some intraparty tensions and rivalries are good for a campaign, but in this case I think it is slowing down progression to the point where some folks are having less fun than others (and sometimes I include myself in that group) - so I am working towards correcting that by being a little more obvious about presenting relevant information to them.  (We have been using some "info-gathering scenes" via email to move the game along some between sessions)Also, since the party narrowed down their choices to two, I have been trying to make it seem as if the two are somehow connected (and it may be true) so the choice won't seem so onerous to ignore one for the other.I think one of the reasons one of the choices (going into the <a href="http://aquerra.wikispaces.com/Disputed+Territories" target="_blank">Disputed Territories</a>) became so attractive to them is because they picked up on something that was supposed to be just a background detail to help set the atmosphere of that area and made it a main concern of theirs. . . Turning it into an imminent threat in their minds. But I am willing to follow through with that because even if what they theorize is not true (and it may be - I am not above giving the players exactly the worst scenario they speculate about) it can still lead to some pretty interesting adventures and consequences.You can read about the first three and three-quarters sessions in the <a href="http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=189277" target="_blank">"Second Son of a Second Son" Story Hour Thread</a>.Anyway, overall the game is going great and has a lot of promise, and I actually find myself looking forward to each session with an eagerness I have not felt in years, and rue the fact that all our busy lives make it impossible for us to meet more than every two weeks.</blockquote>

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