Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="overgeeked" data-source="post: 9021474" data-attributes="member: 86653">Expanding on the idea in the video...Yes, of course the character is going to try to resolve this situation as quickly and efficiently as possible. That makes 100% sense from a character and story perspective. What would make no sense at all would be for the character to just shrug and wander around not trying to resolve the problem immediately. Going off on endless side quests that have nothing to do with their situation makes zero sense for the character or story. But, that's what you need/want the character to do. So leverage one to get the other.You have a character with a goal that's driving them to action, that's more than most referees ever get.So use that. All you have to do is put obstacles in the character's way. Make the character earn the aid of the neighboring human kingdom. No monarch would just say "yes" and throw their entire kingdom's resources at placing this young princess on the throne. But they would use the situation to their own advantage.What's the history between the elf and human kingdoms? What ties do they have? What ancient grudges still linger? What political problems does the human monarch have that a desperate outside agent could help with? What other problems could the monarch use help with? Why wouldn't the human monarch pretend to help then betray the princess? This princess is the sole rightful heir to a neighboring kingdom. Any monarch worth their salt would capture the princess and ransom her, use her as a bargaining chip, or use her to gain power over the elf kingdom.Where are the citizens of the elf kingdom? How loyal are they to the royal family? What are they doing about all this? What does the resistance look like in the elf kingdom? There certainly will be resistance. What are they doing to restore the royal family to the throne? What are other factions doing to prevent the restoration of the monarchy? There certainly will be some who want to stop the royal line.What are the other neighboring kingdoms doing during all this? There will certainly be more than one neighbor who will want to take advantage of this and gain a foothold in the territory of the elf kingdom while they transition governments.On and on and on. It's a great setup. It sounds like you're frustrated that the player is doing the most logical thing in their situation, asking for help from powerful people, but don't know how to handle it. Build out the world around this nugget and see where the friction and tension is.Watch this series by Matt Colville on politics in games. It's amazing advice for the kind of game it looks like you're running now.[MEDIA=youtube]list=PLPKgFp1dAzrBB3Bd4vnALBT1zodEQzoLB[/MEDIA]</blockquote>

Verification