To adventure!

[Tonguez]

This is one reason why I like theme groups - it gives a built in rationale. What I'll do is say okay 'you are all Agents of the Church (not necessarily clerics), now write me a backstory explaining how you got to be agents of the church anyway that group did dungeon crawls (to recover a lost relic/artifact), they did guard duty (escort the new High Priestess in training to the Mother Temple) and eventually they investigated and busted a heretical demonworshipping cult. These adventures could have been disconnected but the Church patron tied them together.
Other group themes I've used are PCs are members of a travelling circus (gave them a rationale to travel and be present when strang things happened), leaders of their town (plots involved the town or townsfolk and the PCs investigated) and as Agents of the Merchants guild sent north to negotiate new trade routes and investigate missing caravans.

 

[Quickleaf]

Hey Quas, I think the real question is: How to make a player proactive?

I think we all agree having a *reason* to adventure is necessary. It can be simple: Save the kingdom. Or it can be complex: Forge a fake alliance as a smokescreen for a theft.
What I find less than satisfying as a GM is when players are in one of 2 extremes:
(1) They have their idea of what kind of character they want to be and will ignore the GM's work, attempting to force the GM to change their game for the benefit of the player. Come hell or high water they won't compromise! They are overly proactive in a way that excludes the other players. No fun.
(2) They come up with next to no background, personality, or motives. They only want to play one-dimensional action heroes with no flaws and no humanity. The GM must always create the motivation for these players. They are utterly reactive. No fun either.

My solution has always been out-of-game discussion. I even had my friend tell me: "Aaron, I like reactive characters. It adds a lot of surprise for me. I wouldn't want to play a proactive character." Super clear, right?
Another friend always played proactive characters, but tended to go off and do things without the rest of the group. I had a quick chat and got back the old hat answer: But it's what my character would do! So I asked point-blank: "Obviously you want to play a proactive character. That's cool. How can I change the story for you to allow you to maintain your proactivity and still adventure with the group?" The player thought about it, and came up with an easy solution. Problem solved.

Also note that for adventure is itself one of several motivations, like for love, for power & glory, for redemption.... I'd actually consider for adventure one of the more challenging to role-play as it means the character probably is something of a bravado and can't tolerate mundane life.

 

[WhimsyTheFae]

My groups don't have that problem. In fact, one group recently asked that the next campaign be more of a adventure for the sake of adventuring style campaign. I subsequently got them involved in two dumb storyline style threads and am now planning on blowing stuff up to get them off of the storyline and back to generic adventuring...

I guess that the problem here is me and my desire to provide (or force) motivation...

 

[sniffles]

Gads...I wish my players would adventure for the sake of adventure. Some of them come across as prima donna actors; "What's my motivation?" etc. I finally told one of them recently I don't care what their motivation was. They either play or they don't. I'm planning a maritime campaign next, and already one guy is going on about "but I want to play a dwarven fighter! What possible reason for a dwarf have to go on a ship?" I told him it wasn't my problem. If he plays a dwarf, he better take ranks in swim.

Now while I like to have a reason for my character to adventure, that sort of behavior is going too far. What, he has no imagination? *Find* a reason to have a dwarf on a ship if that's what you want to play, duh!! (sigh, shake head)

One GM I play with regularly isn't much into asking for our reasons; we're just there to give him a game to run. So we come up with our own reasons, even though they usually don't have any impact on the actual game.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Sure adventuring is fine, but I like to have a goal for my characters and like it when the GM tries to comply.

 

[Crothian]

Sure adventuring is fine, but I like to have a goal for my characters and like it when the GM tries to comply.

That's actually a big thing and not everyone can easily do it. Players come up with backgrounds but unless they worlkd close with the DM they can be hard to fit in with what the DM has planned.

 

[silentspace]

If you've built your character up from level 1 through play, reasons become more important. We were about 8-9th level when we started the temple of elemental evil. No plot hooks. Pretty tough dungeon, very little promise of loot. Why bother? To our DM's dismay, we left.

 

[Crothian]

If you've built your character up from level 1 through play, reasons become more important. We were about 8-9th level when we started the temple of elemental evil. No plot hooks. Pretty tough dungeon, very little promise of loot. Why bother? To our DM's dismay, we left.

sounds to me like player and DM are not on the same poage about what the campaign should be about.....

 

[romp]

as a GM I try to have a bunch of events going on in the campaign world, stuff that can and sometimes will affect the players, but i do not railroad the players. I like to have the players put stuff in the backgrounds that I can throw in later, all of a sudden the fighters' missing sister turns up as a slave in the slavers den they were clearing out, etc. It is nice to use that stuff as a plot hook also but I usually do not need it. It can sometimes be fun and a change when the players just "travel to the dungeon entrance", and go get 'em ...

 

[DungeonmasterCal]

Sure adventuring is fine, but I like to have a goal for my characters and like it when the GM tries to comply.

I've always tried to do this; and I'm actually pretty proud of how I'm able to take the players' goals and weave stories around them. I'm the most anti-railroading DM I know. But I have a great idea for a maritime campaign, one with great adventures in the tradition of the Arabian Nights and the great Harryhausen Sinbad movies. It's important the players be on board for it (pun intended), because I really think it will be a blast for all involved.

Edit: I wonder how many more times I could've used the word "great" in there? :\