Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Rel" data-source="post: 2339626" data-attributes="member: 99">I'd like to point out that this is not a problem exclusive to newbie GM's.  I've mentioned this before but our group is full of veteran roleplayers of many years.  And they're such good roleplayers that they tend to write 3+ pages of backstory for their characters before the first session of the campaign.  These characters are so distinct, self motivated and set in their beliefs that it became a giant pain in the ass to formulate a hook to get them all going in the same direction for very long.  Played properly these characters should probably have stuck together until they resolve the immediate adventure and then disbanded to pursue their various and differing agendas as set out in the backstory.So, at the start of my last campaign, I made this announcement:Anybody who writes some backstory for their PC gets a small XP bonus for the first night.  Anybody who writes more than half a page gets a substantial XP PENALTY.  Ideally you'll have a couple of lines that define your characters personality in the broadest terms like, "Chondar is a Barbarian from the northlands who loves to hunt.  He's generally reserved but quick to anger if desparaging remarks are made about his clan."By doing this I found that the PC's grew into the story rather than having to start right out the gate with ten different plot hooks to suit their vastly different backstories.  It also made them more cohesive as a group because the personal agendas that emerged did so during the course of the game.  This made them more inclined to occasionally participate in an adventure on the basis that "the rest of the gang is going".Back on the main topic of this thread, I think that Snowy's idea about "tell me why you are going on the adventure" is great for new GM's.  Not only does it remove the danger of them supplying a weak plot hook but it also gives them concrete examples from the players as to what they think constitutes a GOOD plot hook.  The GM can use those examples to create solid hooks for the next adventure.</blockquote>

Verification