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What do you do when your players are gunshy?
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<blockquote data-quote="pming" data-source="post: 6786484" data-attributes="member: 45197"><p>Hiya!</p><p></p><p> My first attempt to post a reply got a bit wordy and a bit..."sharp". I'll sum up. I'll be blunt, so get ready for some tough love! <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>I think your players are just sick and tired of trying to follow your story. Players aren't stupid, and "plot lines" are almost always so telegraphed that a player can see them a mile away. This means that your players probably feel like they "have to" follow your story...or they won't be able to play because you haven't "prepared anything else".</p><p></p><p>Lets break it down a bit:</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Was this something <em>they</em> decided they wanted to do for a campaign? Or did you just kinda say "This is the next campaign"?</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Red Alert! Red Alert! Red Alert! <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /> Sorry... So, uh, you "decided" to "let them" do something? You do know that, as DM, you don't get to decide what they do in the first place, right? They, as players, should be deciding what their PC's do because of in-game campaign stuff...not because of some metagame "this is the adventure, so we have to do it" thing.</p><p></p><p>**Stuff about the whole Ice-Giants thing...**</p><p></p><p>I think the straw was that they were "cleaver" in sneaking about after they initially messed up and raised the alarm...and they successfully did some sneaking about, with a specific goal of retrieving the 4th part...made it to the obvious treasure vault...and then had the rug yanked out from under them. Sure, you didn't just "decide" that the King had the artifact piece on him (right?), but from the players perspective, that's <em>exactly</em> what it seems like. They played well and pretty much bypassed the whole adventure...and "the Evil DM" didn't like that, so he cheated by moving the artifact piece to the pocket of the King so that they (Party) <em>have</em> to fight him. Thus, making ALL of their previous play choices and successes meaningless.</p><p></p><p>(sounds harsh, sorry...but I think your group is in serious trouble...)</p><p></p><p>As for the Four Points. you have...</p><p></p><p>1) If the PC's don't go wandering off into "monster infested areas" they probably shouldn't encounter many monsters. I mean, if hippogriffs, ogres, displacer beasts, minotaurs, and hoards of goblins constantly attacked farmers, travelers, small hamlets, etc...well, civilization would not have actually came about. So...this is likely a PC 'choice'; don't want to fight monsters, don't go too far off into monster territory. You, as DM, should have what is referred to as a "monster ecology"...if some area is known to have griffins roosting in the cliff side, then there will simply not be a small town at it's base, or a road that travels right by it. Stick to the roads...worry about bandits and highwaymen.</p><p></p><p>2) Half want to keep going, half don't. You guys are already invested in these PC's...I'd say stick to it. But I'd "advance" the campaign time a few months to a year. Let the players tell you what their PC's have been doing during this 'downtime' (no "adventuring" or "building a keep"...tell them to keep it relatively mundane and 'boring').</p><p></p><p>3) ...he's kinda right. The HP inflation is the <em>only</em> thing in the core rules of 5e that me and my group are finding..."annoying". Not sure what you can do about this though... maybe just change Critical Hits to some house rule? Maybe "Critical = At least average damage per die"; so 3d12+6 would be 6 + 6 + 6 + 6 = 24 or better; no doubling damage).</p><p></p><p>4) Out of your hands. If player 4 can't learn to <em>stop thinking in 3.x/PF/4e terms</em>, too bad. Nothing you can do. *shrug* Basically, 5e is <em>not</em> 3.5e...plain and simple.</p><p></p><p>Anyway...bottom line is: Keep playing the same guys. Advance the timeline so that there can be a significant 'downtime'. Start the next session off with "So, you all decided to meet up at the Golden Yak tavern for Midsummers Eve festivities and to catch up on what everyone's been doing these past months. What do you do?". No mysterious stranger dilevering a message. No attack by enraged demons. No assassins lurking in the shadows, waiting to attack the moment they can. Just a tavern, filled with drunken revelers and the smell of booze, sweat, and smoke, and the sounds of laughter, dancing and a trio-band. What the PC's do is up to them. Completely up to them.</p><p></p><p>^_^</p><p></p><p>Paul L. Ming</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pming, post: 6786484, member: 45197"] Hiya! My first attempt to post a reply got a bit wordy and a bit..."sharp". I'll sum up. I'll be blunt, so get ready for some tough love! :) I think your players are just sick and tired of trying to follow your story. Players aren't stupid, and "plot lines" are almost always so telegraphed that a player can see them a mile away. This means that your players probably feel like they "have to" follow your story...or they won't be able to play because you haven't "prepared anything else". Lets break it down a bit: Was this something [I]they[/I] decided they wanted to do for a campaign? Or did you just kinda say "This is the next campaign"? Red Alert! Red Alert! Red Alert! ;) Sorry... So, uh, you "decided" to "let them" do something? You do know that, as DM, you don't get to decide what they do in the first place, right? They, as players, should be deciding what their PC's do because of in-game campaign stuff...not because of some metagame "this is the adventure, so we have to do it" thing. **Stuff about the whole Ice-Giants thing...** I think the straw was that they were "cleaver" in sneaking about after they initially messed up and raised the alarm...and they successfully did some sneaking about, with a specific goal of retrieving the 4th part...made it to the obvious treasure vault...and then had the rug yanked out from under them. Sure, you didn't just "decide" that the King had the artifact piece on him (right?), but from the players perspective, that's [I]exactly[/I] what it seems like. They played well and pretty much bypassed the whole adventure...and "the Evil DM" didn't like that, so he cheated by moving the artifact piece to the pocket of the King so that they (Party) [I]have[/I] to fight him. Thus, making ALL of their previous play choices and successes meaningless. (sounds harsh, sorry...but I think your group is in serious trouble...) As for the Four Points. you have... 1) If the PC's don't go wandering off into "monster infested areas" they probably shouldn't encounter many monsters. I mean, if hippogriffs, ogres, displacer beasts, minotaurs, and hoards of goblins constantly attacked farmers, travelers, small hamlets, etc...well, civilization would not have actually came about. So...this is likely a PC 'choice'; don't want to fight monsters, don't go too far off into monster territory. You, as DM, should have what is referred to as a "monster ecology"...if some area is known to have griffins roosting in the cliff side, then there will simply not be a small town at it's base, or a road that travels right by it. Stick to the roads...worry about bandits and highwaymen. 2) Half want to keep going, half don't. You guys are already invested in these PC's...I'd say stick to it. But I'd "advance" the campaign time a few months to a year. Let the players tell you what their PC's have been doing during this 'downtime' (no "adventuring" or "building a keep"...tell them to keep it relatively mundane and 'boring'). 3) ...he's kinda right. The HP inflation is the [I]only[/I] thing in the core rules of 5e that me and my group are finding..."annoying". Not sure what you can do about this though... maybe just change Critical Hits to some house rule? Maybe "Critical = At least average damage per die"; so 3d12+6 would be 6 + 6 + 6 + 6 = 24 or better; no doubling damage). 4) Out of your hands. If player 4 can't learn to [I]stop thinking in 3.x/PF/4e terms[/I], too bad. Nothing you can do. *shrug* Basically, 5e is [I]not[/I] 3.5e...plain and simple. Anyway...bottom line is: Keep playing the same guys. Advance the timeline so that there can be a significant 'downtime'. Start the next session off with "So, you all decided to meet up at the Golden Yak tavern for Midsummers Eve festivities and to catch up on what everyone's been doing these past months. What do you do?". No mysterious stranger dilevering a message. No attack by enraged demons. No assassins lurking in the shadows, waiting to attack the moment they can. Just a tavern, filled with drunken revelers and the smell of booze, sweat, and smoke, and the sounds of laughter, dancing and a trio-band. What the PC's do is up to them. Completely up to them. ^_^ Paul L. Ming [/QUOTE]
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What do you do when your players are gunshy?
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