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What do you do when your players are gunshy?
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<blockquote data-quote="Herobizkit" data-source="post: 6786911" data-attributes="member: 36150"><p>Well, being told "if you don't want to save the world, game's over, boys" leads me to believe that they can't fail, or they can't play. This leads into something else I've noticed: </p><p></p><p>With the exception of The Rock, you're dictating to the characters what they must play to fit your campaign. YOUR story... not theirs. Why the need to force players into specific roles? Most players resent being told what to play and how they should play it, especially if it's to serve YOUR/the DM's story goals. In this case, what you want to do is write a book, not an adventure.</p><p></p><p>At the barest of bones, good adventures tend to be a loose collection of what I call 'scenarios' - events, locations, and NPCs that are present in a scene - and the players get to decide how to interact with said scenes. As DM, you decide how they get from scene to scene based on what they've accomplished.</p><p></p><p>It's okay to have an overarching plot, but if the player's cant influence the plot, or are told "do this or no game", then (to borrow from Egoraptor's Zelda Sequelitis) "they're no longer adventurers - they're being taken on a tour". It's tough to buy into a all-or-nothing scenario, especially if the players aren't enjoying what's being presented to them.</p><p></p><p>Now, to be fair, the players do need to stop whining just a little bit and turning up their nose at everything you put in front of them. They all want pizza, but can't agree on the toppings, so no one gets pizza as a result. Someone's gotta make compromises on their side of the table, too.</p><p></p><p>One of the biggest things is "you are the chosen ones" or "mysterious place no one has touched" or even "some guy pays you money" aren't very strong hooks to get players motivated to play. Here's an example of what I did to get my players into Savage Tide.</p><p></p><p>The first adventure puts them in a city with six or seven distinct City wards, each providing examples of what kinds of people work/grow up in each. The Path also has a _free_ Player's guide to teach the players about the city and their possible place within it.</p><p></p><p>Now, here's where you hook the PC's - ask them to pick a ward and make a PC that would be appropriate for said ward. Then, ask them to identify 2 or 3 key places they may frequent in that ward (the maps to each are extremely detailed). Finally, strap a relevant NPC to them from that ward (Fighter got a regular fighting partner for the Arena, Paladin got a job working with City Watch, Sorcerer got a gig working for a sour Antiques dealer).</p><p></p><p>Next, have the PC's come up with one way they all have met or heard about one another. In our game, the men agreed they were all adopted brothers, raised by the same Elven woman. She 'took in' folks on a regular basis who couldn't find a place in the predominately human town and helped them get settled.</p><p></p><p>Finally, give them a place that's "theirs" - either individually or as a group. The Elven woman went missing, and the NPC brother left in charge owed money to the local thieves' den; he was going to lose the 'family house' if someone didn't come up with cash... and fast.</p><p></p><p>Now they're properly ensconced in the setting, they have contacts and a potential reason for working together.</p><p></p><p>THEN start the campaign. This is when an NPC shows up with a letter requesting aid; the benefactor NPC turned out to be the secret lover of the Fighter. </p><p></p><p>Hope this helps, or at least gets some ideas going.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Herobizkit, post: 6786911, member: 36150"] Well, being told "if you don't want to save the world, game's over, boys" leads me to believe that they can't fail, or they can't play. This leads into something else I've noticed: With the exception of The Rock, you're dictating to the characters what they must play to fit your campaign. YOUR story... not theirs. Why the need to force players into specific roles? Most players resent being told what to play and how they should play it, especially if it's to serve YOUR/the DM's story goals. In this case, what you want to do is write a book, not an adventure. At the barest of bones, good adventures tend to be a loose collection of what I call 'scenarios' - events, locations, and NPCs that are present in a scene - and the players get to decide how to interact with said scenes. As DM, you decide how they get from scene to scene based on what they've accomplished. It's okay to have an overarching plot, but if the player's cant influence the plot, or are told "do this or no game", then (to borrow from Egoraptor's Zelda Sequelitis) "they're no longer adventurers - they're being taken on a tour". It's tough to buy into a all-or-nothing scenario, especially if the players aren't enjoying what's being presented to them. Now, to be fair, the players do need to stop whining just a little bit and turning up their nose at everything you put in front of them. They all want pizza, but can't agree on the toppings, so no one gets pizza as a result. Someone's gotta make compromises on their side of the table, too. One of the biggest things is "you are the chosen ones" or "mysterious place no one has touched" or even "some guy pays you money" aren't very strong hooks to get players motivated to play. Here's an example of what I did to get my players into Savage Tide. The first adventure puts them in a city with six or seven distinct City wards, each providing examples of what kinds of people work/grow up in each. The Path also has a _free_ Player's guide to teach the players about the city and their possible place within it. Now, here's where you hook the PC's - ask them to pick a ward and make a PC that would be appropriate for said ward. Then, ask them to identify 2 or 3 key places they may frequent in that ward (the maps to each are extremely detailed). Finally, strap a relevant NPC to them from that ward (Fighter got a regular fighting partner for the Arena, Paladin got a job working with City Watch, Sorcerer got a gig working for a sour Antiques dealer). Next, have the PC's come up with one way they all have met or heard about one another. In our game, the men agreed they were all adopted brothers, raised by the same Elven woman. She 'took in' folks on a regular basis who couldn't find a place in the predominately human town and helped them get settled. Finally, give them a place that's "theirs" - either individually or as a group. The Elven woman went missing, and the NPC brother left in charge owed money to the local thieves' den; he was going to lose the 'family house' if someone didn't come up with cash... and fast. Now they're properly ensconced in the setting, they have contacts and a potential reason for working together. THEN start the campaign. This is when an NPC shows up with a letter requesting aid; the benefactor NPC turned out to be the secret lover of the Fighter. Hope this helps, or at least gets some ideas going. [/QUOTE]
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