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Message: <blockquote data-quote="uzirath" data-source="post: 8258546" data-attributes="member: 8495">As others have said, I think the problem in the OP is best handled outside of the game. Just checking in with everyone to see what sort of game they want to play. As a GM, I often check in with my players if their PCs seem to be pulling at new plot threads or want to head "off the map" (literally or figuratively). I don't have time for infinite prep, but nor do I want to drag the group on an adventure that they're not interested in.Oddly enough, my longest-running GURPS campaign (10+ years) started in a somewhat similar fashion. It was supposed to be a sandboxy game, a bit of gritty street life in a homegrown setting inspired by some of the less fantastical stories from the Arabian Nights. I was running with a new crew of players with divergent personalities and we didn't have much of a session zero discussion, so the first few sessions were a bit rocky. (I don't even know if "session zero" was in common parlance back then... the internet was still a baby.) Different PCs were interested in different things and none of the many plot threads hooked the entire group. I wasn't sure what to do other than add some gleaming rails to the game. In a heavy-handed move, I introduced an artifact into the story—like Bilbo finding the one ring in Golem's cave but this was a magic lamp. This led to all sorts of shenanigans. Eventually, the lamp was stolen by evil cultists. The party debated what to do, ultimately deciding that this was not their problem. So the cultists used the lamp to launch the apocalypse. I was merciless to my campaign world, running with the whole evil-god-rising theme. I wasn't necessarily thinking that the PCs would get involved, but I figured it might become more of a dark "world falling apart" setting. To my surprise (and delight), these campaign events reforged the party. They dedicated themselves to figuring out a way to reverse the apocalypse. And an epic campaign involving empires, planes, and gods was born. It led to some of the best roleplaying that I've ever been a part of. Not at all what I expected, and I don't recommend most of the decisions I made in that early phase, but sometimes a great game can emerge from a messy start.</blockquote>

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