I dunno, I kinda like this idea that the players will be so responsible and active over their own entertainment that they’ll pick something to actively do to make something happen!
I’m still new to GMing, and one thing I encounter a lot is my local family/friends as players can be very passive in the "we gather to be entertained (everyone looks at GM like “now what?”) " kinda way.
And I’m always freaking out because I can’t offer some incredible satisfying plot like they’d get watching TV shows or whatever. I’m afraid of everything being not good enough lol. My previous coping mechanism was sticking closely to the book…which in this case was 50 Fathoms, a seafaring sandbox fantasy setting.
…I had to “make things happen to them” , but was REALLY afraid of somehow breaking the world (Morrowind-style lol) if I threw something too “Act 2” at them too fast.
And their captain seemed content just rolling random encounters while trading goods between ports. LOL
I think I really need to trust serendipity and stop planning so much. One of my best games was introducing my wife and her brother to Savage Worlds by just walking them into a bar and being goofy.
They made their characters after League of Legends characters. The bartender was a monkey. They caused some kind of trouble and the monkey threw a flaming ha-pooo-ken at them…oh no, the dice kept exploding! Roll for wound location…“unmentionables.” Oof. They were laughing so hard.
I kinda like this idea that the players will be so responsible and active over their own entertainment that they’ll pick something to actively do to make something happen
This is the dream.
Sometimes I get players that have ideas, but then they’re like “oh that sounds too dangerous, nevermind”, and I’m like “it’s not going to be much of a game if we don’t take any risks”
It’s probably partly my fault for making the dangers clear to the players. I wanted them to have an understanding of the risks and factors!
Like one time, the players were told another faction would only help them with their problem if they dealt with a vampire that was in the local cemetery, and his little cult. This was a game of Mage, where even starting tier characters have a lot of strong options. One of the players just was like “you’re asking us to punch Cthulhu in the face! I don’t understand what you want us to do!”
I was like … there are so many options. Your character can literally control flame, a major weakness of vampires. You also have a strong alliance with a paramilitary group. You can go during the day. You have 3 other party members. One of them can open portals. Like, to places where it’s daytime. Trust me, you can win a 4 v 1 fight. Maybe deal with his cult first if you don’t want civilian casualties. Or maybe talk to him and see if you can negotiate.
But she just wanted to spin her wheels and complain. Worst player I’ve ever had, honestly.
I dunno, I kinda like this idea that the players will be so responsible and active over their own entertainment that they’ll pick something to actively do to make something happen!
I’m still new to GMing, and one thing I encounter a lot is my local family/friends as players can be very passive in the "we gather to be entertained (everyone looks at GM like “now what?”) " kinda way.
And I’m always freaking out because I can’t offer some incredible satisfying plot like they’d get watching TV shows or whatever. I’m afraid of everything being not good enough lol. My previous coping mechanism was sticking closely to the book…which in this case was 50 Fathoms, a seafaring sandbox fantasy setting.
…I had to “make things happen to them” , but was REALLY afraid of somehow breaking the world (Morrowind-style lol) if I threw something too “Act 2” at them too fast.
And their captain seemed content just rolling random encounters while trading goods between ports. LOL
I think I really need to trust serendipity and stop planning so much. One of my best games was introducing my wife and her brother to Savage Worlds by just walking them into a bar and being goofy.
They made their characters after League of Legends characters. The bartender was a monkey. They caused some kind of trouble and the monkey threw a flaming ha-pooo-ken at them…oh no, the dice kept exploding! Roll for wound location…“unmentionables.” Oof. They were laughing so hard.
This is the dream.
Sometimes I get players that have ideas, but then they’re like “oh that sounds too dangerous, nevermind”, and I’m like “it’s not going to be much of a game if we don’t take any risks”
It’s probably partly my fault for making the dangers clear to the players. I wanted them to have an understanding of the risks and factors!
Like one time, the players were told another faction would only help them with their problem if they dealt with a vampire that was in the local cemetery, and his little cult. This was a game of Mage, where even starting tier characters have a lot of strong options. One of the players just was like “you’re asking us to punch Cthulhu in the face! I don’t understand what you want us to do!”
I was like … there are so many options. Your character can literally control flame, a major weakness of vampires. You also have a strong alliance with a paramilitary group. You can go during the day. You have 3 other party members. One of them can open portals. Like, to places where it’s daytime. Trust me, you can win a 4 v 1 fight. Maybe deal with his cult first if you don’t want civilian casualties. Or maybe talk to him and see if you can negotiate.
But she just wanted to spin her wheels and complain. Worst player I’ve ever had, honestly.