I am a new DM and I have player that end up loosing the campaign all together with there weird ideas. Any tips to keep the campaign on track but let the players still have fun?
Motivation. The characters must have a good motivation for whatever quest they're going on. At low levels, gold is a great motivator, but once you pass the level 4 threshold, you can move on to using inspiration or player backstories.
Do the players have good ideas? A good thing to learn early on in your DMing career is not to say "no" too often, or dismiss player ideas out of hand.
If your players are actively making choices and doing things proactively, that means they *are* invested in your world. It helps to take the opportunity to look at what the players are doing, or what they say they would like to be doing, and adapt your story based off of what interests them.
However, that isn't to say the players are always right, and if you stop, consider, and still come to the conclusion that changes need to be made to make the game better, there's a few things you can do.
1. If the players are not following story hooks into your main plot, think about what you're using to hook them, what presumptions those hooks make about player motivation. Do you notice any patterns? Are you consistently expecting your players to act altruistically and they keep not being interested? Adapt: try and come up with non-altruistic motivations. The wizard who only cares about their research hears tell of a scholar with an expansive library that's now behind enemy lines, and the only way to get access to the library is to drive back the enemy. Maybe the paladin who ONLY cares about avenging their parents' murder finds out that the person responsible is either working for the bad guy, imprisoned by the bad guy, etc. Maybe the thief who really wants gold, realizes that bad guys... have gold...
2. If your players are the type who just resist any hint of the DM telling the player what to do because they're not used to be freedom offered by ttrpg's over other types of games and are still drunk with power, that's fine, let them have their fun, get it out of their system. THEN you put your villain hat on and think, what would have happened in the story if the players had not intervened as you planned? I.e what was the villain originally planning to happen? Once you figure that out, open the next session with that happening. The players realize that sh*t is getting real as the next town over is invaded, or when the villain gets the first piece of the fractured gem that lends them some terrible power, basically the villain does something to the status quo that the players FEEL, and they realize that their lack of action has had consequences, and dang it now that THEIR black market potato farm (idk players get into some weird stuff) was burned down by attacking goblins, now they want to take down whoever's responsible!
3. If the players pointedly ignore every attempt to get the game going, then an in-game solution is not going to work. We're all adults here, you need to have a frank, honest out of game discussion with your players. "Hey folks, I'm gonna start by saying I'm not accusing anyone of anything, but I just want to say that I'm not having fun with just the potato farm subplot. I put a lot of work into preparing a main story and I thought you would like it, and to be honest I feel a little disrespected that nobody's giving it a chance..." Remind the players that the DM is a player too, and if someone at the table isn't having fun, then the table should talk about it. If you never had the 'session zero' conversation with your players, where you all talk about your expectations and wishes for the coming game and what people's preferred style of game is-- this is an ideal time to have that conversation. If you were expecting the game to be an epic save-the-world narrative and planned everything accordingly but the players wanted Monty Python's Holy Graile, then that's a discrepancy that needs to be resolved for everyone to have a good time. While you're at it, ask the players if they have any questions. Maybe this is all a misunderstanding, and a detail you thought was clear, the players didn't understand, or made a different assumption about, and with that different assumption they think they *have* been doing the right thing with the information they *think* they have. They for some reason didn't connect the villain with the missing hand to the fact that the Duke also is missing a hand, which was the realization that was supposed to kick off the players fighting against the Duke and finding out he's the bad guys lieutenant. That kind of thing happens all the time, so asking players if they have questions and giving them straightforward answers can go a long way towards clearing up misunderstandings.
Hope these help, that's as general as I can make it without knowing the specifics of your game.
This is not always a popular strategy but is something I used early on in my DMing life and still use today.
If during session 0 the players aren't forthcoming on their expectations from the story, or are so overwhelmed by the options they say yes to everything take the first eight-ten session to get to know the players. With those 8-10 sessions you throw everything at them and see what sticks. I'll take the example of a homebrew I use where the players start off lost. In previous games sessions have looked like this:
0 - Initial Combat and Ability Checks to refresh and learn the game mixed with light roleplay opportunity. 1 - Roleplay heavy - Characters getting to know each other or having the option to engage with NPCs to find out where they are and how/if they can even get home. 2 - Combat heavy - Plan for several small combat encounters moving through terrain, ensure that in your mind you know that combat isn't the only solution though. 3 - Travel heavy - Travel to the nearby city. This allows for tracking, random encounters, exploration and usually I throw in a dungeon for them to crawl at the end. 4 - Dungeon crawl - Name says it all really, a dungeon or other underground setting for the players to explore and discover. 5 - Intrigue/Politics - The players arrive at a settlement where they can get their first real taste of a mystery, puzzle or some kind of political intrigue. 6 - Tavern quests - Again name says it all, NPC meets the group asks them to do a fetch or escort quest of some type.
If you follow this pattern, note down in a notebook or doc somewhere what you expected the players' actions and reactions to be. Then once you ran the session note down how the players responded. When you then come to look back at these notes you can get a really good idea of in what ways the players work and how they'll likely play their characters. As I say I know DMs that would hate doing this because it delays getting to the main story...but I honestly believe that advice like this should be clearer in DM support materials somewhere.
You can also implement the same idea if you're running a pre-made module or adventure. Just note down before the session how you think the players and characters will act. Then after the session note down how they actually acted. It'll help with future planning. Maybe even outright ask at the end of each session 'how did this session work for you? Did you feel bored or engaged as a player?'
Understanding the Characters
Go and look at everyone's character sheet. You as DM should have access to those sheets pretty much at all times. Look through what the players wrote down about the backstories and origins. Have a look at all of their abilities. Doing this will give you a clear idea of what ways the players might respond. On a basic level in one campaign all of the characters have an intelligence of 9 or lower! They aren't booksmart people. (INT is book smarts, WIS is street smarts to my mind). That means I can't ever throw brain teasers or clever wordplay at the group and expect the characters to know how to solve said puzzle. So, puzzles simply don't factor in unless they have a hireling or I have something the party won't be able to get through.
On a deeper level, what kind of spells, abilities and feats have the party got? Do you have a thief rogue in the party? They're going to use stealth...a lot! They're going to be able to dodge damage and £10 gets you £20 that if there's the opportunity to steal something...it's getting stolen.
Got a player with an urchin background? They're going to react differently to the NPC who is being mistreated by town guards because they stole an apple. Said player might be more likely to pay off the fine, or reimburse the shop keeper. They may even step in with their weapon drawn to defend one of their own.
So, looking through the character sheets is always something you need to be doing to see who these characters are. It may give you a good window into why the player is behaving in this way.
Now, if you look through the character sheet and the player isn't playing the character well (i.e. a Lawful Good Paladin from the high order of whatshisname sworn to protect all that is lawful but then goes on a crime spree) that's the point to have a conversation with that player. Why did they draw up a LG paladin if they wanted to steal, damage or kill everything in sight? Would they prefer to switch characters, because this simply will only get worse as the party level up.
Keep your expectations in check
One of the most fun things to happen to me in a good long while is for the party to go off on a tangent during play that I just never expected. It was totally unplanned and totally unprepared for. I loved every minute of making it all up as I went on the spot. It was something I simply don't get to do a lot. It's a good reminder though that you as DM built the world, you built the sandbox. You don't build the story however....at least not alone. The world belongs largely to the DM, the story belongs to the players (the DM included as a player of course). If you've learnt who the players and then who the characters are then you'll have a list of possible ways in which things could go down. Never forget though that this is a sandbox. Much like there are people out there who never slay the first dragon in Skyrim (yes that happens) or ignore the main story questline in Fallout 4, some players will be wanting full use of that sandbox and that's the real challenge of being a DM. You have to kind of anticipate that anything could happen. By learning who both your players and your characters are though, you arm yourself with the knowledge of what's most likely which helps you to plan more effectively.
Learning these things also helps to inform all of the great advice that CharlesThePlant gave you in his post too!
I am a new DM and I have player that end up loosing the campaign all together with there weird ideas. Any tips to keep the campaign on track but let the players still have fun?
Motivation. The characters must have a good motivation for whatever quest they're going on. At low levels, gold is a great motivator, but once you pass the level 4 threshold, you can move on to using inspiration or player backstories.
Orange Juice!
What is a good amount of gold to give each player?
Do the players have good ideas? A good thing to learn early on in your DMing career is not to say "no" too often, or dismiss player ideas out of hand.
If your players are actively making choices and doing things proactively, that means they *are* invested in your world. It helps to take the opportunity to look at what the players are doing, or what they say they would like to be doing, and adapt your story based off of what interests them.
However, that isn't to say the players are always right, and if you stop, consider, and still come to the conclusion that changes need to be made to make the game better, there's a few things you can do.
1. If the players are not following story hooks into your main plot, think about what you're using to hook them, what presumptions those hooks make about player motivation. Do you notice any patterns? Are you consistently expecting your players to act altruistically and they keep not being interested? Adapt: try and come up with non-altruistic motivations. The wizard who only cares about their research hears tell of a scholar with an expansive library that's now behind enemy lines, and the only way to get access to the library is to drive back the enemy. Maybe the paladin who ONLY cares about avenging their parents' murder finds out that the person responsible is either working for the bad guy, imprisoned by the bad guy, etc. Maybe the thief who really wants gold, realizes that bad guys... have gold...
2. If your players are the type who just resist any hint of the DM telling the player what to do because they're not used to be freedom offered by ttrpg's over other types of games and are still drunk with power, that's fine, let them have their fun, get it out of their system. THEN you put your villain hat on and think, what would have happened in the story if the players had not intervened as you planned? I.e what was the villain originally planning to happen? Once you figure that out, open the next session with that happening. The players realize that sh*t is getting real as the next town over is invaded, or when the villain gets the first piece of the fractured gem that lends them some terrible power, basically the villain does something to the status quo that the players FEEL, and they realize that their lack of action has had consequences, and dang it now that THEIR black market potato farm (idk players get into some weird stuff) was burned down by attacking goblins, now they want to take down whoever's responsible!
3. If the players pointedly ignore every attempt to get the game going, then an in-game solution is not going to work. We're all adults here, you need to have a frank, honest out of game discussion with your players. "Hey folks, I'm gonna start by saying I'm not accusing anyone of anything, but I just want to say that I'm not having fun with just the potato farm subplot. I put a lot of work into preparing a main story and I thought you would like it, and to be honest I feel a little disrespected that nobody's giving it a chance..." Remind the players that the DM is a player too, and if someone at the table isn't having fun, then the table should talk about it. If you never had the 'session zero' conversation with your players, where you all talk about your expectations and wishes for the coming game and what people's preferred style of game is-- this is an ideal time to have that conversation. If you were expecting the game to be an epic save-the-world narrative and planned everything accordingly but the players wanted Monty Python's Holy Graile, then that's a discrepancy that needs to be resolved for everyone to have a good time. While you're at it, ask the players if they have any questions. Maybe this is all a misunderstanding, and a detail you thought was clear, the players didn't understand, or made a different assumption about, and with that different assumption they think they *have* been doing the right thing with the information they *think* they have. They for some reason didn't connect the villain with the missing hand to the fact that the Duke also is missing a hand, which was the realization that was supposed to kick off the players fighting against the Duke and finding out he's the bad guys lieutenant. That kind of thing happens all the time, so asking players if they have questions and giving them straightforward answers can go a long way towards clearing up misunderstandings.
Hope these help, that's as general as I can make it without knowing the specifics of your game.
DM Planning
This is not always a popular strategy but is something I used early on in my DMing life and still use today.
If during session 0 the players aren't forthcoming on their expectations from the story, or are so overwhelmed by the options they say yes to everything take the first eight-ten session to get to know the players. With those 8-10 sessions you throw everything at them and see what sticks. I'll take the example of a homebrew I use where the players start off lost. In previous games sessions have looked like this:
0 - Initial Combat and Ability Checks to refresh and learn the game mixed with light roleplay opportunity.
1 - Roleplay heavy - Characters getting to know each other or having the option to engage with NPCs to find out where they are and how/if they can even get home.
2 - Combat heavy - Plan for several small combat encounters moving through terrain, ensure that in your mind you know that combat isn't the only solution though.
3 - Travel heavy - Travel to the nearby city. This allows for tracking, random encounters, exploration and usually I throw in a dungeon for them to crawl at the end.
4 - Dungeon crawl - Name says it all really, a dungeon or other underground setting for the players to explore and discover.
5 - Intrigue/Politics - The players arrive at a settlement where they can get their first real taste of a mystery, puzzle or some kind of political intrigue.
6 - Tavern quests - Again name says it all, NPC meets the group asks them to do a fetch or escort quest of some type.
If you follow this pattern, note down in a notebook or doc somewhere what you expected the players' actions and reactions to be. Then once you ran the session note down how the players responded. When you then come to look back at these notes you can get a really good idea of in what ways the players work and how they'll likely play their characters. As I say I know DMs that would hate doing this because it delays getting to the main story...but I honestly believe that advice like this should be clearer in DM support materials somewhere.
You can also implement the same idea if you're running a pre-made module or adventure. Just note down before the session how you think the players and characters will act. Then after the session note down how they actually acted. It'll help with future planning. Maybe even outright ask at the end of each session 'how did this session work for you? Did you feel bored or engaged as a player?'
Understanding the Characters
Go and look at everyone's character sheet. You as DM should have access to those sheets pretty much at all times. Look through what the players wrote down about the backstories and origins. Have a look at all of their abilities. Doing this will give you a clear idea of what ways the players might respond. On a basic level in one campaign all of the characters have an intelligence of 9 or lower! They aren't booksmart people. (INT is book smarts, WIS is street smarts to my mind). That means I can't ever throw brain teasers or clever wordplay at the group and expect the characters to know how to solve said puzzle. So, puzzles simply don't factor in unless they have a hireling or I have something the party won't be able to get through.
On a deeper level, what kind of spells, abilities and feats have the party got? Do you have a thief rogue in the party? They're going to use stealth...a lot! They're going to be able to dodge damage and £10 gets you £20 that if there's the opportunity to steal something...it's getting stolen.
Got a player with an urchin background? They're going to react differently to the NPC who is being mistreated by town guards because they stole an apple. Said player might be more likely to pay off the fine, or reimburse the shop keeper. They may even step in with their weapon drawn to defend one of their own.
So, looking through the character sheets is always something you need to be doing to see who these characters are. It may give you a good window into why the player is behaving in this way.
Now, if you look through the character sheet and the player isn't playing the character well (i.e. a Lawful Good Paladin from the high order of whatshisname sworn to protect all that is lawful but then goes on a crime spree) that's the point to have a conversation with that player. Why did they draw up a LG paladin if they wanted to steal, damage or kill everything in sight? Would they prefer to switch characters, because this simply will only get worse as the party level up.
Keep your expectations in check
One of the most fun things to happen to me in a good long while is for the party to go off on a tangent during play that I just never expected. It was totally unplanned and totally unprepared for. I loved every minute of making it all up as I went on the spot. It was something I simply don't get to do a lot. It's a good reminder though that you as DM built the world, you built the sandbox. You don't build the story however....at least not alone. The world belongs largely to the DM, the story belongs to the players (the DM included as a player of course). If you've learnt who the players and then who the characters are then you'll have a list of possible ways in which things could go down. Never forget though that this is a sandbox. Much like there are people out there who never slay the first dragon in Skyrim (yes that happens) or ignore the main story questline in Fallout 4, some players will be wanting full use of that sandbox and that's the real challenge of being a DM. You have to kind of anticipate that anything could happen. By learning who both your players and your characters are though, you arm yourself with the knowledge of what's most likely which helps you to plan more effectively.
Learning these things also helps to inform all of the great advice that CharlesThePlant gave you in his post too!
DM session planning template - My version of maps for 'Lost Mine of Phandelver' - Send your party to The Circus - Other DM Resources - Maps, Tokens, Quests - 'Better' Player Character Injury Tables?
Actor, Writer, Director & Teacher by day - GM/DM in my off hours.