I think you started off by assuming too much. You say they didn’t act as “expected” a number of times. Railroading is never preferred, but there is a difference between guiding and railroading. Railroading negatively removes agency from the players for your convenience. Guiding can empower players to make informed decisions. You have an inexperienced group, so they will by and large need some guiding. It is not as if they are going to understand the subtle cues that experienced players will understand, or the mechanics of trading for horses. If someone doesn’t know there is something to look for, they’re not going to look for it. I think you should introduce some way of exposing the presence of a greater agenda - an event that just doesn’t square, an npc’s quest that uncovers something, rumours of unsavoury activity.
D&D is a two way street. I would start off with discussing with your players what they want from D&D. When I'm reading this I get the impression that their play style is conflicting with the story you set out to tell. If they just want to have fun let them have fun. It's a novel new game for them. After a couple of sessions they will most likely get bored of screwing around and want something more in depth. This is my experience with new players, especially when you get a bunch at one table.
After a couple of sessions they will most likely get bored of screwing around and want something more in depth. This is my experience with new players, especially when you get a bunch at one table.
I second this. New people tend to treat D&D like a video game - as that's now the primary RPG trainer for folks. So kill, loot, repeat is an ingrained behavior pattern for play.
Give them a means to do so productively while sneaking in more and more story and "Why this all happens." for them. Give their random actions consequences (both good and bad), and show them that the world responds to their behavior. Lots of murder and killing in a town should lead to either a full decline of town safety where everyone is out for themselves and it's the Wild West, or the arrival of Justice to stop this one way or the other. Actions, consequences, little sprinklings of story.
They'll come along, or you'll find that you just have great friends for a chaos/evil game and adjust to them! ;)
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I think you started off by assuming too much. You say they didn’t act as “expected” a number of times. Railroading is never preferred, but there is a difference between guiding and railroading. Railroading negatively removes agency from the players for your convenience. Guiding can empower players to make informed decisions. You have an inexperienced group, so they will by and large need some guiding. It is not as if they are going to understand the subtle cues that experienced players will understand, or the mechanics of trading for horses. If someone doesn’t know there is something to look for, they’re not going to look for it. I think you should introduce some way of exposing the presence of a greater agenda - an event that just doesn’t square, an npc’s quest that uncovers something, rumours of unsavoury activity.
D&D is a two way street. I would start off with discussing with your players what they want from D&D. When I'm reading this I get the impression that their play style is conflicting with the story you set out to tell. If they just want to have fun let them have fun. It's a novel new game for them. After a couple of sessions they will most likely get bored of screwing around and want something more in depth. This is my experience with new players, especially when you get a bunch at one table.
I second this. New people tend to treat D&D like a video game - as that's now the primary RPG trainer for folks. So kill, loot, repeat is an ingrained behavior pattern for play.
Give them a means to do so productively while sneaking in more and more story and "Why this all happens." for them. Give their random actions consequences (both good and bad), and show them that the world responds to their behavior. Lots of murder and killing in a town should lead to either a full decline of town safety where everyone is out for themselves and it's the Wild West, or the arrival of Justice to stop this one way or the other. Actions, consequences, little sprinklings of story.
They'll come along, or you'll find that you just have great friends for a chaos/evil game and adjust to them! ;)