Simply put the high-level NPCs have things to do. BIG THINGS. THINGS THAT ARE BEYOND THE ABILITY OF THE PARTY! Yeah, I shouted that. Forgive me. Make it apparent that the NPC can't go to X place and deal with threat K because they are going to point Q and deal with Threat G, or worse if they leave Threat 43 will emerge from a portal they are guarding and depopulate the town/city/Kingdom. So they have done what they can and cultivated the heroes to deal with the threat you want them to address.
As to your second point, well I hate that too. The Pathfinder 1e game that I was coerced into running has a trio of players that are being quite recalcitrant in providing the requested information. All I have asked for is a single sheet, I don't want a lot just enough to understand that the Player considers this Character as a "person" and not as a GUI into my world. What I do is keep insisting that they provide what I have asked for, and that personalization of the game requires their input. Until that happens, the players have to recognize that the railroad is the only "game" in town. You will create an adventure, seed encounters, and expect them to proceed through it. If they dislike this, all they have to do is show some agency.
Matt Colville also brings up that some players are audience members. They are fine just participating in your game, and under no circumstances should you force them into becoming actors. I agree with this sentiment. The issue is finding out if the players are audience members or just disinterested and/or lazy players. I suggest simply asking if they are having fun. An audience member will strongly indicate they are having fun, whereas the other type with be more noncommittal.
High level NPCs are busy with more important problems.
Yep. High magic heroes means high magic villainy.
As per a character without a backstory or motivation? That person is clearly not role-playing, so I wouldn't worry about it. If you have other players who are role-playing, then shouldering a player or two who are just along for the ride is fine. Maybe if they're exposed over time, they might say "hey that looks like fun." There is nothing wrong with a passive player with a light or non-existant backstory, if they aren't causing a problem. The spotlight isn't for everyone. Maybe they have more fun when they watch other people play and just want to be a part of something.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
How do I convince my players to go take care of some thing that high lvl npc's can do better. with out making it cheesy
Also how would you handle players having no motivation or backstory what so ever
High level NPCs are busy with more important problems.
The Forum Infestation (TM)
Matt Colville has a video about this:
https://youtu.be/dqth2dFlIzQ
Simply put the high-level NPCs have things to do. BIG THINGS. THINGS THAT ARE BEYOND THE ABILITY OF THE PARTY! Yeah, I shouted that. Forgive me. Make it apparent that the NPC can't go to X place and deal with threat K because they are going to point Q and deal with Threat G, or worse if they leave Threat 43 will emerge from a portal they are guarding and depopulate the town/city/Kingdom. So they have done what they can and cultivated the heroes to deal with the threat you want them to address.
As to your second point, well I hate that too. The Pathfinder 1e game that I was coerced into running has a trio of players that are being quite recalcitrant in providing the requested information. All I have asked for is a single sheet, I don't want a lot just enough to understand that the Player considers this Character as a "person" and not as a GUI into my world. What I do is keep insisting that they provide what I have asked for, and that personalization of the game requires their input. Until that happens, the players have to recognize that the railroad is the only "game" in town. You will create an adventure, seed encounters, and expect them to proceed through it. If they dislike this, all they have to do is show some agency.
Matt Colville also brings up that some players are audience members. They are fine just participating in your game, and under no circumstances should you force them into becoming actors. I agree with this sentiment. The issue is finding out if the players are audience members or just disinterested and/or lazy players. I suggest simply asking if they are having fun. An audience member will strongly indicate they are having fun, whereas the other type with be more noncommittal.
Yep. High magic heroes means high magic villainy.
As per a character without a backstory or motivation? That person is clearly not role-playing, so I wouldn't worry about it. If you have other players who are role-playing, then shouldering a player or two who are just along for the ride is fine. Maybe if they're exposed over time, they might say "hey that looks like fun." There is nothing wrong with a passive player with a light or non-existant backstory, if they aren't causing a problem. The spotlight isn't for everyone. Maybe they have more fun when they watch other people play and just want to be a part of something.