I have kind of a problem. I run a campaign that has been going on for over a year but due to a character death and multiple players coming in and leaving the campaign leaves me with a group of 4 players with only 2 players having been there from the start and of those 2 players only 1 still has their original character.
The problem this brings is that, even though my campaign has run for nearly 80 sessions and from level 3 to 11 it still feels like many of these characters don't really know each other and are barely acquaintances let alone friends.
All in all I don't have a problem to have my players care about the plot or any NPC's but I have a hard time having them care about each other. Most secrets they wrote into their backstories which they said they wanted to reveal at one point they have kept close to their chest because "My character barely knows these people why would he trust them?" Even through most of these have faced life or death scenario's together, have berried friends, accomplished impossible tasks and have relied on each other in numerous challenges.
What am I to do, how can I make my players care about each other?
It’s hard to fix this this far into the campaign, but I’d suggest just talking to your players about this problem. Next time it comes up give a “hey guys, your characters have been working together for a really long time and have probably all saved each other’s lives. I bet they’re coming to trust each other as friends a lot more.” Heck, most groups (in real life too!) can’t really not be friends after they’ve faced death together even once. That stuff has a big effect.
So, short answer, just address it with your players, let them help solve the problem instead of being it. They want a good game too, and they’re equally responsible for creating one!
It sounds like your player are trying to play in character, and being in combat together might force them to trust each other but if that the only time their together I can see why they might not be keen to trust each other. I don't know where you are in your campaign but, maybe lead them off the main story line, lower the stakes a little and have more social encounters. You maybe have them investigate something or find out that they have a mutual friend in need. If you can have a goal that requires knowledge from each of their backgrounds to figure out what is going on. This will give your players the excuss to discuss their past and allow them to see why the other players, play their characters the way they do.
Other RPG systems build this into character creation and xp creating bonds between the players, or rewarding meaningful connections being made or relationships changing.
it might be a bit late to build that in but what you can do is create encounters designed to forge the bonds.
A door where the key is each character having to give it a secret.
a fortune teller that gives the group a reading
Create encounters that address conflicting ideologies head on
an npc that comes between two players
A bottle episode
the group getting magically paired of in peril and having to work together to find a way out.
I think this can be an RP issue, but it can also be a 'player buy-in' issue. Part of the game is that your character plays in a party with other characters. There's still a certain amount of work on the player's part to create a character that works in that dynamic. Part of that is making sure your character is open to attachment to their party members.
However, that isn't to say there's nothing you can do to give them the opportunity to form such attachments. You can try putting certain characters in personal dilemmas, dredge up backstory drama, and put them in a situation where they need to rely on and trust one another outside of just combat. Maybe one of their secrets comes back to haunt them, and now it becomes the party's task to overcome it together. That kind of thing.
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Dear dungeon masters,
I have kind of a problem. I run a campaign that has been going on for over a year but due to a character death and multiple players coming in and leaving the campaign leaves me with a group of 4 players with only 2 players having been there from the start and of those 2 players only 1 still has their original character.
The problem this brings is that, even though my campaign has run for nearly 80 sessions and from level 3 to 11 it still feels like many of these characters don't really know each other and are barely acquaintances let alone friends.
All in all I don't have a problem to have my players care about the plot or any NPC's but I have a hard time having them care about each other. Most secrets they wrote into their backstories which they said they wanted to reveal at one point they have kept close to their chest because "My character barely knows these people why would he trust them?" Even through most of these have faced life or death scenario's together, have berried friends, accomplished impossible tasks and have relied on each other in numerous challenges.
What am I to do, how can I make my players care about each other?
It’s hard to fix this this far into the campaign, but I’d suggest just talking to your players about this problem. Next time it comes up give a “hey guys, your characters have been working together for a really long time and have probably all saved each other’s lives. I bet they’re coming to trust each other as friends a lot more.” Heck, most groups (in real life too!) can’t really not be friends after they’ve faced death together even once. That stuff has a big effect.
So, short answer, just address it with your players, let them help solve the problem instead of being it. They want a good game too, and they’re equally responsible for creating one!
Wizard (Gandalf) of the Tolkien Club
It sounds like your player are trying to play in character, and being in combat together might force them to trust each other but if that the only time their together I can see why they might not be keen to trust each other. I don't know where you are in your campaign but, maybe lead them off the main story line, lower the stakes a little and have more social encounters. You maybe have them investigate something or find out that they have a mutual friend in need. If you can have a goal that requires knowledge from each of their backgrounds to figure out what is going on. This will give your players the excuss to discuss their past and allow them to see why the other players, play their characters the way they do.
Other RPG systems build this into character creation and xp creating bonds between the players, or rewarding meaningful connections being made or relationships changing.
it might be a bit late to build that in but what you can do is create encounters designed to forge the bonds.
A door where the key is each character having to give it a secret.
a fortune teller that gives the group a reading
Create encounters that address conflicting ideologies head on
an npc that comes between two players
A bottle episode
the group getting magically paired of in peril and having to work together to find a way out.
etc
I think this can be an RP issue, but it can also be a 'player buy-in' issue. Part of the game is that your character plays in a party with other characters. There's still a certain amount of work on the player's part to create a character that works in that dynamic. Part of that is making sure your character is open to attachment to their party members.
However, that isn't to say there's nothing you can do to give them the opportunity to form such attachments. You can try putting certain characters in personal dilemmas, dredge up backstory drama, and put them in a situation where they need to rely on and trust one another outside of just combat. Maybe one of their secrets comes back to haunt them, and now it becomes the party's task to overcome it together. That kind of thing.