Your players sound like min-maxers they aren't going to care about any magic items that aren't a straight boost to their combat effectiveness. That's just how some players are - they want to play a hack-and-slash and don't really care about anything else. Sure those items could be useful if they used their creativity to come up with solutions but they don't want to do that, and thus they instead are "clutter" on their character sheets. It's not your fault, it's their lack of curiosity and creativity. Sure you can try to make them play the way you think they should but usually that just makes everyone frustrated. So my advice is instead of trying to make the game what you want it to be, choose to enjoy the fact that your players are having fun and let them play however they want to.
I just want to point out that roleplaying and optimizing are definitely not mutually exclusive.
Having taken some time to consider your original post I do have another suggestion. It's based on something that I personally, as a GM do not like, but might be helpful in your situation.
I once had a player come to me with effectively a shopping list of magic items that they wanted for their player character. Now this kind of approach is one that I'm not a fan of. It tends to come from the sort of player who plans out their character's progression from levels 1-20 before they've ever actually played a session. However, there's no wrong way to play the game and it could well be that your players would relish the opportunity to say 'hey here's the type of magic items we'd love to see'. This might help you better plan the types of magic items that you drop. So instead of items you think are cool, you're giving the players items that they think are cool.
I'd be hesistant to give players exactly what they want off their wish list, but it can be helpful in terms of figuring out what kind of items they are interested in. You can then pick stuff similar to that and that is also of a power-level you are comfortable with.
Yeah thanks for those suggestions. Gives me something to think about.
Is there any good resources for learning to roleplay or run non combat aspects of the game. Such as travel, exploring a town, dungeon exploration or npc's. I feel like I have a grasp on combat. But I feel like I could improve in that area.
Is there any good resources for learning to roleplay or run non combat aspects of the game. Such as travel, exploring a town, dungeon exploration or npc's. I feel like I have a grasp on combat. But I feel like I could improve in that area.
Practice, mostly. These sorts of things get discussed on these (and other) forums with some regularity.
First and foremost, play out the interesting non-combat stuff. If they're traveling, have them encounter an obstacle. Maybe the bridge is out over a wide river. Whenever they need something from an NPC, do at least a little interaction before getting to the skill rolls. When they explore an area like a dungeon, have areas of interest that don't have fights. (Maybe traps, maybe obstacles, maybe nothing at all.) When they're going to travel, have an NPC give them warnings about hazards ("You're heading to Dagger Isle? We've lost a lot of ships to pirates that way"), and let then think about how to deal with them. (These warnings don't even have to come to pass on any given trip. Maybe they get to Dagger Isle just fine. And the pirates catch them on the way home.)
In one of the games I play in, the DM sometimes creates situations where the pure violence option requires neutralizing an overwhelming force (like an army) that basically is beyond the power of the current party. This was stated ahead of time in session zero so it's not a surprise to us as players. It's also well telegraphed in the moment.
I just want to point out that roleplaying and optimizing are definitely not mutually exclusive.
I'd be hesistant to give players exactly what they want off their wish list, but it can be helpful in terms of figuring out what kind of items they are interested in. You can then pick stuff similar to that and that is also of a power-level you are comfortable with.
Yeah thanks for those suggestions. Gives me something to think about.
Is there any good resources for learning to roleplay or run non combat aspects of the game. Such as travel, exploring a town, dungeon exploration or npc's. I feel like I have a grasp on combat. But I feel like I could improve in that area.
Practice, mostly. These sorts of things get discussed on these (and other) forums with some regularity.
First and foremost, play out the interesting non-combat stuff. If they're traveling, have them encounter an obstacle. Maybe the bridge is out over a wide river. Whenever they need something from an NPC, do at least a little interaction before getting to the skill rolls. When they explore an area like a dungeon, have areas of interest that don't have fights. (Maybe traps, maybe obstacles, maybe nothing at all.) When they're going to travel, have an NPC give them warnings about hazards ("You're heading to Dagger Isle? We've lost a lot of ships to pirates that way"), and let then think about how to deal with them. (These warnings don't even have to come to pass on any given trip. Maybe they get to Dagger Isle just fine. And the pirates catch them on the way home.)
In one of the games I play in, the DM sometimes creates situations where the pure violence option requires neutralizing an overwhelming force (like an army) that basically is beyond the power of the current party. This was stated ahead of time in session zero so it's not a surprise to us as players. It's also well telegraphed in the moment.
Love both of those thanks!
Where does he get those wonderful toys?!
-Joker