Hi there! I'm relatively new to DMing and recently did a one-shot session as a test run for my group (most are new to D&D in general). My group wants to keep going since they liked the one-shot, but I'm having trouble coming up with long term campaign plots that'll tie them all together. Their characters are a bunch of chaotic neutral lone wolves who only care about themselves, each having huge trust issues. The one-shot was with those characters being cellmates having break out of prison. Now they're free and rampant, but I have no idea how to get them together and not kill each other (one has a backstory that wants him to murder another player's character).
You are only limited by your imagination. In this scenario, my imagination has them on quests to clear their names (if they say that their characters are innocent), and the only way to do so is to work together. If they want the charges to be true then you have them working as a team to stay alive. As to how to bring them all together, I'd go with their pursuers push them towards one another and fully encircle them making them have to work together to get out of the situation. As for the player with the backstory of wanting to kill another PC, have it where they have to overcome the hostilities and work together. Work on having other PCs wanting to work with the PC that the other wants killed. Another way of doing it is to have a greater goal that requires all of them that they want to do. Examples: 1) Again, prove their innocence (if they are). 2) A major heist is coming up and they need to work together on the heist or be killed. 3) There is an item/person of high interest to them and they have to go on a journey to find it/them. 4) A major villain wants the PCs out of the picture for some reason and they have to work together to stay alive. If you have the time, look at the How to be a Great GM youtube channel. He has some good videos on how to create a good campaign. Hope I could be of help.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Remember this is a game and it's suppose to be fun for everybody. Let's all have fun and kill monsters.
I have not red the other guys stuff so this is my point of view.
First off. I have a chaotic neutral tabaxi rogue (thief) who is really ******* bloodlusty. And his first reaction to when I told him that next time a guest would join us he said "I'm going to kill his character." Now I of course immediately used my reaction to say no. This is their first time and they should not be killing each other. I don't know if you watch CR but they have played together for what 6 years now? And they still do not kill each other but threaten others. I don't know if the guy who wants to kill the other guy is smart but with an intelligence of 10 or more would easily allow his character to know that if he kills that guy, the others are gonna kill him in return. Why would they travel with him? So that's the first problem.
Secondly. Yes it is hard to run with chaotic neutral players, I have 3 of those and a ******* PALADIN! So tell them that they can jump away from each other all they want, but that means they are gonna die so much quicker. I told a player of mine that because he went into ***** mode and let the rogue go down into the kobold lair alone. The rogue almost died. (Ended with 1 or 2 hp) Don't by a long shot drag them away from death or jails. Chaotic Neutral PC are very likely to end up in one of those situations. Much of chaotic neutral players find themselves many times using sessions getting out of those situations.
Fiends are a good start to a plot hook. Demons kill everything and so the players have to fight something FAR more evil than themselves. A devil could bind them together. As a joke, if say, "Jack" kills "Jones" it's not Jones who dies it's "Jack". I have an idea for a plot hook for my players. One of them is member of a thieves guild named "Chancers". And so I'm thinking of having a cambion do some shady underground business to get her hands on a gem containing magical power. (From the book series "The last Mythal") I also have an idea for a humanoid shaped fella who they some how may spot using some magical shit on a young girl. When they look at her face it's stonelike. This creature/man steals faces and they have to track him down. For different reasons each perhaps.
If you want I could give you a long list of all my plot hooks for ya. I'll be happy to help ya! But could you list your players races and classes? And like their basic way of acting? That would help a lot thanks! Hope I helped! And if you need help or have questions, feel free to ask! And welcome to DMing! ^^
Let me know how everything turns out, and what direction everything went. Sounds like a fun story you're coming up with. Good luck, and have fun running this game.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Remember this is a game and it's suppose to be fun for everybody. Let's all have fun and kill monsters.
Let me know how everything turns out, and what direction everything went. Sounds like a fun story you're coming up with. Good luck, and have fun running this game.
I have not red the other guys stuff so this is my point of view.
First off. I have a chaotic neutral tabaxi rogue (thief) who is really ******* bloodlusty. And his first reaction to when I told him that next time a guest would join us he said "I'm going to kill his character." Now I of course immediately used my reaction to say no. This is their first time and they should not be killing each other. I don't know if you watch CR but they have played together for what 6 years now? And they still do not kill each other but threaten others. I don't know if the guy who wants to kill the other guy is smart but with an intelligence of 10 or more would easily allow his character to know that if he kills that guy, the others are gonna kill him in return. Why would they travel with him? So that's the first problem.
Secondly. Yes it is hard to run with chaotic neutral players, I have 3 of those and a ******* PALADIN! So tell them that they can jump away from each other all they want, but that means they are gonna die so much quicker. I told a player of mine that because he went into ***** mode and let the rogue go down into the kobold lair alone. The rogue almost died. (Ended with 1 or 2 hp) Don't by a long shot drag them away from death or jails. Chaotic Neutral PC are very likely to end up in one of those situations. Much of chaotic neutral players find themselves many times using sessions getting out of those situations.
Fiends are a good start to a plot hook. Demons kill everything and so the players have to fight something FAR more evil than themselves. A devil could bind them together. As a joke, if say, "Jack" kills "Jones" it's not Jones who dies it's "Jack". I have an idea for a plot hook for my players. One of them is member of a thieves guild named "Chancers". And so I'm thinking of having a cambion do some shady underground business to get her hands on a gem containing magical power. (From the book series "The last Mythal") I also have an idea for a humanoid shaped fella who they some how may spot using some magical shit on a young girl. When they look at her face it's stonelike. This creature/man steals faces and they have to track him down. For different reasons each perhaps.
If you want I could give you a long list of all my plot hooks for ya. I'll be happy to help ya! But could you list your players races and classes? And like their basic way of acting? That would help a lot thanks! Hope I helped! And if you need help or have questions, feel free to ask! And welcome to DMing! ^^
-Daergiel
Funnily enough, our group has a chaotic neutral tabaxi ranger who is the one who wants to kill another PC.
I really like both yours and WeldingBear's advice. Think I'm going to start "Act 1" with them being pursued by a group of special hunters or something. I want to tie in the warlock's (fiend pact) backstory of how he's on a task to find a powerful artifact that'll aid him or his patron. Might have the entire party tasked with this by the country that they're fleeing from in order to receive a pardon of some sort. In the one-shot, they escaped the prison of a strict human-only country and 4 out of 5 are non-humans. Either way they were all arrested for trespassing and smuggling into that country's territory.
Group consists of the following Level 5 PCs: 1. Previously stated chaotic neutral tabaxi ranger. He uses a bow and is all about that angsty loner life with the whole tragic parents dying backstory. Complete lone wolf/cat. During a fight between the party and a guard in the prison cell, he attempted to abandon the rest of the party and run through the door he lockpicked. Due to my inexperience, I had to beg him to stay with the group. Throughout the one-shot, while the group was doing one thing, he'd often be off on his own doing something else.
2. A chaotic neutral tiefling warlock whose backstory made his personality seem like he was a shy, but perverted guy. In the midst combat this PC decided to jump on top of a table and whip out his "magic wand" (if you catch my drift). I was completely thrown off and I don't even remember making him roll for Performance...
3. Chaotic GOOD tiefling bard, the younger brother of the warlock. One of the more cooperative players since the person playing him is more of a strategic player with games in general. His character is supposed to be "a lover, not a fighter" type of guy. It worked up until the point where he snapped the neck of a guard who surrendered, laid down his weapons, and showed pictures of his wife/kids.
4. Chaotic neutral goliath barbarian, played by someone who is also more cooperative with the party and is a strategic player. The only real issue I have with this fellow is that I think he has a hard time roleplaying as his character. I love that he's cooperating, but it doesn't add up with his backstory where he's been excommunicated from his clan/tribe for not contributing with everyone else and being too reckless on his own. I'm not sure how to ease him into roleplaying his character.
5. Chaotic neutral human rogue, an assassin, and played by the one person who does have some experience in a D&D campaign. She had her backstory set up and her character's personality was intended to be cunning and enigmatic. At the beginning of our session, the player revealed to me that they were high. Their play-style reflected such as the PC didn't cooperate with the party (like bargaining for a button or glasses in exchange for the keys she stole) or leaving their desk (we're using Roll20) in the middle of combat, and being absent for about an hour.
Like I said, I'm pretty new to DMing and a lot of things in their one-shot took me by complete surprise. I didn't expect any of that and I got easily flustered. Any advice for how to handle these type of things would be much appreciated!
Holy shit. I think you gotta talk with them man. Tell them that they should corporate more because you're fairly new to DMing. But it sure sounds hard man.
The roleplay aspect of the barbarian make it that he wants to redeem himself to his tribe/clan and is working on learning how best to work with others and this is how he's going about doing it.
The experienced player that just got up and left for the hour, I'd tell them that if they pull that again, while they are gone their character will end up dead. When you say "high" do you mean high on drugs? If that is the case, I'd also tell them that if they want to play in my group they can't be high. You can always find somebody to replace them.
You still haven't told us the story behind why the one character wants the other dead.
And the player who is chaotic "good" who snapped the neck of someone begging for their life and who surrendered, I'd tell them if you do something like that again I'm shifting your alignment to chaotic neutral. If they continue to do evil things you then make them chaotic evil.
As for the group as a whole, I'd tell them to cooperate with me or I'll find another group and you all have to find another group. When/if you get to the point that it's no longer fun for you to run the game tell them that you are going to find another group. Running the game has to be fun for you as well as the players, but if the players play style is what is making it no fun and they refuse to change you have no choice but to end and find another group. Any player that you are cool with you can allow to come to your new game.
You have to come up a list of rules that the players have to abide by or get kicked from the group. Think of the best way to have it where it's fun for both the players and you. 2 rules come to mind right off the bat and they are: 1) Cannot be drunk or high or you don't play for the night. 2) Limit to being away from game to 30 min or get kicked for the night (unless gives a valid reason for having to be away longer). You also give them 3 points and assign a point value to each rule. Once they reach 3 points they are out of the group. Points reset at the beginning of each adventure or at the beginning of every year (up to you).
Hope I could be of help to you and that things work out for ya.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Remember this is a game and it's suppose to be fun for everybody. Let's all have fun and kill monsters.
The roleplay aspect of the barbarian make it that he wants to redeem himself to his tribe/clan and is working on learning how best to work with others and this is how he's going about doing it.
The experienced player that just got up and left for the hour, I'd tell them that if they pull that again, while they are gone their character will end up dead. When you say "high" do you mean high on drugs? If that is the case, I'd also tell them that if they want to play in my group they can't be high. You can always find somebody to replace them.
You still haven't told us the story behind why the one character wants the other dead.
And the player who is chaotic "good" who snapped the neck of someone begging for their life and who surrendered, I'd tell them if you do something like that again I'm shifting your alignment to chaotic neutral. If they continue to do evil things you then make them chaotic evil.
As for the group as a whole, I'd tell them to cooperate with me or I'll find another group and you all have to find another group. When/if you get to the point that it's no longer fun for you to run the game tell them that you are going to find another group. Running the game has to be fun for you as well as the players, but if the players play style is what is making it no fun and they refuse to change you have no choice but to end and find another group. Any player that you are cool with you can allow to come to your new game.
You have to come up a list of rules that the players have to abide by or get kicked from the group. Think of the best way to have it where it's fun for both the players and you. 2 rules come to mind right off the bat and they are: 1) Cannot be drunk or high or you don't play for the night. 2) Limit to being away from game to 30 min or get kicked for the night (unless gives a valid reason for having to be away longer). You also give them 3 points and assign a point value to each rule. Once they reach 3 points they are out of the group. Points reset at the beginning of each adventure or at the beginning of every year (up to you).
Hope I could be of help to you and that things work out for ya.
To answer the question about the tabaxi's backstory, he wants to kill the goliath because that character was a former pirate. The whole reason his parents died was due to pirates raiding their ship as the refugees tried to sail away from their war-torn country. His main goal in life is literally to just kill pirates.
Though I want to be firm and strict, these guys are my crazy group of friends lol. But I see your point, and I will be sure to set the ground rules and expectations before the session. Thanks for the tips!
To make a long story short, yesterday I played D&D and it ended with one of them having the eye of Vecna and the other having the hand. And they made a deal to go kill Zariel the archdevil of Avernus. They all think they are gonna become demi gods but it's really only the guy who made the deal with them, as the other plays were kinding around while it happened. So yeah. I have a task in front of me as well. As on of the players (the rogue) wants to kill the others. So I've made a very simple rule. I will remind them of death. I am gonna try my best to NEVER shy them away from it. And if they want to kill another PC, both players have to be sure about it and it's gonna be a 1 on 1 between those two. So if one of them says: "I cast disentergrate on her!" I ask the other player if she is alright with starting a battle. If she is not, the spell has no effect. Simple as that. Because they are very new players to d&d, and non of them wants to make a new character, so I keep reminding them of that, if they all they hating each other... that's fine because it happens. But it increases their chances of dying by almost 60%, as they are not helping each other. But it also makes for a challenge for the players. They now, are bond to working together as they ALL think that they are gonna become a demi god when they finish this. And one of them is already under the effect of the hand's suggestion spell.
But see? A really chaotic situation where I wish I would have done almost all my actions differently, I did make a nice plot hook out of it. And as the djinni they made the deal with has been trapped in a bronze flask for a few thousand years he is going to shift sides like a damn fey creature. He just wants a good show. So he is going to both help Zariel but also the players. It's fine they hate each other, but make sure they are bound together.
But! If nothing here works, if they are just to hard to control. You can always do the thing were you make a one shot, with premade characters or let them make characters, but they have to be of Lawful.neutral,good or chaotic alignment. But cannot go chaotic neutral or evil. And then slowly work the one shot into a campaign. I've made a rule in my campaign where if you die you cannot play the same character. Because I was right to assume that they would just take the same character, name and all. So you can still be say, a tiefling rogue (thief) but you have to have a different story and reason for things you do, else it just becomes boring for me and there is no reason for death to exist if you just come back as the same character.
Remember you still have to have fun, and if they are making to difficult for ya, it's totally okay to stop it and make a new clean slate. If I was in this group and notice all of these chaotic neutral characters.. If I was perceptive enough, I think I would want to switch, but because of their chaoticness it would be hard. It's difficult to fit a paladin into that group.... xD
(So for this chaotic advice. I'm stressed as I'm about to leave for the rest of the day so, my I'm just kinda doing this on the fly.) Hope I could help! And good luck! ^^
I always find it strange that when a player creates a character and it wants to kill another PC.
Noone wants to go kill someone because he happened to have been a pirate in the past. No matter what background he made up.... Well unless this particular pirate killed his all family a few years back then that's a GM problem.
I usually have the PCs either know each others (or at least a few of them) or put them in a situation where they have to work together to survive.
I m not saying that they have to be friends or anything. A little antagonism is good for RP.
I think as a GM you have to give good creation options and set boundaries. That helps in the long run.
Chaotic and Evil characters tend to be played as dumb but they have to have a reasons, even to kill. Unless they are psychopaths and stupid.
Having a common objective is usually a good way to force them to bond.
1) After their escape from prison, they find out that they where framed, and used as bait, so that the Guards/Army would focus on them, rather then on the real threat at hand.
Now some of them might not give much more thoughts about been framed, some might want to proof their innocence, not because of good or altruistic reasons, but simply because it is a real pain in the arse to deal with a warrant/bounty on your head when you try to make a living as a sellsword, the most efficient thing is that they are all pissed at the ones who used them and discarded them, and they want to give him/them back for messing with them.
2) One of them finds a magic object, that curses them all, they're bound together, and if they are either too far apart, some catastrophe will happen, or their life will Drain and they will start to lose levels, Only a High lvl Remove Curse, a special ceremony or a Wish can remove this Curse.
Now don't leave this Curse go on for too long, mayeb a few sessions, have them research into it, find what they need to remove it and how to do it, also show them the consequence of their decisions if they do not respect the Curse conditions, once the trust as been build let them get rid of it, in a spectacular way, the more Epic, the more ingrained it will be and the more it will bond them..
3) Find the one that still has family/friend/someone he cares for in trouble, and ask the rest to help him/her, even if he as to beg for it or propose a reward, start from there and go into an overarching plot with Slave Traders, Bandit organisation and a Crime Lord, that would be somehow connected to one or more of the parties past.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Normality is but an Illusion, Whats normal to the Spider, is only madness for the Fly"
Okay. Now that I have the backstory for the Tabaxi and Goliath, have the Tabaxi just mistrust the Goliath until he proves that he isn't a threat and is trying to redeem himself (if he even is) of he crimes. Unless the Goliath was a pirate when the Tabaxi lost his parents he shouldn't be as hateful towards a former pirate. Ultimately, you need to have a chat with the 2 and see what can be worked out so there isn't quite the hostility, but there is some or a lot of mistrust. If the Goliath is okay with the other guy wanting him dead and is willing to work with it and see if the Tabaxi either attempts to kill him or does kill him, or see if the Tabaxi changes his mind about the Goliath with how he plays him. Since my last advice on the Goliath was he was trying to be let back into his tribe, he turned to pirating as a means to support himself, and he grew tired of how cruel they could be so he left and was trying adventuring when he got caught. Obviously you need to run this part of his backstory by him and see what he thinks and if that is how he wants to play. Have the Tabaxi see that the Goliath isn't a bad person but was just misguided earlier in his life and decides to 1) watch him closely so he doesn't do anything bad, or 2) take the Goliath under his wing and teach him how best to work with others and to fight for nature.
This is what I can come up with at this point in time. If you need anything else just ask, and the community will be here.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Remember this is a game and it's suppose to be fun for everybody. Let's all have fun and kill monsters.
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Hi there! I'm relatively new to DMing and recently did a one-shot session as a test run for my group (most are new to D&D in general). My group wants to keep going since they liked the one-shot, but I'm having trouble coming up with long term campaign plots that'll tie them all together. Their characters are a bunch of chaotic neutral lone wolves who only care about themselves, each having huge trust issues. The one-shot was with those characters being cellmates having break out of prison. Now they're free and rampant, but I have no idea how to get them together and not kill each other (one has a backstory that wants him to murder another player's character).
Help please!
You are only limited by your imagination. In this scenario, my imagination has them on quests to clear their names (if they say that their characters are innocent), and the only way to do so is to work together. If they want the charges to be true then you have them working as a team to stay alive. As to how to bring them all together, I'd go with their pursuers push them towards one another and fully encircle them making them have to work together to get out of the situation. As for the player with the backstory of wanting to kill another PC, have it where they have to overcome the hostilities and work together. Work on having other PCs wanting to work with the PC that the other wants killed. Another way of doing it is to have a greater goal that requires all of them that they want to do. Examples: 1) Again, prove their innocence (if they are). 2) A major heist is coming up and they need to work together on the heist or be killed. 3) There is an item/person of high interest to them and they have to go on a journey to find it/them. 4) A major villain wants the PCs out of the picture for some reason and they have to work together to stay alive. If you have the time, look at the How to be a Great GM youtube channel. He has some good videos on how to create a good campaign. Hope I could be of help.
Remember this is a game and it's suppose to be fun for everybody. Let's all have fun and kill monsters.
Thank you! This helped a lot!
I have not red the other guys stuff so this is my point of view.
First off. I have a chaotic neutral tabaxi rogue (thief) who is really ******* bloodlusty. And his first reaction to when I told him that next time a guest would join us he said "I'm going to kill his character."
Now I of course immediately used my reaction to say no. This is their first time and they should not be killing each other. I don't know if you watch CR but they have played together for what 6 years now? And they still do not kill each other but threaten others. I don't know if the guy who wants to kill the other guy is smart but with an intelligence of 10 or more would easily allow his character to know that if he kills that guy, the others are gonna kill him in return. Why would they travel with him? So that's the first problem.
Secondly. Yes it is hard to run with chaotic neutral players, I have 3 of those and a ******* PALADIN! So tell them that they can jump away from each other all they want, but that means they are gonna die so much quicker. I told a player of mine that because he went into ***** mode and let the rogue go down into the kobold lair alone. The rogue almost died. (Ended with 1 or 2 hp)
Don't by a long shot drag them away from death or jails. Chaotic Neutral PC are very likely to end up in one of those situations. Much of chaotic neutral players find themselves many times using sessions getting out of those situations.
Fiends are a good start to a plot hook. Demons kill everything and so the players have to fight something FAR more evil than themselves.
A devil could bind them together. As a joke, if say, "Jack" kills "Jones" it's not Jones who dies it's "Jack".
I have an idea for a plot hook for my players. One of them is member of a thieves guild named "Chancers". And so I'm thinking of having a cambion do some shady underground business to get her hands on a gem containing magical power. (From the book series "The last Mythal")
I also have an idea for a humanoid shaped fella who they some how may spot using some magical shit on a young girl.
When they look at her face it's stonelike. This creature/man steals faces and they have to track him down. For different reasons each perhaps.
If you want I could give you a long list of all my plot hooks for ya. I'll be happy to help ya! But could you list your players races and classes?
And like their basic way of acting? That would help a lot thanks! Hope I helped! And if you need help or have questions, feel free to ask! And welcome to DMing! ^^
-Daergiel
Let me know how everything turns out, and what direction everything went. Sounds like a fun story you're coming up with. Good luck, and have fun running this game.
Remember this is a game and it's suppose to be fun for everybody. Let's all have fun and kill monsters.
Funnily enough, our group has a chaotic neutral tabaxi ranger who is the one who wants to kill another PC.
I really like both yours and WeldingBear's advice. Think I'm going to start "Act 1" with them being pursued by a group of special hunters or something. I want to tie in the warlock's (fiend pact) backstory of how he's on a task to find a powerful artifact that'll aid him or his patron. Might have the entire party tasked with this by the country that they're fleeing from in order to receive a pardon of some sort. In the one-shot, they escaped the prison of a strict human-only country and 4 out of 5 are non-humans. Either way they were all arrested for trespassing and smuggling into that country's territory.
Group consists of the following Level 5 PCs:
1. Previously stated chaotic neutral tabaxi ranger. He uses a bow and is all about that angsty loner life with the whole tragic parents dying backstory. Complete lone wolf/cat. During a fight between the party and a guard in the prison cell, he attempted to abandon the rest of the party and run through the door he lockpicked. Due to my inexperience, I had to beg him to stay with the group. Throughout the one-shot, while the group was doing one thing, he'd often be off on his own doing something else.
2. A chaotic neutral tiefling warlock whose backstory made his personality seem like he was a shy, but perverted guy. In the midst combat this PC decided to jump on top of a table and whip out his "magic wand" (if you catch my drift). I was completely thrown off and I don't even remember making him roll for Performance...
3. Chaotic GOOD tiefling bard, the younger brother of the warlock. One of the more cooperative players since the person playing him is more of a strategic player with games in general. His character is supposed to be "a lover, not a fighter" type of guy. It worked up until the point where he snapped the neck of a guard who surrendered, laid down his weapons, and showed pictures of his wife/kids.
4. Chaotic neutral goliath barbarian, played by someone who is also more cooperative with the party and is a strategic player. The only real issue I have with this fellow is that I think he has a hard time roleplaying as his character. I love that he's cooperating, but it doesn't add up with his backstory where he's been excommunicated from his clan/tribe for not contributing with everyone else and being too reckless on his own. I'm not sure how to ease him into roleplaying his character.
5. Chaotic neutral human rogue, an assassin, and played by the one person who does have some experience in a D&D campaign. She had her backstory set up and her character's personality was intended to be cunning and enigmatic. At the beginning of our session, the player revealed to me that they were high. Their play-style reflected such as the PC didn't cooperate with the party (like bargaining for a button or glasses in exchange for the keys she stole) or leaving their desk (we're using Roll20) in the middle of combat, and being absent for about an hour.
Like I said, I'm pretty new to DMing and a lot of things in their one-shot took me by complete surprise. I didn't expect any of that and I got easily flustered. Any advice for how to handle these type of things would be much appreciated!
HA HA! They are now going to have to kill an archdevil. Zariel of avernus. Because they released a djinni! AWJDIAHW DU HAWUDHAWUIDHUHUSHD
HELLLPPPP!
Holy shit. I think you gotta talk with them man. Tell them that they should corporate more because you're fairly new to DMing. But it sure sounds hard man.
The roleplay aspect of the barbarian make it that he wants to redeem himself to his tribe/clan and is working on learning how best to work with others and this is how he's going about doing it.
The experienced player that just got up and left for the hour, I'd tell them that if they pull that again, while they are gone their character will end up dead. When you say "high" do you mean high on drugs? If that is the case, I'd also tell them that if they want to play in my group they can't be high. You can always find somebody to replace them.
You still haven't told us the story behind why the one character wants the other dead.
And the player who is chaotic "good" who snapped the neck of someone begging for their life and who surrendered, I'd tell them if you do something like that again I'm shifting your alignment to chaotic neutral. If they continue to do evil things you then make them chaotic evil.
As for the group as a whole, I'd tell them to cooperate with me or I'll find another group and you all have to find another group. When/if you get to the point that it's no longer fun for you to run the game tell them that you are going to find another group. Running the game has to be fun for you as well as the players, but if the players play style is what is making it no fun and they refuse to change you have no choice but to end and find another group. Any player that you are cool with you can allow to come to your new game.
You have to come up a list of rules that the players have to abide by or get kicked from the group. Think of the best way to have it where it's fun for both the players and you. 2 rules come to mind right off the bat and they are: 1) Cannot be drunk or high or you don't play for the night. 2) Limit to being away from game to 30 min or get kicked for the night (unless gives a valid reason for having to be away longer). You also give them 3 points and assign a point value to each rule. Once they reach 3 points they are out of the group. Points reset at the beginning of each adventure or at the beginning of every year (up to you).
Hope I could be of help to you and that things work out for ya.
Remember this is a game and it's suppose to be fun for everybody. Let's all have fun and kill monsters.
To answer the question about the tabaxi's backstory, he wants to kill the goliath because that character was a former pirate. The whole reason his parents died was due to pirates raiding their ship as the refugees tried to sail away from their war-torn country. His main goal in life is literally to just kill pirates.
Though I want to be firm and strict, these guys are my crazy group of friends lol. But I see your point, and I will be sure to set the ground rules and expectations before the session. Thanks for the tips!
To make a long story short, yesterday I played D&D and it ended with one of them having the eye of Vecna and the other having the hand. And they made a deal to go kill Zariel the archdevil of Avernus. They all think they are gonna become demi gods but it's really only the guy who made the deal with them, as the other plays were kinding around while it happened.
So yeah. I have a task in front of me as well. As on of the players (the rogue) wants to kill the others. So I've made a very simple rule. I will remind them of death. I am gonna try my best to NEVER shy them away from it. And if they want to kill another PC, both players have to be sure about it and it's gonna be a 1 on 1 between those two. So if one of them says: "I cast disentergrate on her!" I ask the other player if she is alright with starting a battle. If she is not, the spell has no effect. Simple as that. Because they are very new players to d&d, and non of them wants to make a new character, so I keep reminding them of that, if they all they hating each other... that's fine because it happens. But it increases their chances of dying by almost 60%, as they are not helping each other. But it also makes for a challenge for the players. They now, are bond to working together as they ALL think that they are gonna become a demi god when they finish this. And one of them is already under the effect of the hand's suggestion spell.
But see? A really chaotic situation where I wish I would have done almost all my actions differently, I did make a nice plot hook out of it. And as the djinni they made the deal with has been trapped in a bronze flask for a few thousand years he is going to shift sides like a damn fey creature. He just wants a good show. So he is going to both help Zariel but also the players. It's fine they hate each other, but make sure they are bound together.
But! If nothing here works, if they are just to hard to control. You can always do the thing were you make a one shot, with premade characters or let them make characters, but they have to be of Lawful.neutral,good or chaotic alignment. But cannot go chaotic neutral or evil. And then slowly work the one shot into a campaign. I've made a rule in my campaign where if you die you cannot play the same character. Because I was right to assume that they would just take the same character, name and all. So you can still be say, a tiefling rogue (thief) but you have to have a different story and reason for things you do, else it just becomes boring for me and there is no reason for death to exist if you just come back as the same character.
Remember you still have to have fun, and if they are making to difficult for ya, it's totally okay to stop it and make a new clean slate.
If I was in this group and notice all of these chaotic neutral characters.. If I was perceptive enough, I think I would want to switch, but because of their chaoticness it would be hard. It's difficult to fit a paladin into that group.... xD
(So for this chaotic advice. I'm stressed as I'm about to leave for the rest of the day so, my I'm just kinda doing this on the fly.)
Hope I could help! And good luck! ^^
I always find it strange that when a player creates a character and it wants to kill another PC.
Noone wants to go kill someone because he happened to have been a pirate in the past. No matter what background he made up.... Well unless this particular pirate killed his all family a few years back then that's a GM problem.
I usually have the PCs either know each others (or at least a few of them) or put them in a situation where they have to work together to survive.
I m not saying that they have to be friends or anything. A little antagonism is good for RP.
I think as a GM you have to give good creation options and set boundaries. That helps in the long run.
Chaotic and Evil characters tend to be played as dumb but they have to have a reasons, even to kill. Unless they are psychopaths and stupid.
Writing a Story
https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/story-lore/27837-magister-reborn-story-thread
Chaotic neutral loners with trust issues; for some reason that is the concept everybody goes to first. And that is the absolute bane of the DM.
I hope you can figure it out, and that all this advice helps.
I know what you're thinking: "In that flurry of blows, did he use all his ki points, or save one?" Well, are ya feeling lucky, punk?
Having a common objective is usually a good way to force them to bond.
1) After their escape from prison, they find out that they where framed, and used as bait, so that the Guards/Army would focus on them, rather then on the real threat at hand.
Now some of them might not give much more thoughts about been framed, some might want to proof their innocence, not because of good or altruistic reasons, but simply because it is a real pain in the arse to deal with a warrant/bounty on your head when you try to make a living as a sellsword, the most efficient thing is that they are all pissed at the ones who used them and discarded them, and they want to give him/them back for messing with them.
2) One of them finds a magic object, that curses them all, they're bound together, and if they are either too far apart, some catastrophe will happen, or their life will Drain and they will start to lose levels, Only a High lvl Remove Curse, a special ceremony or a Wish can remove this Curse.
Now don't leave this Curse go on for too long, mayeb a few sessions, have them research into it, find what they need to remove it and how to do it, also show them the consequence of their decisions if they do not respect the Curse conditions, once the trust as been build let them get rid of it, in a spectacular way, the more Epic, the more ingrained it will be and the more it will bond them..
3) Find the one that still has family/friend/someone he cares for in trouble, and ask the rest to help him/her, even if he as to beg for it or propose a reward, start from there and go into an overarching plot with Slave Traders, Bandit organisation and a Crime Lord, that would be somehow connected to one or more of the parties past.
"Normality is but an Illusion, Whats normal to the Spider, is only madness for the Fly"
Kain de Frostberg- Dark Knight - (Vengeance Pal3/ Hexblade 9), Port Mourn
Kain de Draakberg-Dark Knight lvl8-Avergreen(DitA)
Okay. Now that I have the backstory for the Tabaxi and Goliath, have the Tabaxi just mistrust the Goliath until he proves that he isn't a threat and is trying to redeem himself (if he even is) of he crimes. Unless the Goliath was a pirate when the Tabaxi lost his parents he shouldn't be as hateful towards a former pirate. Ultimately, you need to have a chat with the 2 and see what can be worked out so there isn't quite the hostility, but there is some or a lot of mistrust. If the Goliath is okay with the other guy wanting him dead and is willing to work with it and see if the Tabaxi either attempts to kill him or does kill him, or see if the Tabaxi changes his mind about the Goliath with how he plays him. Since my last advice on the Goliath was he was trying to be let back into his tribe, he turned to pirating as a means to support himself, and he grew tired of how cruel they could be so he left and was trying adventuring when he got caught. Obviously you need to run this part of his backstory by him and see what he thinks and if that is how he wants to play. Have the Tabaxi see that the Goliath isn't a bad person but was just misguided earlier in his life and decides to 1) watch him closely so he doesn't do anything bad, or 2) take the Goliath under his wing and teach him how best to work with others and to fight for nature.
This is what I can come up with at this point in time. If you need anything else just ask, and the community will be here.
Remember this is a game and it's suppose to be fun for everybody. Let's all have fun and kill monsters.