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Ichneumon
2011-04-22, 12:24 PM
My players just abandoned the quest they were doing (killing a mayor of a town who happens to be possessed by a demon) and started travelling to another continent so they could be in a desert where they could put the loot they found last session, a regular scroll with a spell that protects against the heat, to some use... I'm not sure what to do with such a player mentality... thoughts?

Yora
2011-04-22, 12:25 PM
Let them do it and then ask them what they want to do now?

Also, please use meaningful thread titles that tell people what the thread is about.

Ezeze
2011-04-22, 12:26 PM
My best suggestion is to be very careful about what you give them in the future :smallbiggrin:

Also, get your hands on Sandstorm - it will help with the whole "desert" thing :smallwink:

Saint GoH
2011-04-22, 12:27 PM
I have found I most often do completely random, nonsensical things when I get bored of the current plot. (Not to say your plot is boring, but perhaps the players feel stumped in someway) I could use a granule of intelligence to figure out the next step, or I could do something completely against alignment, character, class, everything and just do something weird. Its often more fun that way.

Ozreth
2011-04-22, 12:29 PM
Sounds like a good group of players to me : )

Being a DM isn't too much fun if they don't challenge you and make you scratch your head :p

valadil
2011-04-22, 12:29 PM
so they could be in a desert where they could put the loot they found last session, a regular scroll with a spell that protects against the heat, to some use...

My best guess is that they think they're following a plot hook. Sometimes players fixate on something they find in the game. If they decide it's a hook and they're the types to blindly follow a hook, hoping it explains itself when they arrive, well, that's the kind of player who ends up in the desert for no good reason. Either come up with something for them to do in the desert or mock them for going there with no real motivation.

Jair Barik
2011-04-22, 12:37 PM
Do your players use this site? Becuase often when players complain about 'railroading' or 'lack of plot' or anything along those lines people inevitably recommend the players go do something else on their own initiative.

Anxe
2011-04-22, 12:53 PM
They moved off the plot wagon? Punish them with random encounters! Or an entire random dungeon beneath the sands! Super easy to do for D&D 3.5 because the DMG has all those handy random tables. You roll for each room to see what doors, traps, and monsters are in there. Then you just do that for every room until the PCs are bored and decide to find a new adventuring hook (that you've designed) at the nearby oasis town.

I would advise you to forget the demon mayor plot. It wasn't interesting enough for your players. But remember! The world does go on without them. The consequences of ignoring a demon will be felt eventually. (Let the demon get away with whatever his nefarious scheme is, or have word get to the players that he was killed by Sir Joe Paladin).

Telonius
2011-04-22, 12:55 PM
They might just be Bob Dylan fans.


Well, I wish I was on some
Australian mountain range
Oh, I wish I was on some
Australian mountain range
I got no reason to be there, but I
Imagine it would be some kind of change.

Bang!
2011-04-22, 01:15 PM
How did the demon possess the mayor? Could it be a symptom or an indicator of something larger? Maybe the Abyss is leaking? Maybe later on that can be used to build an 'oh ****' moment? Or something else along similar lines?

I'd probably try to seed other symptoms of a large-scale-event-explosion along on the random travels, just to get a sense of consistency and overarching plot within the campaign. That also has the advantage of justifying recycled ideas. Themes are nice that way.

But mostly, I'd advise just running with it. The best campaigns are usually the ones that force the GM to think fastest.

Sydonai
2011-04-22, 01:18 PM
Have the Demon become paranoid and send mercenaries/assassins after them.

shadow_archmagi
2011-04-22, 01:30 PM
Many years ago, in the heart of the desert, there was a tribe of magnificent dancers. Everything they did was fluid and rhythmic. The bravest of warriors would travel for days through the searing sun just to spend a few days watching them go about their lives.

One day, a powerful demon lord appeared, and demanded they sell their souls to him, so that when they died, they could entertain him. They refused, claiming nothing he could offer would ever compel them to abandon their religion. Enraged, he cursed the entire region. The tribe refused to leave, and gradually, they began to change.

They became huge, sinuous worms, capable of burrowing through the sand at great speed. To cope with the transformation, they retreated deeper into themselves, letting the dance control their lives and shield them from the outside world. Now, they wander the sands endlessly, desiring only to keep moving, to keep the beat, so as not to risk comprehending their fate.

Anyone who walks without rhythm shatters that isolation, disturbs them, and is ruthlessly hunted by the worms. As a result, every desert caravan includes a bard, and spotters watch the horizon for the telltale disturbances. At the first wormsign, the music begins, and everyone prays while they do the two-step.

obliged_salmon
2011-04-22, 01:30 PM
The best advice I can offer is to sit down and talk to your players about what kind of story they want to tell with their characters. It doesn't sound like they're interested in demon mayors. You might look at their character sheets for inspiration, or use backgrounds if they came up with any. Come up with a solid plot hook as a group and they might be more invested in it.

Warlawk
2011-04-22, 01:33 PM
Have the Demon become paranoid and send mercenaries/assassins after them.

Or show them that their actions have consequences and when they return they find that the demon has gathered power and is operating more openly. The town has turned into a nightmare with many citizens enslaved. Drugs run rampant, enslaved prostitution is the norm, children are sold as slaves, murder is commonplace etc. The town is large, growing and actively preparing to attack nearby settlements. Be sure to have a number of peasant NPCs lament the tragedy that no one stopped the demon before it came to this.

Alternatively, just roll with it.

Let them find clues that lead them to an ancient dungeon beneath the sands where they find some important McGuffin that will help them defeat the demon back home.

Personally I like the first a lot better, however the second is more appropriate for a light hearted casual kind of game.

Tengu_temp
2011-04-22, 01:55 PM
I think they do it purposely to "get off rails", aka ignore all plothooks the DM throws at them and to be rebellious just because. Which means that's it punishment time! If you're playing DND, shift all the good PCs towards neutral for abandoning innocent townsfolk to a demon for selfish reasons. Make everything about their journey either a boring drudge, or totally unfair encounters against overwhelming odds. If they actually manage to reach the desert, good. Let them wander it aimlessly until they run out of the scroll's power first, then supplies, then their lives. Then offer to take the campaign back to the point where they haven't left on their stupid venture yet.

Vindicative? Yes. But players who are rebels without a cause deserve such a lesson.

Telonius
2011-04-22, 02:11 PM
I do think that a key question here is why the players/characters left. Did they think they were following a clue? If so, it'll be fairly easy to guide them back on. Or was there some other reason (up to and including "this is boring")? If the players want more of a sandbox campaign (no pun intended), go ahead and give it to them.

Totally Guy
2011-04-22, 03:02 PM
I do think that a key question here is why the players/characters left.

Totally! Why is way more important that what. Yet it's always getting ignored.

Talakeal
2011-04-22, 03:25 PM
Yeah, players fixate on the strangest things, and miss the most obvious clues.

One time I had an adventure where a demon worshipper was attempting to smuggle a genie's lamp to the lower planes as a gift for their master, but was killed on the way and stashed the lamp, and the current bad guys are trying to recover it. The players completed the mission, and got their hold on the lamp, but then wanted to keep going, believing their mission was to complete the journey into hell and defeat the arch devil. They ended up wasting all three wishes, their "reward" on getting into hell, attacking the arch devil, and then escaping when things turned out as you would expect.

Delwugor
2011-04-22, 03:52 PM
"Players do the darnedest things" Is practically a matra in my group.
For me GMing is a combination of preparedness, flexibility and improvisation. Can not count the number of times my plans have been completely derailed within the first hour of play.
The nice thing is adjusting to the players allows them to take some ownership of the campaign and invest even more in it.

Jolly
2011-04-22, 04:22 PM
Do they know the mayor is demon possessed (both ic and irl)? If you tried to convey that and they didn't get it, that would explain their behaviour. Did you over describe the scroll, or make it's acquisition seem purposeful? Could be meta-gaming. Maybe they don't feel ready to take on a demon possessed political figure and think this is either a McGuffin expedition or a means to level so it's a fair fight. Finally, they may feel railroaded and are deliberately refusing to co operate with the plot they don't like.

Amphetryon
2011-04-22, 04:48 PM
Many years ago, in the heart of the desert, there was a tribe of magnificent dancers. Everything they did was fluid and rhythmic. The bravest of warriors would travel for days through the searing sun just to spend a few days watching them go about their lives.

One day, a powerful demon lord appeared, and demanded they sell their souls to him, so that when they died, they could entertain him. They refused, claiming nothing he could offer would ever compel them to abandon their religion. Enraged, he cursed the entire region. The tribe refused to leave, and gradually, they began to change.

They became huge, sinuous worms, capable of burrowing through the sand at great speed. To cope with the transformation, they retreated deeper into themselves, letting the dance control their lives and shield them from the outside world. Now, they wander the sands endlessly, desiring only to keep moving, to keep the beat, so as not to risk comprehending their fate.

Anyone who walks without rhythm shatters that isolation, disturbs them, and is ruthlessly hunted by the worms. As a result, every desert caravan includes a bard, and spotters watch the horizon for the telltale disturbances. At the first wormsign, the music begins, and everyone prays while they do the two-step.As a player who has jumped at a random treasure drop's lure before, I'd advise against this. While not universally the case, most players who go off on a tangent do so because there's something about the main plot that's not holding their attention. When the DM shows that it's not actually possible to get away from his/her plot regardless of the players' actions or desires, the DM is telling the players that their motivations don't matter. That rarely ends well.

Your best bet in my opinion is to have them find things to do in the desert, since that's where they apparently want to be. Ancient ruins swallowed by the shifting sands of a desert are a common enough trope that you should be able to work out something fairly easily, or seek advice from helpful forum-goers.

Alternatively, if you're really confused by the turn of events and stumped for direction, talk with your players. Maybe one of them got a copy of Sandstorm recently and saw something intriguing in it. Maybe the storyline had fallen into familiar territory for them and they wanted a break - or it was unfamiliar and they wanted back to the familiar territory of a desert campaign.

Remember, D&D is a social activity. "Punishing" people for not doing what you expect is rarely a good choice in a social gathering of friends.

icefractal
2011-04-25, 01:00 AM
Many years ago, in the heart of the desert, there was a tribe of magnificent dancers. ...As a player who has jumped at a random treasure drop's lure before, I'd advise against this. ...I don't disagree, but why did you pick that post to reply to? There were several actual "punish the PCs for doing this" posts, and the dancing sandworms seems more like an interesting thing to encounter while they're there (or possibly a joke).

LansXero
2011-04-25, 01:27 AM
I don't disagree, but why did you pick that post to reply to? There were several actual "punish the PCs for doing this" posts, and the dancing sandworms seems more like an interesting thing to encounter while they're there (or possibly a joke).

Id say an interesting joke; its funny to think of dancing worms, or it can be tragic; and on-topic, its a goood idea: You may run away from THIS plot, cool, wasnt your thing. But you cant run away from ALL plots. Unless thats what you really really want, in which case you shouldve made that clear at the start,

Rixx
2011-04-25, 01:35 AM
Anyone who walks without rhythm shatters that isolation, disturbs them, and is ruthlessly hunted by the worms. As a result, every desert caravan includes a bard, and spotters watch the horizon for the telltale disturbances. At the first wormsign, the music begins, and everyone prays while they do the two-step.

That was quite an elaborate setup for that joke!

huttj509
2011-04-25, 02:01 AM
That was quite an elaborate setup for that joke!

If you walk without rhythm, you'll never learn.

/fatboy slim

Amphetryon
2011-04-25, 05:46 AM
I don't disagree, but why did you pick that post to reply to? There were several actual "punish the PCs for doing this" posts, and the dancing sandworms seems more like an interesting thing to encounter while they're there (or possibly a joke).
I chose that post because it veered slightly away from straight-up "punish the PCs for doing this" (which I think is also bad), toward the more subtle "all roads lead to Rome" trope. The advice was less "punish the players" and more "push the plot into the players' path regardless of their actions" as I read it, which is a different message, IMO.

Maryring
2011-04-25, 06:41 AM
Tell them they screwed up their navigation and ended up in the dessert, rather than the desert. Just cause.

Ravens_cry
2011-04-25, 07:09 AM
Let them do it, spending a session or two travelling through the desert and back and then follow through with the natural consequences of them not fulfilling the quest in a timely fashion. Demon-mayor obviously had some plans, have them come to fruition in their absence. Yes, it's a lot of work for you, but a world with verisimilitude does not stand still when the players look away. Now instead of merely a quick and quiet assassination, you have whatever nightmarish situation that demon-mayor has cooked up. I don't think you should punish players in a free-form game, but you should not be afraid to use natural consequences for their actions. Freedom includes the freedom to mess up and choose badly.

Traab
2011-04-25, 07:50 AM
How far away from the demon mayor is this desert? Im a fan of the "let the kiddies play" route, but I also like the idea of consequences. Try this on for size. Let them go to the desert, let them explore, fight encounters, even give them some random meaningless to the storyline dungeon to crawl through. Then when they get back to the oasis town to sell their loot and whatnot, they hear these terrible rumors of a town taken over by demons. It would be harder on you to redesign the campaign a bit to say, turn the town into a small bit of hell on earth, but at least it might show them that their actions had a consequence, and with a different setup of encounters and issues, they might find it more interesting to have a house to house battle against the forces of evil, instead of trying to assassinate a demon possessed mayor, or whatever the original setup looked like.

Arrakiz
2011-04-25, 09:50 AM
I salute You in account of having a great group of players! No- really this isn't a joke nor sarcasm! Even though their trip to desert seems a bit chaotic and underplaned- it's great they came up with a scheme of their own! See- my players tend to go along the way of "let's just follow the plotline to the end". they don't think it's even possible there might be a part when they HAVE to come up with a plan and try to find a solution for problems on their freakin' own! And the worst thing that can happen- and I am not joking, it actually happend to me a few times- is when the weight of the plot shifts from "acting" to "planning for prelonged future"- they completly shut down and they actually either go on "guns a' blazin'" (much like the mentioned trip to hell to kill the archdevil- i know right? Somehow they got the idea that the world just keeps playing along with THEM...) OR either they start to wander aimlessly trying to figure out what should they do now. They never can figure since they never have a bloody AMBITION to start with! And the VERY WORST thing that happend to me was when they actually started complaining to "why nobody (no NPC they meant) showed up to tell them what to do...". My player actaully told me that next time I'll be creating a camaign he wanted me not to make parts where they should plan but I should make the campaign carry them around to the end... And so i thought- hey! Let's punish them for they lack of thinikg about consequences! Methodically- for the next year they've been constantly dying bicouse of their stupidity and lack off planning and precociousness. One time at the end of the campaig their characters caused global genocide of all the humans on the planet, they own souls where stripped off them, memories crushed and they were frown to the other realm of existance with an enchatment forbidding them from ever returning. And that's just bicouse the guy who schemed this and kept using PCs like puppets (of which they where, of course, to dumb to notice) was damn NICE to them. He wasn't even evil. And the lesson i learned from that? It doesn't work. Punishing them- serves no purpose. I learned that the only way to teach my guys to start planing is to REWERD them whenever their scheming serves a practiacl conclusion. So my advise in this manner is, ridiculous as it sounds, "baby steps". You are actually very fortunate to heve players capable of creative thinking. If they can develop a long term goal which they will pursue- to me it's outstanding! Of coures- by all means, show them consequences of them abandonig their post, make an archvilian out of the demon, make NPCs contantly remindthem what have the players done. Fill them with guilt. But DO NOT stop them from developing their own goals- reward them for that with an awarness of important NPCs- let them have influence and power, let them use it how they see fit. If it will make them to drunk with power? Show them there are those more cunning then them, those who still remember of their primal failure. NEVER let them sleep peacfully. But don't be afraid they did something You did not taken into account when creating a plot- be flexible and never let them think you didn't see their action coming. show them- You knew what would they do all along. The best games are those not planned in advence- the best are those made by response to players actions.

Daimbert
2011-04-25, 10:03 AM
My best guess is that they think they're following a plot hook. Sometimes players fixate on something they find in the game. If they decide it's a hook and they're the types to blindly follow a hook, hoping it explains itself when they arrive, well, that's the kind of player who ends up in the desert for no good reason. Either come up with something for them to do in the desert or mock them for going there with no real motivation.

This happened to a more minor degree to me in the Amber PBF I'm GM'ing. Their goal was to find out details about an artifact, and I'd dropped hints that the mercenary guild on this particular Shadow were involved. I expected them to hunt around in inns and the like to get some information before approaching. However, I mentioned that the mercenary guild's headquarters were beside a tailor shop, mostly just to demonstrate how tightly integrated the mercenaries were in this society, as no one thought that incongruent. They, however, took that as an important hint and went straight for the tailor shop. So I had to invent a tailor, and gently guide them back onto the rails.

It turned out well, though, since I was able to make that character an integral part of the rest of the story.

ustus
2011-04-25, 01:21 PM
This happened to a more minor degree to me in the Amber PBF I'm GM'ing. Their goal was to find out details about an artifact, and I'd dropped hints that the mercenary guild on this particular Shadow were involved.

wait, amber as in zelazny's Amber? is there an official setting for that, or just homebrew setting?

Anyway, (on topic, so I don't get in trouble for my second post like I did for my first), what I'd do is simply allow what would happen to happen. If they make a choice in character, then the results in the game world should continue on logically. I wouldn't add a McGuffin just because they go off looking for one, but try not to make them think you are - if they're following what they think is a plot hook, then they'll realize it isn't when no one knows about anything like what they're looking for. If they're just bored, or trying to level up first (in character, trying to train themselves better for the confrontation) then they need to take into account that this kind of thing is time sensitive. If they were bored, then they probably won't want to go back there anyway, so creating a new plot arc that they're more interesting should be easy in the distant environment they're going to is probably going to give them the best experience. If they're trying to level up, and you had a CR appropriate (ish, my groups never really keep that too specific, and it always works out in the end) encounter, then simply worsen the situation to account for them being stronger - it sounds like this mayor had some plans which should make him stronger, no?

Sorry for the wall of text - I'm trying to break my lurking habit by posting my thoughts a little! I'm also GMing for the first time this semester, and used to only one group, so my thoughts may not be relevant to your group...

Fhaolan
2011-04-25, 02:00 PM
wait, amber as in zelazny's Amber? is there an official setting for that, or just homebrew setting?


There was an Amber RPG based on Zelazny's Amber. It went out of print in the 90's. There have been a couple of attempts by different companies to resurrect both the setting and the system since then, but those attempts have not yet been sucessful to my knowledge. However, there is a reasonably big fanbase trying to keep it alive.

Warlawk
2011-04-25, 02:12 PM
wait, amber as in zelazny's Amber? is there an official setting for that, or just homebrew setting?

It's been out of print for quite a while though I think.

http://www.amazon.com/Amber-Diceless-Role-Playing-System/dp/1880494000/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1303757583&sr=8-1

It's completely diceless. Character creation is point buy, except that it is inherently set up to place the characters in competition with each other. You spend your points to buy things like Pattern Mastery, Trump Mastery, Sorcery, Personal Shadows or Artifacts etc. The attributes are purchased out of the same pool of points, but it is done so in a bid against the other players. So instead of having a 15 stamina, you might have a Rank 2 stamina (15 points). This means you bid 15 points and are ranked 2nd among the players, someone else bid more than you and is rank 1 while everyone else bid less and is ranked lower.

Being completely diceless the game is very much based in the narrative. Succeeding or failing is based on a combination of your rank compared to the task/opponent and your narrative description of how you're approaching the task. It really requires a very strong DM and a lot of trust between players and DMs. It can be a very amazing system with great immersive RP but it's not a system that will work for every gaming group.

The default setting is after all of the books. The players are intended to be roughly of Martin and Merlin's generation, or perhaps just a touch younger. Pretty much all the powers of the setting are available to you. Pattern, Logrus and Trump mastery exist and have two tiers each with basic mastery and advanced mastery. Shapeshifting (also two tiers), sorcery, power words and conjuration (Think Mandor when he made dinner for Merlin and Jasra, he conjured everything). The Shadow Knight book added Compelling (Tier 2 conjuration that lets you conjure feelings, thoughts and emotions into other peoples minds), Broken pattern mastery (two tiers) and a whole lot of fluff information about fitting canon characters and story into your game. It had a bit of additional rules for things like constructs (ghostwheel and spikards) and the various demons that the courts of chaos bind and use. It's a very fluff heavy book with over half the book dedicated to canon characters and how they could fit into your game, etc. A good buy if you're really into Amber in general, but as a gaming book it's a bit underwhelming.

Whoah... /tangent off.

Vladislav
2011-04-25, 03:00 PM
Have the Demon become paranoid and send mercenaries/assassins after them.
If the players deny the plot, have the plot reach out and pull their hearts out! :smallbiggrin:

Traab
2011-04-25, 05:44 PM
If the players deny the plot, have the plot reach out and pull their hearts out! :smallbiggrin:

They finish their play time in the desert and head back out, only to be met by some epic level demon and a vast army of fiends who pause long enough to thank them for giving them time to enter this plane, then annihilate them in a single round. Then smile at them and say, "Now what lesson have we all learned?" :smallbiggrin:

Jolly
2011-04-25, 08:57 PM
They finish their play time in the desert and head back out, only to be met by some epic level demon and a vast army of fiends who pause long enough to thank them for giving them time to enter this plane, then annihilate them in a single round. Then smile at them and say, "Now what lesson have we all learned?" :smallbiggrin:

That the DM is 1. bad at his job & 2. a vindictive jerk.

Fiery Diamond
2011-04-25, 09:47 PM
Why has the OP not asked his players why they've done what they've done? I think that without that knowledge, any advice we can give is rather unguided.

Traab
2011-04-26, 08:04 AM
That the DM is 1. bad at his job & 2. a vindictive jerk.

Hey, they got to have their fun hanging out in the desert. The dm even gave them a nice random dungeon to explore and level up in! Its not HIS fault they ignored a demonic possession until it was too late! Actions have consequences to the storyline, sort of like the darths and droids comic. Feel free to go off the rails, just know that if you ignore the plot the dm has setup, its still happening, just without you there to influence events directly. And eventually, it will come back to haunt you. It may not always end in an apocalypse, or a tpk, but there will be a consequence to your choice.

Fiery Diamond
2011-04-26, 09:09 AM
Hey, they got to have their fun hanging out in the desert. The dm even gave them a nice random dungeon to explore and level up in! Its not HIS fault they ignored a demonic possession until it was too late! Actions have consequences to the storyline, sort of like the darths and droids comic. Feel free to go off the rails, just know that if you ignore the plot the dm has setup, its still happening, just without you there to influence events directly. And eventually, it will come back to haunt you. It may not always end in an apocalypse, or a tpk, but there will be a consequence to your choice.

I think Jolly was saying that if it does end in apocalypse or tpk, then the DM is 100% at fault (and that it is 100% a fault).

I happen to agree.

Traab
2011-04-26, 10:00 AM
Meh, I was joking anyways. It was an amusing thought, "You guys want to go play in the desert? Ok!" Then several play sessions later when they get bored exploring ruins and fighting sand pygmies and decide to leave the desert, they get met at the border by an army headed up by the demon mayor fella they had forgotten about by now. :p

I DO think however that a lot of campaigns could be really interesting if they were time sensitive. Take the idea of an army getting ready to march on the city you have to protect. Depending on how fast you get out there, you might come across them at various bottlenecks, allowing for ambush tactics and such to whittle them down, or be able to ambush scouting parties and whatnot. Or you may run into it in the middle of an open field and have to run for your life! You could even reach various watch towers before the enemy army does and be able to send out warning signals to call in reinforcements. Or be too late and they were burned down without getting off a single warning. All varying depending on how quickly or slowly you decide to move, where you choose to go, and what your overall strategy is.

Sipex
2011-04-26, 10:02 AM
Meh, I was joking anyways. It was an amusing thought, "You guys want to go play in the desert? Ok!" Then several play sessions later when they get bored exploring ruins and fighting sand pygmies and decide to leave the desert, they get met at the border by an army headed up by the demon mayor fella they had forgotten about by now. :p

I DO think however that a lot of campaigns could be really interesting if they were time sensitive. Take the idea of an army getting ready to march on the city you have to protect. Depending on how fast you get out there, you might come across them at various bottlenecks, allowing for ambush tactics and such to whittle them down, or be able to ambush scouting parties and whatnot. Or you may run into it in the middle of an open field and have to run for your life! You could even reach various watch towers before the enemy army does and be able to send out warning signals to call in reinforcements. Or be too late and they were burned down without getting off a single warning. All varying depending on how quickly or slowly you decide to move, where you choose to go, and what your overall strategy is.

You would like The Red Hand of Death. It's a time sensitive campaign which is close to what you're looking at.

Mutazoia
2011-04-26, 11:01 AM
I don't disagree, but why did you pick that post to reply to? There were several actual "punish the PCs for doing this" posts, and the dancing sandworms seems more like an interesting thing to encounter while they're there (or possibly a joke).

Or a veiled excuse to introduce DUNE style sandworms to your game....

Mutazoia
2011-04-26, 11:06 AM
My players just abandoned the quest they were doing (killing a mayor of a town who happens to be possessed by a demon) and started travelling to another continent so they could be in a desert where they could put the loot they found last session, a regular scroll with a spell that protects against the heat, to some use... I'm not sure what to do with such a player mentality... thoughts?

Explain the consequences of leaving the current plot behind. Either in game terms or in terms of "I'm sorry, but I don't have anything planned over there, so we'll have to break for a few sessions while I totally revamp the campaign." Usually that will get them back on track.

Myself, I would let them. I would make things get worse in their absence, like the demon taking over a larger area of the continent, and then create a specific use for the scroll to defeat the demon when they get back. "oh sorry...did you use that scroll screwing around in the desert? Sux to be you."

Warlawk
2011-04-26, 04:30 PM
Meh, I was joking anyways. It was an amusing thought, "You guys want to go play in the desert? Ok!" Then several play sessions later when they get bored exploring ruins and fighting sand pygmies and decide to leave the desert, they get met at the border by an army headed up by the demon mayor fella they had forgotten about by now. :p

I DO think however that a lot of campaigns could be really interesting if they were time sensitive. Take the idea of an army getting ready to march on the city you have to protect. Depending on how fast you get out there, you might come across them at various bottlenecks, allowing for ambush tactics and such to whittle them down, or be able to ambush scouting parties and whatnot. Or you may run into it in the middle of an open field and have to run for your life! You could even reach various watch towers before the enemy army does and be able to send out warning signals to call in reinforcements. Or be too late and they were burned down without getting off a single warning. All varying depending on how quickly or slowly you decide to move, where you choose to go, and what your overall strategy is.

It does change the nature of the game a bit when you play time sensitive. In more ways than you might think. For one thing, no one in our games ever bothers with item creation feats because we just rarely have the time. The world does indeed advance around us if we stop doing things, and for many adventures a few days can mean the difference between victory and Armageddon.

We pretty much always play in a time sensitive manner. It can mean a little more work for the DM since you need to have an idea of how fast the BBEGs plans will advance and what other factors might come into play if your players jump the rails and go somewhere you didn't plan for. It's absolutely worth it though, certainly adds a lot of verisimilitude to your world. This goes double for when we play modern hero games that are set roughly right now. Current events such as border skirmishes and flare ups make appearances in the game, often times with a superhuman twist and such. It really adds a lot to your game.

nedz
2011-04-26, 06:30 PM
Sounds to me that you now have a sandbox style game, in more ways than one.:smallbiggrin:

Roll with it, and see where it goes. They'll probably head back at some point, but if not so what?

Traab
2011-04-26, 07:26 PM
If they are just the type of players to not care much about story lines or plot, it may just be easier to roll with it, setup some random dungeon with a cobbled together reason for going there and let them run around till they get bored with it. But first, just ask them why they want to go to the desert. If they really believe there is a storyline reason to go there, then you can either guide them back with more obvious plot hooks, or let them learn the hard way that this desert has nothing to do with anything by giving them nothing but a bunch of townsfolk at the oasis saying, "Trouble? No, no trouble around here. We have been at peace for the last 50 years!" If they just got bored and wanted to do something different, just sigh, crumple up your carefully made campaign, and fly by the seat of your pants.

Barlen
2011-04-26, 11:14 PM
As an alternative to the demon takes over the town route, what about another adventuring company (the not so evil but still opposites) did the job in their place. Give them their adventure in the desert, but with minor consequences.

When they get back the rivals are big news and everyone is talking about them. The King heard and invited them to the palace to talk about important missions and such. Everyone they meet starts talking about how great [the opposites] are. When someone needs help and PCs are looking for work they are told "well we were hoping to get [the opposites] but they cost way too much....I suppose we could use you if you'll work for what we can afford". To really rub it in make them all lower tier then the PC (fighter instead of warblade, warmage instead of sorcerer or wizard). Have the cleric/paladins be of a similar but different religion such as your paladin is Heironymous and theirs is St Cuthebert.