Crake
2015-07-06, 09:10 PM
So this has been a staplemark trait of my games as of late; players doing their own thing on the side (typically while away from the table). This has ranged from mundane stuff that the player wanted to get done that simply did not involve the other players, to nefarious ploys against the other players to steal their soul (that literally happened once).
One example of this was in my last game where players who wanted certain things for themselves (namely either crafting materials to make magic items, or needing to go to locations or perform rituals to gain various templates) would go do those things on their own. Naturally the game was very open world, and there was no specific "plot" to keep the characters constantly together as a group, they only grouped together when they needed/wanted to. Some of the things that happened was the mage going around and befriending four fey (one which she happened to have already been friends with), one for every season, to gather gifts from them to make herself a half-fey. Another player traveled to the edge of a naturally occuring adamantine razor cliff to meditate and consume adamantine (literally ate it) to gain the mineral warrior template.
More recently, I've been running a bit more of a traditional game, so there hasn't been AS much time for solo side stuff, especially since they travel a lot, but in the little time the players have managed to spend in cities, they have all (mostly) gone and done their own things, such as the vampire in the party going and preying on mortals, and getting herself into trouble with vampire hunters (which came back to the whole party and they all had to sort it out, great fun), the elf assassin investigating magic item shops and pondering stealing from them (but ultimately deciding not to) and the fairy posing as a little girl... going and playing in the park. :smallsigh:
I have been wondering recently though, how often do other DMs do this kind of stuff, and what does it typically involve for you? How do players view this kind of thing? I've had some players complain that they're disadvantaged due to having less free time away from the table to do things? What do you guys think about issues like that?
One example of this was in my last game where players who wanted certain things for themselves (namely either crafting materials to make magic items, or needing to go to locations or perform rituals to gain various templates) would go do those things on their own. Naturally the game was very open world, and there was no specific "plot" to keep the characters constantly together as a group, they only grouped together when they needed/wanted to. Some of the things that happened was the mage going around and befriending four fey (one which she happened to have already been friends with), one for every season, to gather gifts from them to make herself a half-fey. Another player traveled to the edge of a naturally occuring adamantine razor cliff to meditate and consume adamantine (literally ate it) to gain the mineral warrior template.
More recently, I've been running a bit more of a traditional game, so there hasn't been AS much time for solo side stuff, especially since they travel a lot, but in the little time the players have managed to spend in cities, they have all (mostly) gone and done their own things, such as the vampire in the party going and preying on mortals, and getting herself into trouble with vampire hunters (which came back to the whole party and they all had to sort it out, great fun), the elf assassin investigating magic item shops and pondering stealing from them (but ultimately deciding not to) and the fairy posing as a little girl... going and playing in the park. :smallsigh:
I have been wondering recently though, how often do other DMs do this kind of stuff, and what does it typically involve for you? How do players view this kind of thing? I've had some players complain that they're disadvantaged due to having less free time away from the table to do things? What do you guys think about issues like that?