How should I place side quests?

[Lupine]

My players have a pretty sharp focus of the main story, but I sometimes want to give them the opportunity to take a chill break, and just do a dungeon crawl.

I'm not sure how to make side-quests more apparent for them, and how I should link them to the overarching campaign if at all. I'm also not sure if I'm making bad side quests, or their not interested.

What side quests have worked for ya'll?

Players mostly at beginning of ninth level, they're in a rather large city

[Unoriginal]

My players reacted pretty well to "X NPC asks to meet you and offer you to do something in exchange for a reward."

Is that the kind of sidequest you're talking about, or...?

[Man_Over_Game]

My players have a pretty sharp focus of the main story, but I sometimes want to give them the opportunity to take a chill break, and just do a dungeon crawl.

I'm not sure how to make side-quests more apparent for them, and how I should link them to the overarching campaign if at all. I'm also not sure if I'm making bad side quests, or their not interested.

What side quests have worked for ya'll?

Players mostly at beginning of ninth level, they're in a rather large city

Placing them as bounties in taverns is pretty obvious. Or just asking the players to do a favor by an NPC. Just make them a little more obvious, and state what the reward is for accomplishing the deed right away. This not only shows what the players can earn as part of the experience, but it also reflects that it isn't a red herring. Missing out on the quest also means missing out on the reward, and lost value has a much bigger impact on the human mind than gained value.

Rather, it's a bigger deal to a player to potentially lose a magic item than it is to potentially gain one. Now just wave the magic item in front of them and tell them to jump, and they'll be much more inclined than just exploring a random dungeon for "funsies".

[hymer]

One thing you can do is to put a lull on the advancement of the main plot. It will be at least a week before the ship is repaired, or the research is completed, or whatever else is putting a brake on things. That could give them a sense that they aren't goofing off or missing out on an opportunity to advance the plot.

That said, the best hooks are character, party, and/or player specific. If you can tailor something that appeals to those three, odds increase considerably that they will bite.

[Lupine]

One thing you can do is to put a lull on the advancement of the main plot. It will be at least a week before the ship is repaired, or the research is completed, or whatever else is putting a brake on things. That could give them a sense that they aren't goofing off or missing out on an opportunity to advance the plot.

I've actually tried that once or twice. They immediately go to downtime activities. Sometimes I wonder if they're allergic to downtime. :smallfurious:

[NecessaryWeevil]

Sounds like you may need to straight-out ask them. "Hey folks, I've noticed you don't seem to be a fan of sidequests. What's up?"

[LaserFace]

My players have a pretty sharp focus of the main story, but I sometimes want to give them the opportunity to take a chill break, and just do a dungeon crawl.

I'm not sure how to make side-quests more apparent for them, and how I should link them to the overarching campaign if at all. I'm also not sure if I'm making bad side quests, or their not interested.

What side quests have worked for ya'll?

Players mostly at beginning of ninth level, they're in a rather large city

I like to experiment and I've found there's lots of different ways you can throw in side-quests. But, I think it really depends on your party, what the players want, etc. You might have some great side quests, but the players are just really focused on your main plot. There's nothing wrong with that. But, we can always improve on how we deliver alternate quests, and I think it's good to examine presentation, convenience, and meaning to the characters.

Usually, I do one variation or another on small to delays to the main quest. It's never a replacement for what's really on everyone's minds, but rather, it's either a small diversion (a brief stop in a town along the way to a greater destiantion), or instead, something to do while circumstances demand you wait (i.e. a legendary storm makes it incredibly difficult to progress, so, you might want to find another route or wait it out; or you need to wait for the next seafaring vessel to arrive at port, to take you to your destination).

I think an easy way to do side quests is to offer several paths to the same destination. Maybe there are two routes to the party's goal, one is faster, but the other offers the opportunity to find a treasure or complete another task. Ultimately, you're still letting them make the decision, but if you're talking a 10-day journey or a 12-day journey + reward that will help them achieve something at the end of that journey, that might actually become a real decision.

Furthermore, if this side quest has a real tie to a PC, that's further incentive to check it out. To add to the above example, maybe the 12-day journey isn't just about getting an extra reward; maybe it's to liberate their hometown from a vicious warlord and their monstrous minions. In doing so, the party might gain extraordinary favor of the townsfolk, potentially including a magical item the town elder had been protecting all the while, or maybe fiercely loyal followers. The PC in question may appreciate the opportunity to evolve their character. The group can achieve a tighter bond. All of this can make a side quest even more valuable.

How a questline is presented is also very important. Sometimes I like to secretly send 'Rumors' to individual players, that they can then share with the rest of the party, or not, however they feel about it. But, merely hearing a rumor about, say, a magical turtle who grants wishes in a remote forest, is probably not going to distract them from the group's priorities, unless they are in really desperate need for a wish and don't know what else they can do. So, some quests really benefit from urgency, having a reliable source to present that quest, and being somehow related to somebody's goals.

If the party is planning to slay a dragon, maybe a rumor that there is a dragon-slaying spear hidden in a dungeon could draw their attention. But, if it's too far away - and it risks the dragon burning down villages in the meantime - or if the rumor is from a dubious source, the party might just see this a foolhardy diversion. Instead you might find it better to establish it to be somewhat nearby (or otherwise manage fast travel), or maybe the rumor comes from a wise oracle who never lies; the oracle might even go one step further, and say the dragon is not likely to be slain without it.

I think the things to keep in mind is that side quests shouldn't be like site-seeing tours to just check out some other random thing, especially if you have a highly plot-driven campaign. Use everything you know about the characters and the players to entice them, and make it a meaningful choice to pursue them. And, if they end up going too far with side-quests, you can always wind it back by demonstrating there are consequences of delaying main quests, through the loss of resources, the endangerment of friendly NPCs, and other potential failure.

[bc56]

I've actually tried that once or twice. They immediately go to downtime activities. Sometimes I wonder if they're allergic to downtime. :smallfurious:

It might be that they aren't interested in sidequests, or it might be that you aren't assertive enough in providing the quest. When they start downtime say something like, "on the second day of your activities, a townsperson approaches you, asking if you're the adventurers they've heard so much about." That indicates to them that there is something there to interact with. If they still turn it down, don't push it any harder. They don't want to do a sidequest.

Another option, one I made liberal use of in my last campaign, is to make sidequests string together into a b-plot unrelated to the main quest.

This is how it went, more or less. It started when they purchased an enchanted bow from an elven merchant and retired adventurer. After using it for a while, they discovered that it was being gently pulled to the northwest. They followed it to a buried structure on a frozen island, in which they found a block of ice containing three creatures. The bow broke and the essence contained inside flowed into the ice block and revived the creatures, which broke free and offered the player who had the bow a (limited) wish (he wished for them to enchant his armor, so they did) before teleporting away.
Some time later, they went to tell the merchant about it, only to discover he had been murdered, and to find evidence that the creatures had done it. They did some research, and managed to discover that this elf was a member of an adventuring party who had defeated these monsters a long time back, and that they were now retired. The players managed to track down one of the other members, a one-armed dragonborn general, living as a hermit in a ruined city, and went there to convince him that he was in danger. They managed this, and brought him back to their headquarters, but the monsters gathered together some of the party's old enemies and attacked the headquarters, distracting the heroes by burning the city while sneaking into the HQ to kill the general. The heroes managed to stop them, and when they teleported away, they gave chase, and managed to kill them.
Each of these events (except the last two, those were pretty much consecutive) were separated by a period of doing the normal quest of clearing the forces of evil out of a volcano nearby.

[ImproperJustice]

It’s risky, but our GM recently threw Strahd at us because we thought we were something....
Fight ended in a draw, but opened our eyes to the need for more power and knowledge about our opponent.

Now we are sidequesting with intensity in the hopes of gaining the power to prevail.

[Unoriginal]

Could you describe your last attempt at presenting a sidequest ready to be taken, with your reasoning of why you did it that way?

[MThurston]

Place them upright. They get messy on the side.

[opaopajr]

I tried making Quest Currency and then gave every player one Coin for session attendance. Next, at the end of each session I brainstorm possible Side Quest, replete with salacious titles. Then they can pool together their money and "purchase" a Side Quest. Finally I go make said bought Side Quest in between sessions... and when I bring it up I display it shamelessly like a goofball. :smalltongue:

That way I can conserve my brainpower making content that they are interested in. :smallcool: It also served the fun purpose to encourage attendance and group cooperation.

(Eventually some Side Quests will invalidate after context changes too much, such as large passes of time or distance, unavailable NPCs, or other "adventurers" solve them (an excuse to erase them from the list)!)

Is it meta? Yes, very. But if we all squint and look sideways it's enough to suspend disbelief. :smallwink: Maybe it'll help all of you, too!

[Lupine]

Could you describe your last attempt at presenting a sidequest ready to be taken, with your reasoning of why you did it that way?

Honestly, as much as I'd like to tell you, its been long enough that I don't really remember.
Closest thing is an action taken by one of my players in secret (he didn't tell the other party members), which accidentally burned down a third of the city that they're in. I spooled out how the villain would react to this, but I think I tipped my hand to this, and now, if they pursue it, its to get to the villain.

I did this because the villain is crafty and opportunistic. I wanted to drive that home, as the villain is doing this both as a "get back at the players," and as a "I might be able to use this to my advantage."
By now, its resolved back into the main quest, and the players treat it as such. :smallannoyed:
Villain is trying to split a conglomerated state (think Holy Roman Empire type thing) and use the chaos to create his home region as his own kingdom. Doing it through subterfuge, assassination, disease, and starvation.

I have a few other side stories, such as their navel rival, the Antelope, but they've been uninterested in that story except as when I bonk them in the nose with it.

[Mordaedil]

Putting side-quests in secret or out of the way is probably the worst way you can go about it.

If you want them to care, you put it in their face, in their way and make them care. While they are walking down the streets, they see a couple arguing and before long one of them is shoved into the streets and falls on her face infront of the players and looks up at them, before meekly making their way off. If the players ignore it, they'll feel bad, but at least you made an effort.

Sometimes you just have an urchin run by stealing their wallet, or have them roll a dexterity save to avoid taking a bar-stool to the head.

[MoiMagnus]

What side quests have worked for ya'll?

Main quest: protect the kingdom against an infernal cult, by collaborating with the authorities (the main "NPC quest giver" at low level was the commandant of the capital's guard)

Pretty much all secondary quests at low level were launched by the "CIA" of the kingdom contacting us by saying "You proved you are lawful to our nation, but you well know that sometimes, one has to do some dirty secret work, potentially illegal, to counter the forces of evils. [Description of the problem]. You will be rewarded for your services.".
And at meta-level, the DM made gave us a list of interesting magical artifact with very unusual effects (dragon scale armor that would give you temporary bonuses in reaction against a 1/6 chance to be mind controlled by the spirit of the dragon during your next turn), saying that each quest from the "CIA" would grant an artifact of our choice.

At high level, secondary quest were launch as "consequences of our actions and choices".
Each of us had at least one secondary quest linked to our background (players without background at the start did write a background for this).
We also had secondary quest specific to the magical artefact we had to upgrade them.
And finally, at every "mistake" that we did, we could either accept that the world would be changed from this mistake (Oh, our greed of precious metals in this mine during the last mission is now responsible from wave on monsters and disappearance of villagers around the mine. This mine isn't even in the same plane as us, who care? We have a kingdom to protect, not a universe to babysit.), or engage a secondary quest to fix it (No way we're gonna let those poor peoples die by our fault! We go back to save them.)