Quote Originally Posted by paladinofshojo View Post
The main gripe I have is that they aren’t actually developing their characters or even coming up with their own character goals… but rather expecting someone with authority (who is controlled by me) to give them a quest to do…

It kinda defeats the purpose of giving them the freedom to explore and impact the world when all they are going to do is willingly get railroaded by their DM.

I am not asking for them to play as “paragons” I just want them to actually have some developments. Right now, their characters are right above RPG video game silent heroes in terms of actual personalities.

I feel like that’s the problem here, they are playing this game like Dark Souls or Skyrim where they see a systemic problem but feel like the only option they have is to hit it really hard with a sword or fire bolt.
Give them multiple quests hooks at once, and let them pick which one(s) to take. Build hooks off of what's already happened. They're nobles now, right? How are they paying the taxes the king demands? Does the king have further quests for them? Are there crises facing their lands they must address? Do these conflict with the king's demands on their time and resources?

They're happy following the quest hooks you've given. They're happy sticking to their contracts/goals rather than taking what you thought would be "better" options. They're definitely not being railroaded; if you were railroading them, you'd have forced them to side with the Robin Hood guy or the Not So Bad Nobles. There's a definite character to them from what you've described.

Are they having fun? If so, that part's great. Are you not having fun? If not, why not?