Quote Originally Posted by paladinofshojo View Post
No my main problem is that they’re not engaging the world and are just doing whatever the king tells them to… with little to no character growth or building.

This is a roleplaying game and their characters should have their own backstories, goals, experiences, and aspirations.

They aren’t making rivals, personal enemies, friends, lovers, merchant-customer relations with anyone in this world.

All they seem to care about is “whatever the King/Lord/noble authority currently in charge of where the party is standing wants them to be”

It’s basically playing tabletop like a video game. They are perfectly okay with having no agency in directing the outcome of the story so long as they are given loot and money for their troubles.

This story stopped being about their Player Characters and the World and more about “the chronicles of King Rupert the Mad”. Who actually enjoys playing their entire campaign revolving around a CE teenage NPC instead of their own PCs?
Okay if you really don't like them obeying the king, simply kill the king and have a civil war between nobilities break out with everyone lying that they're the legitimate heir without any way to confirm otherwise and have the kingdom descend into chaos. let the world burn, see what happens.