The Balance of Plot and Sidequests in Fantasy RPGs

[RavKal]

Alright, so last weekend my friends and I gathered around the table to play D&D, whole new campaign, shiny new characters, everything was gonna be great.

And then it flopped.

No blame can truly be placed, because everyone did some things right and some things wrong.

The biggest thing, however, was rather simple to determine. It was a complex situation that the DM described as "No one caring" and the players described as "Too much plot".

Now, being a DM, I sympathize with my friend who just couldn't get the group together on the quest, and at the same time, I completely understand what the players thought about it, being one of the players.

The problem that I saw, and that my 2nd level wizard experienced, is that the group of PCs were not ready for so much plot. I, the player, wanted to test my wizard's abilities in combat and find the best way to put his and his companion's abilities to use. My wizard, the character, was unsure of his new friends and needed to get to know them better before embarking upon this massive quest to save the world.

Because the players were just not ready to experience this quest, we tried to fit some development and practice in wherever it fit-- mainly, on the poor NPCs of Waterdeep. There was also some nastiness involving a buffalo per person per day, but we didn't get experience for that.

I know that when I DM a brand new group I usually pad the first few levels with high levels of easy combat so that the group picks up on how to work together, and this whole situation has me wondering, what works best? How do you handle it?

Please note that I'm not trying to resurrect the campaign in any way, shape, or form. I'm just trying to get some perception on what other people do in similar situations, from DMs and players.

[Choco]

hmm...

Unless the campaign starts out with the PC's employed by someone who's orders they have to follow, I agree with you that it is usually best to keep it open ended and packed with easy combat encounters for the first level or 2. From the DM's perspective, it lets him/her know the types of quests the players as a whole like the most, how well they will cooperate, what plot hooks they like to bite, how much combat and RP they prefer, how likely they are to split up, etc. As for players... I personally don't mind starting out in the story due to the fact that I am used to video game RPG's, but I can see the fun in finding your own way to the plot. I don't know if it is necessary to start out in a combat encounter, but there should be at least one in the first session. Depends on the group really, there is a huge difference between those that play to RP and those that play to roll dice.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

I generally think that 1st-5th level PCs should have plot, but they shouldn't be close to saving the world. They should be killing bandits, smashing Orc raiders, and building up to smacking down an 8th-level Necro trying to conquor the countryside. Setting up a 'Linear Guild-esque' set of rivals as recurring villians is fine, as would be having the 6-8th level major opponent they're going after be servant to someone better, but at that point the PCs IMHO are slightly weaker than the average experienced war vet. They shouldn't be players in the world, they should be saviors of Podunk, Kansas. Then give them a plot(or 3) from 5-15, by which point they should be self-directing.

[bosssmiley]

IMXP the players generally don't care for over-elaborated 'plots', they care about cool situations that they can get involved in. Read a couple of after-action reports either here or on game blogs: the DM will talk about how A, B or C advanced (or complicated) the plot. By contrast the players will generally rave about memorable situations and events that happened in the game.

Your job as DM is not to craft an exquisite and memorable story; that's the players job. Your job is to set up the situations and circumstances that allow the players to create the great story (this is the game as "a series of interesting choices").

If all this advances the DM's pre-existing ego-stroking plot, so be it. If emergent events in play actually derail the DM's plot while also systematically destroying Adventureburg and ganking all the DMPC Mary Sues in the process, then so much the better!

IMO, the true sign of a good session is the smoking wreckage of the DM's plans strewn hither and yon by the force of the sheer enjoyment people have been having.

[Juggernaut1981]

For low-level PCs the trick to "side-plot" and "main-plot" is all about finding ways to generate "un-joined plots" from the PC perspective.

My preferred way of doing this is to figure out what "side-effects" could be happening because of the plot. One of my plots has involved a group of Illithid trying to clandestinely take over a society by invading the minds of the socially and economically powerful people. To test the responses of the society, they helped someone become a serial killer, sent assassins after powerful people, broke laws, attempted to cause chaos within society and the like. All of it was centred around testing the society to see its reactions. What the PCs saw was "a murder mystery", "why have i been given an assassin's mark?", "there is a were-rat living in the sewers tormenting people", "wtf is going on with these people", etc. Only when they figured out what this recurring item (quite popular amongst nobility and merchants) was that they got into the real plot.

So if you figure out what the "side effects" of your plot are, you can figure out how to create "disjointed" plot encounters.

E.g. BBEG is building a fortress somewhere.

Side effects:
- Kobolds are raiding farms for grain and livestock.
- Bandits have been stealing common goods caravans, instead of the 'lucrative' ones. Local nobleman/merchant offers bounty for capture of bandits.
- PCs get hired by slightly dodgey merchant to help him acquire a large amount of stone
- Iron ore is not coming into market as often or as much. Iron merchant sends you to the mine to negotiate for more shipments.
- New gang arrives in town, killings occur as a turf war begins. New gang is secretly funded by BBEG and they are paying him a tithe/tribute for his support.

[Satyr]

Your job as DM is not to craft an exquisite and memorable story; that's the players job. Your job is to set up the situations and circumstances that allow the players to create the great story (this is the game as "a series of interesting choices").

I disagree. Creating "an exquisite and memorable story" is the task of everyone who is involved in the game, not alone the players or the gamemaster. This only works out if everyone puts the necessary effort in the game. The task of the Gamemaster is on the one hand to create the background and support characters and scene and on the other hand to motivate the players to dedicate their time and effort to the game. Which form this form or motivation actually takes depends on the group and the involved people's preferences.

[Farlion]

I, the player, wanted to test my wizard's abilities in combat and find the best way to put his and his companion's abilities to use.

The way this sounds to me, ist that the players made characters for a different type of D&D than the DM designed his campaign. If you're characters are really all about fighting and smashing things up, then there's no point in bringing a plot. On the other hand, if you party likes to roleplay, then fighting (rolling dice) is not at all fun for the players.

Why don't you sit together and decide what kind of campaign you would like to run? It is much easier for the DM to prepare something, if he knows what the players want.

Here a hint what to do:

Give every player a blank sheet of paper and ask them to answer the following questions.

- Why do you play the character you chose?
- How does your character define himself?
- What is cool about your character?

I usually get answers that really help me shape my campaigns to fit the groups desire. And as Satyr pointed out, unless everyone at the table is acting in concert, the game will suffer.

Cheers,
Farlion

[Triaxx]

Two questions to ask before starting a campaign: What kind of game play are you guys after? And: Do you want a pre-planned plot? Or should I make it up as I go?