How can I get players to focus on the story aspect of D&D?
$begingroup$
I have run a couple of campaigns with a few of my friends, and these people are genuinely interested in Dungeons and Dragons.
However, no matter what I do, they will not focus on the story, instead treating it like some sort of slaughter-fest. They do not really kill everything that kills, which is good, but they miss nearly everything in the game because they just fail to interact with it. The only way we have completed campaigns is through me pretty much telling them OOC what to do and where, because they are that lost.
Now, I have read this question ("How can I deal with players who don't consider the narrative?") but it does not seem to answer my problem, as I am posing no challenge nor puzzle. They just fail to pick it up. I am the GM and I have tried to help them in every way I can imagine, but it just does not seem to work. I do not think it is me being a bad GM, because I have played with other groups and that went just fine. Short of telling them "There is a quest here, you should go here and talk to Joe there" what could I do?
For some possibly helpful information, or to just save time, I have tried having NPCs talk to them and hint at so-and-so having a job for them, I have tried having them find letters with a name on it and a note with the start of a quest on it, and they just shrugged and left. I cannot make it any more obvious, and it is starting to affect gameplay, as we are playing one of the official campaigns, with just a little bit of homebrew added (just a bunch of other quests that add some extra leveling up opportunities and loot opportunities).
Short of railroading them, what can I do to get them to focus on the story?
Answers should demonstrate experience or citations per What are the citation expectations of answers on RPG Stack Exchange? and not just be unsubstantiated opinion. What have you done or seen done to address this issue?
dnd-5e problem-players story
edited 37 mins ago
mxyzplk♦
153k23380611
asked 1 hour ago
BookwyrmBookwyrm
397312
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
I have run a couple of campaigns with a few of my friends, and these people are genuinely interested in Dungeons and Dragons.
However, no matter what I do, they will not focus on the story, instead treating it like some sort of slaughter-fest. They do not really kill everything that kills, which is good, but they miss nearly everything in the game because they just fail to interact with it. The only way we have completed campaigns is through me pretty much telling them OOC what to do and where, because they are that lost.
Now, I have read this question ("How can I deal with players who don't consider the narrative?") but it does not seem to answer my problem, as I am posing no challenge nor puzzle. They just fail to pick it up. I am the GM and I have tried to help them in every way I can imagine, but it just does not seem to work. I do not think it is me being a bad GM, because I have played with other groups and that went just fine. Short of telling them "There is a quest here, you should go here and talk to Joe there" what could I do?
For some possibly helpful information, or to just save time, I have tried having NPCs talk to them and hint at so-and-so having a job for them, I have tried having them find letters with a name on it and a note with the start of a quest on it, and they just shrugged and left. I cannot make it any more obvious, and it is starting to affect gameplay, as we are playing one of the official campaigns, with just a little bit of homebrew added (just a bunch of other quests that add some extra leveling up opportunities and loot opportunities).
Short of railroading them, what can I do to get them to focus on the story?
Answers should demonstrate experience or citations per What are the citation expectations of answers on RPG Stack Exchange? and not just be unsubstantiated opinion. What have you done or seen done to address this issue?
dnd-5e problem-players story
edited 37 mins ago
mxyzplk♦
153k23380611
asked 1 hour ago
BookwyrmBookwyrm
397312
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
Have you spoken to your group about this yet? You mentioned they were new to it all, so do they know what to expect from the game?
$endgroup$
– Ben
1 hour ago
3
$begingroup$
This is a common issue, usually involving miscommunicated goals and expectations. This post is currently too generic to answer specifically, because we can't determine why your players don't pick up clues, and I imagine asking for clarification in comments could be chatty. Perhaps it would help to clarify your issue in chat or by editing with more detail.
$endgroup$
– MikeQ
1 hour ago
$begingroup$
We have actually held several "session 0's" and we do talk about story, and we hold a end session around 10 minutes to the end of our game time, and we talk about each other's expectations. One is borderline murder-hobo, and he does express his interest to pretty much kill the biggest, baddest thing around. He is also extremely touchy in game, and will blow up at the slightest insult. However, thankfully, that is only in game, and we do all realise that it is just a game. One of the other guys just seems... not really willing to contribute to the better of the group. We are a band of 4 people.
$endgroup$
– Bookwyrm
1 hour ago
$begingroup$
To clarify my comment, when I refer to "one" I mean PC's.
$endgroup$
– Bookwyrm
1 hour ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
I have run a couple of campaigns with a few of my friends, and these people are genuinely interested in Dungeons and Dragons.
However, no matter what I do, they will not focus on the story, instead treating it like some sort of slaughter-fest. They do not really kill everything that kills, which is good, but they miss nearly everything in the game because they just fail to interact with it. The only way we have completed campaigns is through me pretty much telling them OOC what to do and where, because they are that lost.
Now, I have read this question ("How can I deal with players who don't consider the narrative?") but it does not seem to answer my problem, as I am posing no challenge nor puzzle. They just fail to pick it up. I am the GM and I have tried to help them in every way I can imagine, but it just does not seem to work. I do not think it is me being a bad GM, because I have played with other groups and that went just fine. Short of telling them "There is a quest here, you should go here and talk to Joe there" what could I do?
For some possibly helpful information, or to just save time, I have tried having NPCs talk to them and hint at so-and-so having a job for them, I have tried having them find letters with a name on it and a note with the start of a quest on it, and they just shrugged and left. I cannot make it any more obvious, and it is starting to affect gameplay, as we are playing one of the official campaigns, with just a little bit of homebrew added (just a bunch of other quests that add some extra leveling up opportunities and loot opportunities).
Short of railroading them, what can I do to get them to focus on the story?
Answers should demonstrate experience or citations per What are the citation expectations of answers on RPG Stack Exchange? and not just be unsubstantiated opinion. What have you done or seen done to address this issue?
dnd-5e problem-players story
edited 37 mins ago
mxyzplk♦
153k23380611
asked 1 hour ago
BookwyrmBookwyrm
397312
$endgroup$
I have run a couple of campaigns with a few of my friends, and these people are genuinely interested in Dungeons and Dragons.
However, no matter what I do, they will not focus on the story, instead treating it like some sort of slaughter-fest. They do not really kill everything that kills, which is good, but they miss nearly everything in the game because they just fail to interact with it. The only way we have completed campaigns is through me pretty much telling them OOC what to do and where, because they are that lost.
Now, I have read this question ("How can I deal with players who don't consider the narrative?") but it does not seem to answer my problem, as I am posing no challenge nor puzzle. They just fail to pick it up. I am the GM and I have tried to help them in every way I can imagine, but it just does not seem to work. I do not think it is me being a bad GM, because I have played with other groups and that went just fine. Short of telling them "There is a quest here, you should go here and talk to Joe there" what could I do?
For some possibly helpful information, or to just save time, I have tried having NPCs talk to them and hint at so-and-so having a job for them, I have tried having them find letters with a name on it and a note with the start of a quest on it, and they just shrugged and left. I cannot make it any more obvious, and it is starting to affect gameplay, as we are playing one of the official campaigns, with just a little bit of homebrew added (just a bunch of other quests that add some extra leveling up opportunities and loot opportunities).
Short of railroading them, what can I do to get them to focus on the story?
Answers should demonstrate experience or citations per What are the citation expectations of answers on RPG Stack Exchange? and not just be unsubstantiated opinion. What have you done or seen done to address this issue?
dnd-5e problem-players story
dnd-5e problem-players story
edited 37 mins ago
mxyzplk♦
153k23380611
asked 1 hour ago
BookwyrmBookwyrm
397312
edited 37 mins ago
mxyzplk♦
153k23380611
asked 1 hour ago
BookwyrmBookwyrm
397312
edited 37 mins ago
mxyzplk♦
153k23380611
edited 37 mins ago
mxyzplk♦
153k23380611
edited 37 mins ago
mxyzplk♦
153k23380611
153k23380611
asked 1 hour ago
BookwyrmBookwyrm
397312
asked 1 hour ago
BookwyrmBookwyrm
397312
asked 1 hour ago
BookwyrmBookwyrm
397312
397312
$begingroup$
Have you spoken to your group about this yet? You mentioned they were new to it all, so do they know what to expect from the game?
$endgroup$
– Ben
1 hour ago
3
$begingroup$
This is a common issue, usually involving miscommunicated goals and expectations. This post is currently too generic to answer specifically, because we can't determine why your players don't pick up clues, and I imagine asking for clarification in comments could be chatty. Perhaps it would help to clarify your issue in chat or by editing with more detail.
$endgroup$
– MikeQ
1 hour ago
$begingroup$
We have actually held several "session 0's" and we do talk about story, and we hold a end session around 10 minutes to the end of our game time, and we talk about each other's expectations. One is borderline murder-hobo, and he does express his interest to pretty much kill the biggest, baddest thing around. He is also extremely touchy in game, and will blow up at the slightest insult. However, thankfully, that is only in game, and we do all realise that it is just a game. One of the other guys just seems... not really willing to contribute to the better of the group. We are a band of 4 people.
$endgroup$
– Bookwyrm
1 hour ago
$begingroup$
To clarify my comment, when I refer to "one" I mean PC's.
$endgroup$
– Bookwyrm
1 hour ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Have you spoken to your group about this yet? You mentioned they were new to it all, so do they know what to expect from the game?
$endgroup$
– Ben
1 hour ago
3
$begingroup$
This is a common issue, usually involving miscommunicated goals and expectations. This post is currently too generic to answer specifically, because we can't determine why your players don't pick up clues, and I imagine asking for clarification in comments could be chatty. Perhaps it would help to clarify your issue in chat or by editing with more detail.
$endgroup$
– MikeQ
1 hour ago
$begingroup$
We have actually held several "session 0's" and we do talk about story, and we hold a end session around 10 minutes to the end of our game time, and we talk about each other's expectations. One is borderline murder-hobo, and he does express his interest to pretty much kill the biggest, baddest thing around. He is also extremely touchy in game, and will blow up at the slightest insult. However, thankfully, that is only in game, and we do all realise that it is just a game. One of the other guys just seems... not really willing to contribute to the better of the group. We are a band of 4 people.
$endgroup$
– Bookwyrm
1 hour ago
$begingroup$
To clarify my comment, when I refer to "one" I mean PC's.
$endgroup$
– Bookwyrm
1 hour ago
$begingroup$
Have you spoken to your group about this yet? You mentioned they were new to it all, so do they know what to expect from the game?
$endgroup$
– Ben
1 hour ago
$begingroup$
Have you spoken to your group about this yet? You mentioned they were new to it all, so do they know what to expect from the game?
$endgroup$
– Ben
1 hour ago
3
3
$begingroup$
This is a common issue, usually involving miscommunicated goals and expectations. This post is currently too generic to answer specifically, because we can't determine why your players don't pick up clues, and I imagine asking for clarification in comments could be chatty. Perhaps it would help to clarify your issue in chat or by editing with more detail.
$endgroup$
– MikeQ
1 hour ago
$begingroup$
This is a common issue, usually involving miscommunicated goals and expectations. This post is currently too generic to answer specifically, because we can't determine why your players don't pick up clues, and I imagine asking for clarification in comments could be chatty. Perhaps it would help to clarify your issue in chat or by editing with more detail.
$endgroup$
– MikeQ
1 hour ago
$begingroup$
We have actually held several "session 0's" and we do talk about story, and we hold a end session around 10 minutes to the end of our game time, and we talk about each other's expectations. One is borderline murder-hobo, and he does express his interest to pretty much kill the biggest, baddest thing around. He is also extremely touchy in game, and will blow up at the slightest insult. However, thankfully, that is only in game, and we do all realise that it is just a game. One of the other guys just seems... not really willing to contribute to the better of the group. We are a band of 4 people.
$endgroup$
– Bookwyrm
1 hour ago
$begingroup$
We have actually held several "session 0's" and we do talk about story, and we hold a end session around 10 minutes to the end of our game time, and we talk about each other's expectations. One is borderline murder-hobo, and he does express his interest to pretty much kill the biggest, baddest thing around. He is also extremely touchy in game, and will blow up at the slightest insult. However, thankfully, that is only in game, and we do all realise that it is just a game. One of the other guys just seems... not really willing to contribute to the better of the group. We are a band of 4 people.
$endgroup$
– Bookwyrm
1 hour ago
$begingroup$
To clarify my comment, when I refer to "one" I mean PC's.
$endgroup$
– Bookwyrm
1 hour ago
$begingroup$
To clarify my comment, when I refer to "one" I mean PC's.
$endgroup$
– Bookwyrm
1 hour ago
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
$begingroup$
You're not being as obvious as you think you are
Something that is obvious from your side of the GM screen is not necessarily so from the other side for all sorts of reasons. I refer you to selective attention for an example.
The three clue rule
You have to give your players at least 3 clues if you want them to follow a lead because they will overlook one, misinterpret the second and maybe work things out on the third.
Forget the story
Just set up a bunch of loosely connected adventures and let the players kill stuff. You can then say "The adventure is here."
Railroad them
Railroads are only a problem when they are a problem - if your players are happy being led around by the nose lead them around by the nose.
Find different players
Some players do not care about the story and never will. If that bothers you find players who do care.
answered 45 mins ago
Dale MDale M
108k21280481
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
I like the Selective Attention test, and tomorrow I am going to convene with my group and actually talk about if being railroaded is going to be a problem. It does bother me a little bit that they are not paying attention to the story, but I do think that that could be fixed, given the right circumstances. I also like the "Bunch of loosely connected adventures", because that fits in with our murderous rogue. Thanks!
$endgroup$
– Bookwyrm
24 mins ago
add a comment |
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1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
$begingroup$
You're not being as obvious as you think you are
Something that is obvious from your side of the GM screen is not necessarily so from the other side for all sorts of reasons. I refer you to selective attention for an example.
The three clue rule
You have to give your players at least 3 clues if you want them to follow a lead because they will overlook one, misinterpret the second and maybe work things out on the third.
Forget the story
Just set up a bunch of loosely connected adventures and let the players kill stuff. You can then say "The adventure is here."
Railroad them
Railroads are only a problem when they are a problem - if your players are happy being led around by the nose lead them around by the nose.
Find different players
Some players do not care about the story and never will. If that bothers you find players who do care.
answered 45 mins ago
Dale MDale M
108k21280481
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
I like the Selective Attention test, and tomorrow I am going to convene with my group and actually talk about if being railroaded is going to be a problem. It does bother me a little bit that they are not paying attention to the story, but I do think that that could be fixed, given the right circumstances. I also like the "Bunch of loosely connected adventures", because that fits in with our murderous rogue. Thanks!
$endgroup$
– Bookwyrm
24 mins ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
You're not being as obvious as you think you are
Something that is obvious from your side of the GM screen is not necessarily so from the other side for all sorts of reasons. I refer you to selective attention for an example.
The three clue rule
You have to give your players at least 3 clues if you want them to follow a lead because they will overlook one, misinterpret the second and maybe work things out on the third.
Forget the story
Just set up a bunch of loosely connected adventures and let the players kill stuff. You can then say "The adventure is here."
Railroad them
Railroads are only a problem when they are a problem - if your players are happy being led around by the nose lead them around by the nose.
Find different players
Some players do not care about the story and never will. If that bothers you find players who do care.
answered 45 mins ago
Dale MDale M
108k21280481
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
I like the Selective Attention test, and tomorrow I am going to convene with my group and actually talk about if being railroaded is going to be a problem. It does bother me a little bit that they are not paying attention to the story, but I do think that that could be fixed, given the right circumstances. I also like the "Bunch of loosely connected adventures", because that fits in with our murderous rogue. Thanks!
$endgroup$
– Bookwyrm
24 mins ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
You're not being as obvious as you think you are
Something that is obvious from your side of the GM screen is not necessarily so from the other side for all sorts of reasons. I refer you to selective attention for an example.
The three clue rule
You have to give your players at least 3 clues if you want them to follow a lead because they will overlook one, misinterpret the second and maybe work things out on the third.
Forget the story
Just set up a bunch of loosely connected adventures and let the players kill stuff. You can then say "The adventure is here."
Railroad them
Railroads are only a problem when they are a problem - if your players are happy being led around by the nose lead them around by the nose.
Find different players
Some players do not care about the story and never will. If that bothers you find players who do care.
answered 45 mins ago
Dale MDale M
108k21280481
$endgroup$
You're not being as obvious as you think you are
Something that is obvious from your side of the GM screen is not necessarily so from the other side for all sorts of reasons. I refer you to selective attention for an example.
The three clue rule
You have to give your players at least 3 clues if you want them to follow a lead because they will overlook one, misinterpret the second and maybe work things out on the third.
Forget the story
Just set up a bunch of loosely connected adventures and let the players kill stuff. You can then say "The adventure is here."
Railroad them
Railroads are only a problem when they are a problem - if your players are happy being led around by the nose lead them around by the nose.
Find different players
Some players do not care about the story and never will. If that bothers you find players who do care.
answered 45 mins ago
Dale MDale M
108k21280481
answered 45 mins ago
Dale MDale M
108k21280481
answered 45 mins ago
Dale MDale M
108k21280481
answered 45 mins ago
Dale MDale M
108k21280481
108k21280481
$begingroup$
I like the Selective Attention test, and tomorrow I am going to convene with my group and actually talk about if being railroaded is going to be a problem. It does bother me a little bit that they are not paying attention to the story, but I do think that that could be fixed, given the right circumstances. I also like the "Bunch of loosely connected adventures", because that fits in with our murderous rogue. Thanks!
$endgroup$
– Bookwyrm
24 mins ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
I like the Selective Attention test, and tomorrow I am going to convene with my group and actually talk about if being railroaded is going to be a problem. It does bother me a little bit that they are not paying attention to the story, but I do think that that could be fixed, given the right circumstances. I also like the "Bunch of loosely connected adventures", because that fits in with our murderous rogue. Thanks!
$endgroup$
– Bookwyrm
24 mins ago
$begingroup$
I like the Selective Attention test, and tomorrow I am going to convene with my group and actually talk about if being railroaded is going to be a problem. It does bother me a little bit that they are not paying attention to the story, but I do think that that could be fixed, given the right circumstances. I also like the "Bunch of loosely connected adventures", because that fits in with our murderous rogue. Thanks!
$endgroup$
– Bookwyrm
24 mins ago
$begingroup$
I like the Selective Attention test, and tomorrow I am going to convene with my group and actually talk about if being railroaded is going to be a problem. It does bother me a little bit that they are not paying attention to the story, but I do think that that could be fixed, given the right circumstances. I also like the "Bunch of loosely connected adventures", because that fits in with our murderous rogue. Thanks!
$endgroup$
– Bookwyrm
24 mins ago
add a comment |
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$begingroup$
Have you spoken to your group about this yet? You mentioned they were new to it all, so do they know what to expect from the game?
$endgroup$
– Ben
1 hour ago
3
$begingroup$
This is a common issue, usually involving miscommunicated goals and expectations. This post is currently too generic to answer specifically, because we can't determine why your players don't pick up clues, and I imagine asking for clarification in comments could be chatty. Perhaps it would help to clarify your issue in chat or by editing with more detail.
$endgroup$
– MikeQ
1 hour ago
$begingroup$
We have actually held several "session 0's" and we do talk about story, and we hold a end session around 10 minutes to the end of our game time, and we talk about each other's expectations. One is borderline murder-hobo, and he does express his interest to pretty much kill the biggest, baddest thing around. He is also extremely touchy in game, and will blow up at the slightest insult. However, thankfully, that is only in game, and we do all realise that it is just a game. One of the other guys just seems... not really willing to contribute to the better of the group. We are a band of 4 people.
$endgroup$
– Bookwyrm
1 hour ago
$begingroup$
To clarify my comment, when I refer to "one" I mean PC's.
$endgroup$
– Bookwyrm
1 hour ago