Where I go from there depends on how my players respond: When I've had this conversation with my players, I usually open by saying, in a light/joking tone, something like "Y'all don't seem to think Derrig's going to be much of a problem, huh?" Treat it as a friendly discussion about what you've noticed, ideally during the post-game chatter after a session where you notice this behavior. Don't treat it as a confrontation - this isn't you vs them. The only way you can know for sure is to talk with your players. And finally, it's possible that your players simply enjoy Casual Danger Dialogue to a much greater degree than you do (warning: TV Tropes link). It's also possible that your players are on board with the plot, but don't realize their characters' reactions aren't. It's possible they're thinking of it as a fun hack 'n slash with no consequences, while you're thinking of it as a fleshed-out world with NPCs who react to the PCs' actions and vice versa. So talk with your players about how they see your campaign. If the PCs are never frightened of anything because the players don't feel frightened or intimidated, that suggests a mismatch between your expectations and your players'. So what can you do? Talk with your players It's possible to force the characters to respond in specific ways via mechanics or DM fiat, but as you note, that takes away the players' agency in extremely un-fun ways. Wanting your players to respond in a specific manner to anything you do as DM is a recipe for disappointment. I'm open to mechanical solutions, social solutions or even roleplaying advice on things I might be doing wrong to lead to this scenario. Ideally I want my players to respond to intimidating NPCs in a more realistic manner, without taking away their agency or trying to dictate their actions. I've experienced similar situations in previous campaigns. This is just one example from my current campaign. Yet when I played out him threatening the PCs at sword point to stick to his story, I was met with sarcastic responses and the PCs openly admitting to agreeing now just to change their story later. In this situation he held all the cards and the party had no realistic option but to agree. The players were aware Derrig had plenty of HP remaining and the ability to down the majority of the party in a single turn, and the rest by the end of his second and that's without the help of his own allies. A version where he was painted as a hero and the party came in at the end to help pick up the pieces. That's where Derrig confronted them, informing them of the version of events that they would be telling the town once they returned. With 3/4 of the members of the party on single digit hit-points, the other with only 17, all but 1 spell slot spent and no potions or once-per-short-rest abilities left the PCs only just made it. Something the PCs definitely didn't want to happen.Īfter a long and intense fight the party managed to stop the ritual and escape the temple. The leader of the other group (Derrig), instead of trying to stop the ritual, was trying to modify it to grant him control over the Kraken. They located them inside a Koa-Toa temple where a Kraken Priest was attempting to summon a Kraken. Last session the party were tasked with rescuing a rival adventuring party that their town relies on. Therefore they can laugh off the seriousness of the situation to relieve the tension, exactly the opposite of what I'm going for. Sitting around my coffee table listening to me make funny voices isn't exactly a terrifying scenario. My feeling is that the players aren't intimidated even though their characters would be. I don't want to override player agency and say "Your character wouldn't act that way" but I also don't want the players just laughing off serious NPCs. This breaks the tension and makes it difficult for me as the DM to maintain the narrative flow of the scene. Instead of responding fearfully or being cowed by the NPC, I find that some of my players respond with back-chat, derision or outright humour at the NPCs expense. I have a recurring issue across campaigns I run where NPCs that I intend to be intimidating to the players don't quite come off that way. How can I make NPC intimidation more effective while maintaining player agency? My Issue My players don't act as though they find intimidating NPCs intimidating.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |