sup /tg/, I havnt posted here in quite a while but now is my most dire hour of need.
Id been out of the pen and paper world for a bit to focus on finishing up my college shit, when some of my best buds from high school asked me if I would run a game of "DnD or something" for them with "Airship pirates and stuff". Sounded cool enough so I gave them some choices on system and long story short we ended up playing Pathfinder, not really any problems so far.
My issue is that I cannot for the life of me get them to roleplay and Im not sure which potential problem to address first. The first problem was that there were 9 people in the party, which has since been shaved down to 7 which are as follows:
1.Sorc who is the king of bad ideas and being super vocal about them. Has thus far led the party on several escapades that have gone nowhere in the name of nothing.
2.Rogue 1, the sorcs partner in crime. Is a bit of a gearhead and seems motivated by nothing but improving the ship to make this numbers higher. He even genuinely argued in favor of just settling down and opening an aftermarket airship parts manufacturer.
3.Rogue 1's girlfriend. Fairly unobtrusive, playing some kind of werewolf (checked and its paizo legit so I dont care), is doing 3/10 work moving things in the right direction, but at least she's trying.
>>47997958
4.Rogue 2, better ideas, but is constantly too careful, is 2nd in line for best RP because he actually comes close to trying. Has lots of history with Talisman so he at least knows what an adventure LOOKS like.
5.Dwarfbro, plays a dwarf in a world where dwarfs are nearly extinct. The only one who RPs. Looks out for dorfs, does dorf stuff, distrusts elves. Sadly, two nice OOC to get the party pointed in the right direction.
6.Dorf's girlfriend, plays a druid or something, she's actually fairly sensible but she is constantly shouted down because everybody hates her for some reason...
7.Paladin, should be the one keeping shit in line, and occasionally does by simply abstaining from lending his considerable utility to bad ideas, otherwise too quiet.
>>47997969
Here are the biggest problems with the group:
1.They will pick up any plot hook that gets thrown at them, but refuse to follow through, or when things get tough they assume that its just a trick.
2.They take about 45 minutes to make any decisions, and when they do they're almost all bad.
3.No matter what I tell them they keep forgetting to put points in knowledge skills, nobody has History or Religion, which makes it difficult for me to even throw these people a bone.
Ill detail what they've been up to, but Id like somebody's advice on how to make this work. Ive only ever played with fairly top-shelf folks before and Im having trouble getting the same notes out of this orchestra.
Your problem is that your party is too large. Seriously. It isn't correctable. I'm sorry. After 4 players people become retarded babbling messes unless you railroad them to oblivion.
>>47998022
That was my original instinct...5 is normally my absolute limit. You should have seen them with 9 people...
They also sound super green. You might need to sit each one down individually and talk to them about their character and motivations. Maybe give them a shiny object that relates to their characters aspirations to give them something physical they can use as a talisman to keep their character grounded in whatever they plan to do.
>>47998022
Fuck you I dm for six with minimal railroading, if at all. We're considering adding a seventh player. Shit works fine if you have a good dm who pays attention, knows how to keep the players focused and can adapt around any retardedness from the party.
>>47998059
How do I approach them for that though without it sounding like an intervention? And how do I get them to follow through?
>>47998022
personally, i would argue five players is on the border, but i think it depends on the players,
3-4 is the sweet spot
>>47998082
well, how do you keep your players focused? The best Ive managed to do is just jump in any time they discuss something trivial for 5 minutes and give them 2 more minutes to decide. It makes me feel like a kindergarten teacher. Ive never had this problem before...
>>47998043
Yeah, the worst time I ever had with a party was when we had 9 people. We would literally argue on what to do until 2 am because everyone is the hero of their own story and they think they have the best ideas. You need a leader, but I doubt the shitlord you have will ever allow anyone to take over. You may want to bait the paladin into becoming the defacto leader. You really need to just sit down individually with your players and get them to make a plan for their character and why they want to do that. It would help.
>>47998082
I would love to be in that group you made up friend.
>>47998086
Be mysterious man. Just say "I need to speak with you all about your characters" and then reward them for answering your questions with an object that relates to their character. DM=happy and Players=happy and hopefully more motivated.
>>47998082
I also think you are giving yourself too much credit. You have 6 cohesive players, which can happen I guess.
>>47998121
Well, the good news is that last session the paladin realized he could kill them all now that he has spells and is basically unstoppable against small groups. I assume next time we meet he'll have something to say about that lol.
>>47998155
Alright, fair enough. Considering that we're all kinda busy Id have to do it online but I could find a way to make it work.
>>47997988
1. Tell them OOC. Yes it's breaking the illusion but if they do it all the time, they need telling. I've had times when players were obsessed with a trivial detail that didn't mean anything, and I just outright tell them "Guys, it's nothing, honestly. Let's move on." or I might throw some minor loot their way "you find two jewels in the statues eyes, each worth about 250gp".
2. There's no cure for stupid. Experience helps though so give them time. You can inject subtle prompts too, and offer them Wis/Int or knowledge type checks (I generally dislike doing that but it can help clear a clogged plot, just make sure it doesn't end up being a go-to crutch for them)
3. Tell them. Multiple times. Keep bugging them. Tell them that they're essentially playing a party of uneducated meatheads and that nothing good comes from that.
>>47998043
You can get round this by making them nominate a leader.
>>47998155
>>47998189
CUT MY LIFE INTO PIECES!
>>47998082
As a forever DM (Four years and counting, running games around 300 days a year), I am absolutely certain you just have quality players. You aren't some master DM, especially with that kind of attitude. (This is probably bait, anyway.)
Good Players are far more important than a Good DM. If players can't work together and get their shit together, no matter the plot shit'll fall apart.
>>47997988
1) You should make consequences for the actions. If they fail to clear the cave out of kobolds, the kobolds go on to burn the village to the ground. If they don't deliver the package, a mark is placed on them to recover it. Etc. Make it so they don't HAVE to, but if they start down a road, they better finish it "Or Else".
Another big thing I've done is establish a plot OOCly. Lay it out simply, "Alright guys, you've all batted the idea around, and you're going to XYZ because of W." Make the plot interesting, but sometimes a bit of railroading is better than leaving them with too many options.
2) Just let them make their own decisions. Though for how long it takes? I'd just recommend setting out a timer. "You have ten minutes to discuss this, once you've discussed it, I'll go around ask your plan." Or something similar.
3) I never use knowledge skills, nor do I make my party get knowledge skills. I really can't help you there. (I'm one of those people.)
Maybe make information dealers? People who are better informed, so they could do them favors or just pay them money, to circumvent the whole lack of knowledge thing.
>>47998398
He has his own ship. Goal reached. Ask him who his next character is. Or shipwreck them with enough materials to make a new ship/they find their own ship. I know it's cliche, but cliche is what keeps games going.
I know everyone hates DMPCs bit a Deckard Kain style loremaster who needs to be protected and constantly reminds them what their objectives are or muses about problems that need answers could probably benefit your group a lot.
>>47999138
Ive tried giving them NPCs but they fed one to a vampire, sacrificed another for food, and sold the 3rd into slavery.
>>47999287
>they fed one to a vampire, sacrificed another for food, and sold the 3rd into slavery
How about instead of letting them do that, have the NPC attack them? Make the NPC be a powerful person masquerading as a weaker individual, and when the PC's turn on him (which it seems like they will inevitably do) smash them within an inch of their life. That should get the point across.
