Creating Player Drive

question

#1

So I’ve been brainstorming on what pushes players or characters to feel obligated to intervene or partake in a quest.

The few things I’ve thought of…

  • Threaten Beliefs
  • Threaten Innocents
  • Steal Something The Pcs Value
  • Threaten Friends And Family
  • Threaten Pcs Directly
  • Tempt Them With Something They Want

How do you guys create character drive?


#2

I don’t think innocents count as drives. At least not in my group. People don’t care. XD

But beliefs? If they are in the mood to role play, sure! Stealing their belongings and themselves directly, those are good drives!

I am also looking into this. But my players never make PCs with families. XP


#3

This is really about players and genre.

ICRPG takes the game out of any money, but way back in the day, I remember playing Robotech and our characters took quite a few risks for food.

I think you could shrink the list to two things.

Threatening them with something they would hate.

Tempting them with something they would love.


#4

Thinking on it more,

Providing the players with cool concepts and obstacles, allowing them to highlight their characters and their dice rolls to ruin their characters has been the most consistent for enticing players.

And I do mean highlight their characters, as opposed to challenge or threaten their characters.

As terrible of a reputation I have with my old group…90% of character deaths In my games have been environmental (falling, explosions, failed swim rolls) or PK in some fashion or another. Only had a TPK once except when it is expected. CoC type thing.


#5

For an experienced group this is what I usually do.

I’ve been Dming for my wife and her little brother who are both very, very new and I feel like I need to create a more definite, “I have to do something about this” drive for them. A strong call to action.

That idea is where this whole brainstorm originated.


#6

I’m still a big fan of putting innocents in peril. If you ran A Burning In New Haven, For example, I would be shocked if your players did not intervene to keep a little girl from burning to death. And if the players nonchalantly let that happen, then I think there has to be a terrible price.


#7

For new people!!! Let them be cool badasses, challenge them every 2 sessions or so, but let them normally explore and experience a new world. Establish the world around them and their actions, but make them the center of attention not you.
You are the set director (setting, tone, rules, and environment) they are the actors and directors. Try to disappear into the backdrop a bit. Then hit them with a challenge.

Or, allow the smorgasbord that is RPGs to come to play. Different worlds, different tones, different challenges every session. Western, sci-fi, murder mystery, fantasy, horror, silly campy (kobolds stoke my baby) type games.

Get them confortable as players, everything changes, but it’s a sheet, some dice, and a fun use of imagination.


#8

Escape is also a powerful motivator. You’re already in the poop, and now you have to get out. Think Aliens, especially if a world timer is ticking down.


#9

Yeah but… will they understand that? Will they enjoy that? That’s always what blocks me when I GM and prep.: after all, we gotta make it engaging.


#10

I work with my players on a short back story to kind of a get a feel for how to drive their characters, to let them know how they’d fit into the world, and then I plug those elements into my story.

Example: One of my players belongs to a land-holding noble family. The short story arc was a beast investigation, and the location in question was a village within her family’s holdings. She was assigned to investigate so they could show a vested interest in protecting their lands. There was a lot more to it than that on the micro level, but that was an easy way for me to tie players to an action through a sense of duty. Making it personal was more complex and fun. :slight_smile:


#11

This is getting interesting! I think if we set up the context of the session with a little pregame cut scene then it would work awesomely.

Make sure the players know that who ever has them extends to sacrifice and eat them… Or worse.


#12

This is one reason I clung to the idea of simply defining your characters love, hate, and fear. So you can see on my character sheet.


#13

Understand what? Escape? I’m not following you.

I think if you set up a scenario where a character is trapped, players will “get” escape. Lol.