My L5R game is in a weird position right now. My players headed out into the wilds in an inadvisable move and ended up in an encounter. At first the intent was just have the encounter, perhaps give some backstory on the area. However, as I developed the encounter it became more than that. It became a major encounter, complete with the kind of lethality you can expect when you run across major encounters in the plot. This has left me in kind of a mixed spot, and today I want to talk about it.
Side Adventure Or Main Event
Side quests can be dangerous. This is true in RPGs at the table, in video games, and heck even in board games. That's not a question. Sometimes side quests are the most dangerous events in the game. They're there just to prove you can beat the game at it's hardest and it's most "I'm going to kill you" tendencies.
However, these deadly side plots are not the ones you just stumble upon. They're not the ones that grab you for stepping just a little off the path. Main Events can have things like that, sure, but they also have their own warnings and signs of what is coming up. Sometimes all it is is a room full of health packs before the boss battle.
The point is, either way there's a bit more warning about what is going on. You don't just get pounced by maximum peril.
And Yet...
And yet, that is what can happen. Random Encounters can be dangerous. PCs understand when they go into dangerous circumstances. And the end result of the dice going bad is what? Disappointment over a character story being unfulfilled and then a new game starting up sometime soon. So what is the problem?
Fear
Which brings me to the crux of my problem. I'm nervous that this encounter, if it goes wrong, could end this game early. Or worse, it could only end it for some of the characters, putting those players into the awkward position of bringing in people later into the game without the same grounding. I'm scared that if that happens, the players will think that I did things that were unfair or uncool that took that from them.
My Solution
My solution to this is to go forward. I trust my players. I trust my game. And I need to trust myself to be able to handle things. Did this encounter build into more than originally expected? Sure, but was what happened also possible from the beginning and something the PCs knew they could run into? Also yes.
The fact is I have an awesome game. Last session a player made a choice knowing it could and likely would get their character killed (drowned in this case) because it was the in character thing to do, even if out of character he knew it might be the wrong choice. I have to respect that.
And so, I guess I'll just have to see what happens on this unexpected detour that has just become a major part of my game's story.
My long time GM and I run into this a lot; being the only player (excepting the odd night) I have so much inadvertent input into the flow of the game that this sort of issue is often the driver of the plot!
ReplyDeleteOver the years, my GM has learned to run with it. Sure, he has some Deus Ex M. Nearby if needed, to shape the outcome a bit if he really needs me to do something particular, but mostly he keeps a broad outline and understands that I'm going to throw wrenches, it's how my character operates, with impulse!
I can see this being difficult for more than one player, throwing you off guard. Heck, I throw my GM off guard still after twenty years! I wish I had advice, but he's the genius, not me; however, you seem to have the right idea.
Rolling random encounters is a crazy wrench to throw; good on you for having the nuts to do it! Players (if they enjoy that style and not carefully scripted balance) will come up with crazier ways to innovate; I surprise myself just what I come up with when caught off guard in a random encounter, it can be very good for character development.
Nice honest post, oh ye not infallible GM! ;-)
Thanks Nova Scoatia. :)
DeleteThe encounter itself is more custom crafted for them. Just the happening of it in the beginning was on chance. Then again, who is going to predict that PCs will randomly get drunk and rush off into the wilds at night in the middle of winter in a spiritually turbulent land after NOT doing that for weeks/months without a problem. :D
Hmm...what was the encounter for? What was it's purpose? I think a GM must think about what the purpose of an encounter is, and it can't just be filler. That is not a good enough reason. Can you find any way at all of making the encounter important to your plot? Something gets revealed? Or a clue points them towards something significant about the plot?
ReplyDeleteI hope these questions help.
http://angrydm.com/2013/05/four-things-youve-never-heard-of-that-make-encounters-not-suck/
http://theangrygm.com/how-to-build-awesome-encounters/
I made a pledge to make ever single encounter mean something back in the 1990's. It has worked very well for me.
Try as a might, my players always think "side encounters" have something to do with the current plot thread, and boy howdy do they pull at the threads. I've flat out had to say "It isn't as if everything is connected." Now, sometimes, I don't mind letting them tease at nonexistent threads, just to see if something gels, and if they drool like dogs over ham bones I know to run with it. But sometimes I just want to throw in a non-sequiter, and my players' predisposition will make me balk. We generally play long campaigns with political intrigue, not-villain villains, and long-term moral conundrums, and every once in a while I just wanna toss in a cheesy X Files-like side trip to the freak show. Meh. I guess as long as they're having fun...
ReplyDeleteTry as a might, my players always think "side encounters" have something to do with the current plot thread, and boy howdy do they pull at the threads. I've flat out had to say "It isn't as if everything is connected." Now, sometimes, I don't mind letting them tease at nonexistent threads, just to see if something gels, and if they drool like dogs over ham bones I know to run with it. But sometimes I just want to throw in a non-sequiter, and my players' predisposition will make me balk. We generally play long campaigns with political intrigue, not-villain villains, and long-term moral conundrums, and every once in a while I just wanna toss in a cheesy X Files-like side trip to the freak show. Meh. I guess as long as they're having fun...
ReplyDelete