Sometimes, where you end up isn't what matters to your character. It's what happens along the way that makes the journey worthwhile!
Sometimes, indulging the storyline that your player wants is even better than a more-magic sword. Talking to your player and finding out what kind of character they want to play, and the story they want to tell, really pays dividends in terms of player enjoyment. If your player is telling you that they want to play a secret vigilante, or a freedom fighter, or a squire masquerading as their master to save a dead man's honour, you've already got a storyline to tell, and you can have elements that happen affecting what happens in the 'main' game. Similarly, accomplishing goals that your player wants to go through can be a really great on-screen reward. A faux knight generally wants you to tell the story of them being knighted, a freedom-fighter wants you to tell the story of them going back to free their enslaved parents, a player who tells you about their character's father who was slain by a six-fingered man really wants the chance to avenge their father. Building to that, and making that a side quest in your game, can make for a great, rewarding, amazing conclusion. So find some epic background music and queue up some kind of cool encounter along the road to your campaign conclusion. It doesn't have to be a lot... but think how much a pat on the head from his dad would have meant to Boromir, how much reforging the shards of Narsil into the new blade Anduril meant to Aragorn, or being acknowledged as a knight by Edward, the Black Prince, meant to William Thatcher in A Knight's Tale. How you can use accolades and subplots in your game:
Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 20 March 2019. Comments are closed.
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AuthorI'm Luke. He/him pronouns. Archives
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