How to give Players their "Great Responsabilities"?

[Dr Divago]

Hi all

i got a disappointing problem with my campaign: players (well, players' characthers) got no Great Responsabilities (like the ones that comes "with great powers")

 

a little background (i'll post in future for more):

the world is 2011, italy, noone ever heard about metas or supers (safe from Comics and/or films...).

PC discovered their powers, then discovered they all comes from a 20 years ago experimentation on children (like ones in Fringe, ndDD) plus an astronomical event and adrenaline triggered their powers and they started this "new adventure"

 

in the pilot they also faced an evil crime organization who could transform normal people in supers, using drugs, nanomachines, cybernetics, and like

 

unluckliy, they are, and act, like normal guy with superpowers; and this come with lack of Great Responsabilities.

They don't think much like "hey this is something only me (us) can solve because only me (us) got special powers" and act more like "hey i need to lay down or someone can discover my powers"

 

what can i do to push them in the right direction? i need to kill all their Uncle Ben? or there is something else i can try?

 

also, they tend to act very paranoid; like in the "lose 1 hours (real life clock time) before entering a corridor" just becase light was switched on automatically with motion/pressure sense cameras...

 

this one i planned on a (series of) adventure(s) where they need to act very quickly (like in the "if you are wasting time, bombs are exploding and this will be your falut"). Ofc, if they got no responsabilities, this will be just a waste of time...

[kahuna's bro]

Re: How to give Players their "Great Responsabilities"?

 

why not have them wortking for or cooperating with the local police or have the outfit turning people super be experimenting on children THAT might motivate them to act

[Greywind]

Re: How to give Players their "Great Responsabilities"?

 

Not all characters follow Spider-Man's or Superman's code. Green Arrow was just a thrill seeker.

[Black Ops]

Re: How to give Players their "Great Responsabilities"?

 

why not have them wortking for or cooperating with the local police or have the outfit turning people super be experimenting on children THAT might motivate them to act

 

Because considering some players you are lucky they do not beat them up ?

They might go after the experimenters still.

 

Mine work for the Police.

But I had some players....... (shudders)

[Maccabe]

Re: How to give Players their "Great Responsabilities"?

 

Funny me and one of my players talked about this just yesterday, the old "why do (normals) act that way" refering to NPC's making stupid mistakes. My answer was; "PC's have that something special about them which allows them to see/percieve things that others may not notice and to make changes in the world because they are the (only?) ones who can".

Why are these people playing a supers game yet not acting like heroes? Depending on what they are , or are not, doing maybe they need to learn what the price is of being a hero. Death of a DNPC, or "Uncle Ben" is not the only way to "wake them up", you could always do an alternate dimension where villians take over the world becuase the heroes didn't stop them in time.

Likewise, their Watched / Monitor, may say;"Hey I'm paying you to act, now go out and work or you're fired " or the equivalent. The villian may attack a place the near where the PC's work in secret ID, go violent in an area near the PC's and smash their car, etc. I guess what I'm saying is make it personal so long as you've let the PC's know what is expected of them if they fail to act. In the end you can always find other players.

[Ian Mackinder]

Re: How to give Players their "Great Responsabilities"?

 

If the PCs don't have any DNPCs, then give them some. Doesn't have to be anything major, just regular folks who help out in small but helpful ways. THEN give the PCs a few situations where these people clearly need help (directly or indirectly) which only the PCs can give. If they don't step up, severely punish them for it - loss of support, bad rep, ongoing guilt-trips, the works.

[Cancer]

Re: How to give Players their "Great Responsabilities"?

 

There's a fine line between pushing them to step up and perform the world-saving duties of heroes and throwing them onto a railroad car and forcing them down a plot line. Their paranoid reactions suggest that they've been conditioned to expect that they'll be yanked around and ambushed OFTEN. And it takes a number of experiences like that to build in an expectation like that.

 

I've been in a group which is distinctly ambivalent about building a base. The base would have real advantages. But, realistically, it would turn into a big aggravating timesink: every adventure would involve a threat against the base; the neat capacities the base facilities give us would be interrupted/harassed/blocked any time those facilities might be useful. Yeah, we could go save the world or something, but when we get back we'd find a smoking crater where the base was, and a lawsuit from the base's neighbors about bringing undue hazard into the neighborhood and interfering with their welfare and livelihood.

 

If your players have that kind of reaction, there may be a reason for it.

[Cygnia]

Re: How to give Players their "Great Responsabilities"?

 

Question: do your players always see a game as "Us vs. the GM"?

[Ice9]

Re: How to give Players their "Great Responsabilities"?

 

They might just not be on the same wavelength as you regarding cinematic-ness. For normal people that suddenly gained superpowers, and find out it was from some secret experiments, it makes a fair amount of sense for them to be paranoid and not exactly "heroic" - and for some genres of game, that would be the appropriate and desirable response. However, it sounds like it's definite not a good fit for the campaign you've set up.

 

The answer may be as simple as talking to the players about turning their characters in a more heroic direction. I don't even think you necessarily need an external event - most situations have enough different ways for the characters to respond that if the players are on the same page as you, they can find a path that fits. For instance, when normal people encounter a suspicious shack, at night, with strange noises coming from it:

* Gritty survival game: "That looks bad, we should stay the hell away from it."

* Horror game: "I think we're lost, maybe the people in there have a map we can use."

[Peregrine]

Re: How to give Players their "Great Responsabilities"?

 

1. Don't force it. That will reinforce their overly cautious reaction.

 

2. Talk to the players about it. It's their game, too; find out what they think would be fun and would encourage them to "step up".

[Hermit]

Re: How to give Players their "Great Responsabilities"?

 

I would suggest in game good karma, the carrot over the stick. Maybe not every time, but enough that it sinks in that sometimes doing the right thing has good repercussions even if that's only inspiring hope in NPCs. When they act heroic one day, have the 'man on the street' making positive comments about it the next. If they save an old man, maybe a week later that same old man is in the newspaper and turns out to be a famous doctor who has a new medicine that could save thousands if not more..etc. Let them know that heroism makes the world a better place in ways they may not fully grasp until it happens.

[kahuna's bro]

Re: How to give Players their "Great Responsabilities"?

 

unfortunately in the real world,sometimes people stay away from helping oters in fear fort heir safety or getting in trouble with te police could the characters have the same idea

[Ockham's Spoon]

Re: How to give Players their "Great Responsabilities"?

 

Roleplaying is a joint story-telling game, not a competition between GM and players; there needs to be some degree of cooperation. When the GM lays out the campaign scenario and theme, everyone has to agree to go with that because every story has to have a premise. You don't let players run wizards for a sci-fi game, you shouldn't let them run amoral thugs in a story about heroes because it doesn't fit the theme.

 

As GM you are already doing most of the work, so tell the players that you aren't going to force them to make any specific decisions, but they have to meet you half-way by having characters that are inclined to be heroic, for whatever reason the player deems reasonable. If they want you to help them plot out some event (like Uncle Ben's death or whatever) that's fine, but if they don't have a reason to be a hero then the game simply isn't going to get off the ground and no one will enjoy it.

[GoldenAge]

Re: How to give Players their "Great Responsabilities"?

 

In addition to all of the great advice above you need a "Kitchen Timer" scenario.

 

Build an encapsulated adventure that will end in a predetermined devastating event. If the heroes don't avert the event innocents (children) and/or DNPCs will die a horrible and graphic death. This event could even change reality for the worse. The heroes know it's coming... GET TO WORK!

 

Sure, this happens all the time in Movies, TV and Comics (Joker's social test/ferryboat bombing at midnight in the latest Batman movie, the entire TV show 24 and so many comics I can't begin to offer an individual title). Now, let's translate that tension to the gaming table...

 

Get yourself a kitchen timer (preferably one that beeps or clicks loudly). Set the Game Time to Real Time ratio (your choice - maybe 5:1 or even 1:1) and begin! Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock...

 

1. Preparation is key: Build a solid scenario packed with detail, multiple options and wonderful personalities... make it challenging and VERY FUN.

2. Stick toy your guns: Don't stop the clock! They need a break, they need to plan, they start to argue, they quit... it's their choice, time marches on.

3. Failure IS an option: You've spelled out for them the results if they fail to get the job done before the clock runs out. If they fail, they suffer the consequences and deal with the fallout.

 

An event like this could change the characters or even the world, such is the responsibility heaped upon the shoulders of these heroes. Hopefully, the benefits of such a game will be threefold. First, it will enlighten these heroes to the inherent responsibility that comes with having great power. Second, it might help them with real-time game management (eliminating the hour-long hallway investigation by guys with x-ray vision and the power to go through the walls). Third, they might have a BLAST!!!

[Dr Divago]

Re: How to give Players their "Great Responsabilities"?

 

Because considering some players you are lucky they do not beat them up ?

They might go after the experimenters still.

tehy already tried to fight against the experimenters,and this will lead them to be very paranoid (they already are!!) and so less "responsible" (i can't concern about saving innocents 'cause i could be framed by doing so...)

[Dr Divago]

Re: How to give Players their "Great Responsabilities"?

 

Why are these people playing a supers game yet not acting like heroes? Depending on what they are ' date=' or are not, doing maybe they need to learn what the price is of being a hero. Death of a DNPC, or "Uncle Ben" is not the only way to "wake them up", you could always do an alternate dimension where villians take over the world becuase the heroes didn't stop them in time.[/quote']i thought about it

my idea was an adventure called "night of past future" (what? name looks famniliar? ) where they woke up in the future... a future dark and ugly just 'cause they don't stopped villain and like, the future-selves are paid by villain to kill other metas and they tried to go back in the past (PC present) but something gone wrong and happened the viceversa

 

but i dunno if PC will like this idea so i'm keeping them for "extreme circustancies" when everything else failed...

[kahuna's bro]

Re: How to give Players their "Great Responsabilities"?

 

blackmailing them into helping wont work the'd rightly report the offending officer and want to withhhold thier help in legitamate protest

[Dr Divago]

Re: How to give Players their "Great Responsabilities"?

 

[snip and snap]

If your players have that kind of reaction' date=' there may be a reason for it.[/quote']mmmhhh dunno...

they played so far for 5 session, and first 4 was "pilot episode" where they started without superpowers and they discovered it little by little

 

today i (hope) they'll finish the first big fight... first fight lasted longer than 2 segments u.u

[Dr Divago]

Re: How to give Players their "Great Responsabilities"?

 

Question: do your players always see a game as "Us vs. the GM"?

nope

or at least, not always

 

ps: your avatar is COOOOL

[Dr Divago]

Re: How to give Players their "Great Responsabilities"?

 

Roleplaying is a joint story-telling game' date=' not a competition between GM and players; there needs to be some degree of cooperation. When the GM lays out the campaign scenario and theme, everyone has to agree to go with that because every story has to have a premise. You don't let players run wizards for a sci-fi game, you shouldn't let them run amoral thugs in a story about heroes because it doesn't fit the theme.[/quote']mmmhhh it's not they play amoral thugs

is like they are too much paranoid and less prone to go in the adventure;

they act very realistic, in doing this, but really no much help for GM :\

 

for instance

they found a video online about strange glowing bulb floating around a field and an humanoid figure teleporting and desappearing; they started investigating on the field, then found corpse of two victims... and they said "ok let's go away informing police there are 2 corpse here and then we start searching on internet about this thing"...

i had to made "floating thing" appear from nothingness and desappearing into the ground to make them scan with x-ray vision and found an hidden lab underground...

 

the problem started where... someone is complaining about "how slow is the adventure" and "you need to do something to keep thing faster..."

[Dr Divago]

Re: How to give Players their "Great Responsabilities"?

 

In addition to all of the great advice above you need a "Kitchen Timer" scenario.

(snip and snap here and there)

 

this is what i was thinking... a Die Hard Scenario

 

one player (the speedster who are also a policeman, the only one with a little responsibility) found a mobile phone; he found it apparently without reason (found in the hand of a petty thief just arrested) while this one ring.

it's a male saying a riddle with no much sense. Probably he will ignore

then a "bomb" explode and mobile phone ring again saying "hey you left the bomb exploding? i put another bomb, you got 1 hour to deactivate..." and go on a chase against time to deactivate bombs/doing microgame (and they will need help of all member to deactivate the bombs...)

 

this "bombs" are ultrasonic devices placed by Ultrasonique following order of Fiacho: this one gone to jail disguising for a cheap burglar to made interpol lose his tracks, but someone identified him and so he's waiting for extradiction

then the plan (planned with Mentalla) is to create chaos (and blocking interpol agents) so they can free Fiacho and flee away (1).

 

everytime they fail, someone could be dead, or wounded, or like, and something being damaged. If they don't do anything, or give the mobile to police, Fiacho escapes and bombing does a lot of damage (maybe also killing some DNPC or creating some serious problem with their lives)

If they are running out of time they (hopefully) understand they don't need to waste time in paranoid actions

If they understand what 's are behind they could be very honored and also gain a little reward (maybe some contacts or some helpful resources; i use resource points for base and computer and veichles so i could reward them with resource points or something similar)

plus, it will give them the sensation are playing in a bigger world and they need to play heroes to save the day

 

i really hope they like this adventure 'cause i'm spending much time creating it

(but it will take a lot of time to make them cool... so i'll need a little filler to make them playing while i create this adventure... unlickily filler too need time to be created )

 

(1) campaing is really different from classic Champions (more like Heroes series) so world does'nt (pubblicly) knows about metahumans; they too just discovered their powers (and think they are only very few meta who just discovered their powers)

so it's normal noone knows who Fiacho and Eurostar are (and they are also nerfed to fit into settings...) and maybe a little fight with scorpia/mentalla will show they are not normal

[csyphrett]

Re: How to give Players their "Great Responsabilities"?

 

If they are asking why is the adventure so slow after being so paranoid, tell them that sometimes a door is just a door. and let the door be a door.

 

Properly paranoid is okay, but if a scan reveals nothing, just tell them theres nothing here so it doesnt matter how long you search. maybe that will speed things up a little.

 

CES

[csyphrett]

Re: How to give Players their "Great Responsabilities"?

 

(snip and snap here and there)

 

this is what i was thinking... a Die Hard Scenario

 

one player (the speedster who are also a policeman, the only one with a little responsibility) found a mobile phone; he found it apparently without reason (found in the hand of a petty thief just arrested) while this one ring.

it's a male saying a riddle with no much sense. Probably he will ignore

then a "bomb" explode and mobile phone ring again saying "hey you left the bomb exploding? i put another bomb, you got 1 hour to deactivate..." and go on a chase against time to deactivate bombs/doing microgame (and they will need help of all member to deactivate the bombs...)

 

this "bombs" are ultrasonic devices placed by Ultrasonique following order of Fiacho: this one gone to jail disguising for a cheap burglar to made interpol lose his tracks, but someone identified him and so he's waiting for extradiction

then the plan (planned with Mentalla) is to create chaos (and blocking interpol agents) so they can free Fiacho and flee away (1).

 

everytime they fail, someone could be dead, or wounded, or like, and something being damaged. If they don't do anything, or give the mobile to police, Fiacho escapes and bombing does a lot of damage (maybe also killing some DNPC or creating some serious problem with their lives)

If they are running out of time they (hopefully) understand they don't need to waste time in paranoid actions

If they understand what 's are behind they could be very honored and also gain a little reward (maybe some contacts or some helpful resources; i use resource points for base and computer and veichles so i could reward them with resource points or something similar)

plus, it will give them the sensation are playing in a bigger world and they need to play heroes to save the day

 

i really hope they like this adventure 'cause i'm spending much time creating it

(but it will take a lot of time to make them cool... so i'll need a little filler to make them playing while i create this adventure... unlickily filler too need time to be created )

 

(1) campaing is really different from classic Champions (more like Heroes series) so world does'nt (pubblicly) knows about metahumans; they too just discovered their powers (and think they are only very few meta who just discovered their powers)

so it's normal noone knows who Fiacho and Eurostar are (and they are also nerfed to fit into settings...) and maybe a little fight with scorpia/mentalla will show they are not normal

 

be aware if they are paranoid now they might just dump the phone so they dont have to be involved. Think of other means to get them on the move. DNPCS/secret identities come in here as levers.

CES

[Ian Mackinder]

Re: How to give Players their "Great Responsabilities"?

 

Talk to your Players. Really. Sounds to me a lot like they're gun-shy. Too much dungeoneering or Killer GMing, perhaps.

 

One thing that comes across in the Superhero genre is that delay and obfuscation often leads to WORSE consequences than brash behaviour. Use this. Don't smack them down for taking the initiative (unless they do something REALLY stupid / objectionable, of course). If they choose to be ass-covering wussies rather than come to grips with a scenario / problem, have said problem get obviously bigger on them. Then tell them "This is going to be more difficult because yiou delayed. if you had acted right away, things would be better ...".

 

Calling the police when weirdness is happening. Yeah, OK, not necessarily a bad move. But, will two uniformed cops, or even a full SWAT team, necessarily be able to cope with whatever-it-is better than a bunch of supers? You should hit the PCs with that question right up front. Then, if/when the cops show up, have something happen that the PCs themselves can cope with but the cops can't.

[GoldenAge]

Re: How to give Players their "Great Responsabilities"?

 

Next time they call the cops to do their work, have them receive a subpoena that forces them into a horrendously long and boring court proceeding as eye-witnesses to the crime. Oh, and have all of their equipment confiscated as evidence. [jk]