Have you ever been spinning a game idea around in your head and you come to the realization that no matter how you set up the initial adventure hook, that one player's particular playstyle is going to lead to a head-to-head collision of epic proportions that will likely spin out of control and into an incredible disaster that the group may not have any hope of recovery from?
I generally run games in a non-linear fashion, with a whole lot of latitude for how things will play out. But no matter what I come up with for the intro hook this time, I just know that my "bull in a china shop" will start a war almost from the moment they talk to a particular major NPC and he doesn't get the answers he wants or expects. It seems unavoidable that conflict will happen but I'd rather have the PCs be a little patient and let things develop more fully.
Sure, the trainwreck could be a lot of fun, but it could lead to some seriously dead PCs if it hits the fan too early. They have potential allies to connect with and they will really need them to overcome the opposition in this adventure.
I have one idea that might work, but I'd like to hear yours.
So without being too railroady, how the hell would you manage this type of situation?
The obvious solution is to have nice, likable and cooperative NPCs. The solution to people lacking subtlety is to be obvious.
Quote from: thecasualoblivion;389599The obvious solution is to have nice, likable and cooperative NPCs. The solution to people lacking subtlety is to be obvious.
I probably need to explain further.
The PCs are a special response team sent to Dantooine by the Chancellor to:
-Investigate the cause of a blight on Dantooine's crops that is causing a famine.
-Investigate conflicting reports of Khoonda Militia firing on civilians.
-Determine the extent of the blight and the truthfulness of the reports about the Militia actions.
Governor Terena Adare has been infected with an alien parasite and is not quite herself these days. She will lie her ass off to protect the alien presence on Dantooine. The Jedi in the party will likely detect her dishonesty or the Dark Side Taint that exists within the parasite itself.
Upon discovering this, I expect my Bull in a China shop to go ballistic and cause immediate conflict. I'd rather have this wait until later so that the PCs can discover more information and get to the truth of what is causing the blight and why, not to mention the spread of the parasites and their origin.
Again, I think I have a way of handling this, but I wanted additional ideas.
Thanks!
Just let the PC run amok and get killed. Then the rest of the party have to clean up after them. The player with the dead character misses out. Same as any adventure. What's the problem?
Quote from: PaladinCA;389603I probably need to explain further.
The PCs are a special response team sent to Dantooine by the Chancellor to:
-Investigate the cause of a blight on Dantooine's crops that is causing a famine.
-Investigate conflicting reports of Khoonda Militia firing on civilians.
-Determine the extent of the blight and the truthfulness of the reports about the Militia actions.
Governor Terena Adare has been infected with an alien parasite and is not quite herself these days. She will lie her ass off to protect the alien presence on Dantooine. The Jedi in the party will likely detect her dishonesty or the Dark Side Taint that exists within the parasite itself.
Upon discovering this, I expect my Bull in a China shop to go ballistic and cause immediate conflict. I'd rather have this wait until later so that the PCs can discover more information and get to the truth of what is causing the blight and why, not to mention the spread of the parasites and their origin.
Again, I think I have a way of handling this, but I wanted additional ideas.
Thanks!
If I'm an alien parasite, the last thing I want is to be anywhere near a Jedi. Have her delay the meeting, then stand the characters up by being called away on an urgent errand, and finally conduct the interview via conference call. Sure the players will automatically know something is up but u expected them to find out anyway.
In the meantime You can use the downtime to let the characters explore the lay of the land, learn more about the blight and militia attack, make contacts, and drop hints of what is going on.
If you want to annoy a kill em all player don't give him anything to kill. :)
Hope that helps.
Pete
Quote from: PaladinCA;389596But no matter what I come up with for the intro hook this time, I just know that my "bull in a china shop" will start a war almost from the moment they talk to a particular major NPC and he doesn't get the answers he wants or expects.
I love those players! They get to roll up lots of characters in my games, but they bring a lot of action to the table.
Quote from: pspahn;389628If you want to annoy a kill em all player don't give him anything to kill. :)
Brilliance worthy of Yoda.
I would add in the importance of Govenor Terena Adare. Maybe she is bethrothed to an important ally of the Chancellor, or she is the long-ago love of the Jedi's master, or she is somehow painted as someone who is too important to kill.
So instead, they will have to find a way to remove the alien midiclorians.
Quote from: Kyle Aaron;389620Just let the PC run amok and get killed. Then the rest of the party have to clean up after them. The player with the dead character misses out. Same as any adventure. What's the problem?
The problem is that inevitably the player in question will probably just make a new character that pulls the exact same crap.
Similar to Spinachcat's answer, provide the character with a very compelling reason not to kill her, something that cuts right to the heart of the player's idea of who the character is, ansd what he's all about. Obviously, it has to be very specifically tailored to the player and the character.
Also, I like Pete's answer.
Quote from: Shazbot79;389667The problem is that inevitably the player in question will probably just make a new character that pulls the exact same crap.
Well, then we get into the issue of how quickly they can do so, and GMs wearing Viking Hats and saying, "no two characters from the same player may be alike, use your imaginations, bitches" and all that good sensible stuff.
Thanks Guys.
The solution is fairly simple. So simple I missed it.
Why should the governor meet the Chancellor's lackeys? Indeed.
"The governor is on colony business. You will be rescheduled when she returns. Move along."
That's the crux of it. Let the players go and discover a bunch of crap and then when it starts to hit the fan, they can have a serious "conflict resolution" meeting with the governor and her men. :)
Quote from: Kyle Aaron;389620Just let the PC run amok and get killed. Then the rest of the party have to clean up after them. The player with the dead character misses out. Same as any adventure. What's the problem?
LOL - This has certainly happened before.
Simple but effective. The Cheetoist approach?
Quote from: PaladinCA;389603Governor Terena Adare has been infected with an alien parasite and is not quite herself these days. She will lie her ass off to protect the alien presence on Dantooine. The Jedi in the party will likely detect her dishonesty or the Dark Side Taint that exists within the parasite itself.
Assume that the alien parasite knows that the Jedi are likely to detect it. Ergo, it will do everything in its power to avoid the Jedi. Thus the Governor will force the PCs to deal with low-level functionaries and intermediaries.
The PCs are likely to become suspicious of this, so give 'em enough reason to suspect that somebody
else might be responsible for hiding the Governor from them: Who doesn't want them to meet with the Governor? Why? Is the Governor even still alive? Et cetera.
Structure it right and you can probably have a pretty good shot of the PCs encountering some parasites in other people and concluding that it's the parasites who are keeping them from the Governor so that they can't warn the Governor about the parasites. That'll mean they'll be fully aware of the "oh shit" consequences when they finally get face-to-face with the Governor.
As a back-up plan, design the "we're going to force our way to the Governor ASAP" path to reveal the information you want.
As a slight alternative to the "PCs meet lackeys first" you could have the PCs' first contact with the Governor be through hologram. I'm not a Star Wars loremaster, but even if a Jedi can "detect" through holo, they sure as hell can't kill someone through it.
There are any of a dozen reasons why the Governor is "gone fishing" (because the parasite is trying to remain hidden); She's comforting colonists, examining the field, self-induced quarantine for fear the blight is caused by a microbe.. whatever.
Quote from: Justin Alexander;389717Assume that the alien parasite knows that the Jedi are likely to detect it. Ergo, it will do everything in its power to avoid the Jedi. Thus the Governor will force the PCs to deal with low-level functionaries and intermediaries.
*snip good stuff*
As a back-up plan, design the "we're going to force our way to the Governor ASAP" path to reveal the information you want.
Quote from: winkingbishop;389744As a slight alternative to the "PCs meet lackeys first" you could have the PCs' first contact with the Governor be through hologram. I'm not a Star Wars loremaster, but even if a Jedi can "detect" through holo, they sure as hell can't kill someone through it.
There are any of a dozen reasons why the Governor is "gone fishing" (because the parasite is trying to remain hidden); She's comforting colonists, examining the field, self-induced quarantine for fear the blight is caused by a microbe.. whatever.
Good stuff. It is starting to come together now. A tweak here and a tweak there.