Do you need to switch your game system or is the problem how you are playing?
Several times this last week people on Twitter have mentioned how their RPG adventures have trailed off, or their tabletop wargaming got stale.
The chosen solution in each case was to ask for a "better game".
I think that is a mistake, and here is why.
A fascinating, engaging story is never A->B.
There are humans involved. Humans are messy, and we don't do things just because they need to be done.
If you simply play the rules as laid out, without layering some interest then you are playing the same game over and over again expecting it to be brand new.
I LOVE a game of Galaga, but I can't say I am emotionally involved with it. With new games though? They draw me into the characters.
Watch an actual play adventure - after a while you want them to succeed, sometimes you are even sad when they die!
Got an Example?
Typically an adventure hook might begin "you meet in a tavern" but your characters don't just sit there and drink ale (most of the time).
So a fight breaks out, just to break the monotony. But why? Did someone spill someone else's beer?
Low stakes, no curiosity. We can do better.
Let's look at meeting in a tavern again?
- You meet in a tavern and get slipped a folded note from a mysterious stranger.
- Before you can say "WTF" the stranger is gone!
- On reading the letter it explains that you must meet at the old ruins.
- At the ruins you spot the shadowy figure ...
- The stranger pulls down their hood, it is a High Elf that you knew as a child - they come with a warning that the Dark Lord's minions have been spotted in your character's hometown looking for your party!
- What do you do? WHAT DO YOU DO?
Constructing this takes a moment, but it contains several threads that might pull your players in.
A Diversion About Skirmish Games
But first, let me explain why I include skirmish games in this discussion.
Yeah, it can be fun to simply battle your friends. Shooting your friends in the face with your plastic soldier's blaster is a lot of fun.
But if you are playing the same battle over and over, what you need is a sprinkling of some narrative up there in this thing.
WHY are they fighting? It can't be always "because they are enemies".
What are the stakes?
Let's face it, if you don't build up some stakes then there is really nothing to lose but your pride, and when playing outside of an organized competition, that is not really all that big of a deal for most of us.
Hooks Are the Cornerstone of Adventures
Of course in roleplaying, a hook is even more important.
What is our motivation? Why do we care? What will happen if you go off and do something else?
What is a Hook?
This is a way that you can get the people at your table involved with the story behind what is happening.
Mechanically, two armies or bands or teams, whatever, are going to face off. That is a given, but what is the thinking behind it?
Throughout history there are elements we throw in to make things more dramatic:
- Who are our heroes and what drives them?
- Who is the enemy, what drives them?
- What is going to happen if the enemy wins? What happens if the good side loses?
A good conflict needs some party trying to get something, stop something, achieve something, and another party working to stop them.
There has to be a reason our heroes face unsurmountable odds but don't give up!
Then you ramp up the pressure - with a deadline, with a terrible outcome, or a wonderful outcome.
Most of all, the player's characters need to be necessary. The story needs to need them making decisions, impacting the world, changing the story as it unfolds.
Rollercoasters can be fun, but games are all about player agency. Don't railroad the game, even if you have exciting twists and turns planned.
(That said, there is a meme that "Indiana Jones has no effect on the outcome of Raiders of the Lost Ark." that I will leave to your research)
Artists Steal
Are you struggling to come up with a hook?
Think of your favorite novels or movies.
- The best "Heists" are really revenge stories.
- Is Karate Kid about Daniel joining and winning a competition?
- Lord of the Rings isn't just a jewelry delivery.
- Why did Han Solo come back at the end of Star Wars A New Hope?
- Could The Matrix have ended when Neo found out about what the Matrix is?
- How did Die Hard become an amazingly durable classic?
Bottom Line
Really it comes down to ... why should your players care?