Today’s guest article is by John Fredericks, and it’s a unique idea we’ve never discussed here before. Thanks, John!
Introduction
All GMs long for player investment in their characters and in the campaign world. As GMs, we’re often (very) caught up in the planning and running of the game. This makes it difficult for us to gauge whether we are meeting the players’ expectations at the table. In this article, I’ll share an idea that I used recently to garner more player input on their characters and the direction of the adventures.
I run a regular fantasy campaign which is based in a medium-sized town. One week I announced that since they were returning home there would be letters from home waiting for them. More importantly, they would decide the contents of those letters. I was hoping that this might lead to some insight into what they wanted in the future. Their responses were even better than I expected.
The Results
Here’s a brief summary of their efforts, and what I was able to do with them.
- Our dwarf emailed me an entire letter detailing how a cousin was out to get her to move ahead in their family. I was able to turn that into a roadside ambush, and suggest that the cousin was actually involved with the real big baddie of the campaign.
- One player said that his elven grandfather was dying. This led to a chance to visit the elves’ village, roleplaying some encounters there, and dealing with a banshee who was poisoning the local crops.
- One player said that his relations were a longing for him to visit. While they won’t be in that vicinity for a while, I can still use this later if I’m stuck for an adventure. There’s nothing like saving the old home town for an easy hook.
- The last player, the cleric, said he didn’t get a letter because he was from town. I didn’t know this before. Since they were in town anyway, the players were able to visit the temple and consult with the abbott about an evil magic item.
You can see that their responses varied quite a bit, but they all gave me fuel for adventures.
If You Use This Idea
If you would like to use this in your own campaign, here are some thoughts on making it work well.
- Clearly tell your players that they will be making up the content of the letters. One of my players didn’t know this, though he happily made something up on the spot. However, it is better not to put players under that kind of stress. (Though they don’t seem to mind doing that to us as GMs, right?)
- Don’t feel you have to use every idea the players give you right away. You don’t have to abandon your own plans for that night. You can always keep their thoughts for later.
- Be okay with the fact that some players may not give you much or anything. Not every player desires a backstory. Some folks are just happy stabbing orcs, and that’s fine.
- Don’t make it a requirement. We do this for fun, not college credit.
Extending the Idea
Don’t feel bound by the literary convention of a letter. Depending on your campaign world an email, tweet, or even a dream might work better. It could even be a conversation with a friendly NPC who gives them their next mission. If you want to do that, ask the player to fill you in before the session so that you have some appropriate encounters prepared.
Have you used the concept of a letter or something similar in your campaign? Do you have another technique for helping players take a more active role in the direction of a campaign? If so, let me know below.
A great idea. I stealz it!
This is a fantastic idea. I will definitely be taking it for a test drive. Thanks!
Thanks guys (I’m the author) and appreciate the kind words. It really worked for my group. Not sure how often it should be implemented, that may depend on the group.
I like it. Subtle, and easy to implement in chunks. You can always have “a letter or two” show up if there’s not one for everyone. Your creative players might even make up interesting stories about how the expected letter’s absence means “something dire is afoot”. Though I really liked your player’s “Oh, no letter for me… because I’m a local” response.
Very interesting idea. A great way to get the players to help flesh out their backstories AND the world around them. 🙂
I used a similar method to get players to add depth to character in a bi-weekly sci-fi game I ran. In the weeks we did not meet, the players all received an email informing them of major news stories and rumors going around their little sector of the galaxy at the time. If a player wished he could request further information and research a story to possibly flesh out an adventure or roleplaying opportunity. They were free to ignore what they read and just continue with the main story, but everyone followed up on at least one story or research avenue that appealed to them. It saved me a lot of trouble in adventure writing in that I only had to come up with a few paragraph-length ideas, and then just had to flesh out those that they were actually interested in, and most importantly, in the way they wanted it fleshed out. A story about hostile alien political factions could have turned into a simple gunrunning adventure if one player wanted it to, but if another decided that maybe one of these cultures played heavily into his character, then it became a deeper roleplaying session to let him define his character more.
Though I liked the system I used for a large space-opera game where I need to detail galactic culture and events for the players all the time, for a fantasy based D&D type game I really dig your letters idea, and will try it next time I run.