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My players are have 'difficulty' leaving the city and exploring. Every time they do problems pop up. so they don't want to leave the city. Has anyone else had this problem and if so what did you do about it.
I suggest that you reinforce the Charter from Restov and remind them of the task they've taken and set reasonable expectations on achieving that goal.
Why don't you also try to 'hand wave' the getting ready to explore portion on the next session. Meta-game it a bit to at first to get them going...
Disregard the random encounter roll and get them into the meat and potatoes of hex-ploration.
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Hi i need some advice with this game, My players are have "difficulty" with leaving the city and exploring. Everytime they do problems pop up. so they dont want to leave the city. Has anyone else had this problem and if so what did you do about it.
(sorry for any spelling errors i have been up for 30 due to work)
Well, if they're reluctant to leave because problem pop up in the city when they do, they're just playing as their characters would act. The key is to introduce problems if they don't "subdue the hinterlands".
If they're not patrolling the countryside, then banditry starts rising. Trade routes are so heavily robbed that trade stops coming in - the economy and taxes take a hit. Outer farmsteads are being robbed or paying "protection" money to the bandits, unrest grows as the populace doesn't trust in the law and order of the growing country anymore.
River Kingdom neighbors see that the rulers are timid and afraid to leave the safety of their defenses. They start forming alliances with neighbors to carve up the nascent kingdom and split the spoils. One of their messengers falls into the players' hands and spills his guts.
Surviving enemies from previous adventures take advantage of caches of treasure the players haven't discovered yet due to their lack of exploration. They set up a base of operations in a defensible area and start building a "city of villains" (I totally stole this from some other DM that posted this awesome idea in another forum). This city of villains starts causing serious problems and unrest and if the PCs don't deal with them, may topple the kingdom.
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If they only get negative feedback for leaving the city and positive feedback for staying, of course they're not going to leave - so change it up a bit. :)
We have that problem for sure. After our last expedition to finally get rid of the troll problem once and for all, we ended up forced to retreat to lick our wounds in our capital city of Tassel. Unfortunately we arrived to find a ginormous owlbear had wrecked the city, killing some of our guards and destroying our Inn and Tavern.
Stress to the players that there is a big world to explore with lots of treasure. When I claimed a Fae Bane sword in a crypt I was sold on the idea of exploring more of the ruins and expanding our kingdom.
What might help get your players involved is keeping an active chronicle of their deeds and giving them little "Achivement" trophies to mark their progress. Did they resolve the situation with the Kobolds? Give them some small token that represents this task. It can be as simple as a title to add to their name (Reptile Burner/Savior) to giving them a merit that gives them +1 to Diplomacy checks with the Sootscale.
THe other problem i have found is that the Pcs dont worry about magic spell resorce management. They do all the bid spells stright away and there are only so many times you can have them come across a wandering monster without the PCs getting annoyed.
Like the bard using his free 20 on knowledge checks once per day. SInce most of the time there is only one monster per day they can always use it then. I know its what the bard gets but still it gets a bit Overpowered at times in kingmaker.
How do you manage this in your game?
i accept they are fully playing without bending the rules & this is quite a different game to normal
it swings in yr favour when they reach a 'dungeon', out of the blue and they are utterly unprepared (my party are in Varnhold, with 2 pc's blind )
I dont know any group that hasnt struggled with area F in RRR.
There are tons of challenges to come, so as GM dont fret if it looks easy at times
enjoy. we are in session 20, i have had many sessiosn where the tasks have been breezed through. Let the players have there time in the sun
I will admit though the partys bard can be a spoiler with some of its abilities
Greetings, fellow travellers.
I do not know your and your group's style of play, but I know as a player, that random monsters beeing thrown at me just to have me "waste" my resources before the final encounter site is reached, is not fun.
Now, as a GM I want exactly that to happen: wear my players out, so that the paladin is low in LoH, the cleric is low on channels, the sorcerer has spent a good amount of spells already.
Don't get me wrong: I am not playing against my players, but I want it to be fun and challenging at the same time.
Now, for me, Kingmaker stands for rough, uncivilized lands. They are untamed and sprawling with wildlife. So sure, they meet monsters or animals on a daily basis. For me as a GM the point is to make these random encounters worthwile, e. g. introduce some NPCs or give the monsters some meaning. Don't just tell the players: Rolled a 76 - 1d6 trolls coming your way. Roll for initiave. Rather let them find tracks of the monsters or their lairs.
I have added small bits to the encounter tables for Kingmaker #1 and #2 to remind _me_ that random encounters are not just cannon fodder and resource dumps for the group, but that they have a life of their own; so 1d6 kobolds have become a hunting party with a dire rat as beast of burden. Let your players observe the kobolds bringing down deer or other stuff and let them decide what to do.
Another thing I have changed is the encounter with a brown/grizzly bear: I added two cubs - the small family has just awoken from a months long sleep (it is the second month of the year!) and they are encountered sun bathing in front of their lair.
On another note the troll sghtings in Kingmaker #2 are ideal to build some menacing atmosphere which culminates into the final encounter. I will let them have encounters with rather more trolls, than are on the list - which is only a list with suggestions for me anyways.
There are also some tables in this discussion thread dealing with "ambient encounters" in the Stolen Lands - something which I really liked (and ninja'd) for my game.
And finally: yes, I also think that Kingmaker #1 and #2 are rather easy for an experienced, balanced party, but as novalord said: let them have their time in the sun - times will get harsh soon enough.
Hope that helps.
Ruyan.