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Wanted to share this with everyone and also see if something like this has happened to anyone else.
OK, my group just finished up Burnt Offerings. In the down time before the Skinsaw Murders I awarded them a bit of extra reward from the town as way of saying thanks. I had the town provide the group with a farm with 20 acres of apple orchards attached that was located on the outskirts of town that was unoccupied due to the owners were killed by the goblins.
I did this for two reasons.
1.) The group is all made of characters from outside of Varisia that have no real ties to Sandpoint other then the first adventure. I wanted to give them a reason to stay in town long enough to hook them on the next adventures.
and
2.) I wanted to give them a nice stable base of operations in the area that I could also use as a plot device in the future.
How little did I expect for this to slightly backfire on me.
No sooner did I finish explaining the farm and situations behind it (stressing that it was too late in the season to really do anything with it other then move in) then the players immediately bombarded me with ideas and requests.
We then spent the next three hours buying seed and provisions, looking at livestock, hiring workers, planning expansions, scouting markets for apples, negotiating the sale of additional land in the area,setting a payscale for the workers, and provisioning an area for crafting. This all happened despite my subtle (and also not so subtle) hints that this could be worked out at a later time and was not heavily important at the time. Part of my reluctance was, too be honest, also because I did not determine a lot of the information for what they were asking because I didn't they they would want it right there and then. That's honestly my fault because I forgot the second rule of DMing, "ALWAYS expect the unexpected from your players since they will find new and inventive ways to screw up your plans." So I added an extra hook and got them going (with much railroading and cattleproding), but we're on our way now.
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Yeah-- that's an example of something I love about GMing! A table-top RPG is a collective storytelling process, and I think it's wonderful when the players send the plot into an unexpected direction. Over the years, I've had unnamed shopkeepers become major NPCs; I've had the PCs become major patrons of the arts and build a concert hall; I've run in-character weddings and births.
In my Runelords game, I ran a whole session in Magnimar with the party sight-seeing-- including a long visit to the Aquaretum, and two real-time hours just at the Lord-Mayor's Menagerie. They LOVED it!
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@Darkwarriorkarg - Only one is, but he was the one least interested in dealing wit the business aspect of it. LOL. should have guessed as much.
@Haladir - I'll have to keep that in mind, although if I actually try and run that they'll probably decide that the sewers would be better to visit. Whoever said herding cats is tough obviously never met a gamer. :)
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Boy, will they hurry
Especially if they have to decide if they go to Sandpoint first, or check their farm first. Whatever they decide, they will be late at the other place - a real dilemma!
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My experience is that different players want different things. Some want and need the minutia, some just want to get on to the next fight, and some want to get deep into the role playing and relationships. If you can accommodate them all that is good. You could have side sessions with the players requiring greater details. The more invested the players are into the game, the richer the gaming experience.
The risk in this is the loss of the character can be devastating to the player deeply invested.
In my original Homebrew campaign, I had a Dwarf character rise to be King over all the Dwarves. He built a vast tower and castle, and around it a city sprang forth; and with it all the minutia that it brings. He had several close and powerful henchmen. They would go out slaying the Dragon terrorizing his kingdom, or war with the evil wizard's armies to his north. It was interesting.
Good gaming and let us know how things turn out.
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@Dryder - Heck Yeah. I can't wait to see the look on their face when that comes up. >:)
@Mazra - I think the part that surprised me was that this group really doesn't do this. I've played with them off and on for about 15 years now and usually the only time they put this much forethought and planning into something is a boss battle or anything that could possibly contain a trap.
They could be doing it to mess with my head or because they honestly think it's a trap. Either way I'llfun playing it up and seeing what happens.
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You just know that if they have a farm near his, Aldern Foxglove WILL go after it!
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An apple farm you say...can't wait to hear about the the light brown apple moth ghouls...
In my Runelords game, I ran a whole session in Magnimar with the party sight-seeing-- including a long visit to the Aquaretum, and two real-time hours just at the Lord-Mayor's Menagerie. They LOVED it!I'll have to keep that in mind, although if I actually try and run that they'll probably decide that the sewers would be better to visit. Whoever said herding cats is tough obviously never met a gamer. :)
Let's just say that I didn't plan to run that encounter at all-- I had geared up for a short round of Diplomacy (gather information) checks, then the encounter at Aldern's townhouse.
The sight-seeing was completely player-driven and off-script, meaning that I had to improvise and ad-lib. Complicating matters was that the Campaign Guide Magnimar: City of Monuments hadn't come out yet. On the plus side, I was running the version of Skinsaw Murders from Pathfinder #2, so I had the extensive Magnimar gazetteer as a resource.
To this day, whenever I run a particularly dangerous or gruesome encounter, one of my players says, "Y'know... maybe we should just go back to the zoo instead..."
LOL.. I had actually run an adventure in a petting zoo once. Demon possessed raccoons and lambs made may characters paranoid to be around anything warm and fuzzy for about a year.
Sounds like South Park's [Woodland Critter Christmas episode...
Well we had a session last Friday. One of my players showed up early and I mentioned this post about the apple farm. The session was mostly RP and wrap up of chapter one. With one exception the players wanted to throw a party for the entire town. Thus they planed it down to the nth degree. Including going around to all of the taverns to hire cooks. This went on and on till at one point my early player looked at me and silently mouthed the words "Apple Farm". I almost fell outta my chair.
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Let's just say that I didn't plan to run that encounter at all-- I had geared up for a short round of Diplomacy (gather information) checks, then the encounter at Aldern's townhouse.
The sight-seeing was completely player-driven and off-script, meaning that I had to improvise and ad-lib. Complicating matters was that the Campaign Guide Magnimar: City of Monuments hadn't come out yet. On the plus side, I was running the version of Skinsaw Murders from Pathfinder #2, so I had the extensive Magnimar gazetteer as a resource.
To this day, whenever I run a particularly dangerous or gruesome encounter, one of my players says, "Y'know... maybe we should just go back to the zoo instead..."
Awesome!
In my game, due to Tsuto and Nualia both surviving (but captured), I spent a session on a trial in Magnimar to convict the two of them of their crimes. Justice Ironbriar presided, and the PCs gave their clear version of the story to the beautiful DA who was helping them prosecute the case so that the greasy defense lawyer couldn't get Tsuto or Nualia out on a technicality. They wound up telling the DA every detail of their abilities and how they used them, and in the end, they won the day--Tsuto was sentenced to the Hells (but actually inducted into the Skinsaw Cult) and Nualia was sent to serve as a Black Arrow at Fort Rannick (the paladin PC was interested in a chance to redeem her). The DA, Xanesha by name, thanked them all and they were on their way back to Sandpoint, only to find a murder had occurred during their absence!