[Xeteskian]

I'm trying to put together a campaign basin in the Malazan setting. I'll have three guys (one of which I know will roll a character with the same attitude that Karsa Orlong would have). So I need to somehow force them to run missions for a Claw agent.

I thought about some kind of slow acting poison and that each mission takes them to a place where they can recover an ingredient of the antidote. But now after reading Bonehunters, it seems that the Claw aren't too keen on poison, also while I can allow for some level of artistic licence I'd like to keep it as close to the info you can gather from the books. I'm not too sure if there would be such a poison.

Any ideas how I could force a reluctant group to run a number of missions for a NPC they dont like?

Xet

[amphibian]

Xeteskian, on Jul 11 2009, 03:09 PM, said:

Any ideas how I could force a reluctant group to run a number of missions for a NPC they dont like?

Forcing people to do stuff they don't want to do is never a good idea. You're going to lose whatever geek friends you still have if you continue to think like that.

I've never played D&D or whatever you're playing, but be a little more flexible in your conceptions of what a Claw-type is. Baudin was a bodyguard for a VIP and ended up being Hood's Soldier, there was a mysterious person killing any and all Claws who ventured into the Imperial Warren for a while (in The Return of the Crimson Guard) and Apsalar has been taking on Deragoth, exploring holy deserts, defending the Throne of Shadow, ganking conspiracies and talking with dragons.

Make whatever you're doing rather inventive and fun and I bet you will have zero problems finding people to do it with you. Hard work has its rewards.

[Aptorian]

Have a guy that is larger than the other guys, always standing behind them... with a knife.

You can call him "the magical knife guy".

This post has been edited by Aptorian: 11 July 2009 - 07:56 PM

[Tapper]

Don't let them know he's a Claw, but give him a front and an alias that the characters will like, and won't doubt.
Maybe even have him show up every now and then and save them, or give them access to places, people and gear they wouldn't normally have access to.

Then, over time, due to the nature of their missions, they will probably realize that he;s not what he seems... so he becomes a villain and there will be a cat-and-mouse game between them - the Claw somehow trying to keep them loyal instruments through middlemen, blackmail, promises, lies, distractions, hostages, whatever, and the players trying to keep their loved ones alive, their reputations and sense of honour intact while also trying to find a way to get rid of the Claw.

He'll make an excellent villain later on.

Straight up forcing your players to follow the guy is a very big no-no though. Players play for fun, not to do stuff they don't like for someone they hate.

This post has been edited by Tapper: 13 July 2009 - 08:11 AM

[Xeteskian]

Thanks for the input. I've reworked my story so now the PC's will feel that they're making the decisions more, It's now down to me to Opon's push or pull to get them to where I need them

[Crakkerjakk]

Xeteskian, on 14 July 2009 - 11:37 AM, said:

Thanks for the input. I've reworked my story so now the PC's will feel that they're making the decisions more, It's now down to me to Opon's push or pull to get them to where I need them

Alternatively, when you pitch the campaign to them explain that the campaign will be about X, and to please make characters that have a believable reason why they're doing X.

If you're doing a game about SEALS in Vietnam, you don't worry about the player that might want to be a photo-journalist and how to force him to go on patrols. You ask him to come up with a character that fits the game you're gonna run. IF he can come up with a photo-journalist PC that has a good reason to accompany SEALS on LRPs, cool. If not, he's something else that fits the campaign. Either way, problem solved.

And if it's not solved, if he creates a character that proceeds to sabotage the type of game you're running, that's a player problem that should be discussed like rational adults outside of the game instead of a character problem that should be dealt with in game. The key is to give your players some idea ahead of time what type of game you're running so that they don't have to fit their illiterate barbarian who specializes in smooshing things into your game of subtle courtly intrigue.

[Ribald]

You could also try making the 'forcing them to do something' part of the overall campaign. So they might be being black mailed to act as this guy's puppets but they can spend the whole time trying to subvert his missions, free the people he wants killed without him knowing and trying to dig up a way to get back at him. So you are not making them do things they don't want to do but making things they do want to do fit in with the overall scheme you have outlined. Of course making the puppet master actually seem like a nice guy is probably easier than employing reverse psychology and counting on them trying to screw the puppet master over.

[Illuyankas]

You mean, something like a (Bioshock spoiler):

Spoiler

Would you kindly

kind of deal?