Hello all!
Those of you who’ve been following along for a little while will know that I am running a campaign of D&D 5e for a party called the Cheese Chasers.
Well, things have gotten a little rough lately, and I am having to rethink my approach to ensure that everyone is having fun at the table.
The Problem
The problem which has arisen is that the players have started actively scheming - for want of a better word - within themselves to create situations for their character developments. Now a player discussing a plan with another player is not a problem here - the problem is that the group has become, over recent sessions, a group of whispers and secret meetings, where the players are actively excluding other players from decisions. They are doing this so that the other players can enjoy the reveal when the scheme comes to light - and I have no doubt that there is no malicious intent here - and I fear that I have bred this culture within the group by my active use of secret notes for individual information.
This problem has come to a head in our game last night, where a party member stole a magic item from another, and then worked with a third to destroy it. Ok, it sounds way more sinister when I write it in these vague terms - essentially, a party member (Player 1, let’s say) had a spider which can make you stronger with its venom, but which you can become addicted to. Player 2’s character got addicted to it, and stole it, and became unpleasant1. Player 2 and Player 3 then discussed a way to retire Player 2’s character, and they carried it out, with Player 2’s character lashing out at Player 3’s, and Player 3 helping Player 2 to kill the spider, which belonged to Player 1.
Player 1 was not involved in the decision about this, and felt (quite rightly) angry that the other two players had conspired to kill the spider, which she had been keeping for over a year of the campaign.
The Root Cause
Last week I posted about Engineering Problem Solving for worldbuilding, and in that post I mentioned the 5-why analysis and fishbone diagrams. So, in the interests of helping others to think critically about their problems, let’s delve into it a bit.
The problem statement is:
Two players conspired and, without sharing their plans, acted in a way which directly impacted the story/propery of another player.
I’ve tried to remove anything needlessly specific - they destroyed a spider, but it could have been anything, and the problem would be the same.
So, why didn’t they consult the other player?
Because they thought that it would be better to keep the secret until the reveal.
Why did they think that?
Because I have been allowing people to keep secrets in the game, and this has led to a state where people think that keeping secrets is the best way to play.
And because they are concerned with other players metagaming if they know the truth or plans.
Now we’re closing in on the root of the problem. The second one can be solved with talk, but the first one may need some more delving…
Why did I encourage secrets?
Because there are several party members who have had reveals and those moments were awesome. I leant too heavily into this.
Why?
Because I’m still learning!
What needs to Happen
It’s a common misconception that 0 comes before 1, and only there2. Well, in D&D there’s a concept called “Session 0”, which is where the group gets together and lays down some ground rules, expectations, discusses the style of play they want, and often where they come up with their characters and how they know each other. The most important part of Session 0 is to ensure that everyone is on the same page for the adventure - for example, if the DM is running a horror game where standing and fighting with the monster will result in death, it’s best to lay that down in Session 0, so that the players can build characters who fit - the fearless barbarian who wants to fight anything doesn’t fit too well into this game style.
Here’s the thing about a Session 0 though - it can take place whenever you want. The purpose of it is to make sure that the entire group is enjoying themselves, that they are on board with the themes of the game, and that the playstyle is something they want to do. That’s where the problem is - the playstyle.
I will be hosting a Session 0 with my group next time we meet, which will be for session 60, 2-and-a-third years into the campaign. I will be doing so because I need to be open with them about my shortcomings for the playstyle, allowing it to escalate into secret-keeping and note-passing. The group seems now to operate like individuals having their own solo games with me as their shared DM, and whilst I do encourage some secrets and reveals in their stories, the game has become riven with “I’ll just send you a note” and “Can I talk to you privately”, which I have come to realise isolates everyone from the story - the players deserve to read every chapter of the book we are writing together, and they are owed the respect of trusting them to play their characters in isolation of their own knowledge.
That is going to be the subject of our Session 0 - me restructuring our playstyle slightly so that the people who aren’t weaving their own subplots can still hear the story, and where the group of Players are working together, even if their Characters are doing things in secret.
Never be afraid to upset the status-quo if the status-quo is causing problems. These secrets and notes all started out as innocent things, but they have grown into a thick hedge which is stopping my players (and myself, to some extent) from seeing the view, and it’s the View that makes the game worth playing.
Whose fault is it?
Frankly, it doesn’t matter. Pointing fingers (or in my case, shouldering the blame3) doesn’t solve anything, and is the sort of mentality that I hate. The problem has happened, and the only time you need to worry about blame is if you take action to correct it and then it still happens again. The real question should always be “how do we fix this?”, and that’s that. Stay proactive and positive, and you can get through pretty much anything!
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This was character development for them, as they are battling their need to be strong against their natural pleasant demeanor.
In mathematics this is true, and given that D&D is mathematics disguised as an adventure, you would think that it would be true here too. And it is. I’m making a point. Go back to reading!
As the DM running the game, it ultimately was my fault - I didn’t tell Player 1 that the Spider was stolen, which in turn bred an environment of secrecy, leading Player 1 to feel ostracised from the group, which is the real problem here. That’s on me - I am supposed to be running the game and keeping things in check. All I can do now is take steps to ensure it doesn’t happen again!
I really like the idea of session 0 being something to return to during a campaign! I can see that really helping people feel heard being given a space to voice things that might not have even been imagined in the original session 0.
If I was player 2 and 3, I’d be buying player 1 a new spider asap. Especially if player 1 had the spider for a literal year of the campaign? It must have been a pet by then?