When Players Fail to Accept Failure
A friend of mine once said on idealistic players: The harder you try to crush'em with cyicism the more they'll push back with that confounded idealism.
The players of my werewolf game showed me time and again, but one incident really stood out. I have been told (and yes I am prideful), that I run an enjoyable game and I'm a good GM. The truth is more than half of that credit goes to my players.
The world is made up of little wins and little failures, as are most rpgs. But in the world of darkness, each win is overshadowed by a number of desperate failures. So it is no surprise that my players struggle to find a win and hold on to it as tight as they can.
The player characters left this world through a grave mistake and returned 3 years later only to find that the cub they had rescued on a previous side-quest had now turned to the Wyrm. It is no surprise they took this personally. The hunted the cub down and this was of course part of the plan. I planned a tragic scenario, where she could possibly beg for her life, explain that she had no choice, but the outcome was clear. Battle the Wyrm wherever it breeds. They have no choice. They can't let her go, not a pack led by a Get of Fenris. They would have to put her down themselves, no matter how hard it was, and accept that they failed.
But my players never accept failure. Not even when it is staring them in the face. Instead my players hunted her down, grabbed her by the ears, and dragged her home. Then they gave her a mild slap on the wrist for being naughty and turning to the Wyrm. Then they discuss how they can cleanse her and take her back to the Caern.
Meanwhile, the GM gapes in horror as the players take a completely unexpected turn and defy belief.
But no matter. I am nothing if not flexible. I will not railroad my players. I will instead use NPCs to make them understand the gravity of the situation. The question of whether or not Black Spiral Dancers can be redeemed by a simple rite of cleansing is a difficult one. But my players stand by their choice. The Get of Fenris, the one I expected to be the one making the killing blow, defies his tribe and Sept and stands by the cub. He goes as far as to challenge his elders for the right of keeping her in his pack.
The Get of Fenris PC then turns to me and says, out of character: I can get my housemate to play the cub.
The players are definitely invested in this. What kind of a GM would I be if I crushed their hopes without letting them try?
In this game world, things are clear. Black Spiral Dancers are not beyond redemption but the cub is going to have a very hard time of it. The Sept is not going to accept her easily. Few tribes will look past her past transgressions and accept her as one. But the pack will fight for her. I look at them and I see a group of people who will not accept failure.
And I can't say no, because this is their game, and their choice.
The GM stops gaping like an idiot at this points and sighs.
Sure, I'll make a character sheet for the girl. Tell your housemate I'll email her the details.
The world is full of little wins and big failures. But sometimes you have to grab that failure and beat it long enough until it turns into a win. And if you do it well enough, you can convince even the GM that it is a win.
The players of my werewolf game showed me time and again, but one incident really stood out. I have been told (and yes I am prideful), that I run an enjoyable game and I'm a good GM. The truth is more than half of that credit goes to my players.
The world is made up of little wins and little failures, as are most rpgs. But in the world of darkness, each win is overshadowed by a number of desperate failures. So it is no surprise that my players struggle to find a win and hold on to it as tight as they can.
The player characters left this world through a grave mistake and returned 3 years later only to find that the cub they had rescued on a previous side-quest had now turned to the Wyrm. It is no surprise they took this personally. The hunted the cub down and this was of course part of the plan. I planned a tragic scenario, where she could possibly beg for her life, explain that she had no choice, but the outcome was clear. Battle the Wyrm wherever it breeds. They have no choice. They can't let her go, not a pack led by a Get of Fenris. They would have to put her down themselves, no matter how hard it was, and accept that they failed.
But my players never accept failure. Not even when it is staring them in the face. Instead my players hunted her down, grabbed her by the ears, and dragged her home. Then they gave her a mild slap on the wrist for being naughty and turning to the Wyrm. Then they discuss how they can cleanse her and take her back to the Caern.
Meanwhile, the GM gapes in horror as the players take a completely unexpected turn and defy belief.
But no matter. I am nothing if not flexible. I will not railroad my players. I will instead use NPCs to make them understand the gravity of the situation. The question of whether or not Black Spiral Dancers can be redeemed by a simple rite of cleansing is a difficult one. But my players stand by their choice. The Get of Fenris, the one I expected to be the one making the killing blow, defies his tribe and Sept and stands by the cub. He goes as far as to challenge his elders for the right of keeping her in his pack.
The Get of Fenris PC then turns to me and says, out of character: I can get my housemate to play the cub.
The players are definitely invested in this. What kind of a GM would I be if I crushed their hopes without letting them try?
In this game world, things are clear. Black Spiral Dancers are not beyond redemption but the cub is going to have a very hard time of it. The Sept is not going to accept her easily. Few tribes will look past her past transgressions and accept her as one. But the pack will fight for her. I look at them and I see a group of people who will not accept failure.
And I can't say no, because this is their game, and their choice.
The GM stops gaping like an idiot at this points and sighs.
Sure, I'll make a character sheet for the girl. Tell your housemate I'll email her the details.
The world is full of little wins and big failures. But sometimes you have to grab that failure and beat it long enough until it turns into a win. And if you do it well enough, you can convince even the GM that it is a win.