The carrot and the Stick Approach to Gming...

Lunaticdesign

Lunaticdesign

I come from a fairly mixed background of gaming experiences. I stared early and have been gaming and Dming,Gming, storytelling, moderating, etc off and on for several years.

I have a fairly simple approach when dealing with players. (We've all had that one player who lays to waste weeks of planning just because they want to be a dick). As a result I came up with the carrot and a stick mentality for my games. When I figure out a direction for the characters to go I not only include the characters, as I understand them, but the players as I understand them.

The carrot:

The carrot is simply what the character/player wants for their character. These may include "deals with the devil" or just things they've said in passing when talking about the game. I offer carrots to interest characters/players to lead them through the story.

The stick:

The stick is simply what the character/player doesn't want to happen. If they're not going for the carrot I'll beat them with the stick.

I've found this method to be quite effective when keeping players interested in the storyline. It helps them to try and think like the characters that they created. Because, people usually are pursuing goals and avoiding obstacles.

With this said, I also need to point out that I do not indiscriminately punish characters/players for going off-book. I reward creativity, especially when it enhances the characters or the story-line.

tsuba

That is a vastly useful, and very ingenuitive tool for a fairly new GM. I will thank you greatly and put this to great use when need be with my players.