Handbook of Erotic Fantasy: Work And Play (Patreon)

Some of you guys requested more of the genderbent party after that Rule 63 wallpaper in March. Who are we to deny the people what they want? 

If you think about it, that’s an important attitude for a GM as well. It’s so easy to become fixated on the idea of a Main Quest. You’ve got this big plot-driven idea in mind, and so you begin driving towards it as hard as you possibly can. There you are plowing on with a single-minded purpose, straining for your own satisfaction without thought for the pleasure of the players beneath you, who are by this time getting uncomfortable with your chosen pace. Even if you do meet your campaign goal, letting your great wyrm erupt onto the battlefield for an epic climax, it’s a bit hollow if no one else has enjoyed the journey. 

What does this look like in practice? Maybe let the player be on top for a while. Sure you can have world-shaking events, but that’s an awful lot of work for one session’s worth of “look how cool my villain is!” Players will buy into your plot, but remember that the thing they care about most is the one thing they control. Why are their characters involved? How cool were their PCs during the session? That’s because 1) players experience the world through character first and plot second, and 2) players are just as proud of their creative contributions as GMs. If you want the rest of your group to feel as passionately as you do about your game, you’ve got to give them some ability to shape the campaign. 

Ask what kind of personal quests they want to go on. Make the evil lieutenant somebody’s long-lost whatever. Plan character moments for each PC in every session. That last one is especially easy. It just looks like a bullet point list. From my own session notes for a recent Stafinder game:

• Zamadeserek: The shapeshifting alien from last session wants to give the soldier a personal thank you. 
• Lolo: On the way to the spaceport, a couple of wide-eyed ysoki pinkies ask for autographs.           
• Alsephina: The party stay with her family on Castrovel. They’ve got Wisconsin accents. “Oh honey… tell us about your friends!”     
• Nib: He spots a few harmless Church of Smiley activists, and must prevent the party's conspiracy theorist from noticing them to avoid an incident.
  
  

Show your players that their individual characters are important and they will begin to act like it. That’s when you’ll get excited emails and Facebook messages: “Hey, I was thinking it would be cool if my guy began to turn to evil. What if me and Other Player got into an argument at the coronation feast and etc. etc.” This sort of thing has nothing to do with your Main Quest. It has everything to do with making your players active collaborators rather than passive observers. Because let’s face it: lying back and letting somebody else perpetrate story upon you gets dull in a hurry. Share the experience, and you may find yourself enjoying new and exciting pleasures at the gaming table.