Sometimes your players want something, or you want to give them something, that would be kind of lame to just leave lying around. After all, The Awesome Staff of Mega Power probably deserves its own quest to find. But how long should that quest be? And how do you keep the other players personally involved so they don’t get bored?
In this episode, Thorin, Tony, and Dave talk about a fetch quest they just started in the Curse of Strahd game, how it could play out, and the risks of other players tuning out while Hawk leads them off to get his Megasword. Along the way, they talk about how they handle player requests, fitting them into your campaign, and much more.
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2:00 An aside about game styles
6:00 Getting Hawk’s new sword and what we mean by fetch quest
14:00 Giving a focus PC some spotlight time
17:00 Does focusing on one player’s goal undermine the other PCs’ motivations?
26:00 How much time should it take to get that fetch item?
32:00 How do you bring an item or idea your player wants into the game?
37:00 When is the best time to give out custom items in the PCs’ careers?
44:00 Heirloom weapon pros and cons: Items that level up with the character (include pendragon sword write up)
47:00 Managing fetch quest time
56:00 Final thoughts