So a problem I’ve been having, and while I’m sure I can solve it, I thought I’d turn to you all:
How do you incentivize non-claim heists? I’m wondering if giving coin for heists is the problem? My players seem very aggressive about pursuing heists (because of the tangible benefits), and I’m wondering how to push them toward other heists.
I’ll actively respond to this thread. Hoping to start a discussion.
I would provide opportunities tied to their backstory. Having scores connected to an element of their character is a good way to encourage pursuing those things. But ultimately it is up to them to decide what scores are important. If there have decided to only pursue claims, there is nothing wrong with that.
Make seizing a Claim more work. Maybe it takes multiple scores to seize a Claim, or to enjoy its full benefit. They might be able to charge into a Vice Den and take it over, but maybe then they need to attract customers or employees or products.
Or make seizing Claims harder. Maybe after their initial success, other Claims are in the hands of more powerful factions and they should focus on themselves before taking them on.
Or give them dramatic reasons to do something else. Where is the storyline going? What are these factions they’ve been seizing Claims from doing? What are their friends and contacts and the NPCs they’ve met doing? Maybe one of them has a line on a non-Claim score where the crew can make more Coin than normal.
Or just let them seize Claims if that’s what they want to do.
I have the opposite problem, we just had our season break (session 10) and they only have two claims. It’s mainly because I always encourage my players to follow in-fiction goals for their personal arcs.
Most of the time, seizing a Claim seems like it should pay less Coin than just getting a job from some other faction, so that’s one way to incentivize it.
I think it’s really a matter of the play culture at your table. If the players are really focused on mechanical goals (tier, claims, etc), then I think it makes for a shorter game. Likely they will achieve many of their goals because they are willing to spend whatever resources needed to get there.
It’s a fine mode of play. If what they want is all the boxes on the crew sheet, then it’s fair to give it to them. It’s also fair to play the world responding accordingly. Whenever you take a claim, you anger some other faction you take it from. Whenever you destroy a faction, you anger their allies. If they are smashing and grabbing like Ulf Ironborn, then they probably have enemies like Ulf as well.
Most turf/claim scores I’ve done have been typically coin-poor scores, and the high-dollar heists haven’t been about turf. But that’s just us.
Revenge has been my group’s primary lure away from lucrative operations. They’ll pull no coin off a job but be happy as long as some fucker got what (the crew thought) was coming to him.
I suppose my advice is do some bad stuff to their stuff and see if they’re truly professionals about it. 🙂
Regular scores are (more or less) easy money, and claims are hard to keep. What you stole from someone, others can steal from you, and you’ve likely made some new enemies.
I’ve had a problem getting my players to take claims in game because they’re so focused on the actual plot! We’re something around 15 sessions in and they only have one turf claim. They also are stagnant at max rep because they don’t have the coin to advance tier because they’ve been spending it on downtime actions for long-term projects and whatnot. This is not necessarily bad; everyone’s still having fun and they haven’t felt weak or anything. They’re also moving to rectify these problems.
What’s wrong with them focusing on claim heists? Why do you feel that that’s a problem to be solved?
My other thought is: the opportunity for non-claim scores should be arising through the fiction.
One of the cool features of the game is that doing anything carries a price — complications, heat, and negative status with other factions. The players are also likely to be building up arcs they care about — goals they want to reach; enemies they want to foil; friends they want to help; sticky situations they want to smooth out.
So even if the PCs took half a dozen claims in a row, you’ve got plenty material for scores. The Dimmer Sisters might be pissed at all the claims the PCs have been taking from them; the Spirit Wardens have been noting their activity with interest and is now ready to close in. Your Bluecoat contact might be able to help out just to make the Spirit Wardens look bad, if the PCs help out with a few favors — or maybe they’d rather trust in the Forgotten God whose cultists say they totally want to help the PCs out, as prophesied in ancient scrolls they won’t let you read.
That’s a quick example where the PCs have to take action (because they’re under attack), and you’ve provided them with a few possible avenues (or, they can choose something on their own). If that doesn’t seem to you like it will work, ask yourself:
– Do your players care about anything in the fiction, or is this just a leveling-up game for them?
– Is it possible things are going “too smoothly,” to the extent that the PCs feel like they’ve got no imminent threats or concerns? That would be a good reason to invest in building themselves up — there’s just nothing else that “needs doing.”
– Do your PCs have concrete goals? Can you offer them scores that will help them advance those goals?