Four tips for when your players don’t follow the plan.

You’ve spent all morning reading through the adventure three times. You’ve memorized the monster’s special attacks. You’ve even developed silly backstories for the bumbling bandits up ahead. AND suddenly your players decide to go the other way. 

What do you do when the adventurers would rather hang at the inn than brave the dungeon?

Don’t worry this happens to every Game Master at least once per gaming session, and twice as frequently with playing with kids! It’s time to improvise, and here are some tips to help you through the challenge.

DON’T FORCE IT

Resist the temptation to force the adventure on the characters. No one likes to feel like they are locked into a story where they can’t affect the outcome! That’s what video games are for. Instead, let the characters lead for a bit. Let them decide where they want to go, and 9 times out of 10 they’ll get themselves back on track.

Remind yourself to listen to your players. This is a good opportunity to learn what they want out of a DnD session!

IT’S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ROLE-PLAYING

Break out your silly voices and introduce some new characters. Wilbur Brightshine and his troop of out-of-work actors pretending to be bandits. Skruggs the friendly Kobold merchant who sells only bugs and beetles. Fawna Warmwind the smelly old druid who needs her forest shrine re-built.

SWITCH IT UP

If you want a challenging combat encounter, take one of the pre-built DnD Adventure Club characters, change their race and make them evil. Keep their class, attacks, spells and abilities. Voila! You just made a new super villain.

• Lyra Lightbender becomes Ssnaral the Lizardman Cleric of Burning Sun!

• Sparg becomes Greedy McGrumbles the Cursed Dwarven Barbarian who will kill for gold!

• Thimble becomes Blackfang the Gnoll Huntsman intent on collecting a bounty on one of the characters.

PEPPER THE CLUES TO GET THEM BACK ON TRACK

And finally, keep throwing in little subtle clues that might get them back on track. 

My favorite: If you chose to introduce a supervillain (above), grab a couple of the monsters from the DnD Adventure Club issue you want them to head towards and make them the supervillain’s henchmen. That will get them interested in the adventure again for sure!