[Poison'd] About action and choice
Graham W:
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Pretty much the only reasonable courses of action I saw were to frankly let the players decide for themselves, or put pressure on them by having the NPC crew misconduct in treatment of prisoners or whatnot, or having the captured NPCs get cheeky at failed intimidation checks by the pirates.
I'd put pressure on them. Actually, I think what I do is alternate: the first NPC will be an uptight aristocrat, who spits on the pirates, who is almost certain to be killed; the second is a frightened boy, who cries.
Either way, make a scene of it.
Oh! I tend not to have the NPC crew misconduct. I like ship politics to be between the player characters (after all, they're the only ones who can become captain). So, pretty much, the NPC crew will be pliant and obedient. The exception is when a card like Debauchery comes into play, when the rules mandate that the crew are out of control.
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Perhaps only the first choice is valid, but that also seems to lead to a lot of very pat and easy answers - we take all their valuables, leave them just enough food to get them to harbor, don't mistreat the prisoners in any way, and let them continue on their way, poor but alive.
Really? God, your players are different from mine. Mine all want to be monsters.
Seriously, I've never had that problem. If I did, I'd ensure the prisoners raised the alarm when they got into port.
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Should the GM use some heretofore unseen levers to get the players to start acting on their ambitions, or should there be overt group understanding on the point of play, such that the players take overt responsibility for driving play with their antics?
Mostly the latter, I think. I often prompt the group to follow their ambitions ("Right, you're in port, and you can do anything you want to do."). In fact, I use the phrase "You can do anything you want, now" a lot, particularly at the end of the opening scene.
So, as a GM, I'm very facilitative: I make sure everyone gets a turn, I remind them to do stuff, but I don't throw much stuff at them except in response to things they do.
Graham
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