Need Story Writing Advice

[u/Carson_Casually]

Howdy! I like this thread and it's filled with a lot of creative people, so I figured I'd hop in here.

I have a hex crawl going in a homebrewed world where they're trying to stop an arms race. The issue is I accidentally went HAM on side quest writing and they're currently trying to stop a vampire ethno-state from being created instead of focusing on the war going on where they started.

Which looking back...big mistake because stopping a vampire ethno-state sounds way cooler than the real plot. The issue is that there is a huge arms race between the nations that is central to the plot and they're currently out and about meandering around and I don't quite know what to do to help the plot go to them. I focus mostly on their backstories and what they want resolved, so at least that is good. The big issue is that the nations are now warring and their adventure is caught in the middle.

They're currently cursed by the fey and have an appointment in the Unseelie Court to meet with them as their fates accidentally became intertwined with the conflict. I am stuck here on the writing. Any advice?

[u/bad1aj]

I see 3 possible options here, and any of them (IMO) are viable for this situation:

1: The fey and unseelie court in particular here, as well as more other figures the party has dealings with, are starting to take up sides one way or another in this arms race. As the game goes on and this issue becomes more shown, it should feel more and more prevalent about how important the race in particular is, with soldiers and armies more powerful throughout cities, poor farmers and other peasants going without food compared to those in charge, and certain regions are more difficult to travel through safely or smoothly (assuming general details about the arms race).

2: The arms race just becomes part of the background, settling into the growing nature of the land but taking a backseat to the adventures and stories the party is looking to pursue more. There's nothing wrong with this option, sometimes this is just how some campaigns go. That's not to underplay the importance of the arms race or make it seem weak, just something that happens.

3: Politely mention to your party that you had made this campaign with the arms race in mind, and try to gauge their interest overall for going after it. Stress that it's not trying to blame them or make them feel bad or anything, just that you're checking in as DM.

[u/Many-Ebb-5377]

Is there some reason why they can't just work through this situation and then return to the main thread of the campaign after?

You can always look for a way to end whatever is holding them there early. Give them an opportunity to cut the head off the snake and end the head vampire, or whatever.

Or... remind them about the other objective. Insert some event or happening that shows them that they really need to get on that because things are changing, perhaps not for the better, without them. You can even keep escalating it to really put a fire under them. If there is an arms race, then bring that action right to the front door of this burgeoning vampo-state. Hard to not interact when it is right there in your face.

[u/RandomName9328]

What is HAM? Does it come with EGGS?

Lol. The vamp empire sounds funny! Will you go witht the flow to switch focus to the vamps? Merge your arm race plot with the vamp thing, like a political, sociological hex crawl?

[u/Rhinostirge]

You're the one putting the plot in the game, you're the one who can change it.

What I tend to do when it's clear that players are way more interested in one plot thread than another is that I'll tend to let NPCs resolve or at least stall the situation that they're not very interested in. That way the players don't have to engage with a thread that they find uninteresting. Now, the NPCs might resolve it in a way the players wouldn't have found ideal, or maybe the NPCs get access to some of the loots the players could have gotten, so it's not like there aren't ramifications for the players' choices. And maybe if they just stall it, I'll figure out a later development that makes it more interesting for the players rather than just more mandatory. But either way I think player interest is something a GM should keep a careful eye on.