In the earliest stage of my new duet campaign, I thought I had "rail-roaded" the PC into the first important encounter, one that leads to a major story line for the campaign. Specifically, the PC was meant to sneak onto an NPC's farm, discover the NPC's secret mine, and then get spotted by the NPC while leaving. The NPC grabs his ax and engages the PC in combat. Killing the NPC would result in a series of future events for the PC.
Unfortunately, the PC has become focused on a logging protest, which I only created as rationale for the NPC to leave his farm, opening up the opportunity for the PC to investigate it.
If my PC doesn't kill the NPC, it's going to be very hard to work the associated story-line into the campaign. I can't have them fight to the death at the logging protest because a lot of other townsfolk will be there, which could make for an unpredictable encounter. What if the PC failed a diplomacy check, the entire town turned against him, and hung him? Game over.
Another problem is that I'm going to have to write this logging protest scene, which I hadn't intended. It feels like it's an opportunity to get things back on track, but I can't figure out how.
Specifics of my game aside, what do you do when the PCs choose not to follow an important story-line? There are other story lines. Do I let this one go? The worst part is, killing the NPC actually works in the PCs favor and I really want him to experience those benefits.
Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
Best Answer
You have an active engaged player. Run with it!
I can tell you from experience that if you railroad them back onto the tracks, they are unlikely to ever be as engaged about your campaign again.
If you want to tell a story without outside input, write fiction. Dungeons & Dragons is a Role Playing game, the player should be allowed to agency to control their actions and see the world react.
It sounds like you've plotted pretty far ahead and have very specific things that you need to have happen in order to tell your story. Relying on a PC to kill a specific NPC is very risky. Players will develop morals at the oddest times throwing your plans into disarray!
Step back and do your planning from a wider scope. Instead of triggering off of the NPCs death, put a clock on the discovery of the secret mine. If it hasn't happened by September 3rd, then something bad happens. If it's discovered and the intrusion is noted, then the PC is confronted by the NPC (Your original line). If the PC accesses the mine and it isn't discovered that should be a very good outcome giving the PC a jump on the next action. (Try to avoid mandating that the PC is discovered, if precautions are taken, they should be rewarded if the dice are favorable).
By doing your plotting a level up like this you can ensure that your campaign moves ahead while giving the PC free reign to go about it as he or she wishes.