31 - Reward
Action is the players’ reward! But the PCs probably want something else too.
Due payment or treasure or new powers or the advancement of their political goals or a nice quiet life. How much do these overlap between player and character? Players often like their PCs to have new toys they can play with, and sometimes want plot development like changes in the setting they helped bring about, but very few actually want that quiet life before the final session.
A really big reward is usually held back for the end of a series or the retirement of a character because it could significantly change the feel of the game. There are stories about Conan after he became a king, but the Rebel Alliance moving to the New Republic was quickly dismantled in the main Star Wars films, and the X-Men got their utopian SF nation and got to keep it for a few years out-of-character before being knocked back down to more-or-less normal.
The PCs getting their goal and living well can be fun for a while, opening up new angles, and it doesn’t always have to come crashing down to put them on the outside again, but it should feel different.
And for some it’s the kind of thing to be idly considered after the end of the campaign, like the spinoff books and comics following a TV series, and maybe a sequel game with a new central conflict some way down the line. (Yes I’m wondering what the Buffy The Vampire Slayer sequel series will do with a world full of slayers.)
And for some PCs action is their reward as well, and it’s okay to end a series riding off into the sunset towards possible future adventures.
31a - 1, 3, 7
Who, Proud, Person
The PCs see an updated Wanted poster for them and the reward has gone up. Cause for celebration for some I’m sure!
31b - 6, 10, 8
How, Excited, Lesson
One of the PCs is asked to teach at the setting equivalent of Adventurer School, passing on what they’ve learned to the next generation. Teaching and corralling an entire class like senior X-Men, or mentoring a single pupil like a Jedi, hoping not to get killed off for added motivation. They may well find themselves wondering if they were ever that young.
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