After years of trying to provide players with compelling reasons to work together, I've simply given up. And my games have never been better.
My secret? I've decided that the onus of cooperation is on the players rather than the GM.
Before every campaign, I say: "Play any kind of character you want. Talk to the other players and find out what kinds of characters they're making. Figure out why you guys are in the same group. I don't care what the reason is, but you have to have one. And this is the important part: whatever your reason is, it must trump in-character concerns. Play your characters to the hilt, but when push comes to shove, I expect you to work together. If you can't do that, we have no campaign."
It hasn't failed yet. No one can accuse me of being a tyrant, because I've given them all the freedom they want. No one can laugh at the storytelling gymnastics involved with rationalizing why a paladin and an evil sorcerer are in the same gang, because if the story's a dumb one, it's their story.
This expediency allows me to focus on creating deep, believable settings, intriguing plotlines and NPCs, and entertaining adventures. And when PCs start bickering, I just beat them with the "you must cooperate" stick until they stop.
After years of trying to provide players with compelling reasons to work together, I've simply given up. And my games have never been better.
My secret? I've decided that the onus of cooperation is on the players rather than the GM.
Before every campaign, I say: "Play any kind of character you want. Talk to the other players and find out what kinds of characters they're making. Figure out why you guys are in the same group. I don't care what the reason is, but you have to have one. And this is the important part: whatever your reason is, it must trump in-character concerns. Play your characters to the hilt, but when push comes to shove, I expect you to work together. If you can't do that, we have no campaign."
It hasn't failed yet. No one can accuse me of being a tyrant, because I've given them all the freedom they want. No one can laugh at the storytelling gymnastics involved with rationalizing why a paladin and an evil sorcerer are in the same gang, because if the story's a dumb one, it's their story.
This expediency allows me to focus on creating deep, believable settings, intriguing plotlines and NPCs, and entertaining adventures. And when PCs start bickering, I just beat them with the "you must cooperate" stick until they stop.