Entertaining the Minions

[Intrepid]

Wow.

All this talk of leadership roles has actually made me consider, in the distant future, trying out a leadership role.  One of the key elements that I would need to learn, however, is how to keep my minions entertained and occupied--so I pose these questions to you:

Leaders, past and present: What have you done in the past to keep your minions busy and to make plot in general?  I hasten to add that knowing what not to do can be just as informative, if you have any stories in that regard.

Minions, past and present: What have your leaders done in the past to keep you busy and to make plot in general?  Same as above, what worked as well as what didn't and why.

Staff: Either of the above from your point of view would be great too.

[RogueGunslinger]

I don't care what other people think about guild sniffing and shit like that. Figure out what their skills are, and cater to them so they can skill up. Don't make your lowly Ranger train kick for hours on end, it's really annoying. If they can't ride for shit, set them aside some time with a mount to do just that... Don't make all your seasoned riders tag along.

[valeria]

Leadership:  Delegate.  No really, there's probably too much for you to do all on your own in a leadership role anyway.  Once you find a trusted minion, give them as many of your tasks as you think they can handle... and then let them handle them.

Beyond that, discover what their interests are and point them in that direction with any ideas you can come up with.  Minions are happiest when they're doing what they do best.

[Armaddict]

I don't care what other people think about guild sniffing and shit like that. Figure out what their skills are, and cater to them so they can skill up. Don't make your lowly Ranger train kick for hours on end, it's really annoying. If they can't ride for shit, set them aside some time with a mount to do just that... Don't make all your seasoned riders tag along.

Pretty much.  People said they hate guild sniffing, but I kind of...consider it necessary in circumstances such as this.  Give them jobs they're able to do.  If you find out you hired someone with a 'hidden' skillset that they didn't want you to find with guild-sniffing, adjust so that you have goals that you can mention, and then lament about how you don't have the means.  Loyal minions will have reason to secretly use their skillset to help out.  They may be able to take credit later.

You're asking about what is, really, the most frustrating part of playing leadership roles for me.  You don't want to step out of character, or out of guidelines, but you have to actively come up with things that will keep people busy and entertained.

First and foremost...be sure to explain to people openly, up front, what they can expect to be doing for their job.  Don't do the 'advertising' that a lot of people do where you say they will constantly be excited with these amazing things that happen once a RL year.  It may make recruiting harder, but you'll generally have a lower turnover rate and people who can tolerate slow periods to last longer.

First and foremost?  Take some risks.  They result in enemies and allies and things to do to cover up your mistakes or increase your prestige.  Not HUGE risks, but sometimes they must be done.

[Bacon]

Be online. Be online. Be online. Be active. Be Active. Be Active. Clans sometimes live or die on whether or not the leader pcs (or players in general) are around much. As a general rule though, I think the more active the leaders are, the more active other players in the clan will be.

Give your minions tasks that they can work on whether or not you are online.

Be involved with them as much as you can when you are online, coming up with different things to do than same old same old.

Try to make sure they are trying to seek each other out as much as possible when online rather than logging in and pursuing solo things. The same goes for you as the leader.

Don't be afraid to punish/reward your minions as opportunities come up. Make their actions mean something, one way or another.

Try to create some interaction between your clan and other clans in the game, this will increase the chances of bringing more characters together and get them involved in some bigger things.

Remember that some players prefer to do some more social things, tavern sitting, purely emoted games, etc. Some players prefer action and more coded things. Some want some times spent toward both. Be sure to mix it up so that things involve a bit of both here and there.

Plan small rpts and get togethers as often as you can. These can be objective based activities, hunts, trips to other places, exploration, etc. They can also be social gatherings, celebrations, games, ceremonies, etc. Like I said above, different players will prefer different parts of it more. Do some of both.

If you have minions that perform guard duties where they need to stay near you get them to do small things for you, fetch drinks, food, or run an errand once in a while. Do not, just leave them standing there like npcs or send them away on their own until you're ready to move again every time. Either one gets old fast quickly.


I know I'm missing a bunch of things that just aren't coming to mind at the moment but that's what I've got for now.

[EldritchOrigins]

Look for leadership potential among your minions (or possible recruits) and empower them to help take up the slack.  It helps if their play time isn't exactly the same as yours, but overlaps a lot.  Allowing them to be around when you're offline, and for you to be around when they are offline, but also you are around each other enough to coordinate/plan/plot/etc.  The more people that are around to help share the responsibilities that come with leadership roles, the more fun things can be for everyone.  You won't be doing everything, you'll have access to other ideas for things to do, and there will be someone else around to help give the other minions opportunities to roleplay actually being minions.


Always be thinking of goals.  Be they tiny, small, large, epic, etc.  The goals may not all be pertaining to your group, they can be personal.  Try to use your minions, or anyone else that's around you to help you achieve these.  If avoidable, don't ever push your minions to do things that aren't fun, rather offer incentives.

Recruit as much as you can, but don't recruit anyone that you don't have a use for.  Many guilds have caps on recruitment (for good reason), so don't just recruit anyone, but recruit the best people that you can.  Always be on the lookout for possible new recruits.  Even independents can be useful, even if you don't recruit them.  You don't have to recruit someone for them to be useful and contribute to your goal, and for them to work for you (independent contractors).

Someone has already said this, but it's very useful to have regular "business hours"  These are times that you are always online, taking care of business.  Others inside the clan and outside will come to know when you're available to take reports, orders, take care of whatever business they have.

Don't spend all your time being a leader.  Set aside some private time.  While you should always try to make sure that your minions are engaged if there are at least 2 or more of them online at the same time, you should also make sure that you aren't completely overcome being the leader all the time.  Set up some limits for yourself to help insulate yourself from the IC job.  This will help you not to burn out.

[Edited to add:] Be aware of the players of your minions and their time. We all have varying log in times. try to be flexible while also making the most of your minion's time they have to spend logged in.  Time is your most valuable resource, and your minions, try not to waste it.

[Delirium]

Everyone else has some good advice, but honestly, I think mine is crucial to actually enjoying the role:

Be a character. Don't fall into the trap of becoming a vending machine (whether of objects, coins, or plots). If your character has goals, dreams, fears, and desires, plots will naturally spawn out of those, beyond what you come up with to further the more overarching goals and/or larger issues that come up for you and your minions.

You can 'lead' and generate plots without being a leader, by simply being active, interesting, and engaging other characters.

[Lukoyin]

Yep, some great points in here already! I'd add 2 more, especially for nOOb leaders.

1: Try and avoid the powertrip because of your position. Being overbearing right out of the gate will cause your minions or those who may be considering being your minions away from you, because they've invested time and energy in their character and would sooner not loose them based on some knee-jerk PK "Because you can."

2: Don't be afraid to talk -to- your minions, not -at- them. Chances are, when you get your leader position, some of your minions have been in the clan for awhile and may already have several things in the works, and any of them would likely have personal goals/dreams. Talk to them, find out what they are, then see how/if their goals and yours might work together, rather then just machine-gunning your ideas at them and say "Get to it."

[X-D]

I am going to add to this.

1: Try and avoid the powertrip because of your position. Being overbearing right out of the gate will cause your minions or those who may be considering being your minions away from you, because they've invested time and energy in their character and would sooner not loose them based on some knee-jerk PK "Because you can. OR cause then to PK You! Odds are, if you are entering a sponsered leadership role, there can and likely will be some very long lived PCs about with plenty of coded ability and savvy along with a network...Not even templars are immune to a FRAG THIS FOOL."

[Lizzie]

Here's one don't - I agree with all of the do's:

You log in one day, during a time when you're hardly ever logged in, just because your kid as home sick with the flu so you had to take the day off. And your character meets some guy who's looking for a job, so you hire him.

And then, you promptly disappear, never to return to logging in during that time again, until maybe three months later when pinkeye comes to your kid's school.

It's not that you never log in, you log in for 2 hours every day, and four hours a day on weekends! It's not that you're not active, you're VERY active. But - you hired someone who didn't know that they'd be stuck without a leader, because THEY log in at a totally different time you log in.

If you know that meeting a potential new-hire is going to be a chance meeting and you have no intention of logging in at least a couple times a week during the same time you meet him, please don't hire him. It's unfair to him to expect a boss to show up once in awhile, and it's unfair to you to think you've got a shiny new employee who will love being in your clan.

This doesn't apply to Sergeants in the Byn, because everyone knows that the Sergeant from this week, will have different login times than the Sergeant from next week. The likelihood that the newhire will interact with *a* sergeant at least once a week, is pretty high

[Cutthroat]

I agree a lot with what's been said so far, and I'll just add my own piece.

Don't feel so obligated to entertain your minions that you fail to entertain yourself. Sometimes when a minion asks if there is anything needing doing, it's okay to say that there isn't. Often, waiting until you have something in mind is a far better and safer option than attempting to make something up on the spot. Just don't take too long coming up with something.

Give interesting "quests". WoW-style quests have their place, but "Bring me five bulbous sacs and your reputation with me will increase by 100" over and over again isn't terribly fun. Give them access to the plots you have planned as a leader (you do have plots planned, right?) depending on how much your PC trusts them with such things. If possible, show them how their contribution was helpful and they will be far more likely to take initiative when things come up, meaning you won't have to direct them as much.

If possible, slowly pull new hires into the fun, so they can stick around to see themselves grow into the role they are in - but if you trust too slowly, you also risk boring the players.

Delegation is super-important. Find an employee your leader can trust with things and it becomes that much easier to entertain the rest.

Herd them together and make sure they're sticking together.

Do things with them besides work. If it's acceptable for your character, pull them aside to talk about strategies, other employees, training, or whatever else. Encourage them to spend their time off doing activities that help them get a chance to develop their own character, besides their skill-set.

Some sponsored roles tend to be loaded with money. Make up for that gap in what clanned people earn vs. what indies earn by sharing the wealth with the minions that do good work. Knowing they're appreciated for something goes a long way toward keeping up the good work.

[Taven]

I wanted to just add also, that you don't have to be a called-for leader to lead. You can be a normal PC who just wants to involve people. If you take initiative in your clan, and talk to your big boss leader about ideas to entertain your peers (and underlings, if you have rank), then you can do a lot too. For example, if you're a Corporal or Sergeant in a military clan, try thinking of some more exciting training exercises, or see if when those recruits get promoted, you can toss a celebration party. Leaders really make themselves.

[Zoltan]

I wanted to just add also, that you don't have to be a called-for leader to lead. You can be a normal PC who just wants to involve people. If you take initiative in your clan, and talk to your big boss leader about ideas to entertain your peers (and underlings, if you have rank), then you can do a lot too. For example, if you're a Corporal or Sergeant in a military clan, try thinking of some more exciting training exercises, or see if when those recruits get promoted, you can toss a celebration party. Leaders really make themselves.

But beware being cut down in your prime by a jealous superior! It's why you have to arrange an "accident" first. Then you've really made yourself leader!

But yeah. What everyone else said. My emphasis goes on selfishly playing your character first and foremost. If you're interested and involved and active, it tends to draw people in. Of course, I guess that's valid advice for any rung of the authority ladder.

I think that maybe one of the most challenging parts about being a good leader is balancing secrecy with access. Too much secrecy and players may lose interest. But too much access may be wildly inappropriate due to your role, or common sense.

I started typing some more but then I realized I was sounding like a dusty old curmudgeon, so I guess that's it.

[Feco]

The only thing I'd like to add is just because you don't like a leader PC, or they are an unsuccessful leader PC ingame, does NOT mean the player is unsuccessful at playing a leader.

We have to have some losers, tyrants, etc. in game.  As long as the player is doing what they can to play their character true to themselves, and involving other players, than I think they're doing fine.

[My 2 sids]

Everyone else has some good advice, but honestly, I think mine is crucial to actually enjoying the role:

Be a character. Don't fall into the trap of becoming a vending machine (whether of objects, coins, or plots). If your character has goals, dreams, fears, and desires, plots will naturally spawn out of those, beyond what you come up with to further the more overarching goals and/or larger issues that come up for you and your minions.

You can 'lead' and generate plots without being a leader, by simply being active, interesting, and engaging other characters.

Yes.  This.  +1

In my view, the role of leader is to help bring the doc's to life.  You're showing your minions where they fit in game.   So, when you (as a leadership role) have a real personality for your PC -- it sets the mood for the entire clan!  As long as you bring a consistent PC -- your minions can find ways to role-play.   

That is, don't think you have to play "Lord High-and-mighty!  The most cunning/skilled/knowedged/etc"  Some nobles simply don't have such drive.  The main thing is you're playing a PC whom the minions can play off of with their own play.  Players are looking for interaction and to have reactions.

[Reiloth]

Entertaining minions reminds me of being in a band. If you are having a great time, so will your audience (unless you are not paying any attention to them, then you are probably the self-focused douchebag type).

-Delegate. Encourage minor-leadership beneath you. Institute corporal ranks if there are none in your clan. Play your character to a T. Enrich the game world around you, and watch as your minions leap at the opportunity to play with you and enhance the story your Leader has summoned into existence. Be a part of the moment.

-Signal Flow. When you are not having fun with the role, try to recognize the foundation of that problem. Trace it back to the beginning, and be honest with yourself and with your staff. If you can't play the role anymore, store. If it's because of A, B, X, Y, and Z -- Let your Staff know. They can help you figure out these problems that may seem overwhelming, or not worth their time, conversely.

-Make your own plots. Do not rely on Staff to create them for you. Use your imagination, and try to involve as many people as possible in your plots (or as few people as possible, if you are assassinating people). Don't be afraid of asking Staff for advice in situations that may be detrimental to your character. Put your Ass On The Line.

-Take Risks. Just because you are a Leader does not mean you should be sitting in the relative safety of your Argosy. You have the capability to shake the world up. Sure, you can app a safe, namby-pamby do-good sycophant who just wants to get promoted. But at the end of the day, it is your duty as a Leader PC to start another Copper War. Now. This very instant. Your minions will be pleased.

-If you are having trouble with a minion, do not take it OOC. Treat it as an IC problem, and do not bear the Player on the other side of the character ill will.

[janeshephard]

My last role before my most recent, was not a sponsored role but managed in dishing out quests. Some players latched on, some didn't.

It's all in the attitude

[Intrepid]

Cool.  This has been helpful so far, everyone.  Thank you!

[Fredd]

Invent work:

Need some meat to practice cooking?
Maybee those runners should learn to salt
ever need to talk to someone that you always seem to miss? Use Minion A!

[number13]

Maybee those runners should learn to salt

No.

[lussien]

What kind of quests are appropriate for new players and veterans playing new characters?
How would you work around your boundaries?
How would you keep your minions safe enough so that they can last another ring of the dangers of the wilderness?

I've always failed to entertain as I'm always the one being entertained. 

[Saellyn]

I'm sure "mudsex" falls under entertaining minions...

[My 2 sids]

I'm sure "mudsex" falls under entertaining minions...

Mudsex falls under every category    


Anyhow, even if your PC does it "casually" find out what your minions need to get stuff done.  Just giving a task isn't leading -- challenging and then preparing is leading. 

[boog]

I'm sure "mudsex" falls under entertaining minions...

Mudsex falls under every category    


Anyhow, even if your PC does it "casually" find out what your minions need to get stuff done.  Just giving a task isn't leading -- challenging and then preparing is leading. 

My fave. LEMME TELL YA.
...Ahaha.

[Jeshin]

I've always found that enabling your minions the chance to rise up against you in some kind of revolution keeps everyone entertained. FREEEEEDOM.