this post was submitted on 03 Nov 2025
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If this ever happens to you, just have another group of heroes try to stop the baddie's plan, only to publicly fail. It shows the world has stuff that is happening whether they buy in or not.
I prefer the "big bad just set up the new walmart in your town that's destroying local businesses and has paid off the guards" approach.
That can be a great option for meeting players where they're at, if they're more about running a cosy commerce sim in your genre fiction TTRPG. Either way though you ignore a 'refusal of the call' moment at your own peril. It needs to be addressed, but how is the interesting bit!
Oh have the other group of heroes succeed. Showing the world doesn't revolve around the PCs makes it feel more alive, and it lets them focus on running a tavern or whatever else they wanted to do.
Or maybe the other group of heroes meets at the tavern the players opened, and their skill in running a tavern somehow ends up being vital for that group of heroes' success. Maybe they just overhear the heroes talk about nearly being defeated, before succeeding because of something the players did. "We were nearly defeated at the last fortress. If the Dark General had been there, we'd have been toast."
Or maybe the baddies take over a country, which has some effects on the players' clientele and the drinks they serve.
I like the angle where someone else gets the job done, but it ends up being a power play that causes new problems, changes the dynamic.