Different players prefer different kinds of role-playing. Be sure to keep up the pace of your adventures by satisfying their urges and preferences along the way. In general, adventures feel most satisfying if there is a roughly equal balance of combat, exploration, and interacting with NPCs.

These tend to balance each other. Mysteries, puzzles, and acting encounters help curtail the tendencies of some players to swing a sword at everything that blocks their path. Combat and traps help light a fire under indecisive players who might otherwise talk the ears off NPCs before deciding on the next course of action.

While it is obvious that each character needs to have a discreet turn to act during action scenes, it’s also important that each hero gets a discreet turn during other scenes. The GM should cycle thru the room and ask each player what their characters do rather than letting effusive players make plans and inadvertently steamroll others.

Types

Fighting

Many players love to get into the action and mix it up. Be sure to provide a little action a couple of times in each session. These players benefit from the occasional wandering monster attack when things get bogged down in town. You can even interrupt an NPC encounter with an attack, leaving the players on the edge of their seat and insisting on protecting the NPC because they’re not done with him or her.

Of course, it’s also important to ensure that many NPC and even monster encounters can’t be solved with a sword, or you’ll find yourself trying to figure out what to do with a band of indiscriminate murderers.

Puzzle-solving

Some players like to solve mysteries and defeat traps and puzzles, appreciating the feeling of achievement. Be sure to establish a clear goal and motivation for the heroes and clues that can turn up every hour or so. The clues should be a mix of things they find, things they see, and things they hear from NPCs. And they should be clear and straightforward; red herrings are tempting, but don’t bother: players will often latch onto minor details and create their own red herrings.

One-off puzzles and predicaments come in a wide variety of flavors, from traps to labyrinths to mysteries to encounters with NPCs and creatures who are too powerful or high-status to simply kill.

Acting

Other players savor getting to interact with NPCs and find out about their lives, problems, and motivations or expound on their own. Be sure to have a little background on all major NPCs and dribble a little out in their interactions. You’re likely to find that just that little bit of background helps bring the character to life for you as well as your players.

Exploring

Some players love to explore mysterious places, discover secrets, and otherwise experience an immersive world where their actions matter. Be sure to keep things fun (but dark can be fun) and funny (plan for funny things to happen to the heroes if they make an unwise choice, but don’t trick them).

These players come to be wowed and entertained, and if the others are having a chance to do their thing, these players will be enjoying the spectacle. They are not goal-oriented but rather experience-oriented, and they like plenty of flavor. Try to use visual aids and physical objects and to describe fantastical places they can interact with.

Examples

Minteral Abbey

On their way to Minteral Abbey, the heroes save a carriage carrying a merchant and his wife from a group of bandits whose hideout is a crooked tower overlooking the ruins of Minteral Abbey.

Actors will enjoy talking to the merchant couple (and accepting their gratitude), while fighters will enjoy the break from travel to take out some bandits. And explorers will enjoy the idea of creeping around a crooked tower and getting an overview of the abbey.

The Nomads

The heroes creep up on an encampment that turns out to be nomad caravans. “Would you care for wine, dancing, song, and a little gambling? You say you are going to the mad witch’s hut? Be very careful my friends….”

Actors will like interacting with the nomads. The puzzle-solvers might like doing some gambling, especially if there is a trick to it. Explorers will probably enjoy learning about the nomads’ lifestyle.

Gnolls, Your Lordship!

While the heroes are engaged in a lengthy (and perhaps dull) discussion with the bishop about gnolls in the south, a prelate rushes in to declare that the gnolls have crossed the southern hedgerow of the county.

Explorers get the enjoy visiting the bishop’s offices and seeing how the place works. Actors get to interact with the bishop and other officials. But it avoids getting bogged down by forcing some action that appeals to fighters.

The Duchess’ Handmaid

Approaching a brightly lit meadow from a thick forest, the heroes see a maiden with a unicorn, and the maiden is wearing the livery of the duchess, whom the heroes need an audience with….

Puzzle-lovers will likely enjoy figuring out how to approach the maiden without raising the alarm with the unicorn. Actors will enjoy trying to finagle a meeting with the duchess.

A Rapscallion

After getting a lead on a ruins in the hills, the heroes leave the tavern to find the men of the watch chasing a ruffian who, if they help apprehend him, mentions he recently visited the ruins.

Puzzle-solvers may enjoy trying to get information out of the ruffian. Fighters might like the challenge of subduing him with force.

That Crazy Raid on the Duke

How did the barbarian wind up double his normal size, riding a friendly dragon right into the undead duke’s hall while the rest of the party accidentally flooded the castle? Two good ideas, two crazy ideas, two natural 20s, and two natural 1s.

Explorers will likely enjoy the mad spectacle of whole thing, particularly if it required sneaking in and scouting the place. The puzzle-solvers would like planning it, even if it all goes wrong. And the fighters will like fighting the duke’s henchmen alongside a dragon.