Party Logic

A few years back, I had the idea to design a world traveler campaign. I fleshed out a really dynamic world that would change at the click of a macro on roll20. Kingdoms and regions had economies. Enemy factions had trackers to see how they were doing, whether they were getting out of control. Whether or not the party would start hearing about them.

To really get the group interested in roving, I added travel mechanics, and started them in a real dump - out in a wasteland full of destitute orcs. The run down orc shanty they were started in is where all the crippled and dishonored orcs were sent to be forgotten while to the south, a massive orcish horde was gathering up to invade the kingdom to the west.

So this party of champions decides that they are going to deliver water to the village. And the orcs immediately drink it all. So they go and get more. And the orcs drink it all. And then they go and get water...

So I have this dynamic world that is going nuclear because the party isn't doing anything in it. Most of the regions get wiped out by the click of a macro and spill-over of faction war.

Finally, the party gets wiped out by a flood of kobolds because they have literally been doing nothing but breeding up a horde.

consider that the people you're playing with probably aren't violent criminals

they don't steal, they don't murder, they don't fight on a regular basis. these things are out of the ordinary - exciting - to them. if your players can immerse themselves and get excited about these things, and more importantly, have fun... isn't that the goal of the game? people play to have experiences they don't get in real life, which is why a lot of autistics try to capture people in their magical realms.

>>51455430
It's also a accepted thing that to reduce the possibilities of a pnp game to fulfilling hedonistic fantasies at the expense of all else is rude, unless that is the stated point of the game.
OP would profit from telling his players exactly what kind of tone they are looking for; in my current D&D game, I expressly told the group I want Big Damn Heroes. They don't need to be GOOD, but I want the kind of brass balls and daring do that you see in the stories of old.
I will not coddle them, and if they fail, there will be consequences, but the profit for those who succeed are there to be had.

>>51455313
Wait, so while your pc's were hauling water the orcish horde just handily swept up the kingdoms? How much water did they haul and where from? Or how fast was that horde?

I deal with this problem by starting out with no plan. Here's the adventure hook, here's the location, here's the problem to be solved. Here you go, heroes, deal with it as you see fit. As a GM, I make the story on the go as I react to their actions. Typically, a campaign starts as a complete sandbox and ends perfectly linear, though the players themselves don't even notice this shift, as this linearity grows out of their own decisions.

This doesn't always work: if there's an asshole in your group who doesn't take the game seriously, you can either go along with him and turn the entire campaign into a joke, or expel him from the group. You should do the latter. If the players see that you're nothing but an accommodating teddy bear, you could never immerse them into the setting again.