Over at Treasure Tables Martin made the following statement in his posting
PC Backgrounds: Opening and Closing Doors
If you imagine the hooks and plot elements in the PCs’ backgrounds as open doors, it’s a good idea to close those doors during play.
A very true statement which I thing all GMs should take heed of – something I was (to a point) negligent of during my last campaign.
In a number of instances I would spin part of the tale, sometimes using material from the background of the PCs, that would open up new possibilities for my players – hints of new places, strange artifacts or a new villain to deal with.
Problem was, I didn’t close nearly enough of them.
That in and of itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing but when you leave more open than you close the players begin to feel that they aren’t accomplishing anything which leads to dissatisfaction with the game – not a good things when one of the tenets of gaming is to have fun.
My suggestion is to keep a running list of those plot lines you’ve opened and ask your players to give you a list of those plot lines they think are open so that you can compare them. This way you can at least get a better idea of what everyone’s perception is and hopefully you’ll be able to “close a few doors” and give your players a bit more enjoyment at the table.
May your dice roll well.
