Making Player Characters Matter

[Lukterran]

So I'm GMing a epic level campaign that the final portion of it deals with time travel with a very complex plot line and that has very specific set of tasks that must be completed. Thus if they fail, not only is their group doomed, but they pretty much brought about the destruction of the whole universe and created untold number of temporal paradoxes. But if they succeed they pretty much gave the Forces of Light a fighting chance against the return of the Old Ones.

However, I'm having issue trying meaningfully write in and add the characters into the story-line when Gods and beings just as epic are all taking part. The group are no weaklings either all 9th level or higher with all the gear to match. I just want to make sure the characters feel like their contributions matter (because they do) but even more specifically I want to make sure each player also has a unique role to fill. That the venture could not be completed without their presence and unique gifts. Something that the gods or their followers could not complete without them.

The other problem that I want to avoid is completely railroading everything. Up until this point everything has been a pretty loose over all. With the campaign following and flowing with the players choices. Everything really has been up to them and the campaign has been molded around them. But now some stuff has too happen and the players can't just ignore a major event, or even worse going off on a tangent and causing all sorts of plot holes for me to fill in.

[Warshield73]

I have done this with my players in the past by making some characteristic of them important to the tasks. The character with master psi has to get some psychic object, the groups mage a spell, etc. You can avoid the railroading by making the tasks relate to the player. A character that hates the Splugorth must take something from them, a character that hates the CS may need to steal something from the Black Vaults, etc.

Another good thing is the PCs perform what at first appears to be simple task but from that part forward they must be the ones to perform all the remaining tasks. They did this in Supernatural were once Sam started the trials to close the gates of Hell he had to finish them.

Just my thoughts.

[Hunterrose]

Building on what Warshield posted, you can also give the PCs specific *Non Combat* tasks. So at the climax of the adventure, maybe there are MEGA GODS throwing moons at each other. And your PCs have no real hope of fighting anything in that arena. But maybe all they have to do while that's going on is to get "the glove" or the "box" from one location to another.

This makes their actions crucial to the events of the story, while also putting them in the middle of epic action, while not making them responsible for literally punching a GOD (although that may happen as well). There can still be combat, but that doesn't have to be their focus.
In this context you can really force them to use teamwork and have to think of a way to accomplish this task.

And if events really are this grand and big, it may be satisfying to have a character sacrifice themselves for the event. "Hold the door" for two more melees, man!

I'm not saying that you should try to kill your PCs but at Level 9 and in the setting you are describing, it may be time to reset the stakes any way.

[Shorty Lickens]

Make them weak.
Make them struggle.
Make them human.
Make them matter.

[dreicunan]

Regarding having it be something that only a character could do as opposed to a deity or the deity's followers could do, I'd suggest keeping in mind that opportunity and knowledge of the nees to do said thing can make that the case as opposed to raw ability.

[Fenris2020]

Make them weak.
Make them struggle.
Make them human.
Make them matter.

This is Rifts... they don't have to be human.
This is, and always has been, a Good Thing.

[Hunterrose]

Make them weak.
Make them struggle.
Make them human.
Make them matter.

This is Rifts... they don't have to be human.
This is, and always has been, a Good Thing.

I think Make them "human" is like saying make them relatable. Not literally homosapien.
Kinda like how Pixar makes very "human" characters even though most of them are physically like toasters or gumball machines or neurons or whatever.

[Fenris2020]

Make them weak.
Make them struggle.
Make them human.
Make them matter.

This is Rifts... they don't have to be human.
This is, and always has been, a Good Thing.

I think Make them "human" is like saying make them relatable. Not literally homosapien.
Kinda like how Pixar makes very "human" characters even though most of them are physically like toasters or gumball machines or neurons or whatever.

I guess that also depends...
I mean, if you're playing a dwarf, the character shouldn't just be some short bearded human... they have their own cultural identity, and the like.
Also, keeping them weak... ya, I think characters need to grow, become powerful, and be able to affect real change on the campaign.

[Blue_Lion]

Make them weak.
Make them struggle.
Make them human.
Make them matter.

I disagree that you need to make them weak to make them matter. Think about this the Hulk mattered in the first avenger movie, he was not weak. (Loki was weak.) The avengers mattered because they where the best there is not because they where weak. Super man matters to the Justice league.

Struggling could be a hard fight or emotional but it is not the struggle that makes them matter. If a fire man is struggling to get to a person and super man shows and rescues the person like its nothing. Then the fire man no longer matters because Super man is there.

A charter does not need to be human to matter they can have a totally alien life and matter. The angel in super natural was clueless to to human interactions and he mattered. A dragon hatchlin would not be very human but could matter.

*****Instead focus on the why. Why are they ones that need to do this. When the players have the answer to the why then they will be no doubt that they matter.

Why did Harry potter matter? Because he survived, the love of his parents could kill Lord V. The hulk matters because he is the strongest avenger. Super man matters because he does things no one else can.
(You confused being interesting with mattering.)

[Warshield73]

Make them weak.
Make them struggle.
Make them human.
Make them matter.

I disagree that you need to make them weak to make them matter. Think about this the Hulk mattered in the first avenger movie, he was not weak. (Loki was weak.)

Puny god
Joss Whedon was right when he said if he had done nothing else in his life right besides that scene his life would still have been worthwhile, or to the point he would matter.

The avengers mattered because they where the best there is not because they where weak. Super man matters to the Justice league.

Struggling could be a hard fight or emotional but it is not the struggle that makes them matter. If a fire man is struggling to get to a person and super man shows and rescues the person like its nothing. Then the fire man no longer matters because Super man is there.

A charter does not need to be human to matter they can have a totally alien life and matter. The angel in super natural was clueless to to human interactions and he mattered. A dragon hatchlin would not be very human but could matter.

*****Instead focus on the why. Why are they ones that need to do this. When the players have the answer to the why then they will be no doubt that they matter.

Why did Harry potter matter? Because he survived, the love of his parents could kill Lord V. The hulk matters because he is the strongest avenger. Super man matters because he does things no one else can.
(You confused being interesting with mattering.)

I think this is the most important thing. Why does it have to be Buffy to stop every apocalypse? Why is it always Sam and Dean that has to save the world? if you make the reason interesting then the players will be interesting.

[Ice Dragon]

Make it count
Let them make sacrificces.
Let them loose.
Give them a chance to win.

... and make it epic