Need some advice for a RPG

[GreenDragon]

I need some advice.  One of my friends, M, is running a game of Werewolf:the Wild West, starting in 1872 Stone Mountain, Geogia.  I created a Carpetbagger's Daughter/Iron Rider Galliard, with a backstory that my family is not well liked by the locals, including many of the Sept.
During the first session, the characters are supposed to meet, and the next night form a pack at the Moot.  However, another player, L, in the interests of helping to create bonds between characters, gets the other two players to be employees at his family plantation.  Thus creating a strong, pre-existing, bond between every player character except mine. 
When the pack is to be formed, L proclaims himself Alpha, which is not challenged by anyone.  Any a NPC Rite Mistress performs the Totem Rite.
The Totem, Epona, is a part of Stag's Brood, and Stag happens to be the Sept Totem.  Our challenge is to catch Epona, in a chase within its Totem Realm, a wooded area, with a stream.  L opts for having everyone go in Lupus form, track it, box it in, and bring it down.  My character has no Survival, Primal-Urge, and low Stealth and Brawl. 
So my character is unable to contribute to the tracking.  Makes enough noise to warn the totem.  And it is only caught because M thinks that its logical course of action, hearing someone to its left rear, and seeing someone in front of it, is to turn 180, and thus run into L.  As opposed to turning 30-45, and running past the player in front of it.

So, I as a player feel that I have contributed exactly nothing to the challenge.  Nothing that allows my character to be a part of the victory.  My character feels that the PCs, and the Totem, share the general feelings that the majority of NPCs - including L's NPC Uncle, the Sept Elder - have.  That the whole thing was done to make her look foolish, and compel her to dishonor herself by leaving.

Session 2, a new player joins, and his character is also an Iron Rider, and between him and L, they can do basically everything my character can, and sometimes better.  And M uses the Sledgehammer of Persuasion on my character as we try to give the character a reason to feel otherwise.  So looking forward to session 3, I have a character that I am not enjoying.  And M has said that he has months of story ideas - all revolving around my character.  If I quit, the game dies, and I get blamed for another game dying - because everytime a game dies, and I'm a player, I get blamed for one reason or another, even if I had nothing to do with it.  And I'm sick of it. 
And discussing it with M is a problem, because he doesn't take criticism well, and tries to avoid conversations if he doesn't like the subject.  I'm tempted to get my character killed at the first opportunity, but I suspect that M will not let it happen, since the character is so necessary for his plans, even though the character is not necessary for the pack.

Any suggestions?

[Drop Bear]

Ask the GM to beef up your Ferrets & Mores Merits & Flaws) count and ask him to recommend hooks for his big adventure plan any left over Frebies stick in to Backgrounds like "Ancestor" and "Spirit Guide" and such.

[GRUD]

Sounds to me like you can either try to find (or Found) a new group, or continue to be railroaded and unjustly blamed by your current group.  Basically, get off at the next station or sit back and enjoy the ride.  To have an entire campaign revolve around ONE PC sounds like either a Load of BS, or Lazy on the GM's part.  Either way, I'm not buying the GM's story.  If this is the only time you've been "Railroaded", I could see trying to talk with the GM and trying to convince him to let you create another character.  If nothing else, lay down the law to him and tell him you WILL be creating a new character.  However, if you've been "Railroaded" in the past, leaving the group is probably your only real option, unfortunately.   :-\   Why continue playing a character you don't like, and be miserable with every game session, with a group that seems to like Forcing you to do that.   :P  Maybe talk to some of the other players, if any are sympathetic to you, and see if they'll have a word with the GM also.  Only YOU can decide what your Max Level of BS Tolerance is.  It's up to You to do something before your gauge gets Full.  O0

[Wombat]

IMO, railroading players into any one circumstance leads to a dry game. Be flexible and direct the game, but don't rule it with an iron fist.

[GreenDragon]

I don't feel its railroading exactly.  M asked for a 1-2 page background.  I was one of the first 2 (of 4) to give him one, and he really liked what I wrote.  I gave him plenty to work with (might have something to do with being an experienced GM in addition to a player, but I try to give plenty of plot hook potential).  L, by comparison, delivered his at the table for session 1, and #4 has not written one.

I also want to emphasize, any persecution is all in game (and in some cases entirely imagined).  The other players have no overt problems with me.  I say overt, as L & I have been getting on each others nerves at the table in recent weeks.  Neither of us can say why, and we get along fine outside of game, nor is it a problem in the games I run.  If his decisions in session 1 were malicious in any way, I do not believe they were consciously intentional.

[Wombat]

Not sure if this helps or not, but I take a modified "Oregon Trail" approach. Players have a choice of going to one of eight objectives so I let them choose, but regardless of which they choose, an encounter along the way will divert them where I want/need them to go. Naturally there is plenty of room for side-missions and yes players occasionally throw a monkey-wrench in your plans; but you gotta adapt.

...I once had 3 pages of material lined up for a session which got utterly and completly sidelined when a player did something I didn't expect. They were in a courtroom and were getting blackmailed, but I didn't expect them to turn the tables so easily. *trash 3 pages* It happens. Roll with the punches and remember that just because a sheep wonders off course for a while doesn't mean you can't reel them  back in.

...or go a COMPLETELY different direction.  >:D

[GreenDragon]

The issue here is the character doesn't work with the rest of the group.  Which means that there would be no reason for the rest of the group to be present for all the planned adventures.

And M has run a previous game where my character didn't gel with the group, which only got worse with his efforts to fix things, until the game was destroyed by my character being ousted by the party leader.  This feels like Kingmaker all over again.

[Wombat]

Perhaps plot devices are need to keep him in check? In my Star Wars campaign (light-side), we have a near-evil Sluissi who likes to behead folks and has a penchant for Wookie prostitutes. So plot device keeps him in check, or he dies.

[E. Icaza]

In defense of the pack formation ritual, Iron Riders are generally not liked and the pack formation task sounds completely appropriate to me.  The Iron Riders aren't like the Glass Walkers of the 20th-21st century.  Where as the GW are seen as a necessary evil by many Tribes, the Iron Riders are pretty much regarded as an aberration or an outright abomination depending on who you ask.

That said, basing a game around one player is always a bad move and you should never feel pressured into playing a game with a character you don't enjoy.  That way lies burnout and madness.  I have a friend who is often in a similar situation regarding being the center of the game.  When confronted by the other players about it, I pointed out that maybe it is less that I was catering to the whims of that player and more that he was the only one who ever seemed interested in doing anything.  I then pointed out that the player in question had approached me earlier the previous session and said he was tired of the rest of the group forcing him to make all of the decisions. 

It was a very surreal moment for everyone. 

[guardiandashi]

I am not familiar with the werewolf system, but a few possibilities I can think of (not sure how to impliment them tho)

option 1 talk it over with M and see if there is a way to give your charactor something that helps the group but indirectly examples your char gets a perk (or something) that gives the others a minor bonus, such as to healing, (out of combat) helps them pull themselves back under control if they are raging out or something...

mabie the locals don't like you much but because you have traveled you have contacts in the area that the plot is going mostly helpful a few less than helpful etc (make and sure that the other iron rider if he has lots fo contacts also should be mostly in a different region.  example this game is intended to happen  in north central us from minnesota to montanna possible idaho washington and oregon areas and south as far as kansas or something as long as you are in that area you hace say a 25% chance to have 1d6 contacts in a town you visit, each contact on a 1-2 likes you on a 6 dislikes you, 3-5 they know or know of you but don't have strong feelings either way

the othe ironwalker spent more time in the east or south and so most of their contacts are in that regon for example.  not necessarally perfect, but you can contribute by getting info/gear/supplies/travel connections a little easier the best part about something like that is the gm could likely add it gradually (as long as your char doesn't bail) and it can be a major or minor plot hook by itself

[GreenDragon]

He intends the game to move out west - once we make rank 2, a long way off.  The character has high resources, but so does L's Silver Fang.  I have contacts and business ties, new player, J has the former, with the merit to be a US Marshal, and his contacts will be more useful when we go out west.  And my one big combat ability is a fetish gun (1G/extra set of 6 reloads) with a 6D pool.  J also has a fetish gun (Agg dmg), with a higher dice pool.  Honestly, the pack does not need my character, and keeping her around is a negative.  As in, the only reason it happened in the first place was I'm a PC.
Slight exaggeration on the last part, G was trying to get the others to involve me as soon as he had the opportunity.  And L has something in his back story - but that ties more to my character's father than her.  As in, if they weren't both Garou, a business-related wedding would be on the horizon.

[Aokarasu]

I'm also not familiar with White Wolf games, in general, but I have been playing RPGs for decades now (3 of them and a bit of change, to be a bit more specific.) If talking with M isn't an option, as you've indicated, and continued playing of this character isn't an option for you (and I can't say I blame you), then I see only one real option at this point. That would be to find a new gaming group.

Based on your descriptions of the situation within the setting and the group, I don't see any positive way to make you happy and the GM/group happy. If you don't want to leave the group, then a confrontation with M, with the help of an interlocutor mediator, perhaps, will be needed.

[ShadowRaven]

set and talk over coffee outside of the game table, let him know 'look, I'm not happy with this, and I gotta change something or frankly, this game is going to go down the old crapper, or it's going to carry on without me, and I don't like either option, so let's work something out before it reaches that point"

[GreenDragon]

Outright leaving the group isn't really an option.  L, J, and I all run games as well.  The big issue is:
a) I'm not enjoying my character, it has no niche in the group, and doesn't gel.
b) M won't run if I don't play the character, and doesn't like to be confronted with problems.
c) If he doesn't run, I get blamed for the game's death.
d) I don't want to take blame for another game's death.

[Wombat]

In my experience, its nothing an ice cream cone and a good slap on the backside can't fix.  ;)

[GreenDragon]

who gets the cone, and who gets the slap?  :)

[Wombat]

who gets the cone, and who gets the slap?  :)

Well your a creative gamemaster...you figure it out!  >:D

[Drop Bear]

The Ice cream goes to the naughty lactose intolerant child and the slapping around goes to the well behaved one who enjoys that kind of thing.

[Aokarasu]

b) M won't run if I don't play the character, and doesn't like to be confronted with problems.

Then, IMO, he shouldn't GM; there's *always* going to be problems at one point or another. Honestly, from where I sit, you've got an untenable and unenviable position.

Outright leaving the group isn't really an option.  L, J, and I all run games as well.  The big issue is:
c) If he doesn't run, I get blamed for the game's death.
d) I don't want to take blame for another game's death.

Those are beyond your control, and also not fair. You would not be the sole contributor to the death of this campaign. There are several factors contributing to the situation, only one part of which is yours.

[GRUD]

b) M won't run if I don't play the character, and doesn't like to be confronted with problems.
c) If he doesn't run, I get blamed for the game's death.
d) I don't want to take blame for another game's death.

It was starting to sound like things weren't That bad after all, until you posted this.  Better buy an Engineer's hat - You're being Railroaded.  :-\   If he's not open to discussion AT ALL, maybe you need to tell him to give you a call when they're ready to switch to a different Campaign?   ???  The group I gamed with back in the mid-to-late 80's played several different campaigns, with several different GMs and game systems.  If someone didn't want to play something like Twilight 2000, they'd just not show up and we'd play without them for 4-6 weeks or so, then switch GM's and game systems.  Sometimes we'd switch GM's but stay with the same system (most often when we played MechWarrior or AD&D), but we'd usually change systems as well.  It kept the GM's from burning out, and gave us a change of pace at the same time.  In the end, it comes down to how miserable you want to be while playing.   :-\

[ShadowRaven]

then don't go to the GM, talk one on one with the rest of the group, let them know how you are feeling, and get them to offer suggestions to fix. Takes the pressure off you about killing the game. Especially if you let them know you feel like you are being railroaded in to this.

edit: and if that doesn't work. Take over the background music, and play nothing but 'train' songs. "Wreck of the old '97" "Folsom Prison Blues" and the like to not so subtly get your point across

[Bedwyr]

Hey Green, I'm not inclined to do so since, well, it is 'off topic' and most of the folks there have already commented here. But if you'd like I can move the thread to the general RPG forum. Just a service we do here.

 O0

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

The second worst thing you can do in an RPG is make a player run a character they don't like (the worst is having a person GM who doesn't want to).  RPGs are supposed to be fun, and if you're not having fun playing your character, something is wrong.

At the very least, you should be allowed to revise your character so that you're able to feel like you're contributing something the the group and not completely superfluous to everyone else.  And really, if the GM can't come up with any adventures to run that don't revolve around your character as is, honestly the guy shouldn't be GMing in the first place.

[Aleksandr]

Outright leaving the group isn't really an option.  L, J, and I all run games as well.  The big issue is:
a) I'm not enjoying my character, it has no niche in the group, and doesn't gel.
b) M won't run if I don't play the character, and doesn't like to be confronted with problems.
c) If he doesn't run, I get blamed for the game's death.
d) I don't want to take blame for another game's death.

You've only done one session, right? Just modify your character's stats. Keep the same story and the important points, but refine it to find a niche that the party needs. That way the GM doesn't have to quit, because the character is still there, and you can have a character that you enjoy playing.

[monbvol]

You've only done one session, right? Just modify your character's stats. Keep the same story and the important points, but refine it to find a niche that the party needs. That way the GM doesn't have to quit, because the character is still there, and you can have a character that you enjoy playing.

This.  One of the things suggested in White Wolf books is to have a prelude story to make sure everyone has made a character that fits the story, group, and that they can have fun with.

The other option is to get creative.  I used to have a Storyteller who was way over infatuated with Vampires and tried to trump up their capabilities as much as possible.  The way he ran other game systems as well was a bit harsh but it forced us to get creative as players without relying solely on our stats.

[idea weenie]

Keep notes about which characters have better stats/capabilities in certain areas.  When the group needs someone with that specific capability and they turn to you, you can look up your sheet and point at the character who is better in that area.  Add to the list over time, until there are only a couple skills left that your character does better (like an NPC).  Essentially you get the rest of the group away from your character over time, until the fact that you aren't needed by the group is obvious to the other players.

From there, let the other players toss off ideas for your character to improve.

A bit of a jerk move, but it should drive the point to everyone that your character is not really needed.   >:D

[doulos05]

Sadly, there will have to be a discussion with your GM. And, given what you've said, that will likely be an unpleasant discussion.

The discussion would be easier if you arrived with ideas. The best idea is one which allows you to fill a niche in the party which they don't have without destroying your GM's lazy prep-work excessively.

Possibilities include:
Death and replacement of your character by a family member (lets him maintain the conflicts he planned on your backstory via inheritance.)
Exposure to raw fiat grants new abilities (at the expense of old ones)
Your character reaches through the 4th wall and hits the big red button labeled "Regenerate Character".

Possible niches, without knowing storyteller or your GM, include (in no particular order):
Combat
Ranged Combat
Mook Control (Usually done with Area Effect attacks that deal enough damage to kill take out the faceless hordes across a wide area but not enough damage to bring down a real villian without backup)
Battlefield Shaping/Combat Multiplier (You control the enemy's movements, either through compulsion, push/pull effects, or terrain shaping/denial. Not a lot of damage, but makes the rest of the party much more effective)
Stealth/scouting/ranger
Contacts within a given sphere of influence
Party Face (that gets awkward when you're not the leader though)
Healing
Buffing the party
De-buffing the baddies
MAGE (Mobile Arcane Gun Emplacement)
Everyman Magician (Millions of cantrips for commonly encountered situations. As in, "I know the berries are poisonous, but it's OK, I can make a hearty, healthy soup from anything with the right incantation.")

That's a lot of roles there, it's unlikely in a party as small as it sounds like you're describing, that they've filled all of them. Pick your favorites, and write two characters for each one (rebuild your current character and write a new character) and bring all that to your GM.

It sounds like your ability to play this game hinges upon this discussion leading to some sort of change in party composition. Be flexible to any changes he proposes, and gracious if he says he won't change. But be firm in communicating that, although you really don't want to kill the game, you really can't play the current party composition/dynamic and you will quit if some change for the better is not at least attempted.

You can't control if he/they blame you for the game dying. You can only control (and are only responsible to control) your level of engagement and pleasure in the game. If that level is as close to zero as it seems, you need to change the game or get out. Staying will only drag out the inevitable and, since you'll be unable to engage in the game because it sucks for you, you'll still be accused of "killing the game", the only difference is weeks to months of growing discontent which they can use to ignore the problem. "It's not OUR fault you're a sour-puss. You didn't suck that bad. You're just a whiner." etc, etc. This way, you clearly define the problem, as you see it, and proactively insist on a solution (while simultaneously providing one). It's the situation in which you are least culpable for the death of the game because you can say, "Look. I communicated what I needed to have fun playing. I was told that wasn't an option. RPGs are something I do for fun and for myself. If you wanted me to play a not-fun character 3 hours a week every week, you needed to pay me, because not-fun stuff I do every week for other people is called work.." OR maybe, just maybe, your GM will be able to work through some of his confrontation issues with someone who is safe to do so (but you have to try to be safe for him to do that) and then everybody wins.

[Crunch]

My first advise is take a step back, take a deep breath and calm down. You're gaming out disastrous scenarios that haven't happened yet. The amount of emotion you're bringing to this isn't helping your situation.

Second. You say that your character has no niche because there's some overlap between what you can do, and what the other players can do. See if you can carve a niche. For one thing, a Marshal and a business lady are going to have different contacts and access to different areas of society. For another in a social setting some two man cons can be really useful.

Have a sit down with the Marshal's player and work out some cooperative ways to work WITH each other instead of competing with each other for face time.

And in Werewolf especially it is not hard to differentiate your character through XP with rites and gifts. Have you thought, as Galliard, about becoming the packs rite master? If the pack is moving from its home sept that could be a quite important role.

The last thing I have to say is this. If you can't make it work for you you need to talk to the GM. If you don't and the game falls apart because of your dissatisfaction then it is at least partially your fault.

[GreenDragon]

Crunch, some good ideas.  However, the Theurge has the Rites thing covered already.  I may try talking to J though.

[Crunch]

Crunch, some good ideas.  However, the Theurge has the Rites thing covered already.  I may try talking to J though.

Hope I can be helpful. I'm a long time White Wolf player and have run Wild West before.

Here's what I would do if I were you.

Talk to J and start figuring out some collaborative things you can do to increase each others value. Buddy up and help each other.

Talk to L and see if the two of you can agree on a rough sketch of an RP arc that will reconcile some of your differences and bind you more strongly to the pack. Hash out what he needs to see and what you need to see and how much conflict you're both comfortable with. Conflict between characters (not players) can be great RP.

Reassess where you stand. Find a gap in the groups skill set and strike off towards it. Roleplay the struggle your character has fitting with this group. Have fun with it. Be a good sport work your way to a place you want to be and have a good time. The people you are gaming with will remember you dealing with a difficult situation well and it will help your reputation.

Heck, for a female Iron Rider in a Wild West Game why not start bluebooking a diary? Might give you a fun chance to get inside the characters head and give you something to give the GM a better insight into the character.

[Wombat]

Crunch, some good ideas.  However, the Theurge has the Rites thing covered already.  I may try talking to J though.

...have you consider shaving him while he sleeps. No, not his character.  [copper]

[GreenDragon]

So, session 3.  M (Storyteller) and G (player - Lupus Theurge CoG) try to involve me in the game several times.  Everytime, L or J segued or jumped in to take over the scene.  This on top of only getting 2 hours from the time we actually started, until someone had to leave.  I basically stopped trying.

Upon coming home, I told M that I had only attended for his benefit, and asked once again if I can quit.  Since my attempts to get involved were trampled on everytime, I have finally gotten his OK.

If I had the night off, I might have accomplished something worthwhile.  That was a incredible waste of time.  I suspect that the other players were unaware of their jumping on my part.  My absence two weeks from now is going to be a shock.

[StCptMara]

green Dragon...I am curious what were the Auspices and tribes of the others? Were there other Galliards?
If not...why couldn't your Galliard do anything? I mean..your gifts fulfill a different niche then any other Auspice.
There are Rites that should be just Galliard, as well(or, at least, if someone else knows them, they might be looked
down upon). Basicly, it seems like in the Wolf Pack, you ended up the Omega. I am also curious, the one group of players
that kept trampling on any attempts to involve you, is this normal behavior from them?

[GreenDragon]

green Dragon...I am curious what were the Auspices and tribes of the others? Were there other Galliards?
If not...why couldn't your Galliard do anything? I mean..your gifts fulfill a different niche then any other Auspice.
There are Rites that should be just Galliard, as well(or, at least, if someone else knows them, they might be looked
down upon).

N - Fianna Ragabash
G - CoG Theurge Lupus
J - IR Philodox
Me - IR Galliard
L - SF Ahroun/Alpha/Self-Appointed Voice of the Party

If M had permitted the Hive Mind Totem Power (I forget the real name, I calls 'em like I sees 'em.  Its the Telepathic Link used by Jean Grey/Martian Manhunter/etc. in comic books) then my Mindspeak Gift would have been totally useless - not that an opportunity to use it has come up yet.

Basicly, it seems like in the Wolf Pack, you ended up the Omega. I am also curious, the one group of players
that kept trampling on any attempts to involve you, is this normal behavior from them?

For L, its been part of the problem in this game.  For some reason, we can game fine when I'm running, and ok when he runs, but when we are both playing there are problems.  I've yet to figure out why.  I also suspect my not showing up two saturdays from now will be a surprise and result in a phone call asking me to come back - or the game's death.
For the others, it was a matter of the time.  We have to wait until 10:30 to start, so L's son has gone to bed (though tonight he was staying with Grandma and we could have started sooner).  But N's wife needs him to come pick her up when she gets off work, which was around 11:30.  So we didn't even make an attempt to start until almost midnight, and then people started falling asleep, resulting in ending the session at 1:30 (instead of the planned 2:00).  Consequently, no one was actually getting into character.  G actually left the room and played solitaire on L's computer for a good part of the night.
Everyone who wasn't directly involved in what M was trying to do at any given time was cross-talking, and interrupting.
(I'm not blameless in this either, though I largely just zoned out, and thought about prep for one of my games for a bit.)

[monbvol]

Dang.

I am a little mystified that the Storyteller didn't offer at least letting you tweak your character if not outright re-create them so that they could do something better.

[GreenDragon]

I didn't ask.  I was so disappointed with the game, I had no interest in the attempt.  And no clue what tweaks would provide a useful skill set that wasn't already claimed or usurped.

[monbvol]

*nod*

Something I've been trying to get the group I'm a part of to do has been trying to get them to discuss with each other what kind of characters they will be playing and what kind of role they want to assume.  It hasn't met with a lot of success with us so far but it might be worth attempting the next time you get to play in another's campaign.

[GreenDragon]

I've tried that before, with mixed success.  To wit, players who don't want to be team players often don't get it.

My hunch appears correct.  M told L of my departure tonight, and I elaborated on my not enjoying the game and having no niche, leaving out any accusations toward L.  He genuinely appears to be unaware that he was doing it to me.

[monbvol]

*nod*

Though sounds like your group does conspire with each other more than our group does.

[Bedwyr]

Just so you guys know, I'm very cool with the problem solving and the thread's been just fine so far. But just as a precaution, do take care you don't get into massive negativity (or worse a group member comes on here and sparks fly) about it. That's about when it gets into rule 7 territory and it would make me very sad.

[GreenDragon]

So here is an update/conclusion to the drama.
I asked M if he minded me quitting, and got his blessing.  However, since his campaign - in the short term - needed a Northerner with High Society connections (he intended to use the Enlightened Society of the Weeping Moon), my absence created a problem.  The campaign would basically have devolved - in M's words - into punishing L.  And M refused to sink to that.  So he has ended to campaign.
When he informed L of this, he explained that it was due to my quitting, and that I was quitting because of my being excluded from the pack - by L mainly.  We both emphasized that we didn't believe he was doing so intentionally, and his reactions to the matter tend to support that.  Nor did either of us hold any malice toward him.

M is now considering a new campaign, with a different game.  Fortunately for me, he has been talked out of Hunter:the Reckoning.  I refuse to play that game, preferring my 'joe average' hunters to not have magical powers - especially ones that were not written with an eye to crossover compatibility (despite H:tR being Crossed Over with the Big Three in most books for those lines).  M considers a classic Hunter's Hunted game to be nothing more than a meatgrinder, because the book was written prior to the introduction of rules like Delirium/Fog/Mists/etc. and so Hunters without Numina or Edges don't have options to resist it.  But I Digress.

Thank You all for the advice and moral support in this situation.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Glad to hear that there's been a resolution.  Hope your next game goes better, whatever it is.

[idea weenie]

Try Dark Heresy.  The book specifically states that the party should be well rounded, and the players should try to make characters that differ sufficiently but can still support each other.  After all, they were recruited as a party by an Inquisitor for their various talents, not as a party of clones.

So the game could be where the characters are recruited by someone, as a personal problem-solving group.  They give you a monthly paycheck, and monthly assignments.  The players are told their characters are supposed to provide a variety of options, and if one character already does what someone else wants, the new character has to change.  Also, if a player joins in later, part of their skill set has to be what the party needs.

I.e. if a group is going up against undead, they will want a cleric, paladin, or fireball wielder.  An Illusionist would be told to make a new character.