How To Engage Your Players
I’ve been thinking about how lately how to engage players at the table when running a campaign as it’s a problem I’ve definitely had in the past. I don’t believe in the whole, in-game punishment concept, so here are some ideas on how to solve that problem and keep things fun.
Give Your PC Purpose!/Involve Them Into the Story
A lot of times in larger groups, certain PCs tend to grab more of the spotlight than others. This leaves other players feeling left out or unimportant. So the best way may be to simply give them more involvement in the story in a unique or dramatic way. Feeling important or vital to the narrative can really boost engagement. Suddenly after saving the Queen of a foreign kingdom, your Fighter is now an honorary knight of the kingdom and gain a small militia that will assist you in battle whenever you call upon them for aid. Or perhaps your party has been captured by band of powerful thieves, but rather than killing you all outright, they strike a deal with your Rogue to steal a highly dangerous magical item. Another option could be a PC gains some magical ability or object that empowers them, but makes them highly sought after by others.
Related to the ideas above, sometimes the problem isn’t just getting more involved in the story, but that they have issues with their PC. Perhaps their character isn’t useful or powerful enough. Good fixes for this, magic items. Giving players magic items, not even necessarily Rare or Legendary items can help make them feel more powerful or useful, as long as they don’t have a huge advantage over the other players this may work just fine. Or perhaps your player is running a class that feels relatively weak. The Beast Master archetype for Ranger in 5th edition is honestly quite lacking in many ways. My personal fix for this was giving the Ranger more feats from the Hunter archetype (or possibly making their companion creature stronger/more flexible to use in combat).
“My Character Sucks Part II”
Now if your player is losing interest simply because they don’t LIKE their character, there are two choices they can make. 1.) Have them roll a new character and retire the old one. It’s simple, and gives them a chance to try out a new class and have some fun. But this isn’t always great for narrative purposes and can be a lot more work for YOU. Or quite possible this just won’t solve the issue. So that leaves you with the other choice. 2.) Make the character dynamic. Characters can become boring because they are static, they refuse to change and grow stale. This is often why characters in novels are dynamic characters, they need to change to feel real and remain interesting. Or maybe the character is just a huge asshole. Either way, evolving their character gives them a chance to grow and evolve their character in an exciting way. This could also be something they can work out with you as the DM (which should be less work than writing in a new party member)
One Special Moment/Everybody Gets to be a Star!
I often try to make sure each player has at least one special moment per session (although I’m not always the greatest at it..). As I mentioned above, some players may take a larger control over the narrative or action. Making sure each player has a specific moment crafted for them or their character can be challenging but very rewarding.
This one seems like an easy one but a DM has to keep track of a LOT of things. I believe your players should be your number one priority. Whenever you see a player seems to be feeling left out or receding into the background, try engaging them by asking their character questions either as the DM or even as an NPC. How does their PC feel about the current situation? What are they doing while the party gets hammered in the tavern? Do they notice something the others don’t? Roll Perception.
Active Engagement (Among Players)
To add onto the idea above, ask your more active players to encourage roleplay and decision making between each other, especially when another player seems to be left out. This can help immensely. Creating strong ties between PCs too can help create a unique and fun dynamic that is not only interesting for the story but can also keep everyone involved.
Removing Cell Phones & Other Distractions
Most everyone keeps their cell phones on hand, so texting, snapchatting, tweeting, etc. can be pretty distracting. Obviously all of these can be used correctly and politely, but I’m sure we’ve all seen players who take this over the top. I had a player who spent nearly an entire session playing an app game, barely looking up except to do something ridiculous or hazardous to the party simply because THEY were “bored.” Taking away one person’s phone is pretty controlling and could even be embarrassing for your friend. So instead, offer that everyone put their phone’s in a bucket when you start playing to keep everyone totally involved in the game. Your own phone as well if you don’t use it for the game. Only times you’re allowed to take them out is when you take a break or need to look something up. (Oh and emergencies too, of course. And ordering pizza)
Discourage Out of Game Discussion
It can difficult to immerse yourself in the game if everyone keeps interrupting the game to talk about their plans for the weekend or a funny picture they saw on Twitter that everyone NEEDS to see. If this is a problem for your players, make sure to include an appropriate amount of breaks while having a session.
If all of the above don’t seem to be working, the best option may be just to simply talk to them. Outside of the game, ask your player(s) what’s preventing them from engaging or involving themselves with the game. There are an infinite number of reasons why, a direct conversation can help bring these reasons to light and give you a chance to work on them. Meet your players half-way. You may want to talk to them directly right away or give them a few sessions to see if the issue resolves itself.
What If None of That Works?
Chances are, maybe this just isn’t the right campaign for your player. Worst case scenario, they just aren’t interested in D&D. This isn’t necessarily a reflection on your DM'ing abilities. It all comes down to personal taste.
Also keep in mind not every player enjoys the game in the same ways. Some players are engaged with the story, but just prefer taking a backseat and watching the others, participating when they feel. This isn’t bad, as long as someone is helping drive the story. I also have tons of players who like to doodle while playing but still remain heavily active and engaged in the campaign. Even cell phone use isn’t a problem for me, especially during combat. In the end, it all comes down the individual. Make sure you get to know your players and what works for them and what doesn’t!
This is all just personal opinion so feel free to add your own ideas by reblogging and adding ideas!
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