How to add story to my irregular games?

Retreater · Nov 26, 2018

While posting in another thread on this board, I made the realization that my games lean heavily towards combat and away from exploration and story. While this isn't a problem per se, I'd like to add a little from the other styles into the game. I don't pay attention to the character's motivations, backstories, or names. We go from one combat to another.

One of the reasons is that we play every other week, and sometimes players miss those sessions, meaning that they're away from the game for a month at a time. Even though I've been taking notes of the campaign action and send it electronically, few players read it or care. Between their turns, most of the players spend their time looking on their phones or telling jokes.

I am running four different games that are biweekly or monthly.

So what is your advice to make the sessions more meaningful and engaging to the players? Adding more tactical options in combat only strengthens the combat side of the game.

Ralif Redhammer · Nov 26, 2018

Hmm, that’s a tough situation. You can’t rely on a PC being there to plan in advance for a session, and right now, as you said, you don’t track names, motivations, or backstories. It sounds like the players are tuning out the non-combat parts of the adventures. But if you want to increase their engagement beyond just combat, I think you need to start building from that baseline to get them more involved in the games.

My gut feeling is to start paying attention to their characters. Just a simple thing like referring to each character by their name when you address them can make a difference. Same goes for other personal details. If a paladin has a seething hatred for demons, then get some demons in there for them to go after. If the wizard has a thing for cold spells, put in rumors of a cold-themed magic item for them to go after (if that PC doesn’t show for that session, just have a different magic item that fits another PC that you can swap in).

iserith · Nov 26, 2018

I suggest thinking of "story" as "whatever the PCs do." So, if your session is full of combat challenges, then the story is about adventurers boldly confronting deadly perils for gold and glory. It doesn't have to be any more deep than that. So, banish any thoughts that you're not telling a story... because you are!

If you decide you want the opportunity for the stories to be about more than overcoming combat challenges, then you just have to set the stage for it to happen and provide an incentive for it. Instead of having loot on dead villains and monsters, instead hide the loot behind secret doors, guarded by deadly complex traps, the locations of which can only be found by engaging with the environment. Then, make your social interaction challenges worth XP, approaching the same amount the PCs would get for engaging in a combat. Flesh out the challenge using the social interaction rules in the DMG.

So, to get XP, the PCs must either defeat enemies in combat or turn NPCs into allies via social interaction. To get gold and magic items, they must poke around and find stuff. Soon you'll find that your stories will include all three pillars of D&D.

pogre · Nov 26, 2018

This may not be a popular opinion, but I would reduce the number of games you are running. Would it be possible to run a weekly campaign with your most dedicated/engaged players? That would allow you to focus on the campaign story better and create a more engaged game table. Just a thought.

Hjorimir · Nov 26, 2018

For starters, I'd outlaw cruising the internet and (non-emergency) texting at the table. If they're going to play, it's not too much to ask that they pay attention and be present with the rest of the people sitting at the table. D&D is a social game. If you want to promote story, make the story important. Player agency is a wonderful element to an ongoing campaign. To have that you need your players to make meaningful choices and those choices have to have meaningful consequences. In order to make an intelligent choice, the player's will need to understand the ongoing narrative.

Don't be coy about this either. Let the table know that's the direction you're taking the game. I cannot stress this enough: work with your players on the story. Don't be punitive because they missed an important detail. Help them understand what's going on (or what has already happened). Make it a positive, encouraging element to the game.

Retreater · Nov 26, 2018

pogre said:
This may not be a popular opinion, but I would reduce the number of games you are running. Would it be possible to run a weekly campaign with your most dedicated/engaged players? That would allow you to focus on the campaign story better and create a more engaged game table. Just a thought.

I understand and I've wondered that myself, but schedules and such make it impossible. Only one player is in two groups and could make it weekly.

Hjorimir · Nov 26, 2018

Retreater said:
I understand and I've wondered that myself, but schedules and such make it impossible. Only one player is in two groups and could make it weekly.

I totally get the desire to play, but I lean towards quality over quantity. What about every other week or once a month?

Retreater · Nov 27, 2018

Hjorimir said:
I totally get the desire to play, but I lean towards quality over quantity. What about every other week or once a month?

We do play once a month for one group, bi-weekly for the others. The problem I'm having is trying to maintain the groups' interest in the games between sessions and a cohesive story. Unless you're suggesting cutting back my number of games to one biweekly game.
The issue I think is being in a smaller community with few people willing to DM, so I end up running more games than most DMs.

iserith · Nov 27, 2018

Are you running location-based adventures (e.g. dungeons) or event-based adventures (e.g. plots to follow)?

The former is far easier to run if you're dealing with an irregular group of players. (Far easier in general, except for prep, actually.) The latter can turn into a mess when there's lack of continuity in players.

I run games for a player pool (more players than seats in a given session) so I run my game expecting the group to change week to week. And I'll put my recommendation behind location-based adventures for such a setup, hands down. The "story" is just what the individual groups do per session and how that impacts the setting as a result.

Swarmkeeper · Nov 27, 2018

iserith said:
Are you running location-based adventures (e.g. dungeons) or event-based adventures (e.g. plots to follow)?

The former is far easier to run if you're dealing with an irregular group of players. (Far easier in general, except for prep, actually.) The latter can turn into a mess when there's lack of continuity in players.

I run games for a player pool (more players than seats in a given session) so I run my game expecting the group to change week to week. And I'll put my recommendation behind location-based adventures for such a setup, hands down. The "story" is just what the individual groups do per session and how that impacts the setting as a result.

So much this. In one of the groups I run, we have had 12 different players - and one player has two different characters that he alternates using. It is a West Marches style campaign (this Kickstarter guy does a good job of explaining it), so most sessions are a discrete adventure with a goal, several encounters, and typically start and end back at the "home base" town. Story and lore about this "new continent" emerge as the various party combos accept quests and explore. It might simplify your job by combining your four groups into a single mega-group that is exploring the same region - even if some of the players never actually play together. Between sessions, it is helpful to have an online resource (like a MeWe group) so players can share information that their characters have discovered.

Hjorimir said:
For starters, I'd outlaw cruising the internet and (non-emergency) texting at the table. If they're going to play, it's not too much to ask that they pay attention and be present with the rest of the people sitting at the table. D&D is a social game.

Indeed! Wish I had this advice when I first started DMing 5e a few years back! I've had some issues with phones and laptops at the table and have even lost a couple of players over it. - but could not agree more with this point. A great rule to unleash at Session 0. I prefer our table to be completely electronics free, but am ok with the occasional electronic character sheet or dice roller. We have breaks to check our phones.

How to add story to my irregular games?

Retreater

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Ralif Redhammer

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iserith

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pogre

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Hjorimir

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Retreater

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Hjorimir

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Retreater

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iserith

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Swarmkeeper

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