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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Imaculata" data-source="post: 6790632" data-attributes="member: 6801286">It is the job of the DM to keep players invested. A certain amount of OC chatter is perfectly fine in my opinion (but this is a matter of personal preference). But if the players are sidelined for too long, then players can get impatient. I struggle with this all the time as a DM. I have a campaign with a lot of talking, and players split the party constantly. This means that the player-characters are rarely at the same place at the same time. So to prevent them from becoming distracted I do the following:-I switch between different perspectives regularly. I don't spend too much time with one player, and quickly bounce back and forth between various players.-I involve the players whose characters aren't present, by allowing OC input. If one player has to make a difficult decision, everyone is allowed to voice their opinion, regardless if they are there or not. It is a game after all, so they can discuss strategies.-I allow players whose characters aren't present, to take control of npc's during fights, so they have something to do.-I bend the narrative in such a way, that players often conveniently meet up with each other. Like in a typical Hollywood movie, when player 1 passes through a street, he conveniently meets up with player 2, who happens to be shopping there. This is how I fix a lot of party splits temporarily.-I often tell the other players that they notice something, while the action of another player is taking place. This allows them to react to what is happening. For example, while player 1 is interrogating a sailor in a bar (lots of talking), player 2 might notice a woman acting a bit shifty, and leaving conveniently. This adds excitement to an otherwise boring conversation for the other players.</blockquote>

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