My players spend little if any time thinking about the game between sessions. If they're going to do so, I want them to be thinking about either;
a) the overall story
b) the current predicament
c) something of their character's personality/desires/background
It used to bother me that I'd spend hours or even days planning for a session, and my players would do nothing. This no longer bothers me, for the simple reason that I've learned to minimize the planning time behind the DM screen.
Half or more of my players are casual players. They only know the rules that directly affect their characters. Our one rules-lawyer is kept busy answering their questions, allowing me time to focus on DMing.
Any additional complication to the game (such as things they can alter between sessions) would in effect make the game harder for these players. I want it to get simpler, not harder. This is just one of the reasons why I'm interested in Next. The first play packet was pretty ideal from my perspective. The entire rules in less than 100 pages. Perfect.
a) the overall story
b) the current predicament
c) something of their character's personality/desires/background
It used to bother me that I'd spend hours or even days planning for a session, and my players would do nothing. This no longer bothers me, for the simple reason that I've learned to minimize the planning time behind the DM screen.
Half or more of my players are casual players. They only know the rules that directly affect their characters. Our one rules-lawyer is kept busy answering their questions, allowing me time to focus on DMing.
Any additional complication to the game (such as things they can alter between sessions) would in effect make the game harder for these players. I want it to get simpler, not harder. This is just one of the reasons why I'm interested in Next. The first play packet was pretty ideal from my perspective. The entire rules in less than 100 pages. Perfect.
