Then out of nowhere this huge gelatinous monsters rises up like a quivering terrible tide and SLAM! (DM smashes fist into table- dice and minis jump- and drinks get spilled) gets...
DM stands up looks around room, eye contact with each player...
YOU!
Congrats players engaged, and it's loads easier when the bad guys are sentient and/or humanoids- they swear and threaten (and give a little of the plot away).
The point is, and this isn't easy, if the DM wants to engage the players sometimes they need to stop sitting on their backside and get rilled/involved/in action. Storytelling, for me/us, involves doing voices and having a bit of banter with the PCs in game (NPCs and bad guys alike).
Remember if the DM is playing up- voices/acting out etc. then you're giving the players permission to get involved, and you'll be surprised how easy it is to engage them.
Admittedly this kind of thing only lasts for minutes to moments but the memory lasts, and the players keep coming back.
