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Message: <blockquote data-quote="HolyGrenadeFrenzy" data-source="post: 3660796" data-attributes="member: 41808">Notes on Keeping the players attentionThe information control of DMing, too much and too little information, is an art form and takes practice and experience doing it to master.  Don't be too hard on yourself or your players about it.  Yet there are methods you can develope to gain their interest without getting upset.....and I mean on a dime.First of all before a discription you should try and get the players attention in the first place.  Clearing your throat once is a descent way to do this.  Otherwise use the following or some such methods.Situation A::  During a description in a room the players seem to be getting bored rather quickly.  They obviously don't get what the big deal is with the lengthy description or at least some of them don't as their eyes glaze over.  Behind the DM shield you have a spiral notebook with times and dates you record in it and what you are reading has a reference tag of some kind.  You stop your description.  You look at a player and ask what their character is doing.  You note it. You continue around the board and get the data from all the players that look like they are ignoring the description first and then you look to the ones that are still listening and ask. "Shall, I continue the description you were listening to or would you rather hear it in private?"This is one example of a strategy of recording what people pay attention to.  If the DM writes something down it is important!  If you didn't listen to the description over such an event you have missed something literally of note!  If you do this kind of thing you need to make the description relavent.  Future encounters need to be relavant to the description.  If they don't have a bard to give them data.....short change them with information about objects except for very simply descriptions and don't reveal powers without work on the characters parts.  If the description had other relevant information give the players the information if they are attentive now.  Yet the ones listening better should get something extra for important information unless they left for "real life survival reasons or something like that".  You can make allowances for that.    This is one way to get the players attention and hang on your words......Don't waste their time either.Situation B: A few players keep talking out of game and they cut the DM off and have been ignoring a description and being disruptive to the point you are annoyed.  Allow for spot checks only for those paying attention already.  The others whom want a spot check you may allow or disallow them, deciding if their players are distracted by some other random thing after rolling some arbitrary dice behind the screen and laughing quietly because now the dark side of DMing is here.   Now have everyone whom you decide isn't flat footed to roll initative as an attack or fight breaks out or some other disturbance some of the characters are flatfooted for!  If you have players with characters that cannot be caught flatfooted inform them of what "other" thing they have to contend with first. (Finish restrapping their armor, quit the flirting with the bar maid, put their boots back on that they were getting a rock out of.....what ever!   Conclusion: Not paying attention to what the DM is saying is bad.....Always!  For the DM gives you the information about your "stimuli" within the universe your character resides in.  Anyone can "Space out" or get distracted even the most intelligent and wise or sharp witted........It is part of characterization and adventure!  If you make the mistake of ignoring you still fun your players will be challenged to stay on their toes!   Not paying attention can result in penalties to sleep spells and such too. (circumstantal)Be cautiously subtle about this behavior on your part or the players will get the ruse.  And NEVER tell them about the reasons for anything you do in these regards I give you!  For these are old DM Ruses that are nearly a joking standard for old DMs.  I have honored your questions with some methods of procedure that have worked many places with many DMs and players alike.  Don't give it away lightly yet practice this and your own version of such skills.  Enjoy the role of DM for the Story Tellers of Old are still among us and some of them are we!  It isn't a magic spell yet the secret art and knowledge of DMing isn't all in the DMG!   <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> BTW if players were to behave that way in a different game like anything by I.C.E. they could find their characters not breathing fairly quickly...........why should it be any different.  Good players are grown and so are good DMs yet it is abit tougher for DMs because they have a slightly more direct result on players growth than they realize.  Players do assist in DM growth as well.  Want proof?  Easy.....If you hadn't encounter difficulties and related to that thread in some personal way I find it difficult to believe this thread would have even been started of lasted this long.-HGF</blockquote>

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