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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MNblockhead" data-source="post: 7570071" data-attributes="member: 6796661">Hi, you and I have a lot of common. I started DMing again when 5e came out, after having not DMed or played TTRPGs since 1990. Also, my current campaign is also set in the Lost Lands. Specifically, Rappan Atthuk, but if they get bored of the Dungeon of Graves, I have the Bard's Gate, Borderlands, City of Brass and other books. I'm also excited about the forthcoming setting book for the Lost Lands that they are currently Kickstarting. I don't have to prompt my players too much on this. They are all experiences players, but still, it helps to give some prompts to keep things interactive. Here are some things I like to do:The A-Team Intro.  Remember the opening credits of televison action serials in the 1980s?  They would show each character for a few seconds in the middle of some action that seemed to tell you most of what you needed to know about that character's role in the show. The <a href="https://youtu.be/Cn6kEsloMdE?t=23" target="_blank">A-Team is a classic example</a>.  Have each play introduce their character by describing two or three action scenes. What do they look like, what are they doing, how are they behaving, how are other reacting to them. For more about this and character introductions in general, see DM David's post <a href="https://dmdavid.com/tag/how-to-get-dd-players-to-make-unforgettable-character-introductions-that-take-a-minute-or-less/" target="_blank">How to Get D&D Players to Make Unforgettable Character Introductions That Take a Minute or Less</a>. Also, I have character tents on my DM screen, that serve to show initiative and marching order. But their most important function is to give information on the characters. Both sides have the character's name, race, and class. On the DM's side I also have AC, passive perception, weight, and a very brief summation of their backgrounds. On the players side, there are also few adjectives that the player wants the other players to know about their character. Next, out of combat, I try to take Chris Perkins advice to listen more than I talk. As the DM you need to be comfortable with some silence. I remember when I was first tutoring student of English as a Second Language. The supervisor would always instruct us to just wait silently more than we were comfortable after asking a question. Many people tend to feel the need to fill dead air space. As a DM, let the players know that you expect them to work out amongst themselves what they course of action will be. Provide any open exposition and scene description and ask, what do you all do?  And...just...SHUT UP...and...wait. And listen. This can help you do a bit a prep without making the came feel like it is slowing down, because they should be busy discussing what they are going to do. Also you can get some great ideas from their discussion. In the "old days" it was common for games to be run with large groups of players and for their to be caller. I think assigning one person to explain what everyone in the group will be doing can be useful for small groups as well. It FORCES the group to talk and plan and understand what each person is doing. It creates more engagement. Which is why the "break out into small groups and report back" is used so much in education, workshops, and conferences. During combat, however, I go around shining the spot light on each character in initiative order asking the player what their character is doing. BUT I found it helps to have more engagement by explaining what the other players are doing. I mean they should be listening and I'm not just repeating what everyone before them said, but I try to work in a few quick details of at least one other player's situation as part of asking then what they are doing on their turn. Another think I find interesting is to find different ways to prompt players to describe what their character is doing. If you are always just asking what actions they take on their turns, it is less likely they will bring in their backgrounds and it will be less likely for other players to engage with other players characters beyond tactical decisions. So, instead of always saying "it's your turn, what does your character do" try other ways to prompt this information that may also prompt more engagement with their character background and other characters.The constable laughs at Grabsall McGuffin's attempt to intimidate him, how does he react?Similarly, sometimes when something in the story may have more emotional potential or where a characters background may give the situation more impact, has:How does your Grabsall feel about that? What's his response?Once players are get in the mode of role playing off of each other, the DM will rarely need to give prompts. They'll just respond based on your description of the scene and the NPCs words and actions.  But for newer players, prompting them to not only tell you what rules-based action they take, but also how they feel about it, what their actions look like, maybe even why they are taking that action. A bit of third-person description and metagaming can help with engagement. I encourage players to describe motives. "Grabsall, seeing that bandits attacking the caravan are orcs, remembers his own parents death at the hands orcs and goes into a rage."</blockquote>

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