Group rules.

[aco175]

I tend to agree with previous people. Your group may not be playing serious or smart acording to you. I have a gamer in my game like this, but after a few years of playing I know that he is a lurker and he is fine with it.

You can approach some of the more serious players and ask them to draw in the other players, or have everyone agree on some rules- you may want to use the guise of 'speeding up play'. I always end up using some game time to upgrade characters, esp. with only a few players having the newest books. It's not really play time, but everyone is together and seems to have fun, and that is the most important.

 

[Garthanos]

What methods do other people use to help keep the attention of their players? When somebody has ummm a bit heavy handed ideas I think it's a good idea to come up with techniques which grab the players eye and mind, do you use props? for instance... having a nice token or model that represents their characters on the battlemap can help... the fantasy money thing is also a fun idea too(thanks Enworld for reminding me).
Using character builder is a nice digital assistant for advancing the characters in a regulated precise way.

Playing music like the theme from lord of the rings so that then environment you are gaming in is inspirational can help as well. I have found some people dont want to chit chat over the top of music..;-)

 

[wagenejm]

If this is a regular gaming group, I don't see any reason to have such rules in place. Rules like that are going to suck the fun out of the group and encourage people not to show up and want to leave early. If my gaming group were to introduce rules like this, I would think they were playing a prank.

First off, I strongly encourage you to read the sections of the DMG and DMG2 concerning the different player types. Identify the players in your group that fit each type and try to build on their strengths rather than penalize their weaknesses.

That said you absolutely CANNOT force your players to roleplay. In my group, we have players who are somewhat shy about roleplaying. What we've done is encourage those players to get into roleplaying by offering a "token" for good roleplaying descriptions that make it into the after-adventure story. These tokens can be turned in for a free +2 to any roll or a free saving throw attempt. What this has done is brought those players out of their shells some and while roleplaying doesn't always come easily, they make an effort to try now, because they can receive a benefit from it, but aren't made to feel like it's being forced onto them.

I see in a later post you mention players having poor tactical decisions and failing to properly update their sheets. When this happens, your best bet may be to just let them suffer their own mistakes. A PC being knocked unconscious a few times, or being killed outright and causing the remaining players to have to resurrect the dead PC will cause the players to police their own actions a little better.

 

[bone_naga]

One technique I like for holding the players attention better is called Active Defenses (back in Unearthed Arcana they called it players making all the rolls) ... because it feels like they are more "in the game" even when its not there turn they become more aware of the action.

I've been using this rule for a while in my games and it seems to work out pretty well. Since the defense is rolled at the same time as the attack, it doesn't really take up extra time, its easier to fudge numbers because the players can't figure out monster attacks/defenses (since they don't see my rolls), and it does help keep them engaged when it's not their turn.

 

[DanmarLOK]

Here's a long(ish) rundown of the system for 4E Key Our Cars » Blog Archive » Dodge, Parry, Sidestep!

but essentially when a monster makes an attack you take their attack bonus and add 12 to it. The PC rolls a d20 and adds their defense-10 to it. If they roll higher than the montser's attack they're missed, their defenses are too strong.

Example:

Monster has some power that +10 vs Will.
PC has 15 Will.

When DM say's "Okay Bob the screamer is going to blast you with its Gaze of Despair which is versus Will."

Bob rolls a d20 and adds 5 (15 - base 10) and tries to beat a 22 (10 + 12).

So defenses become saving throws against attacks. This means the players are more active when it's not their turn since they have to roll to not be hit by attacks thrown their way. Rather than when their turn is over they're free to daydream, read, text, IM, surf, etc. (But allowing players access to such attention disruptors as smart phones and laptops is another discussion).

One technique I like for holding the players attention better is called Active Defenses (back in Unearthed Arcana they called it players making all the rolls) ... because it feels like they are more "in the game" even when its not there turn they become more aware of the action.

 

[Garthanos]

Along side players making the rolls you can allow the player to pick up the description from where you leave off on your monsters attack... ie they describe how they are defending themselves it doesnt have to be just a die roll for defense and occasionally I let my whimsy let there defense be better because it seems just perfect for the scene and description of the attack I made (maybe it surprised me).

 

[Blackbrrd]

We have a quick hack-and-slash game going on Tuesdays and the only real rule is that you can't backtrack in combat. It goes for the DM and players. It actually livens up the game since both sides to mistakes. The DM because he has so much to keep track of and some players because they aren't paying attention. We usually allow one backtrack per session. Everybody can have a bad day.

I like your rule of -10% xp for a no-show (I assume you get 90% of the normal xp, even if you haven't played?).

In my group I award "bonus" xp for players that lag so they can catch up with the other players, maybe give 10% for that?

Keeping track of "marks" doesn't sound like much fun for a DM.

Another rule we have is that when it's your turn you have to act nearly immidiatly (within 10-30 sec) or the DM will go to the next mob. You are effectively delaying until you can make up your mind. To give players a heads up I will go: "Khazad its your turn. The next player is Lemenya." (There might be mobs that act between Khazad and Lemenya).

 

[Neuroglyph]

Your merit system for equating roleplaying with exp reward is a good one, but don't be too formal about it. Don't keep track of points, but only offer the 10% bonus to one PC per session and make sure your Players know that they need to impress you to get it.

Competition inspires people.

As to the OA actions, let then suck it up. Don't backtrack because of the PCs refusing to listen to you - you're enabling misbehavior. You can't "child-proof" your game because they want to act like children - they are supposed to be heroes, and heroes don't get "do-overs". Spending a few rounds every night rolling to see if your Character is bleeding out as opposed to doing something fun is a heck of a good way to drive home the message that they need to pay attention!