D&D 5E (2024) How do you run an open table game in D&D '24?

[DrJawaPhD]

Thank you for the detailed response. I guess the only thing I don't get is wouldn't the point of having people drop in and out require you to start and end in a safe area? Otherwise if you and in the middle of something and the next session half the group isn't there and two people are brand new, The session no longer makes sense

My advice is to let go of insisting on "what makes sense" whenever it gets in the way of the logistics of playing a fun game. Always strive for verisimilitude but don't be a slave to it.

I always imagine it like in a TV show where sometimes a character just doesn't appear on the screen for long stretches of time even though they were present at the scene. In a TV show that's more because there's a limit on how many characters you can show at once and have a coherent storyline - but you can easily do the same thing in DnD. The absent players had their characters "right there" but for reasons that don't need to be rationalized, they just happened to not do anything noteworthy (including being in any danger) in that particular episode.

Now does that 100% make sense? I literally could not possibly care even in the slightest. My priority is having a fun game, not creating a perfectly realistic fantasy world simulation. Again though I could see your idea maybe working (and having some strong advantages if you do pull it off), if you are much better than I am at session pacing.

 

[Nobleshield]

My advice is to let go of insisting on "what makes sense" whenever it gets in the way of the logistics of playing a fun game. Always strive for verisimilitude but don't be a slave to it.

I always imagine it like in a TV show where sometimes a character just doesn't appear on the screen for long stretches of time even though they were present at the scene. In a TV show that's more because there's a limit on how many characters you can show at once and have a coherent storyline - but you can easily do the same thing in DnD. The absent players had their characters "right there" but for reasons that don't need to be rationalized, they just happened to not do anything noteworthy (including being in any danger) in that particular episode.

Now does that 100% make sense? I literally could not possibly care even in the slightest. My priority is having a fun game, not creating a perfectly realistic fantasy world simulation. Again though I could see your idea maybe working (and having some strong advantages if you do pull it off), if you are much better than I am at session pacing.

Interesting. Never thought of it that way.

So just to confirm then the idea is that everybody is always there "behind the scenes" and the session just kind of focuses on whoever shows up, with whoever didn't doing something else "off camera"?

And that would also justify them being the same level as everyone else?

 

[NN]

Play OSE or Shadowdark and just tell them its D&D.

 

[Nobleshield]

Play OSE or Shadowdark and just tell them its D&D.

That will break down the minute they see It's not the books they think. Trust me that would have been my original thing; I wanted to run castles and Crusades. Pretty much the only people I had interested were my wife and a couple of friends because nobody else knows what the hell it is. Telling people "It's just like D&D" isn't the same thing when they want to actually play D&D

 

[NN]

i question your gumption

download the shadowdark quickstart players book, download a few 5e logos, find a free pdf editor, and verily robert is the sibling of your parent

/j
Ish

 

[kermit4karate]

Interesting. Never thought of it that way.

So just to confirm then the idea is that everybody is always there "behind the scenes" and the session just kind of focuses on whoever shows up, with whoever didn't doing something else "off camera"?

And that would also justify them being the same level as everyone else?

If your brain can imagine a way to bring the new first-timers or out-of-towners into a session that doesn't make you barf a little in your mouth and shake with revulsion, it's a valid approach.

Take the concept of player agency and apply it to yourself as DM. You can do it however you want.

The larger concerns are maintaining pace at the table (not getting yourself bogged down, because that makes the game a slog for everyone) and making sure everyone has fun (laugh; be fair; be reasonable and respectful; entertain, dazzle and thrill them!).

 

[bedir than]

And that would also justify them being the same level as everyone else?

Think of it like Star Trek.
Every member of the crew is around. They're all doing things and learning. But an episode may not feature Scotty. That doesn't mean the engine room didn't do anything.

Or in a war movie. You might follow a particular team, but other fire teams are doing things too. They weren't the focus. It's not like World War II stopped while we looked at Captain John Miller in Saving Private Ryan.

Or it's the Fellowship of the Rings, but without the chapters focused on specific characters.