Meech17
WotC President Runner-Up.
Good morning EN World.
I'm a newer DM, and I'm running a game for five players of mixed experience. My two most experienced players both started in the last year or two, I've got two where they've played one or two sessions prior to my game, and my last player is new-new and this is his first experience.
These are all my friends who I know from outside D&D. (One is actually my spouse) Our game is played largely as an excuse to hang out and spend time together. My players seem to enjoy the game, and they tell me as much, but part of me feels like they'd have just as much fun playing a board game or party games.
I'm trying to take my players from this point where they're kind of just experiencing my game, and elevate them to a point where they're helping to drive our game. Does anyone have any experience in doing this?
Part of me fears that the answer is going to be that I need to find another group who is as equally invested in the game as I am, and just accept this group as my chill hang out with friends group. Start running simple modules and enjoy it for what it is. I'm trying to do that and struggling. I've been searching local LFG groups and the like and attending Adventurer's League hoping to meet some people interested in possible getting into a game. While I try this, I'd still like to try and encourage my current players to be more active in the mean time.
I'd love to be able to work my PC's back stories into the plot of the game, but there are no back stories. I offered everyone a deal a couple of sessions ago, where if they showed up with a back story I'd give them inspiration for it. Nothing serious, just maybe one or two paragraphs about who their character is, and how and why they ended up being adventurers. No one took me up on this offer.
Early on, like session two, I gave them a bunch of plot threads, and the hope was that they'd pick the one that interested them the most and I'd start prepping for that. Instead they asked me straight up "What are we supposed to be doing? Which one of these things is most important?" They're perfectly content to just follow the "Main Plot".
Has anyone else experienced anything like this? Have you had a very passive group that you were able to get better invested into your game to make them more active? I'd love any tips or advice.
Thank you
I'm a newer DM, and I'm running a game for five players of mixed experience. My two most experienced players both started in the last year or two, I've got two where they've played one or two sessions prior to my game, and my last player is new-new and this is his first experience.
These are all my friends who I know from outside D&D. (One is actually my spouse) Our game is played largely as an excuse to hang out and spend time together. My players seem to enjoy the game, and they tell me as much, but part of me feels like they'd have just as much fun playing a board game or party games.
I'm trying to take my players from this point where they're kind of just experiencing my game, and elevate them to a point where they're helping to drive our game. Does anyone have any experience in doing this?
Part of me fears that the answer is going to be that I need to find another group who is as equally invested in the game as I am, and just accept this group as my chill hang out with friends group. Start running simple modules and enjoy it for what it is. I'm trying to do that and struggling. I've been searching local LFG groups and the like and attending Adventurer's League hoping to meet some people interested in possible getting into a game. While I try this, I'd still like to try and encourage my current players to be more active in the mean time.
I'd love to be able to work my PC's back stories into the plot of the game, but there are no back stories. I offered everyone a deal a couple of sessions ago, where if they showed up with a back story I'd give them inspiration for it. Nothing serious, just maybe one or two paragraphs about who their character is, and how and why they ended up being adventurers. No one took me up on this offer.
Early on, like session two, I gave them a bunch of plot threads, and the hope was that they'd pick the one that interested them the most and I'd start prepping for that. Instead they asked me straight up "What are we supposed to be doing? Which one of these things is most important?" They're perfectly content to just follow the "Main Plot".
Has anyone else experienced anything like this? Have you had a very passive group that you were able to get better invested into your game to make them more active? I'd love any tips or advice.
Thank you