Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Darrin Drader" data-source="post: 577000" data-attributes="member: 7394">There's been some really good advice thrown out here so far, so I'll just go with what has worked for me in the past.keeping the players interested enough to come back: There's really two elements here. The first is providing action. I once ran the first game of a campaign where no one there had met before, and I really needed to interest them in the campaign in order to make them want to come back for the next session. I made sure to throw a lot of action into it to keep it interesting. The scenario wasn't all that complicated - the party had to rescue some people that would later become party members from within a kobold's wooden stronghold. They had help from an NPC paladin. Though kobolds are not the world's most challenging opponent, the players were hooked after their atempts to infiltrate failed and they had to resort to combat. In a matter of rounds the players secured one of the 4 towers and started shooting lit ballista bolts at the other sections of the keep. A short time later the keep was ablaze and the party had to move quickly to search the place for their missing companions before they were killed by the fire the PC's started. By keeping the action cinematic rather than simply hack and slash, I was able to hold their interest.The next thing I did was to foreshadow future events. Obviously you don't want to give away too much information at once, but it is good to keep a long list of secrets the players don't know and then try to reveal one secret every game session. What this does is make them want to continue digging until they find out what truths lie at the heart of the campaign.As for handling disruptive players, this isn't the easiest thing to deal with. Often times they're disruptive because they're bored. If that's the case, you should pull one of them aside and ask why they're acting that way. It could be that they want to hack and slash rather than do a lot of roleplaying. It could be the other way around too. While both elements are necessary to a good game, some gamers definitely prefer one to another and you should find out which type of group you have.Also, try to minimize distractions. Keep the TV off, the Magic cards put away, and take specified breaks for eating. Its amazing how much small destraction detract from the overall gaming environment. Also, make sure tha the gaming environment is adequat. I played in a short lived campaign where the setting for the game was just wrong. The DM's non-gamer spouse was constantly interrupting, the room was extremely humid, and the only seating was an uncomfortable couch. This just didn't work well. We could have been gaming at a hobby shop a few miles away where there were nice long tables where we could sit, comfortable chairs, and of course all the gaming materials we could ask for in case we suddenly might need a supplement we didn't have.Hope that helps a little. I've been DMing for the past 13 years and playing for the last 18. I definitely prefer to DM, and I know that it can be kind of rough finding your niche when you are just beginning. Definitely don't give up on yourself. Its OK to give up on some players though.</blockquote>

Verification