Keeping order in your game

[Calico_Jack73]

I'm looking for some suggestions from the vast knowledge resource that is the ENworld discussion forum.
My group just expanded from 4 players to 6. Our last session several times disolved into people yelling over each other to tell me (the DM) what they wanted to do. I brought out the "Talking Totem" so that only the person with the totem would be allowed to speak. They totally ditched that idea and kept on yelling over each other. This had two results, one... the quieter players kind of faded into the background, two... I went to bed with a headache from trying to listen to two strings of conversation being yelled at me. Anyway, my question is this... what do the rest of you do to encourage (or enforce) order at your games?

 

[Desdichado]

Encourage a smaller group?

 

[Zappo]

I mentally filter out all speech except from the person whose round is happening. The rest of the group typically gives up and waits for their turn when they see that they are wasting breath.

 

[WizarDru]

I'm looking for some suggestions from the vast knowledge resource that is the ENworld discussion forum.
My group just expanded from 4 players to 6. Our last session several times disolved into people yelling over each other to tell me (the DM) what they wanted to do. I brought out the "Talking Totem" so that only the person with the totem would be allowed to speak. They totally ditched that idea and kept on yelling over each other.

Is this a new problem, or a problem made worse by the addition of two more players? How did they 'totally ditch' the totem idea...do you mean they ignored the use of it? Was this a particularly tense session due to something occuring in-game, or was this normal behavior?

If you're going to use an idea like the Totem, you have to enforce it's use, specifically in ignoring or penalizing people who talk when it's not their time to talk. If you split your attention when they request it, regardless of the totem's location, then you've undercut the whole idea of it.

A better question might be, "Why do they feel the need to shout each other down to get your attention?" What's happening in-game that they think they must get your attention ASAP, to the point of arguing in front of you and trying to outdo each other?

I don't have this particular problem, and when I've had it in the past, I usually just ask the players to be patient. Obvoiusly, that doesn't appear to be an option, here.

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

Refuse to speak until you get one person talking to you. Failing that, roll initiative and let them speak in that order.

 

[Ylis]

I've had this problem as well. As a female RPGer and GM, and running a group of 8 loud, obnoxious men (including one who's about 6'8" and prone to bellowing), I tend to get talked over a lot. There's no yelling, really, but when everyone's voice is much louder than yours, and they talk all at once, it's a little hard to be heard. Sooooo...I developed a nice method to solve that little problem. I get out a d8 (since I have 8 players), stand up (making sure to pick up and drop my chair, so they know to pay attention), then drop the die into the center of the table. Beginning on my left and going clockwise, I begin to count. When I reach the number rolled, that person gets to roll a Spot check. If he fails, something nice chews on him. It doesn't necessarily eat him completely, but it nibbles a bit (enough to get their attention).
I still get interrupted and/or talked over sometimes, but not nearly as much as I used to. And all I have to do now is stand up and silence ensues. Another thing you could do is get up and leave the table and turn on the game or something Usually they'll ask what's up and you can then tell them that there's no point in your running a game if they won't give you the respect a GM should get....
Hope some of that helped, at least

 

[Calico_Jack73]

Sounds like some decent advice. I was thinking about just going around the table in a clockwise manner and keeping a sheet of paper handy with every player's name on it. Every time a player speaks out of turn I'd make a tick mark by their name and at the end of the session when I hand out experience I'd penalize them 100 XP per tick mark.

Is that too heavy handed?

 

[Hand of Evil]

I have used an egg timer, when the sands run out talking stops and actions on the table begins. If a players does not stop, they lose action and go to the end of line of INIT.

 

[Kyramus]

I have had that problem before when everyone starts yelling at me. I am fair and give everyone voice. So while I am talking to one, i have my hand up showing a 1, meaning HOLD ON A SEC. then i go to the next person until i get to all of them.

It is your game. Remind them that if they continue to shout and you can't help each one of them in turn, then the game is more or less a moot point.

 

[Soundbyte]

Refuse to speak until you get one person talking to you. Failing that, roll initiative and let them speak in that order.

I've used this system in combat situations before. Basically, if it's not your turn (as denoted by the initiative count), you don't speak. If you do speak, you forfeit your turn for the round (within reason, of course). This helps cut down on other PCs trying to give advice to someone in the middle of combat.

As for out of combat situations, the "talking totem" thing might work, but I'd probably go with what I've done before. If you get two or three people shouting at you at once, sit down, ignore them all, and leaf through a book or something. They'll realize you're not paying any attention, and stop. Then you explain that you can only listen to one person at once, and it's up to them to figure out how to make sure that all the players get the talk time they need, but from now on if more than one person is talking to you, you're not going to listen to any of them. This really isn't a gaming issue, more of a "making sure the players realize that the same social rules apply as anywhere else" issue. As such, don't feel like you have to solve it single-handedly as the Game Master.

Good luck,

Soundbyte