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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Robtheman" data-source="post: 5461022" data-attributes="member: 89625">Props to the GM and OP meeting his players half-way. Hopefully they deserve the hard work and reflection you are investing in this adventure.A few more thoughts. I have a pretty fun game going now. 5 players, 2 very experienced GMs among them and two virtual newbs. Now in my case they love to role play so it's easier for me. However, I believe I fell in to a trap similar to one that ffy is experiencing. The players felt a little lost and were not as engaged in the narrative as I would like.After some discussion it became clear I was giving too many choices. The most experienced of the GMs (Durn on these boards) let me know that he'd actually prefer a little more direction. Now that doesn't mean I hit them over the head with a Clue-by-Four. It means directing the narrative in a manner that my players are capable of following.Perhaps providing puzzles and riddles will get them to start talking to each other in game. If you want to you can narrate their out of character choices. If the Avenger tells the Barbarian that he'd like to see You might also try something I like to use in games. It brings Role Playing into the combat and makes the players feel more like heroes.Awesome Cards! Yeah!Each player receives one at the beginning of each encounter. They don't stack between encounters. They can turn it in and spend a healing surge to do something akin to an encounter power (use page 42 to adjudicate the damage/skill checks). The improvised action must be awesome and they have to describe what they do. This might not get them to talk in character with NPCs, but it would get them in to the idea of looking beyond the power cards and battle map. The most memorable moments in our campaign have been the result of someone nearly dying and another player using their Awesome Card to save them from certain death. As an aside their seem to be many tall cliffs in my campaign world.A second idea is to remove the battle map and minis for small skirmishes. Sketch a simple map and make the enemies minions. The party members can use powers or basic attacks to hit. You can describe whether they are close enough or too far away. Be flexible at first. If you think they are too far away, let them move and attack or fudge the distance in your mind. The point is they will need to describe everything and begin imagining the scene in their head instead of on the table in front of them. Encourage the use of skills in combat and flip back and forth between initiative and free flowing combat. Fighting on the run, hiding, setting ambushes, can all be accomplished this way to create cinematic and exciting encounters. This might help you have more fun with some of the encounters with out disappointing your players.</blockquote>

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