Player Engagement Outside of Session Time

[payn]

I mean, I also have a one page setting sheet that my players can refer to during the game as needed. But I don't give them a 32 page (or more) book to read before starting an AP (which was what Paizo was suggesting back in the day at least). To me that's just nonsense, and if I were a player I probably wouldn't read it either unless the setting really grabbed me and I wanted to know more. Or I'd skim it at the table during the game just like my students try to get away with skimming any readings they've been assigned right before class starts

When was this exactly? Going all the way back to Curse of the Crimson Throne the players guides have always been under 12 pages?

 

[Jer]

When was this exactly? Going all the way back to Curse of the Crimson Throne the players guides have always been under 12 pages?

Op - you're right. It was 16 pages not 32. Still too much but not nearly as bad as I recalled (though looking at it the font size is so tiny that my poor eyes would probably prefer if they upped the font size and made it a 32 page book now). It was Rise of the Runelords which was the first and last AP I bought on a monthly basis from Paizo after they lost the Dungeon and Dragon magazines because I was so disappointed in it - I've got a few more but that's the one where they started to lose me.

 

[payn]

Op - you're right. It was 16 pages not 32. Still too much but not nearly as bad as I recalled (though looking at it the font size is so tiny that my poor eyes would probably prefer if they upped the font size and made it a 32 page book now). It was Rise of the Runelords which was the first and last AP I bought on a monthly basis from Paizo after they lost the Dungeon and Dragon magazines because I was so disappointed in it - I've got a few more but that's the one where they started to lose me.

I get you and let me take the temp down a little. I totally get folks are busy and they might just want to relax during their game time. Thats a very legit playstyle and many folks have it. Sometimes it just gets frustrating when you have a miss match on expectations with your group.

 

[Reynard]

and if a game becomes work why would you play it?

This is such a strange perspective to me. Everything takes work to understand and master -- even games. Even Arkham Horror and Heroquest, for that matter.

 

[pogre]

If I had a table full of players willing to do work on a regular basis away from the table we would be playing Ars Magica instead of D&D.

Instead, I have a table full of players with varying levels of investment. From show up and play to much more involvement. I lean into the players who like heavier involvement by inviting them to co-create parts of the campaign world and give me input on the future direction of the campaign adventures.

However, I don't begrudge folks who just want to show up and play - they're engaged while they are at the table and that's all I ask.

 

[Xamnam]

This is such a strange perspective to me. Everything takes work to understand and master -- even games. Even Arkham Horror and Heroquest, for that matter.

It's a bit funny to me that this specific one was mentioned, as when a group of my friends last attempted to play this, the second edition I believe, it was abandoned when all but two of us gave up out of exhaustion.

 

[deganawida]

Seems weird to me that players don't engage outside of the sessions. When our normal DM starts a new campaign, we are all given info on the campaign and specific rules, and work on our characters. After the first session, we make adjustments to the characters (we're all busy, so characters have to be made in a vacuum) to make sure everything is covered. Then we constantly communicate and refine things to add to the role-playing.
Just seems to be what a good player should do. It's our "baseball practice".

 

[bloodtide]

Just seems to be what a good player should do. It's our "baseball practice".

It would be nice.

Though it will nicely, ALWAYS be the divide between DMs and Players. For the people that say "everyone in the game is a player" or "all in the game are the same". A DM will take time, often hours, to work on the game outside of the game; Players can't even spare a couple minutes outside of the game to do anything, after they create a character.

 

[werecorpse]

Some rpgames and campaign starts are fine just with a 30 second recap - play those with the ones who don’t engage. “The town you are in was attacked by mysterious marauders who kidnapped some townsfolk including the local priest and you have tracked them back to this mountain pass” etc.

We play no more frequently per game than weekly so Im not a big believer of the “I didn’t have time” reason. It seems some people who have less on their plate get it done and others don’t, and it’s often the same people in both camps. It’s a choice and they chose to do other things and that’s fine. My experience is that if they don’t have time during the week to do 15-20 minutes reading while eating a meal they arent gonna be able to carve out 3+ hours to play a session. But let’s not pretend they were without time. That’s my excuse for not exercising enough - it’s a time anomaly.

I also don’t think a board game is equivalent to an rpg and I know my group doesn’t want to play a board game when we get together to play an rpg.

I find that more than half of those that don't engage with the campaign before or between sessions tend to engage less during the session as well. This combination is fine for some games but for the other games where more engagement is required I tend to try and figure out which players are better at investing and just play other games with the more invested players, even if it means less players.

 

[Grogg of the North]

Before the campaign starts, I think the amount of backstory depends greatly on the type of story being told. If the characters are going to be in a "hub town", I want to know all about it. Who are the movers and shakers in town? What's been happening recently? Are there established churches? What are the best places to gather rumors?

My group just started playing Ghost of Salt Marsh. Prior to starting the campaign, we got a one page handout on a brief history of the area. In session zero, the GM gave us a guided tour of the town, showing us where all the important land marks were and who the town leaders were. The group really liked it. I know I did! I like knowing my PC fits into the world around him.

As a GM, once the game starts, I try to send out weekly session recaps with a short homework problem. I never ask for anything too complex but I try to use the homework to spur my players to think about their character and the world around them. It could be anything from "What did your character have for breakfast today?" to "You saw Lord Fancypants and Lady Fatale whispering to each other and passing something between themselves. What do you think they were discussing?" If I get an answer before the next session I give each player a reward. I use a deck of cards that give players things like extra dice on rolls, temp HP, or even regaining an expended ability. I think it works out well.