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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 8728909" data-attributes="member: 42582">My approach, in contexts where I want all the players to participate in a situation, is to present the situation in such a way that the players will want to declare actions.Eg when the PCs come to town under the leadership of Derrik, Dwarven Lord from the East, then the Baron addresses Lord Derrik. If Derrik's player doesn't say anything in response, that will be a failure as the Baron is snubbed! If the player decides to spend resources to boost the check - eg an action point to reroll - well, that's the system working as intended (ie generating pressure on the players to use their mechanical resources).But sometimes not every scene involves every character. A complexity 1 or 2 challenge might just involve a small number of characters. It depends very much on how things are framed. Conversely, given the time that it will take at the table to resolve a complexity 4 or 5 challenge I think, as a GM, it makes sense to try to frame a situation that will engage all the players.When our main 4e game was at 30th level, the PCs had to persuade some Maruts to not interfere in their fight with the Tarrasque. The fighter made one check in the challenge - an Intimidate check (successful after an action point reroll), emphasising that he was there to deal with the Tarrasque whatever the opinion of the Maruts - and then proceeded to solo the creature for a couple of rounds. His success in that respect provided context for the other, negotiating, PCs to make their points and persuade the Maruts that they had made an error in their celestial calculations and hence had no cause to interfere on this occasion.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 8728909, member: 42582"] My approach, in contexts where I want all the players to participate in a situation, is to present the situation in such a way that the players will want to declare actions. Eg when the PCs come to town under the leadership of Derrik, Dwarven Lord from the East, then the Baron addresses Lord Derrik. If Derrik's player doesn't say anything in response, that will be a failure as the Baron is snubbed! If the player decides to spend resources to boost the check - eg an action point to reroll - well, that's the system working as intended (ie generating pressure on the players to use their mechanical resources). But sometimes not every scene involves every character. A complexity 1 or 2 challenge might just involve a small number of characters. It depends very much on how things are framed. Conversely, given the time that it will take at the table to resolve a complexity 4 or 5 challenge I think, as a GM, it makes sense to try to frame a situation that will engage all the players. When our main 4e game was at 30th level, the PCs had to persuade some Maruts to not interfere in their fight with the Tarrasque. The fighter made one check in the challenge - an Intimidate check (successful after an action point reroll), emphasising that he was there to deal with the Tarrasque whatever the opinion of the Maruts - and then proceeded to solo the creature for a couple of rounds. His success in that respect provided context for the other, negotiating, PCs to make their points and persuade the Maruts that they had made an error in their celestial calculations and hence had no cause to interfere on this occasion. [/QUOTE]

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