How do you keep your players on track?

[gurgleflep]

Lately, I've been having problems with my players not paying attention during the game and I don't know what to do with them! It's beginning to become really aggravating :smallannoyed:

To give you a taste of what goes on, here's a small list:

We use a TV to display the map and such, and I use a laptop as a DM screen. Because of this, they feel they can use their electronic devices during the session.
Nobody takes notes - even the designated notes taker for the day! (everybody is meant to take notes, but one person in particular for each day)
The group refuses to pay attention unless it's their turn.
Nobody does any actual roleplay, they just say "I roll a ___ check."


How can I get them to pay attention more? It's a fairly large group, 8-9 people depending on if everybody shows up or not. I'll take any helpful advice that I can get at this point, I'm about to flip the table and pass the DM's mantle over to somebody else :smallfrown:

[Jay R]

A. I don't know that you can. It might just be a mismatch between a DM who wants one kind of game, and players who want another kind.

B. Make it worth their while. They will continue to not pay attention until it's their turn until that becomes a losing strategy.

DM: OK, Fred, it's your turn. What does Balatair do?
Fred: Um, what's going on?
DM: Balatair doesn't know what's going on, and misses his turn. Greg, you're next. What does Arlecchino do?

Otherwise, introduce important information throughout the melee. Consider:

DM: OK, Fred, it's your turn. What does Balatair do?
Fred: Balatair attacks the nearest ogre. I roll a 14, which hits for (rolls again) 9 damage.
DM: Ok, the ogre takes 9 damage. Now it's his turn, and he picks up the enchanted glaive he had dropped in front of you.

DM: Which way do you go?
Player: We follow the old man's directions.
DM: Which way is that?
Player: Whatever he told us to do.
DM: He's no longer here to ask. Check your notes or whatever, but I'm not giving you information you can't get here.

But frankly, I don't think it's worth it. There's nothing to be gained trying to get them to play the game in a way that they don't want to play it.

[Kazemi]

From my experience, that seems to be one of the disadvantages of such a large group. In combat, only one person acts at a time. Outside of combat, as the DM you can't process everyone telling you what they're doing at once. So you tend to lose focus in the meantime (until someone crit fails).

Also (no offense intended), but it may also be that they aren't fanatics for the story line itself. I found my players didn't have as much interest in our first campaign, so I gave them the choice of about 4 other campaigns that I had on hand and offered to switch it up. They unanimously picked one and have been much better at the roleplaying aspect since then simply because they think it's really cool to run around with Van Helsing.

Finally, it may also have to do with the type of players. Some players like to play the game as a game and try to slay as many things that move as possible. Some like to immerse themselves in the backstory. Some like to use it as an excuse to socialize and have only minor interest in the game itself. In my opinion, their enjoyment should be a priority. And if that many of them are showing up, you're not doing a bad job. Still, it's always good to seek improvement.



DM: OK, Fred, it's your turn. What does Balatair do?
Fred: Um, what's going on?
DM: Balatair doesn't know what's going on, and misses his turn. Greg, you're next. What does Arlecchino do?
Otherwise, introduce important information throughout the melee. Consider:

DM: OK, Fred, it's your turn. What does Balatair do?
Fred: Balatair attacks the nearest ogre. I roll a 14, which hits for (rolls again) 9 damage.
DM: Ok, the ogre takes 9 damage. Now it's his turn, and he picks up the enchanted glaive he had dropped in front of you.

DM: Which way do you go?
Player: We follow the old man's directions.
DM: Which way is that?
Player: Whatever he told us to do.
DM: He's no longer here to ask. Check your notes or whatever, but I'm not giving you information you can't get here.

I would strongly, strongly urge not to do this. This is just going to make the players upset (and possibly rage quit). The third one especially, given that I (as a player) often don't remember it as "15 degrees north of east". I remember it as "The direction the Macguffin was supposed to be in". My character knows the details.

Although with relation to that second one: if you can make the villains interesting enough on their actions you may be able to draw some interest. It's much better to reward players through giving them rewards/opportunities rather than through punishments.

[Darth Smoke]

Hello, i'll share what i think about the situation at hand:
i) First, i think your gaming table is too large. Even with 6 players the game tends to be so chaotic that players become disengaged when they have to wait so long before thay can be active again. The ideal number of players imo is 4-5.
ii) Have you participated in any other campaigns with these (or some of these) players at the table? Do they have role playing capabilities or just like to roll dice? If you have witnessed different behavior from them, perhaps you could borrow elements from that DM or story that motivate your players.
iii) Perhaps this is the case where a battle is meaningless to the players. Random encounters cannot easily thrill a player, so maybe make it part of a story line, or make the monsters be connected to some of the players, so that they NEED to pay attention (if they can of course).

[gurgleflep]

It is a rather large group, and that's likely a good portion of the problem. It's also my first time DMing for more than 3 people.
I've played with the group before, and everybody was focused with the previous DM's campaign and were great with the roleplay - voice changes for IC and OOC talk and everything! - so it might just be the story and such behind my campaign :smallfrown:

I only have the one story-line at the moment, and it's basically the drow are teaming up with the orcs and are planning an all-out attack on the surface world.

As for heroes/villains/NPCs: I try to give them each their own personality and mannerisms. My avatar is one of the few they have to deal with on a regular basis: it's an extremely fat ulitharid who runs an entire city on the surface without the inhabitants even being aware of it.

Also, no offense was taken.

[Jay R]

If everyone is sitting at a table, they are more likely to pay attention than if they are in couches and easy chairs around the room.


I would strongly, strongly urge not to do this. This is just going to make the players upset (and possibly rage quit). The third one especially, given that I (as a player) often don't remember it as "15 degrees north of east". I remember it as "The direction the Macguffin was supposed to be in". My character knows the details.

The crucial requirement (which I unfortunately left out above) is to let them know in advance.The one time I did this was a similar situation. I had 12 players. I told them, "All right, the Wanderers are about to tell you a story and give you a mission. I'm going to read this to you three times, and let you ask as many questions as you want. Once you are separated from them, you will not be able to ask any more questions, even to be reminded. So everybody get out your pens and prepare to take notes."

After the first reading, I took questions, and that ended the session. At the start of the next session, I took questions, read it again, took questions, read it again, and took questions. But after that, I would not give them information that they could not get at the time.

Also, none of the players would "rage out". With one exception, they were all 35 years old or more.

[The Fury]

Maybe trying giving out plot hooks for characters arcs? So maybe then the characters can have a more personal investment in the story. Stuff like weird dreams, a magic item that causes hallucinations, or someone gets a stalker. Also, if you know that there's something one or more players like to see in a game, try to work that in. Ask some players for a little background information too. It doesn't have to be crazy detailed or anything, just answers to some questions like, "Is your character married?" "Does your character have brothers or sisters?" "Are your character's parents still alive?" stuff like that. That can give you a lot of material to work with, like having one of the characters get a letter from an older brother or noticing one of the people captured by the drow looks like a PC's son or something.
But yeah, like everyone said this is a big group. So I'm not sure how well any of my suggestions would work in a group that big.

[gurgleflep]

If everyone is sitting at a table, they are more likely to pay attention than if they are in couches and easy chairs around the room.



The crucial requirement (which I unfortunately left out above) is to let them know in advance.The one time I did this was a similar situation. I had 12 players. I told them, "All right, the Wanderers are about to tell you a story and give you a mission. I'm going to read this to you three times, and let you ask as many questions as you want. Once you are separated from them, you will not be able to ask any more questions, even to be reminded. So everybody get out your pens and prepare to take notes."

After the first reading, I took questions, and that ended the session. At the start of the next session, I took questions, read it again, took questions, read it again, and took questions. But after that, I would not give them information that they could not get at the time.

Also, none of the players would "rage out". With one exception, they were all 35 years old or more.

We have plenty of seating and a table large enough to hold everybody (Italian family - very big, very family oriented :smalltongue:), so keeping everybody in one place isn't a problem.

That story repeat and question bit actually sounds like it will come in quite handy :smallbiggrin: It makes people take notes and that'll be quite handy :smallsmile:

Fortunately, nobody in the group has rage quit yet - which is good because they're my ride home :smalleek:


Maybe trying giving out plot hooks for characters arcs? So maybe then the characters can have a more personal investment in the story. Stuff like weird dreams, a magic item that causes hallucinations, or someone gets a stalker. Also, if you know that there's something one or more players like to see in a game, try to work that in. Ask some players for a little background information too. It doesn't have to be crazy detailed or anything, just answers to some questions like, "Is your character married?" "Does your character have brothers or sisters?" "Are your character's parents still alive?" stuff like that. That can give you a lot of material to work with, like having one of the characters get a letter from an older brother or noticing one of the people captured by the drow looks like a PC's son or something.
But yeah, like everyone said this is a big group. So I'm not sure how well any of my suggestions would work in a group that big.

I've done stuff like that in the smaller group, it helped out quite a bit :smallsmile: I tend to even place their families in appropriate encampments and cities as well. The only reason I haven't done something like this with the current group is it's size and I'm not the best with organizing things :smallredface:

[Ulysses WkAmil]

Idea; invite someone who roleplays very well, or find someone in your group to roleplay well. Subtly give that player bonus XP and loot for roleplaying well. The other players might decide they want in on it. Or they'll blame you for favoritism, which probably won't happen. I used to have the same problem with my players. I used to start off exploiting all of their mistakes from messing around, like routing to kill the wide open wizard or letting several guys escape to warn the BBEG. I find that rewarding them for roleplaying well works slightly better than punishing, because they want to, and don't have too. Although punishment is viable if someone is being unruly. Whenever my wizard gets unrealistic or stupid with his dialogue, I make the NPC's notice. Example:
Wizard-"How about you shut up before I kick you in the shins"
Kalimek the Goblin Eater- "I have been challenged" *fight ensues*

[gurgleflep]

Idea; invite someone who roleplays very well, or find someone in your group to roleplay well. Subtly give that player bonus XP and loot for roleplaying well. The other players might decide they want in on it. Or they'll blame you for favoritism, which probably won't happen. I used to have the same problem with my players. I used to start off exploiting all of their mistakes from messing around, like routing to kill the wide open wizard or letting several guys escape to warn the BBEG. I find that rewarding them for roleplaying well works slightly better than punishing, because they want to, and don't have too. Although punishment is viable if someone is being unruly. Whenever my wizard gets unrealistic or stupid with his dialogue, I make the NPC's notice. Example:
Wizard-"How about you shut up before I kick you in the shins"
Kalimek the Goblin Eater- "I have been challenged" *fight ensues*

While this is a great idea, the primary roleplayer is one of the ones being lazy about it :smallfrown: and outside of the group, I don't know any roleplayers but ones who live out of continent.

[lady_arrogance]

I'm saying, that you could maybe talk about your problems with your players?

Tell them, that you miss the RP (they have done in previous games), and how their supposed laziness (the electronic devices and not taking notes etc.) is irritating you. And ask how they feel the situation - maybe they have legimate reasons for their actions (like not liking the storyline or having problems with your GMing style or anything).

Also, if you are not fun of addressing whole group at once, you could maybe take one or two at the time.

But if you really want to fix the problems, the talking about it is the surest way to do it.

[Lord Torath]

I'm saying, that you could maybe talk about your problems with your players?

Tell them, that you miss the RP (they have done in previous games), and how their supposed laziness (the electronic devices and not taking notes etc.) is irritating you. And ask how they feel the situation - maybe they have legimate reasons for their actions (like not liking the storyline or having problems with your GMing style or anything).

Also, if you are not fun of addressing whole group at once, you could maybe take one or two at the time.

But if you really want to fix the problems, the talking about it is the surest way to do it.This. This is an out-of-character problem, so your first response should be to try to resolve it out of character. Talk to your players, let them know how you feel, and ask them how they feel. Ask if there's something lacking from your campaign that they'd like to see.

Alternatively, pick your biggest troublemaker, and explain to him your concern that some people (not him!) in the group are not paying attention/using their PDAs too much. Ask him if he will help you keep an eye on the others, encouraging them to roleplay/stay in character/put away PDAs. Don't tell him he's your biggest problem, just tell him you're concerned about the group's attention and ask if he can help.

If all of that fails, then you can try some of the in-character suggestions above.

[gurgleflep]

I'm saying, that you could maybe talk about your problems with your players?

Tell them, that you miss the RP (they have done in previous games), and how their supposed laziness (the electronic devices and not taking notes etc.) is irritating you. And ask how they feel the situation - maybe they have legimate reasons for their actions (like not liking the storyline or having problems with your GMing style or anything).

Also, if you are not fun of addressing whole group at once, you could maybe take one or two at the time.

But if you really want to fix the problems, the talking about it is the surest way to do it.


This. This is an out-of-character problem, so your first response should be to try to resolve it out of character. Talk to your players, let them know how you feel, and ask them how they feel. Ask if there's something lacking from your campaign that they'd like to see.

Alternatively, pick your biggest troublemaker, and explain to him your concern that some people (not him!) in the group are not paying attention/using their PDAs too much. Ask him if he will help you keep an eye on the others, encouraging them to roleplay/stay in character/put away PDAs. Don't tell him he's your biggest problem, just tell him you're concerned about the group's attention and ask if he can help.

If all of that fails, then you can try some of the in-character suggestions above.

These are really good ideas :smallsmile: I'm not good at confronting whole groups though, so I'll do the one-by-one method of this, starting with the most problematic in the group - as suggested.
Thank you all :smallbiggrin:

[Bulhakov]

In my experience your group is too large. 5 players is the max I've seen playing efficiently, with 4 players being the perfect number in my experience.

If you have another person willing to GM in your group, it might be reasonable to split into two groups. Possibly arrange parallel adventures and swap players from time to time.

A technique I sometimes used to keep people paying attention was to give XP rewards/penalties for staying on track. If I saw a player "drifting away" I asked him to describe the current situation - if he/she got it right, there was a minor XP bonus, if not, a small penalty at the end of the session.

[mcbobbo]

There's good advice upthread. But in case these were missed...

Paying attention - call for their action, wait a short amount of time. Count slowly, out loud, to five. Give them one last chance to act, and if still not ready, skip their turn.

Note taking - go pick up a dozen tiny spiral notepads and enough pencils for everyone. Then encourage their use, either through basic human manipulation (e.g. overt praise of those who use it) or out right bribery (150 xp to anyone who has the farmer's name in their notebook).

Possible lack of interest - stop leading them so much. They're able to rely on you to move the story, and it's made them passive. Try dumping them into a site-based adventure, like a mystery or a full blown sandbox, and see if that doesn't perk them up.