Fun vs Gameplay

[jamminjelly]

I'm running a game of D&D with a group of four other friends. So far the sessions have been really fun except for the last one. One of my friends (A newer D&D player) just got Street Fighter 4 for PC so he was playing it between turns. Another friend got drunk and started playing his new banjo. It was had for me to give any detailed descriptions and hard for any the players to pay attentions or stay on track.

We are very casual players and we already get distracted easily enough but I don't want the next session to be like the last one. I've already talked to the banjo player and he says I should just relax because we "shouldn't play D&D like a business". I can talk to the Street Fighter 4 player and get him to stop no problem (I cut him some slack after seeing how excited he was to have it) but how do I tell the players that I want to be more on task?

[Mr.Moron]

Give his character a banjo in-game? You've just turned into on-task behavior!

EDIT: Really though, if they aren't paying attention that means the game isn't exciting enough to HOLD their attention. The best solution is to punch things up a few notches on your end. If you make it compelling, they won't want to do other random stuff.

[Talon Sky]

This is why I keep high-level CR encounters ready to throw when my players get bored. Nothing says "Pay attention!" like the ground opening up and some monstrous Hell-being popping up to say hello.

[jamminjelly]

I'll try to really challenge them in the next fight. They are in a factory right now and they are going to be fighting some imps on a large conveyer belt with saws, fire, and giant hammers among other things that can affect everyone during the round. They will also be able to sneak through a vent shaft and even fight an intelligent gelatinous cube. If that doesn't entertain them nothing will.

It is hard for me to give the banjo player a banjo in game as he is starting to act all-powerful. He is a barbarian and he does crazy amounts of damage, he is the leader of the group, and he takes most of the stuff the doesn't seem custom tailored for another player.

"Screw the rogue, I'll take the invisible dagger so I can assassinate people. I can do that right? And for the last time I'm chaotic evil not lawful evil or chaotic neutral. Now lets go finish this quest to save the town from zombies!"

At this point it seems that he is playing more than anyone else, and then getting bored and sidetracking everyone as he plays his banjo poorly and jokes about Earthbound for the Super Nintendo.

[Satyr]

A player who starts to play video games during an RPG session begs for a kick in the face; in my opinion this is absolutely untolerable and anyone who is unable to show the most basic interest in the game is absolutely wrong there. There are some elemental rules of respect and those include at least a minimal attention to the rest of the people around you.

The same works for any other activity - playing a musical instrument during a game is like talkling loudly in cinema - a reason to kick the guy out.

[Captain Alien]

I think DM Guide II gives some tips for this kind of situations. D&D is funny, but it is hard for some players to enjoy it all the time. They can get easily distracted.

The solution? Well, there are a lot of 'em:

1.-Play in a place where the only potentially funny thing is the DM. Make sure they won't get distracted with anything that is not in your game.
2.-If they are too distracted, you won't be able to Dungeonmaster properly. If the thing looks creepy, just stop playing until another day, when they are in the mood.
3.-Casual conversations must be done before you play, or else they will be talking during the game.
4.-If they have a new videogame, wait a week or two before playing, or else they will prefer to play that videogame.
5.-Try to avoid people who is not playing from being in the same room. They will only distract the players.
6.-Turn off the lights in any place of the room that is not the table. Sometimes this is impossible, but do it if you can. It always works. Always.

[FoE]

He's right in that D&D is not meant to be Serious Business*— it's meant to be a fun social activity.

But part of the fun is also supposed to come from the game itself, and a disruptive player hampers that enjoyment. If what he's doing is reducing your enjoyment of the game (and yes, you are alllowed to have fun as the DM), then you need to make that known.

If he just wants to hang out and strum the banjo with his friends, whatever. But not at the gaming table.

It's no different than talking in a movie theater.

Honestly, I would suggest kicking him out if he keeps this up.

[Jaltum]

Really, if they want to play a very casual, shallow game, something to do while they hang out... that's what they want. Everyone at the table has to want to play the same game. It's all about expectations.

Of course, as the DM, a casual, shallow game is still a lot of work for you... and probably a lot less rewarding, because you still have to do the prep work, and then you get to feel like background noise. Tell your players that, and if they still want to screw around, tell them to take turns DMing or break out the Monopoly board.

[Skorj]

Yeah, you have to get firm with the banjo playing, that's just too distracting for everyone else. A player getting bored and doing somehting to entertain himself that doesn't distract others is forgivable, but not causing a disruption.

I really like the "turn off all the lights except at the table" idea.

Wasting "precious gaming time" on casual conversation is inevitable, and not really a problem in and of itself., but again you don't want it to become a distraction. Always allow time for chat before starting the game, as that makes it reasonable to ask people to stay focused once you begin, but realize that late arrivals are simply going to provoke a few minutes of "catching up" chat and work around it.

Also schedule time with individuals before/after game sessions to handle character build time. Some people have a hard time deciding where to put feats/skill points/etc, and it's very distracting if they ask the table, as everyone will immediately want to start arguing about builds, or arguing about the unimportantce of builds, or some such. Plan for this. Never give out experience during the middle of a session, and identify those who just can't level up their character without help and gschedule time with them away from the main session.

The same thing goes for gear, of course: while sometimes shopping becomes a party activity, nothing's worse than everyone waiting on one guy to finish his equipment list!

[Berserk Monk]

Give his character a banjo in-game? You've just turned into on-task behavior!

Yeah. Just give them all that stuff in-game: a banjo, alcohol, and street fighter 4.

Seriously though, you want to hold their attention, more action, less roleplaying. Combat Combat Combat.

[erikun]

Perhaps it has just been my experience, but this is the worst advice. If players are bored with the game, suddenly having them eaten by an owlbear won't make things exciting - it just means you'll habe a long, boring session about killing an owlbear.

Honestly, when you get everyone together, just ask them what the want to do. If they honestly want to play video games, or watch movies, or play banjo... go ahead and let them, really. Heck, you admitted that the Street Fighter interruption was just because of a new game - I doubt everyone would want to give up another game session to play it all night.

As for your banjo player, if he insists on sitting in another room strumming tunes, just say he's outside of combat, fiddling with his banjo... or as him to play a tune appropriate for the session. While you don't want to run your game "like a business", you also don't want it interrupted by one person. I doubt he'd like it if a football game suddenly ran through his living room while he was playing, after all.

On the other hand, it sounds like you have a trouble player on your hand. He tells everyone what they're going to be doing, takes all the stuff for himself, then interrupts the game when that isn't distracting enough. I hope I'm overreading his disruption, but it sounds like you and him might need a talk in the future, just to keep things toned down a bit.

[Vaynor]

If your player is doing something else during gameplay, he probably thinks it is more important/more fun, so either he isn't very interested in playing D&D in the first place, or your game isn't that exciting.

I had a player like this a while ago, he was playing WoW through almost the whole gaming session. He'd just pick up his dice for attack and damage and roll them occasionally. I got him to pay attention by increasing the CR of the average monster, and introducing monsters more interesting than a don't-move-and-keep-attacking-it-until-it-dies monster.

[jamminjelly]

I will definitely talk to the banjo player about toning it down. If it didn't distract people I would let him play it, but it's only making it harder for everyone else.

I think I'm going to tell him that the best times we've had at D&D haven't been when one of us made a Chrono Trigger joke. They have been during moments of creative hilarity, like when his character cut off a traders face, wore it as a mask, and stole his buggy to bypass guards, only to find out that the cargo was nothing but disguise kits.

I know for sure that I'm not boring my players when I think of all the effort I put into making every area have at least one memorable moment. Maybe increasing the danger will help humble them.

[Dixieboy]

Yeah. Just give them all that stuff in-game: a banjo, alcohol, and street fighter 4.

Seriously though, you want to hold their attention, more action, less roleplaying. Combat Combat Combat.

Quite a few people find combat to be the more boring part of D&D though, so watch out

[FoE]

I think I'm going to tell him that the best times we've had at D&D haven't been when one of us made a Chrono Trigger joke. They have been during moments of creative hilarity, like when his character cut off a traders face, wore it as a mask, and stole his buggy to bypass guards, only to find out that the cargo was nothing but disguise kits.

You know, I'm evil and everything, but all the same, I feel I can't let that comment pass without saying DUDE NOT FUNNY.

Honestly, WTF?

[Skorj]

You know, I'm evil and everything, but all the same, I feel I can't let that comment pass without saying DUDE NOT FUNNY.

Honestly, WTF?

Dude, you're the FACE of evil, of course you're disturbed by the whole face-stealing thing. Me, I laughed. Hmmm, maybe I should go for an evil avatar, after all.

[bosssmiley]

You get out of the game what you put in. If people are preferring to play the banjo(!) or with the sexbox ("Her name is Sonny!") then they're probably not in a D&D mood.

The best way to salvage this would probably be to simply kick the session into touch and play beer-and-pretzels one-shot games that evening instead. That preserves the sense of that particular day being Game Night, but gives people a break from the hard mental slog which *proper* RP can be.

[Je dit Viola]

I don't get what's so wrong with playing banjo while playing...if I had a banjo (and a gaming group, for that matter), I would play it. But I would also try to make it fit the play better, like learn 'fight' music or scary music or other stuff to fit with the game tone.
Then again...y'all are probably right that he's disrupting through playing because I'm going to guess that his songs aren't matching the game style.

[Rutskarn]

Was I the only one who was confused by the title? I mean, if you're strongly invested in the gameplay, it's because that is fun to you. Casual gamers don't have more fun than "serious" gamers, for the most part. It's just that they have fun playing the game differently.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

This is why I keep high-level CR encounters ready to throw when my players get bored. Nothing says "Pay attention!" like the ground opening up and some monstrous Hell-being popping up to say hello.

Reminded me of this:

Spoiler

Show

If they're not paying attention, then their characters aren't paying attention. The next time something interesting happens, their character has either wandered off and gotten lost, or got distracted looking at something and was left behind. Maybe you get their attention by telling them to roll a Reflex save, and the something interesting that happens is their character screaming for help because they've wandered into a pit trap. Maybe there rest of the party who are paying attention fights a powerful opponent and finds an item that would be just perfect for the inattentive character, but it's too bad they're not even present for the encounter.

[jamminjelly]

I don't get what's so wrong with playing banjo while playing...if I had a banjo (and a gaming group, for that matter), I would play it. But I would also try to make it fit the play better, like learn 'fight' music or scary music or other stuff to fit with the game tone.
Then again...y'all are probably right that he's disrupting through playing because I'm going to guess that his songs aren't matching the game style.

The player has just picked it up and started playing it so he can't really play any music just yet. Also it was a tad loud, which made it hard to talk to other players.