Running a group as a new GM or with new players can feel daunting...
However, understanding that the new players and their characters are typically reactive, will make your job as a game master a whole lot easier.
This is not only true for new players, but some veteran players as well. In one of the groups that I GM, all the players have many years of experience, however, they are all used to a 90%+ combat driven game, and don’t really role play too often.
Needless to say, running a game where I attempt to balance the amount of role play with combat, has made for a lot of quite players and awkward moments around the table. This is really when it occurred to me that my players are reactive.
Reactive players have a hard time being pro-active in role play situations. Combat situations are fairly straight forward, where characters will defer to their character sheets and roll the appropriate dice based on what gear or spells they have. It’s easy to be proactive in combat.
So how do we get players that are reactive engaged in role play scenarios? This is where it can get tricky, especially if you’re new to running games.
One of the most important parts to having your players engage is to have them really flesh out their character and their background. Not just their gear and their class, but the why behind their gear and their class. Why do you, as a fighter, prefer the long sword? Now it’s nice to be aware that most people will choose a specific weapon because of the amount of damage it will do in combat. I will take the greatsword because I get 2d6 damage with it! WOOHOO!!!
Ok, buy why does your character choose that weapon. If the damage value didn’t exist, make them think about why this is their weapon of choice. Is it because they have inherited their grandfathers sword? Why does the sword have meaning to them? If the player comes up with a really good reason and backstory for their weapon selection, you may want to reward them for that with a bonus to using that specific weapon. If it is grandpas sword that he used in the great war of the undead, maybe it has a +1 damage vs undead as long as wielded by someone of the same bloodline.
So this example does reflect combat playing a bit, but it gives you an idea of what to have your players do for their characters. Take this further and have them think about and create a story around their whole life up to the point that they’re adventuring today. Knowing the characters background will help determine how they interact with society and in social groups outside of just a numerical statistic.
One of the biggest challenges that I face is getting a lot of prep work done and not having the players engage with any of the NPCs that I’ve created along with their responses and questions. This is, again, because the players are waiting for something to react to, instead of pursuing on their own initiative.
Some of this can be chalked up to the players losing interest in some of the storyline and missing plot points, which is another topic discussed in another article.
So how do you get the players to start asking questions? That’s a good question. In my experience, a lot of times one player will lead the way with questioning and even engaging NPCs while the rest of the group sits around having sidebar conversations, getting snacks, waiting for someone else to ask questions or just looking bored. So how do we change this dynamic?
If you’re players have good character backgounds, this can be an easy thing. Maybe silent player A comes from a small town from a neighboring country that is now at war with the country you’re adventuring in. We’ll call it Borderton. I know, original… Borderton is a small village that is the central marketplace for a larger surrounding farming community. People gather here once a month or so to trade their goods. The standing population of the village less than 100, but on trading days, it grows 10 fold.
Lets say the group has found their way into Hillmont, which lies some 50 miles or so beyond the country borders and another 100 or so miles away from Borderton. While in Hillmont, the same drab scene is playing out with the same player, lets say player B, engaging with the NPC (non-player characters) and doing all the talking.
Well perhaps the NPC is a smithy that is relatively new to Hillmont and he recognizes player A from Borderton. “Hey, wait a minute… I recognize you. Didn’t I see you at Borderton trading day X months/years ago?” Utilizing the character’s background information, you can elaborate on this recognition. “You were there when those undead attacked and you were that boy carrying a greatsword three times too big, but you handled yourself surprisingly well…”
Now you have a tie in to the player, but may have to do some thinking on your feet to give your NPC a little bit more background story of his own. But if you have player with your players before, you should have an idea of who the talkers are and who tends to stay quite.
This is not a fool proof way to get players engaged, but it’s a great ice-breaker. Some people just have a harder time coming out of their shell to role play. but if you keep up this type of “forced” engagement, eventually it will start becoming easier for them to engage more as their character. Don’t overdo it though as it could come across as picking on a specific player and run them off.
