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What motivates a referee? I think positive feedback is a key element. I’m not just thinking of players thanking you for running the game or players saying that they like your style. What I really enjoy is players who get excited when they’re thinking of the next session, players who’re sad if they have to miss a session, players who tell other people about the funny things they did, the terrible things that happened. *Player engagement* is intoxicating, infectious.
DM Peter recently ended one of the campaigns I’m playing in, citing lack of player engagement. It’s a tricky subject: who is responsible for it, how do you measure it, how do you foster it? Here’s what has worked for me.
1. *Recurring villains* and big bosses are ideal. They get mentioned at least once every session. Their goons can be defeated, their lieutenants keep showing up, they keep looming in the distance. The lich queen of grey elves. I think that an invisible enemy doesn’t do the same job. We *want* players to engage with their nemesis. How can they hate unknown forces? There can be betrayal at the very end, there can be reveals further down the line, but in the end, the players must feel like there is a constant, personal threat by a limited number of known enemies that they can focus on.
2. *Achievable goals* are the positive counterpart to villains. I present these as opportunities for players. There’s a dead god and some people still pray to him. Maybe a player takes it upon himself to revive the dead god. There are temples to a god of justice and rumors of her paladins. Maybe a player want to pursue this? Maybe a dead character can be offered this choice in order to get revived? I think the key part here is that these are options presented to the players as part of the setting. These are not part of character creation. I also think it’s important to keep introducing more of these goals such that players have a real choice. Don’t invest a lot of work into these options before a player has picked it. Start developing it once players are hooked.
variable ratio reinforcement schedule
I hope these points help you adjust your expectations and help you increase player engagement in your campaigns.
#RPG #Sandbox #advice #Keep It Short
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Nice write-up. Have ever thought about what keeps you at the table as player?
– Stefan 2012-12-14 18:39 UTC
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Yes! 😄
I suspect it can all be found somewhere on this blog, hidden here and there… Perhaps How I Roll might be a good starting point, although it collects a lot of stuff from a referee perspective.
Thinking back, this is what I would say based on the last few years.
1. there must be regular sessions (if we only play once every four weeks, that strains my enthusiasm)
2. there must be solid planning (if I can’t plan ahead, I will start giving it lower priority and end up cancelling sessions)
3. the rules must be simple (I don’t feel like reading a lot)
4. character generation must be fast (I enjoy playing, not the making of characters)
5. no intro sessions, long backstories to write (I enjoy spending time at the table with friends, none of the other things)
6. gaining levels must be earned (no regular gains just for showing up)
7. gaining power must be slow (no levelling up every session or two)
8. there must be actual risk involved (otherwise I don’t feel like having earned success)
9. there must be choice (to get out of bad situations, to influence the future of the campaign)
10. there must not be homework (I like to write a short session report, but interaction on a forum or campaign wiki are not my thing: I’d rather we play more often)
11. I also like to find the occasional huge treasure instead of regular small stuff
12. I dislike formalized session structure (meet, plan, go, fight, loot, return—it turns out to be repetitive)
13. I don’t like players wining and complaining (whether it is about their character, the referee’s decisions, the loot or whatever else)
14. I don’t like hopeless situations (let it be a short and violent TPK and let’s make new characters as soon as possible)
15. I like a lot of information and choice (I find this empowering, also known as *player agency*)
16. I think players having to work hard to learn something about the setting is not fun because it is information that enables informed choice
17. I dislike long fights
18. I dislike long planning
19. I guess I like experimenting with the environment every now and then
20. But mostly I like short fights and strategic decision making (should we stay or leave, fight or run, take it or leave it, …)
21. I don’t like homophobic or racist jokes
Given this list, I think previous “tests” telling me I was mostly a storyteller were plain wrong and didn’t account for the kind of game I like.
– Alex Schroeder 2012-12-14 19:42 UTC
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What about ambience? Do you care for stuff like flickering candles and matching music or not at all? The fact that you didn’t mention this point and that I haven’t seen any of this in one of your games might give a hint, though 😉
Do you think these things can help create an intense gaming experience and keep the players focused on the things happening on the table?
– Stefan 2012-12-14 20:44 UTC
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I do not think that candles and the like would improve my game experience. It would be fun if somebody else organized it and it would be fun, but it would be unrelated fun. As for music, I have music playing in our appartment practically nonstop. That’s why I like to play movie or game soundtracks in the background. I don’t think that preparing particular tracks for particular scenes is worth the effort, however. Whenever I tried it, I was distracted and felt stressed out. What I like to do as a player, however, is to keep the iPod nearby and switch tracks to something appropriate every now and then. As a player, I have enough down time to be able to focus on the music. The only scene where this visibly helps, however, is when I switch to some droning *Lustmord* just as the party is confronted with ancient evil… I did that to good effect a handful of times.
– Alex Schroeder 2012-12-15 00:20 UTC
