MIX IT UP
In this article, I wanted to talk about ways to get your players more involved at the gaming table. Sometimes, new players or more casual players have a hard time focusing on the game. Let’s be honest, DnD can be abstract, at times. As GMs, we can do our best to involve every player in our story and create a world that will interest our players. But sometimes we need something new to help get everyone’s head into the game. Even seasoned players can benefit from a new twist just to keep things fresh.
I’m going to share a bunch of idea here. We can discuss them in more detail in comments or over on Facebook, as you guys want to.
Let’s start with initiative. This one is simple. You can hand out numbered cards to help people keep track of their order in combat. It’s simple, but helps keep people on track. Of course, it can get a bit messy with held and readied actions, or refocusing.
MICHAEL HERE: Here is my method for initiative. I used slips of paper with the name of the creature/NPC on them front and back. I have a different color I use for the PC’s. Takes a second to get them into the right order after you roll initiative, but once they are in the right order it’s easy to move around for holds or delays. Also, let’s each PC know the order and when they are coming up.
Another idea is using mini-figs and a grid map for battle. This one seems like common sense. Most of us do this already. But not everyone does. And if you don’t, it’s a great way to help your players focus on the battle and get a better idea of movement and attack options. And it’s really fun when you have a unique area for the battle, like a cave with multiple levels or a castle to explore with all kinds of secret passages.
You could also try making up cards for spell casting. Michael mentioned this on Twitter a few weeks ago. Spells can get complicated. When you use cards, you can print out the basics of the rules to streamline picking a spell during a player’s turn. You can also use this method to help players understand spell slots easier. Remember the plastic 3×3 sleeves that go into 3 ring binders to hold CCG cards? Label one sheet for each spell level and put a sticker (like one of those colored circles they have at business supply stores. or a puffy unicorn. whatever you have around.) on one card slot for each spell slot. Your players can fill each slot with a card and have a great visual of their actual spell casting capacity. This will help with metamagic casting when preparing a spell at a higher level and with any special abilities that require burning a spell slot.
You could even use the card concept for other usable resources. You could have cards or tokens for move actions. This can help players remember what is available in a given turn, and help newer (or less focused) players keep track of what they need to do. This would work well for abilities that require spending an action to sustain over multiple turns. You could also hand out cards for potions and scrolls that your players acquire. Put a few notes on the cards about what the item does. Not only does this provide a more tangible concept of what the players have to make use of, but it’s a great time-saver when it comes to looking up potion results in the DMG. There are a few products like this you can purchase, and there are a few Kickstarter projects for this as well. But it’s certainly easy enough to make them yourself with index cards or Post-it notes.
If you really want to mix things up and get people involved, consider get them up from the table. If they’re making a ranged attack, they could throw darts. You can translate their attack bonus into how close they stand to the board. If they have to make a balance check, make them stand on one foot. This certainly involves a lot of work on your part as the GM. You need to translate your players’ stats, skills, and various bonuses into physical activity, and you need to give those numerical bonuses the same weight on the real world activity. This could get messy…and silly. It’s also dangerously close to LARPing. You might not like this idea at all. It certainly won’t work for all games and players.
The point I’m trying to make is that it’s good to think outside the dice and character sheet. We all enjoy playing DnD. But we all experience boredom every so often. And as GMs, we need to keep our players interested through the story and the table experience. We also need to make sure we are making the game accessible to new players and players of all styles. Try something crazy and creative. Or try something as simple as playing poker in character. There are even some official WotC card games that can be played in character. Whatever you do, keep your game fun and your players entertained.
I’ll be continuing this theme with a few articles on how to make your game more interesting. As a bit of a teaser, I want to get to set building, large-scale combat, and unique combat scenarios. If you guys have any input on similar topics you’d like to discuss, please let me know.
Comments and Feedback are always welcome.
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