My party is split into two major categories, goofy and serious, and whenever I side with one of them when it comes to planning sessions and encounters, the other side feels disappointed. Does anyone have any tips to strike a balance?
Have a talk with your players about this problem. No one says you have to find the middle all on your own, d&d is a cooperative game - dissapointment sounds like they expect you to only entertain their ideas of the game without being ready to compromise? Talking will help to evaluate how they - and you - exactly feel about this problem (you also play this game and are entitled to have an opinion on the matter!) and what everyone can contribute to have a better experience playing together.
I’ve dealt with this (deal with this. Yes… you know who I mean to my players on the forums!).
I’ve found that every session needs to have a serious, overarching plot, but you need to allow some scenes to indulge in natural comedy. Leave the opportunity for comedy, but don’t push it in yourself. Your players *will* find it.
I have had some success with tailoring descriptions per the player.
The barbarian likes to be brutal - I add blood and brutality to their descriptions.
The Artificer likes heroic and comedic action - so I add elements of this to their actions in combat.
The Warlock likes dark and sinister things - so I add interactions with her patron where time stops, and all the other players buy-in by freezing at the table, leaving her all alone to discuss what her patron wants...
The Monk likes discovery and efficient combat, so I describe their combat moves as precise and with little embellishment, though still as damaging. the difference between "on your first blow, the brow above their eye caves in slightly, as you knew it would" and "As you smash your fist into their head, you feel the bones crunch under your bloody knuckles". Same effect, one for Monk, one for Barbarian.
My Cleric is a fan of light comedy and social interactions. I try to give them this, but with everyone else heavily combat based, it can be a struggle!
I like to remind people that roleplaying as a hobby is not a service provided by the DM for the players.
The DM is there to have fun too and each and every player is equally responsible for creating a fun game. So players stating disappointment at the DM is very disrespectful.
Disappointment seems like the DM fails to provide a service and strips the player of all responsibility.
I have had amazing sessions where the DM barely said a word in two hours. Just sat back and enjoyed players doing amazing IC stuff and every now and then threw in a little hook or description or answered a question.
So like others said. It's important to sit down and have a talk about co-operation, shared responsibility and how all of you together can create an amazing game that everybody can enjoy.
That said. The DM can sabotage the fun as much as the players, if they try to force their own idea of fun upon the players.
This can be a problem for a group. I liked some of the suggestions already made in terms of catering specific scenes or the description of actions to the play style preferred by the playing. Add some comedy, keep some parts serious.
However, at the extreme, goofy and serious aren't compatible - they are opposite play styles. If the players can't compromise on the tone of the campaign then it can lead to someone eventually dropping out because it doesn't suit them. In my experience, folks who like a "serious" game don't usually have much issue to some parts comedy and goofiness as long as the character decisions generally make sense in character. In that case, some of the goofiness ends up just being a part of the game.
On the other hand, some folks who have a strong preference for goofiness may find it hard to pay attention or even care about the serious bits. They may not just be interested. They may be playing the game just for the laughs and the social interactions with the other players and not for the game itself. They might be just as happy playing a beer and pretzels board game with the same group of folks. This can often result in a player that isn't really interested in or invested in the plot and story that the DM and the other players are creating.
In any case, it comes down to the DM assessing their specific group of players, seeing where they might fit on the goofiness/serious spectrum and then deciding how to run the campaign to address the individual interests of the players as much as possible. The DM can also see if there is anything they can do to pull the folks who like the goofiness into the storyline a bit more directly. Sometimes, when their character becomes more enmeshed in the plot then it can help a player just there for social reasons to get more into the role playing.
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My party is split into two major categories, goofy and serious, and whenever I side with one of them when it comes to planning sessions and encounters, the other side feels disappointed. Does anyone have any tips to strike a balance?
Have a talk with your players about this problem. No one says you have to find the middle all on your own, d&d is a cooperative game - dissapointment sounds like they expect you to only entertain their ideas of the game without being ready to compromise? Talking will help to evaluate how they - and you - exactly feel about this problem (you also play this game and are entitled to have an opinion on the matter!) and what everyone can contribute to have a better experience playing together.
I’ve dealt with this (deal with this. Yes… you know who I mean to my players on the forums!).
I’ve found that every session needs to have a serious, overarching plot, but you need to allow some scenes to indulge in natural comedy. Leave the opportunity for comedy, but don’t push it in yourself. Your players *will* find it.
I have had some success with tailoring descriptions per the player.
The barbarian likes to be brutal - I add blood and brutality to their descriptions.
The Artificer likes heroic and comedic action - so I add elements of this to their actions in combat.
The Warlock likes dark and sinister things - so I add interactions with her patron where time stops, and all the other players buy-in by freezing at the table, leaving her all alone to discuss what her patron wants...
The Monk likes discovery and efficient combat, so I describe their combat moves as precise and with little embellishment, though still as damaging. the difference between "on your first blow, the brow above their eye caves in slightly, as you knew it would" and "As you smash your fist into their head, you feel the bones crunch under your bloody knuckles". Same effect, one for Monk, one for Barbarian.
My Cleric is a fan of light comedy and social interactions. I try to give them this, but with everyone else heavily combat based, it can be a struggle!
Make your Artificer work with any other class with 174 Multiclassing Feats for your Artificer Multiclass Character!
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I like to remind people that roleplaying as a hobby is not a service provided by the DM for the players.
The DM is there to have fun too and each and every player is equally responsible for creating a fun game. So players stating disappointment at the DM is very disrespectful.
Disappointment seems like the DM fails to provide a service and strips the player of all responsibility.
I have had amazing sessions where the DM barely said a word in two hours. Just sat back and enjoyed players doing amazing IC stuff and every now and then threw in a little hook or description or answered a question.
So like others said. It's important to sit down and have a talk about co-operation, shared responsibility and how all of you together can create an amazing game that everybody can enjoy.
That said. The DM can sabotage the fun as much as the players, if they try to force their own idea of fun upon the players.
Finland GMT/UTC +2
This can be a problem for a group. I liked some of the suggestions already made in terms of catering specific scenes or the description of actions to the play style preferred by the playing. Add some comedy, keep some parts serious.
However, at the extreme, goofy and serious aren't compatible - they are opposite play styles. If the players can't compromise on the tone of the campaign then it can lead to someone eventually dropping out because it doesn't suit them. In my experience, folks who like a "serious" game don't usually have much issue to some parts comedy and goofiness as long as the character decisions generally make sense in character. In that case, some of the goofiness ends up just being a part of the game.
On the other hand, some folks who have a strong preference for goofiness may find it hard to pay attention or even care about the serious bits. They may not just be interested. They may be playing the game just for the laughs and the social interactions with the other players and not for the game itself. They might be just as happy playing a beer and pretzels board game with the same group of folks. This can often result in a player that isn't really interested in or invested in the plot and story that the DM and the other players are creating.
In any case, it comes down to the DM assessing their specific group of players, seeing where they might fit on the goofiness/serious spectrum and then deciding how to run the campaign to address the individual interests of the players as much as possible. The DM can also see if there is anything they can do to pull the folks who like the goofiness into the storyline a bit more directly. Sometimes, when their character becomes more enmeshed in the plot then it can help a player just there for social reasons to get more into the role playing.