My original draft of this was deleted, but in the latest arc of the campaign I've been running since January, I've felt like I've lost the ability to inspire my group.
We've been working on a bit of a complex intersection of plot lines - three major plots kind of happening at once - but I feel as if I am dragging everyone by the nose instead of them being proactive. This has not been a problem for the group in the past - some characters are more hesitant than others, but ultimately they were interested in finding answers so did. They also very happily engaged with NPCs and each other of their own volition - lately there has been little interaction I haven't directly initiated as an NPC.
I suppose I'm looking for a little advice on how to inspire my PCs to engage with things? I feel like I am dropping enough plot hooks - but I'm receiving very mild responses. It's also possible folks are just tired (myself and my players are students, and we've had to change up playtimes because of scheduling conflicts so we've played evening games which are low energy) but even the morning games we've managed (our usual slot) have been low. As the DM I kind of have to speak, so I get anxious about all the silence.
Hoping that it's just this arc that isn't vibing with them and that when we move on (soon) things will return to the usual shenanigans and involvement but if anyone has any advice for dealing with this in general, I'd be very grateful.
(1) How large is your group? (2) How long have you been playing with this group? (3) How often are you playing? (4) How long is each session? (5) Are there any obvious issues in the group? (Cheating, power gaming, insensitivity, etc...) (6) Are there any significant relationship dynamics in the group? (Dating, Flirting, Siblings, Generational gaps, etc...)
Since you are experiencing a drop in engagement, rather than struggling to motivate them from the beginning, I would highly recommend asking them privately and directly about what you can do to encourage more active participation from the group as a whole.
Fatigue is definitely a viable consideration. You might want to reduce your schedule to every other week for a while, reduce the length of the sessions, or mix it up with some thing else, like board game night, or playing a different RPG system for a few one-shots.
If it's not fatigue, then it could very well be the Content. Think about any patterns that you might have fallen into and see if you can inject something entirely new. For example, Ship-to-Ship battles, aerial combat, wilderness survival, etc. (i.e. something with starkly different mechanics than normal Combat/Social/Exploration cycles.) You might even introduce a Wild Card item that gives the players direct control over their own interruptions. For example, an item like the "Happy Fun Ball" from Critical Role, that the players can activate to go on a mini-adventure whenever things get a little stale.
If it's neither Fatigue, nor the Content, then it might be Intrapersonal. It's possible that there is some tension behind the scenes that is making playing together uncomfortable. Either one or more player is behaving poorly in-game, or perhaps a few of the players have in-person relationships that are being tested. If this is the case, you might tease the possibility of splitting the party and running alternating sessions for each half of the group. The response to the suggestion could be telling on its own, and you might find that one group becomes more engaged than the other, which could help highlight where the problem is.
Edit: Lastly, and most importantly, the issue might be you, as the DM. If your group has been engaged and happy for a significant amount of time, you're probably doing fine, but it's also very easy to be blind to your own shortcomings. Think long and hard about how you run your games and consider if anything you've done could possibly be taken poorly, or misunderstood. (e.g. railroading, powertripping, favoritism, flirting with players, stifling creativity, etc...) Regardless of your intentions, the DM is in a position of authority that can lead to strange power dynamics that players may not wish to confront directly. It's worth touching base with your players from time to time and shuffling things up to prevent unseen issues from stacking.
Memnosyne covered most of it. I’d add, have you tried talking with your players about it, out of character? Ask them directly what’s going on, so you know which problem you’re trying to solve
One other thing, re: plot hooks. Don’t assume you are dropping them as clearly as you think. Sometimes there’s a big miscommunication between what you drop and what they pick up. So be sure to include that in the conversation.
I periodically create an anonymous online survey, there are loads of free options, and ask the players to fill it in. In it I will ask them to list things they are enjoying, things they wouldlike to see done differently or improved. I ask them to rate the current balance, roleplay/combat etc and if I get a sense that things are maybe not right, or have concerns about things I am doing I might ask some more specific questions.
The format of this is great, the players get time to think about their responses and will be more likely to be honest then feeling awkward telling someone to their face the things they don't like, because it is anonymous no one feels singled out when the responses are discussed. In a small group you might have an idea of who said what, but it means you can address the group as a whole saying things like, most of you feel a bit railroaded, what can I do to help you feel less like that, if i give you more open options how can I help you undersatnad what those options are etc.
Nah. You set the scene, then you need them to tell you what they do. Don't say anything, even when the silence gets awkward. Eventually the silence will get awkward for them too.
(1) How large is your group? (2) How long have you been playing with this group? (3) How often are you playing? (4) How long is each session? (5) Are there any obvious issues in the group? (Cheating, power gaming, insensitivity, etc...) (6) Are there any significant relationship dynamics in the group? (Dating, Flirting, Siblings, Generational gaps, etc...)
Since you are experiencing a drop in engagement, rather than struggling to motivate them from the beginning, I would highly recommend asking them privately and directly about what you can do to encourage more active participation from the group as a whole.
Fatigue is definitely a viable consideration. You might want to reduce your schedule to every other week for a while, reduce the length of the sessions, or mix it up with some thing else, like board game night, or playing a different RPG system for a few one-shots.
If it's not fatigue, then it could very well be the Content. Think about any patterns that you might have fallen into and see if you can inject something entirely new. For example, Ship-to-Ship battles, aerial combat, wilderness survival, etc. (i.e. something with starkly different mechanics than normal Combat/Social/Exploration cycles.) You might even introduce a Wild Card item that gives the players direct control over their own interruptions. For example, an item like the "Happy Fun Ball" from Critical Role, that the players can activate to go on a mini-adventure whenever things get a little stale.
If it's neither Fatigue, nor the Content, then it might be Intrapersonal. It's possible that there is some tension behind the scenes that is making playing together uncomfortable. Either one or more player is behaving poorly in-game, or perhaps a few of the players have in-person relationships that are being tested. If this is the case, you might tease the possibility of splitting the party and running alternating sessions for each half of the group. The response to the suggestion could be telling on its own, and you might find that one group becomes more engaged than the other, which could help highlight where the problem is.
Edit: Lastly, and most importantly, the issue might be you, as the DM. If your group has been engaged and happy for a significant amount of time, you're probably doing fine, but it's also very easy to be blind to your own shortcomings. Think long and hard about how you run your games and consider if anything you've done could possibly be taken poorly, or misunderstood. (e.g. railroading, powertripping, favoritism, flirting with players, stifling creativity, etc...) Regardless of your intentions, the DM is in a position of authority that can lead to strange power dynamics that players may not wish to confront directly. It's worth touching base with your players from time to time and shuffling things up to prevent unseen issues from stacking.
Maybe it's time for a new campaign. I've had this happen in my games as well: everyone feels like their characters are played out, the world is fully explored, and everything's starting to blur together. It's not your fault, it's just a natural part of a satisfying game. At that point, it's fun to wrap up and then totally switch characters and setting! Plus, low-level danger injects some much needed excitement for a group whose high-level characters can barely die.
If you're not quite ready to let this campaign go, maybe do a one-shot, either letting one of your players DM or using a non-D&D roleplaying game (like Dread or Fiasco). Something totally different. That can help bounce players out of their rut and get them excited to return to the main game.
Alternatively, it could be that your players are losing track of your intricate plot. Or that what you see as "deep intrigue," "epic plots," and "open-ended goals," they see as "overcomplicated story," "not focused on us," and "no direction," respectively. And, honestly, when it comes to this stuff, the players are never wrong. So maybe swapping your planned plot for more simple, ground-level, obvious adventures could really help. It's helped for me sometimes.
And try talking to the players about this! Maybe they have insight, or ideas!
Create situations where the party must make a choice that you know they will at first disagree on. They will debate and eventually come to a conclusion, and that will get the ball rolling on at least talking with eachother more on decision making.
Also I'd say throw out little red herrings to them. Dangle the possibility of something happening in front of one or all of them, but if they fail to pursue or ask questions about it, they knowingly lose out on whatever this thing was. Just make sure to have a backup plan for if they do end up pursuing it.
2) Since the 2nd of January, but I've played with two of the three in other games before (with them as PCs and with one of them as the DM)
3) We play three weeks on/one week off so that everyone gets a break every now and again, but we're all (bar one) playing in other games simultaneously. I myself play D&D two to three times a week.
4) 2.5 -3.5 hours. We try to keep it reasonable in length and have never gone over 4 hours.
5) Not that I can think of? We had quite a thorough Session 0 where expectations were laid out and sensitivity conversations had. I ask players about things that may bother them before I implement them in the game, and take things out if needed. One of our players started for the first time in D&D with this game, so made some basic mistakes in combat for a while that wasn't quite picked up (rolling too many damage dice - the initial rolls were low so it wasn't noticed) but was eventually sorted out and we all understood it was a beginner's error.
6) One of the players and I dated more than three years ago, but we're just good friends now. We've both since moved on (and it was a high school romance so not particularly extended/deep.)
I've made some inroads in speaking to them about what motivates their characters/what engages them, though the responses have also been somewhat mild? Mostly 'I'm just following x persons in the group for now'. I'm hoping that the next story bit will shake things up, as it will speak to the motivations of a different PC (dealing with their siblings). It's possible we've just been in the same environment gameplay-wise for too long. I've looked into running some other RPG systems and doing one-shots to spice things up and try and bring back some of the energy - it can just be disheartening sometimes when folks are super excited for a one-shot but not really the main campaign (despite that I know everyone just enjoys trying new things every once in a while.)
Yeah within the next two sessions we'll be entering very different territory (ocean combat/ship combat/the works). We pretty much transitioned from mild wilderness survival to travel to inner-city, but the more I think about it the more I feel like we just didn't get to see enough of the city to generate much interest? The plot called for a more strict timeline (a missing mentor figure of one of the PCs) so there wasn't much opportunity to just explore the space. I love the Happy Fun Ball idea (ever since I saw it on CR I've wanted to introduce something like it) so that's a brilliant idea, honestly.
Because it is such a small group it is somewhat difficult to do split sessions, but during Session 0 we did have two separate introductions. I find it easier to engage two of the players using more traditional D&D hooks (helping people/adventuring/combat) than the other player, but I usually try to account for this by not doing too much of either. Since this arc has been focused on the latter player, we've had more intrigue/social situations than adventuring. As I think about it it is possible this is why I've had a bit of engagement loss? I'm not sure how to hold the others' attention, though I have some more bigger complex combat coming up so here is to hoping.
And of course, my consummate fear is that it is me. I often worry about railroading, but at the same time (though I've given my players quite an extensive world map/regional maps/points of interest) they seem hesitant to just go places? It honestly may just be because our previous major campaigns have been 'bottle' ones (one set on a cruise ship with a set course, one being Curse of Strahd where it's a fairly set story, and one being incredibly narrative) so they're still unsure how to go about with a more open-style game. I do try to get feedback as often as possible, but I think that since we're all friends there is that barrier of not wanting to hurt others' feelings, so I sometimes worry I'm not receiving all the feedback they would otherwise give. I can also definitely be insecure about DMing (especially since I've not been at it for long) so I overthink things. Hopefully, more confidence will come with time.
Memnosyne covered most of it. I’d add, have you tried talking with your players about it, out of character? Ask them directly what’s going on, so you know which problem you’re trying to solve
One other thing, re: plot hooks. Don’t assume you are dropping them as clearly as you think. Sometimes there’s a big miscommunication between what you drop and what they pick up. So be sure to include that in the conversation.
In post-game discussions, they seem to be on the right track/picking up what I am putting down. Although there definitely has been confusion in the past regarding timelines and what is happening when. I think I'll try to share a version of our in-game calendar with the players so they have a sense of when things have happened/when they are planned to happen. I'll just have to remove my plot marker spoilers first :)
Alternatively, it could be that your players are losing track of your intricate plot. Or that what you see as "deep intrigue," "epic plots," and "open-ended goals," they see as "overcomplicated story," "not focused on us," and "no direction," respectively. And, honestly, when it comes to this stuff, the players are never wrong. So maybe swapping your planned plot for more simple, ground-level, obvious adventures could really help. It's helped for me sometimes.
And try talking to the players about this! Maybe they have insight, or ideas!
This is a very good point! I think it might be a good idea to scale back a little on all the side bits and pieces to things. I can get overexcited about cool lore things and the existing worldbuilding of Forgotten Realms and honestly probably include too many different threads. I will have a good long look at my outlines and see what can be simplified.
hmm. Sounds like they just don’t care about all the “plot lines” and all that fluffy hoopla.
Start focusing all of your energy on making a big mega-dungeon for them.
I don't quite think this is it. None of them are enjoyers of strict dungeon crawls (though I don't mind running those, and often have shorter ones as means of getting to a boss). But I am trying to cut down on unnecessary complications to the plot that probably only make sense to me because I came up with them. The basic plot isn't too complex, and they've already half figured it out and seem keen to see that through to the end. This section has just been a bit slower than usual.
With such a small group, you might be dealing with investment issues.
You could try to:
(A) Encourage tangible character development, such as working one on one with players to create custom spells or class features. (Uniqueness will give them something to be excited about showing off.); or
(B) Recruit a new player or two. (New people will be starting fresh with that "honeymoon glow", and your regulars may feel motivated to put on a good show for them, and jump start their own engagement in the process.)
With larger groups, it's a lot easier for the players to bounce off one another without any single individual feeling solely responsible for talking all of the time. Further, with a larger group, there can be several overlapping dynamics. (Friends, rivals, business partners, siblings, etc.) Many more reasons to engage with any particular encounter. "Roleplay Critical Mass", so to speak.
The more you can get the players to focus on internal development, the less they will be susceptible to external ebbs and flows in the narrative.
I am really new Dm and am working on my first campaign, but my idea for keeping players interested has to do with an NPC I created. It is a mysterious Elf Bard, that is of unknown age. He has a “Back” pack, that allows him the let players relive adventures from his memory, it also lets them go back, and replay their own adventures, to chose different directions, items, or interactions, etc….. It also gives me creative inspiration, because it can last as many sessions as I like, and takes the players out of the story arc, and gives them something new and interesting. I am not sure how many applications this will have, but I hope it last for a long time.
Talk with your players man, just open it up to a discussion and ask them what the deal is.
I've had groups like this where to my surprise everyone was having a blast and just didn't know how else to interact with the world. There are a lot of people who are so use to consuming media passively though videos or videogames that being a main character in a story and interacting and talking is so foreign to them that they don't know hot to begin to do it. I've talked to my most checked out players in a group like this if they wanted to stop playing and was met with shock and them telling me the game was the silver lining of quarantine, when I thought they were dying of boredom.
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My original draft of this was deleted, but in the latest arc of the campaign I've been running since January, I've felt like I've lost the ability to inspire my group.
We've been working on a bit of a complex intersection of plot lines - three major plots kind of happening at once - but I feel as if I am dragging everyone by the nose instead of them being proactive. This has not been a problem for the group in the past - some characters are more hesitant than others, but ultimately they were interested in finding answers so did. They also very happily engaged with NPCs and each other of their own volition - lately there has been little interaction I haven't directly initiated as an NPC.
I suppose I'm looking for a little advice on how to inspire my PCs to engage with things? I feel like I am dropping enough plot hooks - but I'm receiving very mild responses. It's also possible folks are just tired (myself and my players are students, and we've had to change up playtimes because of scheduling conflicts so we've played evening games which are low energy) but even the morning games we've managed (our usual slot) have been low. As the DM I kind of have to speak, so I get anxious about all the silence.
Hoping that it's just this arc that isn't vibing with them and that when we move on (soon) things will return to the usual shenanigans and involvement but if anyone has any advice for dealing with this in general, I'd be very grateful.
(1) How large is your group?
(2) How long have you been playing with this group?
(3) How often are you playing?
(4) How long is each session?
(5) Are there any obvious issues in the group? (Cheating, power gaming, insensitivity, etc...)
(6) Are there any significant relationship dynamics in the group? (Dating, Flirting, Siblings, Generational gaps, etc...)
Since you are experiencing a drop in engagement, rather than struggling to motivate them from the beginning, I would highly recommend asking them privately and directly about what you can do to encourage more active participation from the group as a whole.
Fatigue is definitely a viable consideration. You might want to reduce your schedule to every other week for a while, reduce the length of the sessions, or mix it up with some thing else, like board game night, or playing a different RPG system for a few one-shots.
If it's not fatigue, then it could very well be the Content. Think about any patterns that you might have fallen into and see if you can inject something entirely new. For example, Ship-to-Ship battles, aerial combat, wilderness survival, etc. (i.e. something with starkly different mechanics than normal Combat/Social/Exploration cycles.) You might even introduce a Wild Card item that gives the players direct control over their own interruptions. For example, an item like the "Happy Fun Ball" from Critical Role, that the players can activate to go on a mini-adventure whenever things get a little stale.
If it's neither Fatigue, nor the Content, then it might be Intrapersonal. It's possible that there is some tension behind the scenes that is making playing together uncomfortable. Either one or more player is behaving poorly in-game, or perhaps a few of the players have in-person relationships that are being tested. If this is the case, you might tease the possibility of splitting the party and running alternating sessions for each half of the group. The response to the suggestion could be telling on its own, and you might find that one group becomes more engaged than the other, which could help highlight where the problem is.
Edit: Lastly, and most importantly, the issue might be you, as the DM. If your group has been engaged and happy for a significant amount of time, you're probably doing fine, but it's also very easy to be blind to your own shortcomings. Think long and hard about how you run your games and consider if anything you've done could possibly be taken poorly, or misunderstood. (e.g. railroading, powertripping, favoritism, flirting with players, stifling creativity, etc...) Regardless of your intentions, the DM is in a position of authority that can lead to strange power dynamics that players may not wish to confront directly. It's worth touching base with your players from time to time and shuffling things up to prevent unseen issues from stacking.
Memnosyne covered most of it. I’d add, have you tried talking with your players about it, out of character? Ask them directly what’s going on, so you know which problem you’re trying to solve
One other thing, re: plot hooks. Don’t assume you are dropping them as clearly as you think. Sometimes there’s a big miscommunication between what you drop and what they pick up. So be sure to include that in the conversation.
I periodically create an anonymous online survey, there are loads of free options, and ask the players to fill it in. In it I will ask them to list things they are enjoying, things they wouldlike to see done differently or improved. I ask them to rate the current balance, roleplay/combat etc and if I get a sense that things are maybe not right, or have concerns about things I am doing I might ask some more specific questions.
The format of this is great, the players get time to think about their responses and will be more likely to be honest then feeling awkward telling someone to their face the things they don't like, because it is anonymous no one feels singled out when the responses are discussed. In a small group you might have an idea of who said what, but it means you can address the group as a whole saying things like, most of you feel a bit railroaded, what can I do to help you feel less like that, if i give you more open options how can I help you undersatnad what those options are etc.
"As the DM I kind of have to speak ..."
Nah. You set the scene, then you need them to tell you what they do. Don't say anything, even when the silence gets awkward. Eventually the silence will get awkward for them too.
This is a bunch of good advice.
Some other variety of adventures: stealth infiltrations, base defense, dance parties, weird / haunted house / castle, VIP escort but it's a baby ...
Maybe it's time for a new campaign. I've had this happen in my games as well: everyone feels like their characters are played out, the world is fully explored, and everything's starting to blur together. It's not your fault, it's just a natural part of a satisfying game. At that point, it's fun to wrap up and then totally switch characters and setting! Plus, low-level danger injects some much needed excitement for a group whose high-level characters can barely die.
If you're not quite ready to let this campaign go, maybe do a one-shot, either letting one of your players DM or using a non-D&D roleplaying game (like Dread or Fiasco). Something totally different. That can help bounce players out of their rut and get them excited to return to the main game.
Alternatively, it could be that your players are losing track of your intricate plot. Or that what you see as "deep intrigue," "epic plots," and "open-ended goals," they see as "overcomplicated story," "not focused on us," and "no direction," respectively. And, honestly, when it comes to this stuff, the players are never wrong. So maybe swapping your planned plot for more simple, ground-level, obvious adventures could really help. It's helped for me sometimes.
And try talking to the players about this! Maybe they have insight, or ideas!
Wizard (Gandalf) of the Tolkien Club
Create situations where the party must make a choice that you know they will at first disagree on. They will debate and eventually come to a conclusion, and that will get the ball rolling on at least talking with eachother more on decision making.
Also I'd say throw out little red herrings to them. Dangle the possibility of something happening in front of one or all of them, but if they fail to pursue or ask questions about it, they knowingly lose out on whatever this thing was. Just make sure to have a backup plan for if they do end up pursuing it.
@Mnemosyne thank you very much!
1) Quite small, only 3 players.
2) Since the 2nd of January, but I've played with two of the three in other games before (with them as PCs and with one of them as the DM)
3) We play three weeks on/one week off so that everyone gets a break every now and again, but we're all (bar one) playing in other games simultaneously. I myself play D&D two to three times a week.
4) 2.5 -3.5 hours. We try to keep it reasonable in length and have never gone over 4 hours.
5) Not that I can think of? We had quite a thorough Session 0 where expectations were laid out and sensitivity conversations had. I ask players about things that may bother them before I implement them in the game, and take things out if needed. One of our players started for the first time in D&D with this game, so made some basic mistakes in combat for a while that wasn't quite picked up (rolling too many damage dice - the initial rolls were low so it wasn't noticed) but was eventually sorted out and we all understood it was a beginner's error.
6) One of the players and I dated more than three years ago, but we're just good friends now. We've both since moved on (and it was a high school romance so not particularly extended/deep.)
I've made some inroads in speaking to them about what motivates their characters/what engages them, though the responses have also been somewhat mild? Mostly 'I'm just following x persons in the group for now'. I'm hoping that the next story bit will shake things up, as it will speak to the motivations of a different PC (dealing with their siblings). It's possible we've just been in the same environment gameplay-wise for too long. I've looked into running some other RPG systems and doing one-shots to spice things up and try and bring back some of the energy - it can just be disheartening sometimes when folks are super excited for a one-shot but not really the main campaign (despite that I know everyone just enjoys trying new things every once in a while.)
Yeah within the next two sessions we'll be entering very different territory (ocean combat/ship combat/the works). We pretty much transitioned from mild wilderness survival to travel to inner-city, but the more I think about it the more I feel like we just didn't get to see enough of the city to generate much interest? The plot called for a more strict timeline (a missing mentor figure of one of the PCs) so there wasn't much opportunity to just explore the space. I love the Happy Fun Ball idea (ever since I saw it on CR I've wanted to introduce something like it) so that's a brilliant idea, honestly.
Because it is such a small group it is somewhat difficult to do split sessions, but during Session 0 we did have two separate introductions. I find it easier to engage two of the players using more traditional D&D hooks (helping people/adventuring/combat) than the other player, but I usually try to account for this by not doing too much of either. Since this arc has been focused on the latter player, we've had more intrigue/social situations than adventuring. As I think about it it is possible this is why I've had a bit of engagement loss? I'm not sure how to hold the others' attention, though I have some more bigger complex combat coming up so here is to hoping.
And of course, my consummate fear is that it is me. I often worry about railroading, but at the same time (though I've given my players quite an extensive world map/regional maps/points of interest) they seem hesitant to just go places? It honestly may just be because our previous major campaigns have been 'bottle' ones (one set on a cruise ship with a set course, one being Curse of Strahd where it's a fairly set story, and one being incredibly narrative) so they're still unsure how to go about with a more open-style game. I do try to get feedback as often as possible, but I think that since we're all friends there is that barrier of not wanting to hurt others' feelings, so I sometimes worry I'm not receiving all the feedback they would otherwise give. I can also definitely be insecure about DMing (especially since I've not been at it for long) so I overthink things. Hopefully, more confidence will come with time.
In post-game discussions, they seem to be on the right track/picking up what I am putting down. Although there definitely has been confusion in the past regarding timelines and what is happening when. I think I'll try to share a version of our in-game calendar with the players so they have a sense of when things have happened/when they are planned to happen. I'll just have to remove my plot marker spoilers first :)
This is a very good point! I think it might be a good idea to scale back a little on all the side bits and pieces to things. I can get overexcited about cool lore things and the existing worldbuilding of Forgotten Realms and honestly probably include too many different threads. I will have a good long look at my outlines and see what can be simplified.
hmm. Sounds like they just don’t care about all the “plot lines” and all that fluffy hoopla.
Start focusing all of your energy on making a big mega-dungeon for them.
I don't quite think this is it. None of them are enjoyers of strict dungeon crawls (though I don't mind running those, and often have shorter ones as means of getting to a boss). But I am trying to cut down on unnecessary complications to the plot that probably only make sense to me because I came up with them. The basic plot isn't too complex, and they've already half figured it out and seem keen to see that through to the end. This section has just been a bit slower than usual.
With such a small group, you might be dealing with investment issues.
You could try to:
(A) Encourage tangible character development, such as working one on one with players to create custom spells or class features. (Uniqueness will give them something to be excited about showing off.); or
(B) Recruit a new player or two. (New people will be starting fresh with that "honeymoon glow", and your regulars may feel motivated to put on a good show for them, and jump start their own engagement in the process.)
With larger groups, it's a lot easier for the players to bounce off one another without any single individual feeling solely responsible for talking all of the time. Further, with a larger group, there can be several overlapping dynamics. (Friends, rivals, business partners, siblings, etc.) Many more reasons to engage with any particular encounter. "Roleplay Critical Mass", so to speak.
The more you can get the players to focus on internal development, the less they will be susceptible to external ebbs and flows in the narrative.
I am really new Dm and am working on my first campaign, but my idea for keeping players interested has to do with an NPC I created. It is a mysterious Elf Bard, that is of unknown age. He has a “Back” pack, that allows him the let players relive adventures from his memory, it also lets them go back, and replay their own adventures, to chose different directions, items, or interactions, etc….. It also gives me creative inspiration, because it can last as many sessions as I like, and takes the players out of the story arc, and gives them something new and interesting. I am not sure how many applications this will have, but I hope it last for a long time.
Talk with your players man, just open it up to a discussion and ask them what the deal is.
I've had groups like this where to my surprise everyone was having a blast and just didn't know how else to interact with the world. There are a lot of people who are so use to consuming media passively though videos or videogames that being a main character in a story and interacting and talking is so foreign to them that they don't know hot to begin to do it. I've talked to my most checked out players in a group like this if they wanted to stop playing and was met with shock and them telling me the game was the silver lining of quarantine, when I thought they were dying of boredom.