So - I'm having some issues with world/plot detail, exposition, and players catching on to things.
I'm salting NPC conversation liberally with what I consider story clues, and world details ( emphasis on the landmine assumption of "I consider").
I'm pretty sure that most of it is going over the party's head - and I don't think many of them are taking notes, so even if they catch something, they might not remember it week-over-week.
So I've come up with a few ideas for making sure details don't get lost:
Finding other, more obvious, ways to convey exposition details ( any suggestions? )
Do a pre-session recap, as the GM - and make sure all the details that the players were exposed to, are in that summary recap. Currently I sometimes do a high-level summary, sometimes I ask for one from the players. It also strikes me that I can subtly warp the narrative details if I am doing the recap ( insert maniacal laughing here ).
Do my "post session DM notes" as a DM summary as per above, and send them out to the players - or even incorporate them into an ongoing online "campaign diary" document - again making sure all the relevant details make it into that summary
If this has been a problem for you, how have you resolved it?
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Honestly, option two is what I do pretty often and it goes over very well and helps keep my players on roughly the same page. That said, I do have one or two judicious note takers in the party as well that I can count on to clear up things with other players who aren't paying as much attention.
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"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
A lot of my players tend to keep quite detailed notes regarding things that their characters find interesting/important, but in addition to that I also do a short recap of last session at the start of each session (usually trying to aim for 5-10 minutes so that I'm not rambling on for too long). As my players often have details that are important to them (that may or may not have had any place in my story initially) they might pipe up during the recap with that detail. Those things I then work to have a more important role in the story going ahead, as the players are already more interested and invested in them.
While I keep pretty detailed DM notes for myself I wouldn't expect my players to take the time to read them close to the next session happening, as life has a way of interfering with such things, and then I might get annoyed that they didn't do the "assigned reading" as it were.
As for more obvious ways to deliver in game exposition details, in-game items are usually the way that I will do it. If your plan is for the party to go investigate nearby ruins instead of having a local NPC they've never met before or don't need anything from tell them about it, maybe they find a map highlighting the ruins and with notes from the map's previous owner. Then they start to wonder more about why someone else was so interested in trying to go there and they might be more inclined to remember the ruins. Also, if there are important symbols that I want the players to remember, I will have them occur earlier than necessary so that they can be reinforced later. For the first quest of my current campaign the party were sent to retrieve a chalice from a now fallen kingdom. The crest of the ruling house was a crimson phoenix on a heater shield shaped background. Later they were looking through a shop piled with junk, and one of them spotted a historical text with the same family crest on its spine, which contained some information for things to come. Because they already knew and were interested in the symbol they picked up the book, to look over later.
Also, it might depend on what NPC is telling them things for the conversation. Most players are much more likely to remember the words of a local ruler, wizard, or a skilled artisan rather than just the third commoner to come up to them since they entered the town. Guard captains or merchants they are bartering with usually work well too. Although there are of course exceptions. You have a commoner make one joke about a shadowy force that long vanished so they no longer worry about it, and suddenly the party insists on scouring the nearby countryside looking for it. Sometimes it can be hard to gauge that way.
I like the idea of artifacts over NPC exposition, for a lot of things.
However, the campaign is unfolding a lot of political and factional details right now. While not impossible ( with a little creativity, I'm sure ) that's a little more difficult to encode in objects.
Although as I wrote that it occurs to me that intercepted correspondence, finding communication sigils scrawled on stone or wood, etc. can be clues in their own right.
And creating physical copies as game props would immediately elevate their importance in the players' eyes.
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Ah yes, political and faction based campaigns can be trickier for such item deliveries, although having the physical copies of intercepted correspondence and hidden messages would make for some very memorable moments and bits of information.
If they have specific NPCs that they usually deal with for the various political groups and other factions, that can also assist in them remembering the information more from the character they have a closer relationship with.
I should try to use more physical game props for letters and such in my games...
I'm running a group of 6 people, in a world of my own creation, with (at last count) no less than 10 different stories happening simultaneously. Taking notes is paramount for my group, and fortunately I have a couple players who do take notes in a fashion. However, as was pointed out, players see things differently than the DM, and each other, which causes issues for continuity and cohesion.
My approach:
Pre-Game:
-"Last week we...": I give a run down of the last session, usually. when the game starts I front load it with the important information I think they need to remember. I only go over what happened in the previous session, and only the important pieces that I have written down. Any information the players have will be important when they feel it is. The recap is mine, and it's also my way of making sure everyone is into the game. It serves as a reminder and a way of saying sit down, get your dice, and let's play. -"Earlier when you were....": The exception to this is if you're going to change the game up a bit and bring in something that doesn't further the last session or is going to switch to a different story arc all together. When I change the story that is going to be primary for the night, if it's something they haven't dealt with for a while, I'll do a season recap so that I can jog their memories about this long lost story arc. Again, the important bits, if they have their notes they can gather the fluff from that.
1) If the NPC is talking, they talk, whether the players are listening or not. I don't pretend like there's a pause button, they initiated conversation, they put themselves before the NPC, if they can't bring themselves to listen to a moment of exposition then it's on them. This has caused players to miss important details and, in the beginning, I had repeated that information, but after a while I just let them suffer their actions.
2) I keep detailed notes on my computer, bullet pointing important story beats and player actions. A player may see a situation differently than I do, so when it becomes a point of confusion I can easily find my notes and figure out how to approach it.
3) Now that I feel like I've greased all the wheels of the machine that is my game, I am no longer taking as active a roll in my players direction. This makes note taking a table wide effort, what I see and hear as well as the players is all important. If the players don't have information that I do, then it's left up to my interpretation, if they have the same notes but from their point of view, I defer to their notes.
1. exposition. Well I prep the broad strokes of a story, weaving in a few details here and there. combined with a great memory means I write down very little of actual story elements and just make it up on the flew when it comes to actual dialogue. my goal is to always have more then 1 way to deliver the needed information. it could come from a little girl that saw a boogyman at night when she peeked outside her window. or it could be a cow for someone with animal speak to get some info. there would be hints of tracks etc laying about waiting to be found.
They'll find, stumble, upon one of the many ways eventually. I also stated at the start to take notes. So they all bought notebooks and pens for that purpose. The detail, which info, written down is their own responsibility. If they lost it...tough luck. Same for codex-cards I hand out with a written description of the item or potion. If they lose it irl, they lose the ability to use it in game. So get your shit together and take care of your things. Which they do...they take responsibility.
As for re-capping. I do that briefly at the start. For every other impression from the players happens around the game. We have 1 hour before we begin where I'm setting things up. As well as an hour afterwards where we just sit back and clean up together. Beforehand I explain some of the rules I looked up that impact some ways of how their characters could do something. Refresh some rules/things we all agreed on and pay attention to it when playing. Afterwards we just talk about how they think it went, things we should pay attention to going forward, moments they liked and left a certain impression which I can use to tailor their experiences more. This means we usually play 4-5 hours with 1 hour before and afterwards added to that amount. Not to mention the hours during the week on WhatsApp. Its fun to see their banter in text where they mock certain actions/decision or laugh at weird events that happened. It really shows how involved they are. Some more then others of course. That too can show which players need a bit more attention to get pulled in.
I don't warp narrative details. At the start my players split up and spoke with various npc's. Some gave them quests, but in their rush they didn't stick around to get the details...or even knew how much they were getting paid for it. So when they returned to town with requests only partially fulfilled it impacted how everyone viewed them. As well as the payment received. Since then they're less rushed and a bit more thorough. I'm of the opinion that the world lives and when players ask I provide as much information as possible. However, just as in real life, you need to work for it. Just because they enter a village doesn't mean an npc automatically shows up revealing the local cleric is forced to sell drugs to her congregation. If they don't go around noticing things and putting their noes where it doesn't belong...they might leave town not even knowing what was going on. Such a cleric wouldn't liberally drop information either due to fear of being exposed and consequences that go with it. If my players aren't smart enough to pick up on some things its really their problem and I just let the situation play out. Which often results into drama and conflict...content creating and escalation by itself. Free memorable content for players to interact with even if they didn't pick up on it till much later in its development. Failure is just more opportunities in D&D
As for DM notes afterwards. Don't really do them. Great memory and all. However I did create/use an in-game calender with seasons and such. For each day I write a very brief description of what the players did that day. It also helps me keep track of the time that passes. Especially in case of war scenario's where time is of the essence. And its also nice if you suddenly describe a change in season during the year+ that you play at the table. Having your players run into a festival at a seasonal equinox make the world feel that little bit more alive as well. Also aids me to remind myself which weather types to describe according to the month we're in.
In-game exposition depends. It all comes down to immersion and atmosphere instead of just holding endless monologues where players tune out. In that regard we got a beamer hooked up to a laptop. It projects everything on the screen onto a very large wall. There also ambiance LED-lighting that changes accordingly. I project images of the surrounding they're in while also playing ambiance music to go with it. If they find a cartographer and buy a map...i got one to hand over. Simple notes and letters .. got those ready to handout as well. With everything... its the players responsibility to keep it. If they lose it...its gone. Using a beamer frees up a lot of space in the room since there are no tables. Meaning we all stand. Which seems to motivate the use of body language and acting out actions.
2) I keep detailed notes on my computer, bullet pointing important story beats and player actions.
3) Now that I feel like I've greased all the wheels of the machine that is my game, I am no longer taking as active a roll in my players direction....
I like this approach - and it's pretty much a variant on what I was thinking.
I've been leaning toward recapping the previous session's important points, prefaced by a 1-3 sentence summary of the adventure arc to date - just to keep things in context.
The "Earlier, when you were ....", does this not telegraph ahead of time that dormant plot threads are now being revived? That may, or may not, matter - but it would give the players a little warning as to future events.
I do the thing with the NPCs talking.
I don't "nudge" my players in any given direction at all - they run amok all on their own. What's sometimes been frustrating is when they've missed details, and stop running amok and don't know what to do next.
I think your "sink or swim" approach is - ideally - the way to go. However, that kind of presupposes that your party is paying attention, taking notes, etc. If they do not, then there's the risk of the adventure grinding to a halt because the party didn't catch details, and doesn't know what to do next. That's kind of what I'm trying to avoid here.
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Yea the "Earlier, when you were..." lead in does telegraph that something is coming up that they may have forgotten, but for good reason. I treat my game sessions like an episodic television series to some degree, and with every one of those shows they take this approach when reintroducing someone, or something, that hasn't been seen in a while. That is the catch though, you can use this to re-introduce an npc they saved who shows up and offers them dinner, the big baddie that escaped pokes his head in and messes everything up again, or they simply find themselves returning to a location that has changed drastically and you want to make this change more dramatic. It's not always going to go one way or the other, so you can use this to keep the players guessing.
I think your "sink or swim" approach is - ideally - the way to go. However, that kind of presupposes that your party is paying attention, taking notes, etc. If they do not, then there's the risk of the adventure grinding to a halt because the party didn't catch details, and doesn't know what to do next. That's kind of what I'm trying to avoid here.
This is where ShadowPhage13 has a good idea where the group finds a thing that tugs on the plot hook, it sets the gears in motion when things slow down. Another tactic I use is to have the story move closer the next step, the big baddie sends out his minions to find the new mcguffin, the weapon of ancients is test fired, or something like that. You do something, it has to make sense, to remind the players that they're supposed to do something, even if they can't remember. It feels a bit more organic than "Your diety sends you a message in a dream that the goal you're trying to reach is getting further away"......unless that's actually something that should happen.
If things come to a halt or a drag you can always drop something on their path that provides information to keep going for a bit. Then follow it up with more complete information to get them back on track.
That makes perfect sense. Plot comes to a grinding halt because the players have run out of ideas, the DM drops an external event into the pot to get things moving again.
I initially didn't like that idea because I can see the party becoming dependent on that: "hey, if we just stand still, the plot will advance" - but the "external event" prod doesn't have to be something positive. Maybe if a few negative consequences occur in the plot because they weren't paying attention to the details which allowed them to forestall that particular unpleasant consequence.
In a race between the protagonists and antagonists, stopping and standing still means you can lose.
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I used to do a recap, but I found that I was often leading the players with what I thought were important details. Now I keep a wiki/blog of what happens for each game session. It allows me to share everything that happened and gives the players a chance to remember some of those important details that they might forget between game sessions without spoon feeding it to them.
I'd show you one of the wikis I put together, but until recently, I was using Wikispaces, which has recently declared that they're going out of business. For my next campaign, I'm planning to use Obsidian Portal, which is a wiki/blog tool that's designed specifically for tabletop RPGs. I would recommend giving it a look see.
I make my players give the recap at the beginning of the session. it lets me know what stuck out to them, and what they remembered and also gives me some insight into how they interpret and process the information im giving them, plus its hilarious watching them tip toe through the details, every sentence ending in an upward inflection. typically if players aren't taking the hint its usually from a lack of detail. giving something more detail when describing it makes it seem more important, if they find a clue on some paper take extra time describing the burnt edges, still smoldering and warm as little wisps of smoke curl off the edges from the attempted destruction of what would seem to be some important information. also fake ability checks makes things seem more important. these are a few tricks I use to make my players notice things. also punish them for not paying attention, they forgot about the sign saying danger ahead and walk into a pit of quicksand, if your players keep talking over an NPC have the NPC get pissed off, make that effect the outcome of the encounter, them being ***** now they have disadvantage trying to coax information that would have been given willingly.
I do like your "Clue Card" idea - unavoidable - but, yeah, it's kinda of insulting in its way: "here, dummy, now you can't miss this".
What I tried for last week - and will do again for this week's past session - was that I wrote up a summary, and sent it out to the players. I did stuff it with all the details which were available, and voiced, but which I'm pretty sure they missed - NPC names, etc. - but no clues that they literally didn't see.
Interestingly, I got a comment from one of my players at the last session along the lines of " ... when I read about ________________, involving my character, I thought, Damn, maybe I should be writing some of this down".
So, maybe a little "hand holding" right now, emphasizing what they're missing will lead to better note taking, which means they won't be dependent on my summaries, eventually.
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This is a biggy - especially when the characters have received all the details they need, but the players have forgotten to take notes, and then forget those details.
It depends on the group - more experienced groups tend to get whats important information to jot down and make a note of. Newer players can be so caught up in thinking about what their character is doing, how to roleplay, and getting out of the 'video game' mentality, that taking notes goes completely out of the windows.
For these groups, I'll do a bit of a recap before the session, letting them know what the players did previously. I won't tell them anything they don't already know.
Sometimes, such as the case with one group I DM for currently, I have to do extremely detailed notes, providing a list of all the NPCs they've chatted to, and some of the leads and clues they've been given. Such is the case in the Lost Mines campaign I'm currently running, where the players were a little overwhelmed at the sudden change of pace from 'killing goblins and rescuing Sildar' to '...Now we're in a town, and there are tons of people to talk to and information flooding in, and no immediate waypoint arrow to the next quest!'
I guess the important thing to do, is chat to your players. See how much of a recap they'd like. Whether they'd like to be reminded of pertinent clues or major story hooks. Then you can provide as much or little as needed to keep the story moving, and the players engaged.
When it comes to to clues I always follow the rule of 3.
3 Clues for every plot point
3 Clues for every clue
I know it feels like you are spoon feeding the party at this point but that is only because you know all of the details, you almost have to bash most parties over the head with clues to get them to pick up on them.
I understand the "rule of 3" and have used it for a recent mystery/crime adventure that the party went through.
You can so in that kind of situation, and have it still seem natural: CSI - Motive, Opportunity, Blood samples, DNA, and Surveillance footage all point to the murderer.
But simple things like the NPCs name, and what organization they belong to? Come on, I'm not building triple redundant clues on top of the NPC saying directly to the party "Hi, my name is ________ and I'm with ___________".
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1. Make a reference sheet for your players that includes key NPCs and other details. It should be no more than a single double-sided page, but you want to give your players a physical copy. Leave some space clearly designated for additional notes or update the sheet as needed.
2. Make NPC notecards with an NPC's name, description, and other notes (and ideally a portrait). Have the party keep the cards or set them out on the table when the party is talking to or about that NPC. You can do something similar with other types of plot elements.
3. Designate a note taker or ask the group to decide amongst themselves. Remind that person to take notes any time it's relevant.
4. For complex intrigue plots, with multiple factions, it may be useful to create a literal plot web. Create a web of the alliances, etc. between the various factions and NPCs and give it to your players.
Regarding synopses: the key with these is not to highlight everything that happened in a previous session, it's to highlight the things that happened last session that might be relevant to the current one. For that matter, don't limit yourself to just the previous session. Think of it like a "Previously On" reel from a TV show. A synopsis is an opportunity to remind your players of any plot details that they may have forgotten about that may be relevant in the upcoming session.
All good suggestions. I've actually implemented the summary. I agree that the "previously on" highlight reel format is that way to go.
I actually posted an example of what I'm doinghere.
I do like the idea of NPC "flash cards" - but as I'm fundamentally lazy, I might make blanks and have the party fill them in for their own use. This would allow them to make up cards for everyone, even the NPCs which are a surprise for the DM ( what ... you're going where? ... the temple of Tajon ... OK, you are meet by the high priest ... Steve ... ).
I do have organizational interaction graphs ( I'm a Systems Analyst by trade - mapping out systems and process is something I do by reflex :D ) but that's more for my own use and tracking. I may teach my players to do it on their own, though.
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So - I'm having some issues with world/plot detail, exposition, and players catching on to things.
I'm salting NPC conversation liberally with what I consider story clues, and world details ( emphasis on the landmine assumption of "I consider").
I'm pretty sure that most of it is going over the party's head - and I don't think many of them are taking notes, so even if they catch something, they might not remember it week-over-week.
So I've come up with a few ideas for making sure details don't get lost:
If this has been a problem for you, how have you resolved it?
Thanks,
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
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Honestly, option two is what I do pretty often and it goes over very well and helps keep my players on roughly the same page. That said, I do have one or two judicious note takers in the party as well that I can count on to clear up things with other players who aren't paying as much attention.
A lot of my players tend to keep quite detailed notes regarding things that their characters find interesting/important, but in addition to that I also do a short recap of last session at the start of each session (usually trying to aim for 5-10 minutes so that I'm not rambling on for too long). As my players often have details that are important to them (that may or may not have had any place in my story initially) they might pipe up during the recap with that detail. Those things I then work to have a more important role in the story going ahead, as the players are already more interested and invested in them.
While I keep pretty detailed DM notes for myself I wouldn't expect my players to take the time to read them close to the next session happening, as life has a way of interfering with such things, and then I might get annoyed that they didn't do the "assigned reading" as it were.
As for more obvious ways to deliver in game exposition details, in-game items are usually the way that I will do it. If your plan is for the party to go investigate nearby ruins instead of having a local NPC they've never met before or don't need anything from tell them about it, maybe they find a map highlighting the ruins and with notes from the map's previous owner. Then they start to wonder more about why someone else was so interested in trying to go there and they might be more inclined to remember the ruins. Also, if there are important symbols that I want the players to remember, I will have them occur earlier than necessary so that they can be reinforced later. For the first quest of my current campaign the party were sent to retrieve a chalice from a now fallen kingdom. The crest of the ruling house was a crimson phoenix on a heater shield shaped background. Later they were looking through a shop piled with junk, and one of them spotted a historical text with the same family crest on its spine, which contained some information for things to come. Because they already knew and were interested in the symbol they picked up the book, to look over later.
Also, it might depend on what NPC is telling them things for the conversation. Most players are much more likely to remember the words of a local ruler, wizard, or a skilled artisan rather than just the third commoner to come up to them since they entered the town. Guard captains or merchants they are bartering with usually work well too. Although there are of course exceptions. You have a commoner make one joke about a shadowy force that long vanished so they no longer worry about it, and suddenly the party insists on scouring the nearby countryside looking for it. Sometimes it can be hard to gauge that way.
I like the idea of artifacts over NPC exposition, for a lot of things.
However, the campaign is unfolding a lot of political and factional details right now. While not impossible ( with a little creativity, I'm sure ) that's a little more difficult to encode in objects.
Although as I wrote that it occurs to me that intercepted correspondence, finding communication sigils scrawled on stone or wood, etc. can be clues in their own right.
And creating physical copies as game props would immediately elevate their importance in the players' eyes.
I must think on this more ... ;)
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
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Ah yes, political and faction based campaigns can be trickier for such item deliveries, although having the physical copies of intercepted correspondence and hidden messages would make for some very memorable moments and bits of information.
If they have specific NPCs that they usually deal with for the various political groups and other factions, that can also assist in them remembering the information more from the character they have a closer relationship with.
I should try to use more physical game props for letters and such in my games...
I'm running a group of 6 people, in a world of my own creation, with (at last count) no less than 10 different stories happening simultaneously. Taking notes is paramount for my group, and fortunately I have a couple players who do take notes in a fashion. However, as was pointed out, players see things differently than the DM, and each other, which causes issues for continuity and cohesion.
My approach:
Pre-Game:
-"Last week we...": I give a run down of the last session, usually. when the game starts I front load it with the important information I think they need to remember. I only go over what happened in the previous session, and only the important pieces that I have written down. Any information the players have will be important when they feel it is. The recap is mine, and it's also my way of making sure everyone is into the game. It serves as a reminder and a way of saying sit down, get your dice, and let's play.
-"Earlier when you were....": The exception to this is if you're going to change the game up a bit and bring in something that doesn't further the last session or is going to switch to a different story arc all together. When I change the story that is going to be primary for the night, if it's something they haven't dealt with for a while, I'll do a season recap so that I can jog their memories about this long lost story arc. Again, the important bits, if they have their notes they can gather the fluff from that.
1) If the NPC is talking, they talk, whether the players are listening or not. I don't pretend like there's a pause button, they initiated conversation, they put themselves before the NPC, if they can't bring themselves to listen to a moment of exposition then it's on them. This has caused players to miss important details and, in the beginning, I had repeated that information, but after a while I just let them suffer their actions.
2) I keep detailed notes on my computer, bullet pointing important story beats and player actions. A player may see a situation differently than I do, so when it becomes a point of confusion I can easily find my notes and figure out how to approach it.
3) Now that I feel like I've greased all the wheels of the machine that is my game, I am no longer taking as active a roll in my players direction. This makes note taking a table wide effort, what I see and hear as well as the players is all important. If the players don't have information that I do, then it's left up to my interpretation, if they have the same notes but from their point of view, I defer to their notes.
1. exposition. Well I prep the broad strokes of a story, weaving in a few details here and there. combined with a great memory means I write down very little of actual story elements and just make it up on the flew when it comes to actual dialogue. my goal is to always have more then 1 way to deliver the needed information. it could come from a little girl that saw a boogyman at night when she peeked outside her window. or it could be a cow for someone with animal speak to get some info. there would be hints of tracks etc laying about waiting to be found.
They'll find, stumble, upon one of the many ways eventually. I also stated at the start to take notes. So they all bought notebooks and pens for that purpose. The detail, which info, written down is their own responsibility. If they lost it...tough luck. Same for codex-cards I hand out with a written description of the item or potion. If they lose it irl, they lose the ability to use it in game. So get your shit together and take care of your things. Which they do...they take responsibility.
As for re-capping. I do that briefly at the start. For every other impression from the players happens around the game. We have 1 hour before we begin where I'm setting things up. As well as an hour afterwards where we just sit back and clean up together. Beforehand I explain some of the rules I looked up that impact some ways of how their characters could do something. Refresh some rules/things we all agreed on and pay attention to it when playing. Afterwards we just talk about how they think it went, things we should pay attention to going forward, moments they liked and left a certain impression which I can use to tailor their experiences more. This means we usually play 4-5 hours with 1 hour before and afterwards added to that amount. Not to mention the hours during the week on WhatsApp. Its fun to see their banter in text where they mock certain actions/decision or laugh at weird events that happened. It really shows how involved they are. Some more then others of course. That too can show which players need a bit more attention to get pulled in.
I don't warp narrative details. At the start my players split up and spoke with various npc's. Some gave them quests, but in their rush they didn't stick around to get the details...or even knew how much they were getting paid for it. So when they returned to town with requests only partially fulfilled it impacted how everyone viewed them. As well as the payment received. Since then they're less rushed and a bit more thorough. I'm of the opinion that the world lives and when players ask I provide as much information as possible. However, just as in real life, you need to work for it. Just because they enter a village doesn't mean an npc automatically shows up revealing the local cleric is forced to sell drugs to her congregation. If they don't go around noticing things and putting their noes where it doesn't belong...they might leave town not even knowing what was going on. Such a cleric wouldn't liberally drop information either due to fear of being exposed and consequences that go with it. If my players aren't smart enough to pick up on some things its really their problem and I just let the situation play out. Which often results into drama and conflict...content creating and escalation by itself. Free memorable content for players to interact with even if they didn't pick up on it till much later in its development. Failure is just more opportunities in D&D
As for DM notes afterwards. Don't really do them. Great memory and all. However I did create/use an in-game calender with seasons and such. For each day I write a very brief description of what the players did that day. It also helps me keep track of the time that passes. Especially in case of war scenario's where time is of the essence. And its also nice if you suddenly describe a change in season during the year+ that you play at the table. Having your players run into a festival at a seasonal equinox make the world feel that little bit more alive as well. Also aids me to remind myself which weather types to describe according to the month we're in.
In-game exposition depends. It all comes down to immersion and atmosphere instead of just holding endless monologues where players tune out. In that regard we got a beamer hooked up to a laptop. It projects everything on the screen onto a very large wall. There also ambiance LED-lighting that changes accordingly. I project images of the surrounding they're in while also playing ambiance music to go with it. If they find a cartographer and buy a map...i got one to hand over. Simple notes and letters .. got those ready to handout as well. With everything... its the players responsibility to keep it. If they lose it...its gone. Using a beamer frees up a lot of space in the room since there are no tables. Meaning we all stand. Which seems to motivate the use of body language and acting out actions.
I like this approach - and it's pretty much a variant on what I was thinking.
I've been leaning toward recapping the previous session's important points, prefaced by a 1-3 sentence summary of the adventure arc to date - just to keep things in context.
The "Earlier, when you were ....", does this not telegraph ahead of time that dormant plot threads are now being revived? That may, or may not, matter - but it would give the players a little warning as to future events.
I do the thing with the NPCs talking.
I don't "nudge" my players in any given direction at all - they run amok all on their own. What's sometimes been frustrating is when they've missed details, and stop running amok and don't know what to do next.
I think your "sink or swim" approach is - ideally - the way to go. However, that kind of presupposes that your party is paying attention, taking notes, etc. If they do not, then there's the risk of the adventure grinding to a halt because the party didn't catch details, and doesn't know what to do next. That's kind of what I'm trying to avoid here.
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
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Yea the "Earlier, when you were..." lead in does telegraph that something is coming up that they may have forgotten, but for good reason. I treat my game sessions like an episodic television series to some degree, and with every one of those shows they take this approach when reintroducing someone, or something, that hasn't been seen in a while. That is the catch though, you can use this to re-introduce an npc they saved who shows up and offers them dinner, the big baddie that escaped pokes his head in and messes everything up again, or they simply find themselves returning to a location that has changed drastically and you want to make this change more dramatic. It's not always going to go one way or the other, so you can use this to keep the players guessing.
This is where ShadowPhage13 has a good idea where the group finds a thing that tugs on the plot hook, it sets the gears in motion when things slow down. Another tactic I use is to have the story move closer the next step, the big baddie sends out his minions to find the new mcguffin, the weapon of ancients is test fired, or something like that. You do something, it has to make sense, to remind the players that they're supposed to do something, even if they can't remember. It feels a bit more organic than "Your diety sends you a message in a dream that the goal you're trying to reach is getting further away"......unless that's actually something that should happen.
If things come to a halt or a drag you can always drop something on their path that provides information to keep going for a bit. Then follow it up with more complete information to get them back on track.
That makes perfect sense. Plot comes to a grinding halt because the players have run out of ideas, the DM drops an external event into the pot to get things moving again.
I initially didn't like that idea because I can see the party becoming dependent on that: "hey, if we just stand still, the plot will advance" - but the "external event" prod doesn't have to be something positive. Maybe if a few negative consequences occur in the plot because they weren't paying attention to the details which allowed them to forestall that particular unpleasant consequence.
In a race between the protagonists and antagonists, stopping and standing still means you can lose.
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
I used to do a recap, but I found that I was often leading the players with what I thought were important details. Now I keep a wiki/blog of what happens for each game session. It allows me to share everything that happened and gives the players a chance to remember some of those important details that they might forget between game sessions without spoon feeding it to them.
I'd show you one of the wikis I put together, but until recently, I was using Wikispaces, which has recently declared that they're going out of business. For my next campaign, I'm planning to use Obsidian Portal, which is a wiki/blog tool that's designed specifically for tabletop RPGs. I would recommend giving it a look see.
I make my players give the recap at the beginning of the session. it lets me know what stuck out to them, and what they remembered and also gives me some insight into how they interpret and process the information im giving them, plus its hilarious watching them tip toe through the details, every sentence ending in an upward inflection. typically if players aren't taking the hint its usually from a lack of detail. giving something more detail when describing it makes it seem more important, if they find a clue on some paper take extra time describing the burnt edges, still smoldering and warm as little wisps of smoke curl off the edges from the attempted destruction of what would seem to be some important information. also fake ability checks makes things seem more important. these are a few tricks I use to make my players notice things. also punish them for not paying attention, they forgot about the sign saying danger ahead and walk into a pit of quicksand, if your players keep talking over an NPC have the NPC get pissed off, make that effect the outcome of the encounter, them being ***** now they have disadvantage trying to coax information that would have been given willingly.
I do like your "Clue Card" idea - unavoidable - but, yeah, it's kinda of insulting in its way: "here, dummy, now you can't miss this".
What I tried for last week - and will do again for this week's past session - was that I wrote up a summary, and sent it out to the players. I did stuff it with all the details which were available, and voiced, but which I'm pretty sure they missed - NPC names, etc. - but no clues that they literally didn't see.
Interestingly, I got a comment from one of my players at the last session along the lines of " ... when I read about ________________, involving my character, I thought, Damn, maybe I should be writing some of this down".
So, maybe a little "hand holding" right now, emphasizing what they're missing will lead to better note taking, which means they won't be dependent on my summaries, eventually.
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
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This is a biggy - especially when the characters have received all the details they need, but the players have forgotten to take notes, and then forget those details.
It depends on the group - more experienced groups tend to get whats important information to jot down and make a note of. Newer players can be so caught up in thinking about what their character is doing, how to roleplay, and getting out of the 'video game' mentality, that taking notes goes completely out of the windows.
For these groups, I'll do a bit of a recap before the session, letting them know what the players did previously. I won't tell them anything they don't already know.
Sometimes, such as the case with one group I DM for currently, I have to do extremely detailed notes, providing a list of all the NPCs they've chatted to, and some of the leads and clues they've been given. Such is the case in the Lost Mines campaign I'm currently running, where the players were a little overwhelmed at the sudden change of pace from 'killing goblins and rescuing Sildar' to '...Now we're in a town, and there are tons of people to talk to and information flooding in, and no immediate waypoint arrow to the next quest!'
Those notes look like this
I guess the important thing to do, is chat to your players. See how much of a recap they'd like. Whether they'd like to be reminded of pertinent clues or major story hooks. Then you can provide as much or little as needed to keep the story moving, and the players engaged.
When it comes to to clues I always follow the rule of 3.
3 Clues for every plot point
3 Clues for every clue
I know it feels like you are spoon feeding the party at this point but that is only because you know all of the details, you almost have to bash most parties over the head with clues to get them to pick up on them.
I understand the "rule of 3" and have used it for a recent mystery/crime adventure that the party went through.
You can so in that kind of situation, and have it still seem natural: CSI - Motive, Opportunity, Blood samples, DNA, and Surveillance footage all point to the murderer.
But simple things like the NPCs name, and what organization they belong to? Come on, I'm not building triple redundant clues on top of the NPC saying directly to the party "Hi, my name is ________ and I'm with ___________".
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
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Some additional ideas:
1. Make a reference sheet for your players that includes key NPCs and other details. It should be no more than a single double-sided page, but you want to give your players a physical copy. Leave some space clearly designated for additional notes or update the sheet as needed.
2. Make NPC notecards with an NPC's name, description, and other notes (and ideally a portrait). Have the party keep the cards or set them out on the table when the party is talking to or about that NPC. You can do something similar with other types of plot elements.
3. Designate a note taker or ask the group to decide amongst themselves. Remind that person to take notes any time it's relevant.
4. For complex intrigue plots, with multiple factions, it may be useful to create a literal plot web. Create a web of the alliances, etc. between the various factions and NPCs and give it to your players.
Regarding synopses: the key with these is not to highlight everything that happened in a previous session, it's to highlight the things that happened last session that might be relevant to the current one. For that matter, don't limit yourself to just the previous session. Think of it like a "Previously On" reel from a TV show. A synopsis is an opportunity to remind your players of any plot details that they may have forgotten about that may be relevant in the upcoming session.
All good suggestions. I've actually implemented the summary. I agree that the "previously on" highlight reel format is that way to go.
I actually posted an example of what I'm doing here.
I do like the idea of NPC "flash cards" - but as I'm fundamentally lazy, I might make blanks and have the party fill them in for their own use. This would allow them to make up cards for everyone, even the NPCs which are a surprise for the DM ( what ... you're going where? ... the temple of Tajon ... OK, you are meet by the high priest ... Steve ... ).
I do have organizational interaction graphs ( I'm a Systems Analyst by trade - mapping out systems and process is something I do by reflex :D ) but that's more for my own use and tracking. I may teach my players to do it on their own, though.
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.