I have been playing on and off for around a couple decades, and in the past years, I have run into a problem that kind of bugs me. I Dm in a style where often characters end up in different locations, doing different business that will affect the adventure when put together. My adventures usually begin with single character storylines that connect at some point. I love this style, and it feels organic to me. I love the feeling of the pieces coming together. It feels like a TV show. On the other hand, the undesirable side effect of this style is that several times I have players waiting around in the table. So it's great storywise, but the gameplay suffers form it.
We developed this style in a very instinctive way back in AD&D, even if the party started together, at some point they would split the party and do small solo quests, and personal business as the game progressed. It just felt natural back then. But that was in the 90s, and we used to have plenty of time. Our sessions could be as long as 8-10 hours. No one ever complained about this. That was just the way it was. Fast forward 15 years, now we are a bunch of busy people that find a tight spot in our lives to play some D&D once in a while. So, our sessions are shorter, and although some of the players enjoy listening to the other folk's turns, a few of them complain about this aspect and feel they are waiting for too long to their turns. I'm about to Dm a new adventure and trying to come up with ways of keeping the story organic, but at the same time avoiding players to wait around for too long. Thinking about limiting this type of situation to a minimum, and keeping track of the time for each player turns, when it happens. I know it's a limitation to RPG games, but anyway, I'm looking to ways of mitigating the problem, and at the same time keep it organic, without the feeling the group is glued together all the time.
Have you guys ever experienced the same issue? How did you deal with it?
I often have the issue of something coming up in my games that splits the party, singles out a player, or otherwise puts much of the table on hold for a bit. I play in roughly 4 hour blocks so I do need to make sure that everyone gets a chance to participate. I love the idea of each player having their own thing to deal with, whether it be elaborating on a backstory, dealing with some moral dilemma, or just giving them a moment to explore something they've brought up to me. As you pointed out, it feels organic, it helps the players become more invested, and it gives more meat to the game.
My approach has evolved, just as the game has, and like you said, life gets in the way. The solution I've come up with is to switch the spotlight in the game using climactic moments as the triggers. The rogue is trying to gain favor in the guild and has to accomplish a daunting theft of some trinket held by an affluent politician. You play it out until the rogue gets to the point of breaking in through the skylight and
"You hear the click of the lock, you slowly lift the glass and scan the area for any guards. Now, Corlawyn, you were going to talk to your father's enclave about the Three Tree Forest....".
The transition to the next player happens and you play their thing out for a bit waiting for the next appropriate beat to switch characters. By doing this you can keep people on their toes, you can switch the spotlight when players hit mental blocks, and you can drive the anticipation of the more dramatic moments.
@DMThac0, that's a nice solution, I have been working in something along this lines in some situations, but it definitely is a good idea to switch turns when a question is in the air, I will try to find ways to perfect this, and see how it goes. Thanks for your input!
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Hey guys, first post here, old DM, new to 5E.
I have been playing on and off for around a couple decades, and in the past years, I have run into a problem that kind of bugs me. I Dm in a style where often characters end up in different locations, doing different business that will affect the adventure when put together. My adventures usually begin with single character storylines that connect at some point. I love this style, and it feels organic to me. I love the feeling of the pieces coming together. It feels like a TV show. On the other hand, the undesirable side effect of this style is that several times I have players waiting around in the table. So it's great storywise, but the gameplay suffers form it.
We developed this style in a very instinctive way back in AD&D, even if the party started together, at some point they would split the party and do small solo quests, and personal business as the game progressed. It just felt natural back then. But that was in the 90s, and we used to have plenty of time. Our sessions could be as long as 8-10 hours. No one ever complained about this. That was just the way it was. Fast forward 15 years, now we are a bunch of busy people that find a tight spot in our lives to play some D&D once in a while. So, our sessions are shorter, and although some of the players enjoy listening to the other folk's turns, a few of them complain about this aspect and feel they are waiting for too long to their turns. I'm about to Dm a new adventure and trying to come up with ways of keeping the story organic, but at the same time avoiding players to wait around for too long. Thinking about limiting this type of situation to a minimum, and keeping track of the time for each player turns, when it happens. I know it's a limitation to RPG games, but anyway, I'm looking to ways of mitigating the problem, and at the same time keep it organic, without the feeling the group is glued together all the time.
Have you guys ever experienced the same issue? How did you deal with it?
I often have the issue of something coming up in my games that splits the party, singles out a player, or otherwise puts much of the table on hold for a bit. I play in roughly 4 hour blocks so I do need to make sure that everyone gets a chance to participate. I love the idea of each player having their own thing to deal with, whether it be elaborating on a backstory, dealing with some moral dilemma, or just giving them a moment to explore something they've brought up to me. As you pointed out, it feels organic, it helps the players become more invested, and it gives more meat to the game.
My approach has evolved, just as the game has, and like you said, life gets in the way. The solution I've come up with is to switch the spotlight in the game using climactic moments as the triggers. The rogue is trying to gain favor in the guild and has to accomplish a daunting theft of some trinket held by an affluent politician. You play it out until the rogue gets to the point of breaking in through the skylight and
"You hear the click of the lock, you slowly lift the glass and scan the area for any guards. Now, Corlawyn, you were going to talk to your father's enclave about the Three Tree Forest....".
The transition to the next player happens and you play their thing out for a bit waiting for the next appropriate beat to switch characters. By doing this you can keep people on their toes, you can switch the spotlight when players hit mental blocks, and you can drive the anticipation of the more dramatic moments.
@DMThac0, that's a nice solution, I have been working in something along this lines in some situations, but it definitely is a good idea to switch turns when a question is in the air, I will try to find ways to perfect this, and see how it goes. Thanks for your input!