How To Keep Your Players Engaged

Keeping every player in your group engaged during exploration and social encounters can be difficult, especially when a few players tend to dominate these activities. I show you a sure fire method to achieve this.

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[RIVERSRPGChannel]

Yes I try to weave my player's backgrounds into the game.

[dittrich]

Sometimes my players don't want to deal with a backstory and so I try to get them to have current ambitions outside the main arc of the adventure. You're right, any way you can get players interested and invested the more they'll want to come back.

[mistergoats]

Gosh it's hard this day and age when cell phones or alternate tabs are just a few seconds away.

[Marcus-kien]

Hmmm, I suppose your way is easier than shackling the players to the gaming table in the soundproof basement. How would I know about that? Don't ask, want to play a game? ; P

[morrigankasa]

Excellent points and video like usual!
HOWEVER, when you incorporate Backgrounds/Backstory into the game. SPEAK with your Player & ask them about what their limits are!!!

[carlosvillanueva]

Thank you for the video. The backstory is a great way to engage your players in the game, but I have always loved letting the characters write the backstory then high jacking a portion and taking it into the darkness and binding it there.
Cliophus our story's rich prince was the third in line for the throne, so he joined the priesthood of Paunaloa, god of ocean's, sailors and storms, He was sent on behalf of his temple to spread the word in a foreign land and work at court as an advisor. He fell in love with the King's daughter who was betrothed to a knight who now pursues him. Things that he didn't know about his backstory. The knight who pursues him is his party's Paladin, they both lied about their backstories or at least omitted portions of their introduction stories. The Princess has been sent to a nunnery to live out her days, but she escaped and is an adventurer. His family's kingdom was overthrown his father, and brothers have all been killed, his mother is presumed dead, and he is sole living heir because of his indiscretion. The king, whose daughter he defiled, sends out assassins to kill him on occasion.

Brianna Sylvanbow is the daughter of Brom Xaivier Sylvanbow "Hero of the War of Frozenfeld", (a previous character of another player at the table) street urchin, (turned thief/magic-user). Her mother is a barkeep in Ebbon-woods, she was the town rat catcher, but she would let the rats go at the other end of town by night for job security. When she was found out she was run out of town. Things that she found out about her backstory, A lot of people were claiming to be Brom Xaivier Sylvanbow after the battle at Frozefeld. Her mother's Tavern was sold out from under her, and she left Ebbon-woods in disgrace. That her affinity for organization and pulling con-jobs got her promoted over time to overseer-of- urchins. Her abilities changed Silver-Oak (City of Sunrise) into Silver-Oak (City of Skulks). But the biggest tie in she made was in game. She used a ring of regeneration, then stole another (1st and 2ndE) she cut off one finger with a ring of regeneration on it to grow another her. Each copy wanted to make a clone or four of themselves, how could they not, they were her. So now we walk in on her clone stories every now and then.
Hook: A guy you've never seen before walks up to where you're sitting at the bar. His face split with a grin, his eyes filled with joy and surprise. He lifts you into the air by your shoulders and exclaims, By the gods! I knew you would escape, but how did you end up here and not at the end of a rope? Meister Rook of Rook's Haven, Said, you were to be hanged at sunrise two days hence.

[thethan]

How to engage your players? Here we go
Thethan’s D&D manifesto
Rule 2: Save your epic story for the book
Rule 3: Your players are not an audience
Rule 4: Let the players take the reins, and their characters will write the story
Rule 5: Your descriptions are too long,
Rule 6: Your players secretly hate your quirky DMPCs
Rule 10: just roleplay
Rule 18: Stop writing, start playing
Rule 19: info dumps are boring, integrate them into the story organically


Follow these simple rules and your players will be creating their own story instead of suffering through the boring one you wrote, will maintain interest in the story as they’re not listening to you prattle on, and will be willingly active in the game world instead of just being pulled around by the nose by your pet DMPCs. Plus, they'll be more inclined to roleplay with each other and will more than likely come up with something better than what you did.

Congratulations! No more doom scrolling or angry birds during game sessions. Oh yeah, and it’s easier when the players are the ones doing all or most of the story's heavy lifting. Shoehorning the character's backstory (that the player probably forgot) into the adventure will simply make the player groan internally.
Ok that last one is good and deserving of a new rule, time to update the manifesto.