As a Dungeon Master, I’ve found that one of the hardest things to do today is to keep players engaged—especially when so many of us are stuck playing online. And after lots of trial and error, here are my favorite ways to keep your players engaged in-game.
TOP 5 TIPS
- Sensory details
- Humor in-character
- Subvert expectations
- Keep things moving!
- Cause and Effect
DMing with Sensory Details
Especially when we can’t connect to each other’s energy through the screen, it’s easy to feel isolated and stuck in the “real” world. Sensory details (details that appeal to our 5 senses like sight, sound, etc.) help engage our imagination and make the fantastical world we’re in feel much more real. My absolute favorite way to do this is not with big details, but with the tiny specific details that players can imagine the best. It’s one thing to be told the day is hot, and it’s quite another to be told that your character feels a bead of sweat slipping between the sections of their already-hot leather armor. Fear is another direction you can take this in (read more on that here).
Humor is Key
Humor is a no-brainer–it’s a great tool to lighten the mood, get people laughing, and encourage fun shenanigans. My secret is to encourage your players to stay in-character when they’re joking around. This helps them stay connected to the world, explore different parts of their character’s personality (PC’s deserve to have a good time too), and even develop the actual plot of the campaign—usually in ways you least expect. It’s one thing to talk about the druid eloping with a quickling, and it’s quite another to role play through the romantic (and VERY brief) ceremony.
Subvert Their Expectations
Because fantasy as a genre is so saturated with cliches, giving the players the opposite of what they expect—in both big and little moments, can go a long way to keep your players on their toes. Kind old Clerics with evil agendas, sketchy quests that turn out wholesome, surfer-bro astral entities, it all serves to open the world up to new directions, keep things exciting, and make your game feel less like a copy & pasted Critical Role adventure.
Keep Things Moving
The pace of a game (especially in combat), is crucial. My rule of thumb is to keep things moving as quick as you can without muddying the storytelling. That way, the moments that deserve more time feel more special.
Cause and Effect
I think the most rewarding parts of DnD come when your characters are really hit by the consequences of their actions—both positive and negative, and the strongest way to make that happen is to focus on the people in your world, as it’s easiest to empathize with. When your characters save someone’s life or help a village, let your players see what happens next. Do they meet a former victim who’s started a new arcane trade? Visit a happy family that was formerly scrounging for food? One of the most striking moments early on in my current campaign happened when they failed to save a child from lethal poison. The kid died, they watched the family grieve, and after my players understood a lot more about the power they carried in the world. Be wary of punishing your players, however, especially if the issue can be solved with an honest conversation rather than turning a PC’s crush into an aboleth.
Have you used any of these tools? What do you use to keep your players engaged over zoom (please I actually wanna know)? Comment and let us know!
1 thought on “Engaging Players: Five Useful Tips for Dungeon Masters”
Joe — It’s easy to get lost in “surfer-bro astral entities” and “the druid eloping with a quickling”. (My computer turned the quickling into quickening. Stupid computer.) Thanks for keeping me on your circulation list. Love you. Better not publish this. . .
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