What elements make your RPG truly engaging? Why are some sessions more fun than others? Have you ever put your finger on what really draws you in to this hobby?
Here are some ideas I am exploring and would like to hear what you think.
Keeping it real
Imagine the action and events are really happening. Describe the smells, sites and sounds. Be authentic as possible with what NPCs or creatures do and how they react. Play by the rules, don't give out things for free.
Interesting NPCs
Have interesting villians and interesting NPCs. Give them quirks and personalities that might be memorable. Don't be lazy with any NPC, even the seemingly insignificant ones. They are people. Some of them might be heroic or become a part of the story. Make the game as real as you can.
Creating Tensions
Create tension in you games with Time Constraints, High Stakes, Long Odds, Dilemmas - PCs must make a difficult choice, Piled on problems - complicate the situation, Unpredictable events, and Good villians.
Thanks for letting me know what you think!
I do all of these things you mention (or at least strive to) and sometimes it doesn't cut it. Fun, immersive storytelling in your RPG only begins with the GM. These efforts will be in vain without players who want the same thing.
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There are some basic storytelling techniques that many GMs could use to improve their players' game experience. Among those are:
1. Have a compelling antagonist. Make the conflict personal.
2. Engage every sense you can. Describe not just what PCs see but whenever possible provide descriptions of sounds, smells, texture and even taste.
3. Pay attention to pacing. While everyone loves an exciting nail-biting combat, if the players don't get enough downtime to process the exciting bits, the excitement can turn into exhausting chaos. The reverse is also true, monitor the table constantly for signs of disinterest or boredom and be prepared to bring something to the group to get the players engaged again.
4. Ensure that the PCs have something at stake in the game. Give the players a reason to have their characters care about the outcome beyond "I get to level up" or "Wow some phat loot". If you have a willing player, you can utilize backstory elements to make situations personally compelling. In one of my campaigns the GM had my character's sister kidnapped, and rescuing her became a key part of the story.
5. Bring snacks.
Good friends, a good story, and the dice gods smiling on your players.
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Heroin.
Also, party chemistry. It's kinda like dating. If you guys don't click, then it's just a waste of everybody's time.
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A good story, a good storyteller, a sense that your character's actions made a difference in bettering the world, terrible things happening if your character fails so you actually care about the adventure, a play session that doesn't get bogged down in game mechanics or "rules lawyers" (which don't always have to be players), GM's prepared for folks to go off on a tangent exploring options that aren't in the written text of the module, the ability to be descriptive with settings and interactive with NPC's, and a GM who is more of a master of ceremonies/referee than someone who thinks it's their job to kill as many PC's as swiftly as possible.
Yeah...definitely the people.
A good story with understandable NPC's and villains (too many stories tell the GM the whole story of the villains, but the PC's have no idea what their deal is.)
Recurring villains I can love to hate.
A setting or place I care about.
The people I play with and seeing them laugh and have a good time
exciting moments in combat
great character ideas
enthralling stories
booze
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Jazz.
The GM puts forth a theme, and the players riff on it.
The GM puts forth a theme, and the players riff on it.
this could also describe Real Time with Bill Maher, which is both terrifying and also makes me wonder what opinion Bill has on stat arrays vs point buy
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Best sessions are the ones where you let the circumstances surprise you, you roll with the proverbial punches, and you and your awesome friends do the unexpected.
For example, when your Vanaran friend climbs a ceiling and drops a pack on a quasit with a couple of nat 20's and crits the !@&&$@$#* out of said quasit. And your GM's jaw drops. And everyone figures out how to make this work!
When everyone, even the GM, is fully engaged. That's when the magic happens.
Sure, you can describe til you're blue in the face. You can make things scary go-save-the-princess-and-stop-the-bad-guys-now-or-the-world-will-explode if you want. But I've always found the downtime, between action scenes, make the best games. (For those that were there for our Crimson Throne run: Laori in the bone tower asking for that special help with evening prayers; for those that are there for our Runelords run: Ameiko in the basement, Kivvit asking Davor to use prestidigitation.)
Make it engaging by giving your players what they need to make it matter to them all. Make it engaging by giving them the space to "make it feel real". Downtime isn't just for crafting or running a business!
One person that drinks more than everyone else. YMMV
May not make for the most "immersive" game but some of my fondest memories of running Pathfinder was when my roommate had just a *little* too much and babbled for an hour about how he, as a RANGER, would do X about the situation.
Snack!!!!.
Kidding...
I'll echo others have said...it is who you play with.
Heroin.
Also, party chemistry. It's kinda like dating. If you guys don't click, then it's just a waste of everybody's time.
Party chemistry is huge. I dare say bigger than just "good friends." I have some amazing friends, who really suck at RPG's(they tried it, just not their thing), and I have awesome players whom I don't see very often outside of the gaming table. I'm not saying just having good friends at the table isn't enough, I'm just emphasizing that how well everyone at the table gels can mean a more immersive game.
It takes everyone's involvement to make a game really come alive. The DM could be running something awesome, but if the players aren't interested, distracted(playing with smart phones, laptops, etc), then it just falls flat.
Conversely, I've had amazing fun with stupidly simple games, just because everyone at the table was all on the same page, and in the same headspace. Party chemistry is huge.
A table of good friends who are also good gamers my Wednesday group is a fine example all mates and good roleplayers
We enjoy the game and each others company
Happy days
The greatest RPG sessions are those ones where you completely forget reality and are SO involved with your characters and the story that the game world seems more real than the real one.
The greatest RPG sessions are those ones where you completely forget reality and are SO involved with your characters and the story that the game world seems more real than the real one.
OK so how do you make this happen exactly?
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That's the tough part. What makes that happen can vary from group to group and person to person.
I try to draw others in by playing my character well, by interacting in-character with others often, and by visualizing the @^&*$% out of whatever bits the GM hands out. If I can see my character there, I can often imagine the others in the party there too. That helps.
Let me know if you want examples, noblejohn. I can take those offline so as not to derail the thread.
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OK so how do you make this happen exactly?The greatest RPG sessions are those ones where you completely forget reality and are SO involved with your characters and the story that the game world seems more real than the real one.
Trying to make it happen always fails. The secret is in having a plan, a willingness to involve each player, very playable and complex NPCs, and a scenario that you know well enough to wing it when they hop off the rails... Then, most importantly, you forget about all that and just have fun.