So, you've captured the attention of your players long enough to explore a unique world you've built together. Helping townsfolks, besting baddies, and maybe even fighting an actual dragon...or two. But then, life happens. Pregnancies, marriage, death, and all things in between rear their heads back in laughter as they do the impossible.
They bring everything at your table to a grinding halt.
So...what happens now?
Well, in my experience, the tried and true method of making sure that your players WANT to return to your table is what I've described in the title of this piece. You hook'em.
The cliffhanger. The inevitable battle. The lingering questions are unanswered. All these and more are effective means of bringing that ragtag bunch back to the table and into the thick of where you left off.
But where do you start?
Open communication at a table of players is always a DM's best friend. On the front end of a campaign, it's always recommended that you look as far ahead as possible and lay out where there may be conflicts with scheduling.
This could be done through something as simple as talking it over with your table in person, or you could go to the lengths of creating a shared Calendar in Google that your players and DM can add to as things come up, vacations get planned, and people inevitably have life get in the way.
In my campaign, we've taken the route of the latter option and, in most cases, it allows me as the DM to look ahead and understand what I should plan for and where my focus should be when making session notes and prepping. This is especially handy if I realize there's synergy between a player stepping away and where you are in the plot.
"...as your companions from adventures past look to you, awaiting your answer to join them on this foray, your current party nods, understanding that while is something that you must do now, you'll hopefully return to them...someday..."
So fine, you can address one person stepping away from the table, but how do you keep four to six folks coming back after you step away for weeks, or maybe months at a time?
Easy. Leave them wanting more.
Movies. TV. Books. They've all got us wrapped around their fingers and how they give us more questions than they do answers.
Think of Harry Potter and the pivotal scene where Snape strikes down Dumbledore. The main three are left wondering where they'll go, what will happen to Hogwarts, and why Snape would do that in the first place.
Now try and place that in the context of your final session before a big break...
"...Commander Elenguard stands before you, sword raised high in the air above the head of the kingdom's traitor, as the royal court watches from just behind this horrid scene. In the final moments, time seems to slow as Elenguard brings down his blade, but rather than to the neck of the traitor, he throws it backward and directly into the chest of the now gasping king as blood trickles from the wound in his chest..."
Wouldn't you want to know the 'why'? Wouldn't you want to see the aftershocks?
At last, you can take a break and allow everyone to catch up on life, right?
For the most part, yes. But here's the final step, the capstone of this whole process.
YOU HAVE TO MAKE IT WORTH THE WAIT.
Having your players come back to an unplanned, unprepared session where they're effectively filling in the narrative gaps for you can feel underwhelming at best, and boring at worst. You want your players' patience to be equally rewarded when they return to the table!
Whether this looks like a battle for the ages, a revelation to the previous reveal, or a new mechanic/hook that they didn't expect, you want the return to feel just as exciting as the exit.
A word of caution for Dungeon Masters new and old alike...all of this is the PREFERRED outcome, but we never know what will happen in life. Things come up, sessions get pushed off, and people can't make it back to the table with the rest of the group.
However, your best asset is always planning as much as you can manage, even if that only looks like a loose foundation and skeleton for the upcoming session. And even then, your players may completely take you off course and bring an entirely new avenue to explore, but that's part of the magic of TTRPGs, the combined exploration of both player and DM.
So venture forth, worth DM, and get those players excited and involved in your campaign with hooks, highlights, and harrowing adventures that keep them coming back!
Did you enjoy this content? Be sure to follow for more AND get your tickets for Arkansas ComicCon, because I'll be presenting twice on Friday night and Saturday afternoon talking about what it takes to step into the DM chair and further exploring how to draw in players for long campaigns.
Till next time,
CSP
Comentarios