Greetings, gamers from all systems, places and timelines!
You may be asking, “How in the Nine Hells could leadership skills improve a collaborative interactive tabletop game between friends?” It admittedly sounds strange, but hear me out, because the answer is it can improve your game in many ways.
While the main characters are controlled by the other players, you are still responsible for everything from the structure of the main story to the elderly goblin bartender’s funny voice. So, it would be nothing short of tragic if your friends weren’t having the best time they could after all of the effort you put into the game.
In the professional world, successful managers have tactics to keep their employees engaged in hopes of having higher levels of productivity while preventing turnover. Now, when running a game, there are bound to be some pain points even if everyone overall is enjoying themselves. Some of these managerial methods may prove quite useful in smoothing things out. Or, if you are about to start a new game, they may assist in providing the framework needed to make sure everything runs well from day one.
This is why we’ve composed a list of 7 common sense leadership techniques that will help you improve both the flow and fun of your games.
1. Team-Building Exercises
Over the years of running games, some of my groups have worked better together than others. There can be a lot of reasons for this, ranging from the background of the players to their own individual styles. However, as the DM, the better the group works together the more invested they will be in your game as they collaborate to drive the story.
To help accomplish this, I have provided in-game opportunities for players to participate in some training activities. These tests were designed not only to help the new players learn how to use their characters more effectively but also so the party could operate better as a whole.
Team-building exercises can take on many forms, from collective skill challenges to battle against an especially strong opponent who they have to use cooperative tactics and possibly even a creative solution to overcome.
2. Be Open to Feedback
Sooner or later, one of your players will inform you that something you did in the game fell short of being breathtakingly awesome. This is ok because that’s one of the ways we improve. However, often our natural response is to push back against criticism, which can be dangerous because it not only takes away the opportunity to grow as the DM but may cause you to be seen as dismissive by the players.
On the other hand, while at work, if I were to only hear only 10 terrible suggestions in a day, it would feel like I was on the business end of a successful divine intervention. So, accept feedback as gracefully as possible and make sure everyone in the group finds you approachable in this respect. Then, when making a ruling, make sure your logic is justifiable and tracks with how you have run the game so far.
3. Clear Communication
Lore tolerance is something near and dear to my heart because no one wants to be buried alive by information – which anyone who has sat through a two-hour meeting at work can attest to. Everyone walks away remembering maybe half of what was said and the rest will be a collage of half-heard details.
The tolerance for lore will depend largely on your audience, and while you don’t want to oversimplify your message, try to make it as concise as possible. This way, everyone listening will retain most of what they need to and be able to apply it in the context of your game. Also, encourage questions during lore drops. This will prevent players from being unclear on things that may not get corrected or explained until several sessions later.
4. Know What the Plan Is
You wouldn’t want to be unprepared walking into work Monday morning and nor should you when you’re seated behind the DM screen. And, I hate to say this, but if you believe your players can’t tell you aren’t prepared then you are fooling yourself.
How much you prep is a question that truly varies from person to person. Do yourself a favor and run through the game in your head from beginning to end. It’s ok if you can’t remember what the ogre’s intelligence save is, just be able to read your own notes. You can stop prepping when you feel confident you have all of the necessary info for your key encounters and plot devices so the story moves forward in a way that both you and your players are pleased with.
5. Providing Agency
Most people really appreciate having a chance to provide input into anything from a character they had envisioned to how a project at work should be run. These creative individuals can be fantastic resources to help you refine elements of both your story and the world it’s set in. Make sure to provide opportunities for this and encourage player involvement when it makes sense to do so. The game truly will be a collaborative storytelling experience that everyone will feel invested in.
6. Seek Out Individual Feedback
Sometimes players aren’t super forthcoming with feedback, so you have to go looking for it. Because, when you are at a table of seven or more players and the DM asks how the game went, it’s hard to believe that not one person would have changed a single thing. Mind you, this isn’t meant to turn the group into a bunch of game food critics who revel in dissecting every encounter and scene. But, ideally, getting feedback is best done in private where the player has a chance to cover their thoughts on any and all aspects of the game. It doesn’t have to be a formal meeting, just a quick text between games will do as long as everyone is on the same page.
7. Fairness
The gold piece standard for this is anything you are willing to do or provide to one of your group should likewise be offered to everyone. Examples of this can be seen with anything from running a scene with a character outside of the game to one player acquiring an especially powerful magical item. This doesn’t mean every treasure drop should mysteriously have something tailored for each character. However, the chances for them to acquire comparable gear must become available in time.
While every party will have their performers with regards to roleplay, each player should be allotted a chance to get not only some screen time but some cool character moments as well. This prevents one or two players hogging the spotlight while everyone fades into the background. So, don’t be shy about calling on your quiet players and asking what they are doing or would like to do.
Lastly, all rulings must be fair and consistent. Nobody wants to hear something worked when the bad guys or an NPC did it but not for their character. Or, if an incorrect judgment call was made regarding a gray area, then this needs to be discussed when discovered so the mistake isn’t repeated going forward. For all of the surprises that can come up during a game, how the rules work shouldn’t be one of them.
Final Thoughts
Being a DM can be a lot like leading a team in the workplace. You need to be fair and consistent with the rules everyone is expected to follow. You also need to be approachable so feedback can be offered freely. Don’t be afraid to check in with everyone one-on-one to see how they think things are going. And, whether you’re running a game, a shift or a project, you will need to be prepared to explain what’s happening to everyone involved in a clear confident way.