Greetings gamers from all systems, places and timelines!
During a campaign, there are dozens of ways the game flow can begin feeling disjointed or muddled. Like if your particular game has a great deal of lore or subplots that have put the players on different pages. This isn’t always a problem, but when a good chunk of the party can’t remember key details of the plot then it definitely has become one.
If you find yourself in this spot at least you will be in good company, as this has happened to the best of DMs. Especially if you’re running a significant number of campaigns and you’re constantly trying to outdo yourself. Or perhaps you just rolled too many plot drops that your group just isn’t retaining them. This is why we put together a list of five ways that you can help your party reconnect with both your game and story without starting over at square one.
1. It’s All in the Details
Incorrect details or recollections of past events at the table can easily be revealed and missed, when three or more players are all talking at once, which could allow this false lore to get blended into your story and even the player’s memories. One of the worst case scenarios is when a player writes some of these erroneous details in their notes.
And let me just tell you that having to correct someone who has written details in their notes which are dead wrong isn’t a good time for anyone involved.
Then, eventually, new details relating to the story will emerge and the players will be somewhere between mildly and extremely confused. Or you discover one or more of the players has been working on a plan surrounding this botched plot line that could only be executed in a “What If?” comic. With this said, encourage everyone to ask for clarification if they hear anyone at the table say something which they understood differently.
2. Provide a Summary
A strong recap can be an invaluable tool to help keep everyone aware of the place the session ended as well as other key events. However, even seasoned DMs at times try to hit too many points during the recap and, in the process, lose the audience by trying to tie in everything of note that all of the players performed during the last session.
When you’re combining all of the players actions with all of the additional meaningful events which moved the story forward, the recap can shift into a monologue. Instead, summarize using broad strokes which outline the previous games’ most important aspects, and don’t be afraid to reiterate them later as needed.
And if you’re not sure if your retelling of the previous events is too clunky, read it out loud to check for both how well it flows and how long it takes to deliver. I learned this when recording my introductions and summaries to play for my players in our Journey to Ragnarok campaign. How long something seems is quite different between listening to it and speaking it.
3. Close The Side Quests
Having a campaign with multiple side quests can provide the players a sense of agency as they can choose to take on these missions or ignore them entirely at their discretion. But, having an excessive amount of unresolved quests can easily turn into one huge confusing cluster of missed opportunities and unfinished ideas. This will be the last thing you need if the group is already struggling in holding on to all the details of the main plot.
Instead of just allowing them to become an episode of unsolved mysteries, try to shorten the amount of leg work needed to close them out. Or you can provide your group some unexpected opportunities to scratch these journal entries off, even if it means trying to help the Rogue remember why they have a box of shirts in their inventory for the last seven sessions (does this seem like too specific an example?)
4. Simplify The Threads
Adding lore to a game can be one of the most creative ways a DM can showcase their abilities and add substance to the game world. However, sometimes we get carried away and our ideas become like the Conspiracy Theory meme.
When this happens it’s worth considering restructuring some of your plot ideas so that they can be explained without needing to give a ten-minute presentation on what the villain’s motivations are. Convey the core points of your plot, and just make sense that it fits within the continuity of your game. Then share this with the party organically within the game. Perhaps a Bard can sing in a tavern about what had already happened, or even work backwards and have a NPC who they are working for give an in-game recap – an “all right, let me get this straight…” moment.
5. What Drives The Characters?
One mistake I’ve made before is if the players feel like they are drowning in details is to cut out everything unrelated to the core story. And, while it may seem logical, this will cause you to skip over the aspects of the game which connect the characters to their players in terms of motivation.
You don’t need to touch every aspect contained within their backstory like a shopping list but, as the person running the game, you probably have a decent feel on what their driving factors are. And if you honestly aren’t sure, check in with them so you get it right. Make sure that the players have their time to shine and explore the aspects of their character and the story that brought them to the table in the first place.
Final Thoughts
Matt Colville recently posted a video asking the question, “How long should an adventure be?” He was making the argument that the current trend of envisioning campaigns as the long-form hardcover adventure paths, like Journey to Ragnarok and Curse of Strahd, as opposed to the old modular form of various adventures strung together episodically creates some of these very problems. Losing key parts of the story, the mission, the side quests, etc.
However, many of us enjoy using the long form adventure paths and these five tips should help you in not having to answer the players question of “wait, what are we doing again?” These methods should allow you to tighten up the existing aspects of the story, while slowing down the flow of new material entering the game.
If balanced right, this will balance game immersion while not making the players feel like they are lost somewhere in the pages of the Silmarillion.
Got a Question?
3 Wise DMs mission is to help DMs with problems that you can’t find answers to in the rulebooks. If you’ve got a question or a problem, visit the website and enter it in the “What’s Your Problem” field. Or reach out to us at 3wisedms@gmail.com.
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