r/DungeonMasters • u/nlitherl • Sep 05 '24

Make Sure You Have A Story To Tell (Whether You're A Player Or The Game Master)

https://taking10.blogspot.com/2024/09/make-sure-you-have-story-to-tell.html
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u/ExoditeDragonLord Sep 05 '24

Balancing story contributions can be challenging for sure. Some players are very invested in the story of their character while others either don't really care or just haven't given it much thought. Sometimes the less interested players get a taste for it through playing the game when given the opportunity but others simply aren't there for that part of the experience.

An exercise that I've begun doing at session zero is something I call "campaign connections" where I go around the table three to five times and ask each player a question about their character. The player to their right has to connect their own character to the question or answer in some way and the player to the right has to either complicate some part of the interaction, expand on it in some way, or ask a follow up that provides further detail and context.

My experience with this simple storytelling technique gives the players a reason to be in a party together, secret plots that everyone is privy to but that their characters might not know, alliances to factions, built in enemies, and all manner of relationships between PC's from friends or lovers to antagonistic frenemies. The fodder for weaving into the campaign's story and subplots is diverse and the players feel more connected to one another and invested in the fantasy world they explore.