Now You Are Asking the Right Questions
In a previous blog post, I gave several tips for online play and today I wanted to dive deeper into the topic. I especially want to highlight ways to ensure that each player has their time in the spotlight and gets to shine. I think it comes down to making sure you are asking the right questions in your sessions as a Game Master and giving each player an opportunity to speak.
The Problem
The main problem with online play is that whoever is talking in the voice chat has the floor. There are no sidebar conversations. So if you mention to a fellow player that you bet that there are kobolds in the next room, you end up talking over the Game Master’s description. This of course means that everyone ends up missing the description and the Game Master may even have to repeat themselves. Sometimes the opposite is true and no one speaks for fear of talking over someone else. This creates a frustrating situation for everyone involved, with either too much interaction or perhaps too little. So how do we use good questions to mitigate talking over one another? What questions should we ask? And finally, when should we ask questions?
The Solution
Call on each player individually and ask them how they feel about the situation at hand. When we ask them their feelings instead of what they want to do, everyone gets to observe the character’s thought process and they can more easily take the temperature of the room. (This can sometimes be difficult since there are no visual cues when playing online unless you are making use of a camera). For example, if the party was faced with the aforementioned group of kobolds and the rogue and ranger want to sneak away but the barbarian is determined to crack some skulls, this may affect what the characters actually do when it comes time to act. Perhaps the barbarian reconsiders his course of action or perhaps the other characters set up an ambush. This prevents a situation where one player hogs all of the spotlight by speaking first, speaking loudest, and/or not allowing other players to enact their plans or voice their thoughts. While this can lead to metagaming, I think that it is better to ensure that everyone at the table has a voice instead of worrying too much about metagaming when playing online. With that said, like all things it is a balance.
When do I ask questions?
A good time to call on players is right after you have described a scene. Take a few moments and ask each player what their character thinks of the discovery or the revelation. Then you can do a new round based on who said what. One of the things I incorporated into my campaign was to enact a house rule which is that before anyone opens a door, flips a switch, throws a lever, or pushes a big red button, I ask what each character wants to do, where they want to stand, or their thoughts on the action. This way, if a character wants nothing to do with the action, they can step out of the room or relocate themselves to an area of relative safety before the action is enacted.
Can you start a session with a question?
Absolutely! Especially in early sessions I like to ask each player a question of the day so that we can get to know the characters and their backstories better. I ask them to remind us of their character and class as well. Sometimes the daily questions are specific to the story and other times they are just random questions about the backstory of the character. Some examples of questions I have used include:
Tell us about a time your character was truly frightened.
What is in your character’s pocket?
What is your character’s favorite meal?
What is your character’s favorite childhood memory?
What did your character dream about last night?
If your character was not an adventurer, what career would they have chosen?
How would your character define happiness?
Who inspires your character?
What is your character’s goal?
If you could describe your character with one magical item what would it be?
You can find more inspiration here.
Final thoughts
With RPGs in general, the goal here is to have fun and increase engagement with your players. If a question comes to you in the moment, fire away and if a player needs a moment to consider a response, move on to the next player and come back to the original player when they are ready. It can be a bit of an adjustment to begin calling on players and asking questions but as time goes on it will feel more natural for both you and your players.
Take Heart!
Karington Hess
Game Master and Founder of Open Heart Games
