Credit to @JasonChanArt for the awesome cover photo!
Another week, another Thursday. Let’s take a look at the latest episode of Critical Role to see what lessons we can bring to our own D&D games.
– Spoilers for the latest episode of Critical Role ahead –
The last two episodes of Critical Role have changed how I think about DMing. In particular, they’ve changed my opinion on how often you should provide the players with a clear direction that quickly takes them towards new encounters.
There’s no question that encounters are the bread and butter of D&D sessions. Every character is built to do something in combat, so no one is ever left with nothing to do. The number 1 reason to keep a steady stream of encounters rolling towards your party is it’s the most straightforward way to make sure everyone gets something from the session.
As the DM, encounters are also something you can count on. Once the players stumble upon a hook and get sucked into a fight, you can be relatively certain of where they’ll end up afterwards. An encounter is an easy way to make sure your players find that important NPC, or the cool magic item you homebrewed, or the next plot point.
Encounters are the easiest way for the DM to reliably move the players forward on the narrative that has been prepared.
Encounters also produce the raw materials needed for the rest of your story. Fighting side by side and saving each other’s lives builds trust. Saving the town grows the party’s reputation. Captured enemies provide rumors and intel on the world. Loot encourages the players to explore towns and NPCs, looking for useful items to buy.
I used to think that the DM’s job was to make sure that the party always knew what their goal was. I always wanted my party to feel like they had some interesting fight or mystery that they could and should jump on. They should always feel like they’re moving the story forward.
But the last two episodes of Critical Role have made me realize the value of leaving space between encounters where the players feel free to goof off a bit.
The most important piece is that down time gives players more agency in the world. It lets them take a few days to research in a library, or talk to people around the city. This research gives the players leads, and helps them make decisions about who to trust or where to go next.
The last couple weeks, Caleb spent several days researching the Dodecahedron. Fjord asked the Gentleman who to trust in Nicodranas. Now, Matt doesn’t have to directly guide the party to each plot point. They know people and details to seek out. Matt can use these hooks to help the players move forward without forcing them to follow the exact narrative arc he had planned.
The free time also lets the players make their own stories. They can gett into trouble or help some stranger in need. These events form enemies or allies that can directly lead to full story arcs. Think of Nott sending a letter to Caleb’s childhood friend. On the surface, it’s just a nice bit of flavor to the role play. But if Matt wants, he can bring that full circle and immerse the players in an adventure that they created entirely themselves.
Whereas encounters are a tool for the DM to push their story forward, the time between is a space for the players to change the direction of the ship and push their own narratives.
The space between encounters is also where characters and relationships become real. After a bunch of fight’s it’s easy to say “we’ve saved each others’ lives so we trust each other”. Similarly, after saving the town and killing a zombie horde it’s easy to know “my character is good and brave and always helps those in need”.
But just like friends at work, if all you ever do is see each other at work, the relationships are going to be fairly hollow.
Goofing off in town is where characters can start to like each other, not just trust. It’s where they become friends. Drinking together, pulling pranks, backing up each other’s hijinks. Think about why Jester and Nott seem so close. They’ve had the same number of interactions during encounters as they’ve had with other characters. But in town, Jester helps Nott forge letters and Nott helps Jester vandalize churches. They’ve had whole escapades that just the two of them share.
The key to this is that the players have some time where they know there’s nothing better or more important for them to be doing. If they think there’s a town to be saved or a powerful artifact to be recovered, it’s hard to justify going on a hunt for pastries.
Of course, you could make free time for your players by just dropping them into a town after an encounter with no directions. But that can leave players aimless and unsure of what they’re doing on a larger scale. The key is to make space without completely cutting off forward momentum.
The simplest way to do this is to literally create time in world. Give players a mission that has to begin with the full moon, when the moon is only half full.
In this case, Matt just said “you have two weeks of downtime”. The idea here is that they know what’s coming next. They just can’t act on it yet. In fact, the impending mission can provide ideas for players with less RP experience. They can prepare for the mission.
You can also seed lots of mysteries throughout the world that are either vague or not urgent compared to the main action. Then, you can end an adventure without any immediate next step. Because of all the mysteries you seeded, the players still have many threads to pull on. But because these mysteries have been laying around for a while, there’s no urgency to jump into one right away.
Think of all the little mysteries Matt has dropped:
At this point in the campaign, Matt didn’t even provide a direct hook. The players just picked from one of the many unexplained threads available to them. The more you seed your world with a diverse set of mysteries, side quests, and powerful patrons, the more you can let players find their own ways.
All of this being said, there’s a reason most people skew towards encounters: they work so reliably.
I don’t mean you always win. But encounters are an enjoyable experience almost every time. The lack of structure when your players are ambling about town means that it’s easy for things to stagnate or be unsatisfying. Here are a few tips for how to make things run smoothly.
Give your players time to prepare
As I mentioned above, time between encounters is really where the players get to drive. And just as you prepare for your encounters, give your players a chance to think about what they want to do beforehand. The players on Critical Role are amazing, but Matt still gave them a heads up the week before that they would have down time.
In addition to encouraging your players to think ahead, ask them to share some of their goals with you ahead of time. This gives you a chance to make sure you’ve prepared meaningful NPCs or experiences for them. It also gives you a chance to provide feedback and tweaks that can help the players set goals that will yield satisfying results.
Encourage players to work together
Just because you’re letting players drive doesn’t mean you can’t help navigate. When players decide to go shopping, or if they want to pull a heist, directly suggest to other players that they accompany their comrade. Instead of jumping directly to the locations that players request, narrate the walk there. Pause for a moment and suggest that the players discuss the surroundings.
As players get more experienced, this will be less necessary. But there’s no reason you can’t help them flesh out their characters and improve their role playing instincts.
Also, when one player is having a moment, turn to the rest of the group and ask “is anyone going to try to give her advantage?” or “how can you all help them achieve their goal?” These nudges help players engage with each other.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions that encourage role play.
Reward your players for their side quests
The best way to help your players flesh out their characters and improve at guiding the story is to reward them when they do it. Sure, your players might pick up weird interests. And maybe you’re worried it will derail the story or get them into trouble. Or maybe it just doesn’t seem important or interesting to you. But if your players don’t get anything out of developing their characters and exploring the world, they won’t do it in the future.
If one of your players decides they want to learn to cook, don’t just have them role an intelligence check and say they can cook now. Have them find a recipe for dishes that empower the party. If someone is looking for a powerful magical artifact lost by their family, let them find clues and eventually find the artifact. While rearranging items in a shop as a prank, let players find a hidden message that moves the main plot forward.
Show the players that indulging in their characters has meaning for the campaign itself. Over time, they’ll come to appreciate the fun of role playing in it’s own right. But until then, it’s up to you to make it rewarding.
It’s OK to let your players have some down time. Give them some space where there’s nothing to do for the main story. Let them flesh out their characters and relationships.
A few ways to create downtime without dropping the narrative:
Once the players have some down time, things that you can do to help it be effective:
That’s all for this week! Is it Thursday yet?
