Questions tagged [spotlight]
For questions about the time individual and groups of players have the focus of the game on their characters and actions, or are “in the spotlight”. This tag covers spotlight management, spotlight problems (such as “spotlight hogging”), and all issues about spotlight time during play.
18 questions
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How to keep the group engaged when the party is split?
I recently pitched a game to my group, to which they were receptive. However they pointed out some problems I would have to solve before the game started.
The Pitch
The game is set in the near-...
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11
answers
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How to stop one player taking control of the game?
In my Pathfinder game, I have a problem with a player who constantly tells people what to do with their characters and turns and never lets anyone get a word in during roleplaying. I've told him he ...
- 301
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2
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How do you deal with a player who always wants to be in the spotlight?
How do you deal during play with a player who makes things miserable for the others when he or she is not actively in the spotlight? Such miserable-making activities include frequently doing things in-...
14
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How do you deal with a player slowing the group because of indecisiveness/excessive RP?
The campaign is set in an open world, giving the players lots of freedom, including the option to split up.
This specific player was unfortunate enough to become plagued with a terrible illness, and ...
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8
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2
answers
649
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How to effectively divide spotlight time with a split party?
In a campaign I was testing, the party got split. They are now in separate parts of the world, without any long range communication.
Now, we have only one day a week to play D&D, so separate ...
- 9,197
55
votes
10
answers
16k
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How can I use powerful NPCs without overshadowing the player characters?
I’ve been playing P&P for years and have taken my first tentative steps into DM’ing over the last year, mostly leading One-Shots. I am also a passionate world-builder and so I jumped at the chance ...
- 3,977
52
votes
6
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11k
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As a player, how do I deal with a spotlight hog?
I’m usually the GM but I’m not this time, and my usual methods of managing spotlight, and hogs thereof, aren’t available to me. I’m at a bit of a loss.
We have a player who is very enthusiastic and ...
- 244k
32
votes
5
answers
8k
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How can I handle a PC wanting to be a "twist" villain?
My group has been following a premade campaign that has a decentralized plot structure that relies mainly on adventurers "finding their own adventure". This means that while the campaign ...
- 12k
29
votes
5
answers
5k
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How to deal with overzealous questioning from one player?
So I'm playing a home brew scifi game where one of the players is playing a scientific character who collects a bunch of samples. That's all fine and good, but the problem is that he want really ...
- 783
26
votes
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answers
5k
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Handling a player (unintentionally) stealing the spotlight
Quite recently, I replaced a friend as DM for a D&D game.
During that game, I came across something I did not expect: One of the players was just too good.
When I am saying "too good" I am not ...
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24
votes
4
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How to deal with a GM who favors other players
I have seen plenty of GMs write about how to deal with problem players, and I suppose I should ask about a GM who favors some players over others.
It's only natural if you have a more rich backstory ...
- 331
23
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4
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5k
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Feeling left out as a character and a player [closed]
Recently my boyfriend, his friends and I started a game of Palladium. The night we all were rolling for our character stats and creating our characters was a lot of fun. This was my first RPG and I ...
- 231
23
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6
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3k
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A witcher and their apprentice…
In an upcoming game set in the Northern Realms of the Witcherverse, two of my players decided to come up with this character concept: One plays an older established Witcher, the other plays their in-...
18
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8
answers
6k
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How to handle a fellow player who has painfully long conversations with NPCs?
Lately, it has become more difficult to ignore that one of the other players in my D&D 5e group takes an excruciatingly large amount of the group's time. What I mean is that they'll get locked ...
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4
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How to deal with players who take up most of the time by doing solo actions?
I am sure this has been asked already, as this is probably a very common problem, but I didn't find anything.
I am playing in a campaign I made myself using homebrewed rules based on a German pen-and-...
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14
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7
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What systems or special mechanics enforce equal stage-time between players most effectively? [closed]
What systems/mechanics have proven most effective at giving each player about equal spotlight-time and enforcing that equality between look-at-me players and 'turtles'?
There's a pretty shy player who ...
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8
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3
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502
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How to manage sharing the spotlight outside of combat in a fun way?
I noticed something as a game master of one ongoing game and a player in another. In both games, whenever a decision had to be made outside of combat, the most high energy players were blurting out ...
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7
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1
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Which game mechanics have measurably higher risk of causing spotlight imbalance?
At different times, I have encountered statements that this or that game-mechanical phenomenon should be avoided because it leads to spotlight imbalance and/or narrative imbalance. To clarify the ...
