How to Deal with Shy Players

<p>The mechanical man cries out in pain. You and your party walk in the baron’s great hall and you see the mechanical man bound by chains. He hangs from a nearby wall. A large thug stands near the automaton with a cudgel, beating him leisurely. You and your party walk forward past the courtiers, and the sycophants to address the baron. He sits on a large chair near a great hearth tearing hunks of meat of a leg of lamb and stuffing it into his fat face. You surreptitiously glance around the room. 10 guards.</p><p>You and your friends stand before the baron. He chews, swallows and then smiles.</p><p>“Ah, the adventuring party from Gildhaven. We finally meet, face to face. Please sit, eat. I’m pleased that you grace my court with your presence,” he says and he gestures to tables filled with food.</p><p>You glance at your party members and clear your throat. “I don’t think we have time for festivities.”</p><p>The baron steeples his hands. “You’re here for the reward then. Capture of this monstrosity would not have been possible without your very capable help. I believe it was 2,000 gold?” He tosses a large sack of gold onto the ground in front of him. Some of the coins spill out on the marble floor.</p><p>You eye the gold.</p><p>“Baron, my friends and I have spent a great deal of time with this ‘monstrosity’ as you call him. He saved our lives. We did not mean for him to be captured. We believe you keep him here illegally. We demand you set him free.” Your voice echoes around the great hall as every pair of eyes turns towards you. Your eyes dart towards the metal man. Though inhuman, his eyes look at you, almost as if to say, “Thank you but your efforts are in vain.”</p><p>You turn your attention to the baron.</p><p>The baron stands up. “You dare come into my domain and make demands of me? You’ve served me well in the past. For that, I give you one chance to walk away and leave.”</p><p>You stand there, gripping your sword hilt. The entire room feels the tension.</p><p>What do you do?</p><p>Welcome back to the 5th episode of How to Be a Better DM. I’m here to help you tell better stories for yourself and your friends as you Dungeon Master a session of Dungeons and Dragons 5e.</p><p>Before we get into it, another shoutout to the guy who makes this audio sound so cool. I’m talking about @kahootaz from Instagram. He’s done an excellent job and if you need any audio help, reach out to him and he’ll get you taken care of.</p><p>Now, let's talk about doing something every DM has to deal with: shy or reserved players. That’s right, let’s talk about getting people out of their shells. Let’s get into it.</p><ol><li>Ask them questions.</li></ol><br /><p>During your session, if one player generally doesn’t say much as far a role-playing goes, then the simplest way to get them to say something is to ask them. Say for example the group decides to do something, but the quiet player hasn’t given their input. Simply ask, “What does Lilyleaf Twinkle Toes do?” Obviously, the name was made up, but you get the idea.</p><ol><li>Ask them back story questions in between sessions</li></ol><br /><p>These players might just be afraid of letting loose. So just help them along by getting them to think up really cool things about their characters. I’ve found when you do this, you might only get one little tidbit back, but even that can start the process of helping the player feel more comfortable to get into the game.</p><ol><li>Make a section of the game about them</li></ol><br /><p>You gotta be careful about this one, but if you add the tidbit your quiet player came up with into the game (either in a small or a big way) it can go a long way to help the player immerse themselves in the game. I’ve found when I do this, the player gets excited and they don’t feel so self-conscious.</p><ol><li>Understand it takes little steps</li></ol><br /><p>Your player isn’t going to go from reserved initiate to role-playing master in one game, maybe not even one whole campaign. Just know that it’s going to take time and that every session they may come out of their shell a little bit more.</p><ol><li>Make the table a safe space</li></ol><br /><p>At my table, no one makes fun of anyone else. No one gets to critique the playing of any other player. Everyone gets to feel safe. I don’t stand for anyone making the game less fun for anyone else.</p><ol><li>Come out of your shell</li></ol><br /><p>All the players look to you to set the tone of the game. If you are doing crazy things like funny voices, or interesting role-playing choices, then your players will feel more comfortable doing the same thing. Sometimes this means you also let your vulnerability show with making things up. Maybe you don’t have the whole campaign planned. Sometimes it’s nice to let them know that because the sooner everyone realizes that we’re all just making crap up, the better.</p><ol><li>Reward your players</li></ol><br /><p>When your players attempt something really cool that is kind of a stretch for them, reward them. This happened in my campaign where the party was about to fight some undead soldiers when one of my players decided to recite the ancient credo of an ancient kingdom. Because it was really cool, I decided to let the soldiers treat the players as fellow soldiers and salute rather than fight. It was one of my favorite moments in the campaign.</p><p>So remember, your players look to you to help them feel comfortable. Believe me, when all the players are really into the game, the game is way more fun.</p><p>Thanks for listening to today’s episode. Make sure you follow the show to never miss an episode. If you have any questions, suggestions for the show, or want to share your DMing experiences, reach out to me on Instagram @geronimolevis. We’ll see you next time. Until then, let’s roll initiative.</p><p>Mentioned in this episode:</p><p><strong>Brought to you by Session 0 Studios</strong></p><p>Visit session0studios.com for more information.</p>