Sometimes players get left behind.
Not player characters. Players. And not literally, hopefully.
But it’s unfortunately pretty easy to get caught up with the more vocal players at the table and neglect the quieter ones.
To help, take a page out of the old-school playbook and think of things in “dungeon turns.” A “dungeon turn” consists of usually about ten minutes or so of in-game time, where everybody is doing something.
It’s as simple as saying, “Right, Alice is checking the door for traps. Bob is looting the goblins’ corpses. Carol, while they’re doing that, what are you up to?”
Of course, sometimes you have players who want to be quiet and sit back and enjoy things unfolding in front of them, and there’s nothing wrong with that. If a player tends to respond 90% of the time with “uhhh… I’ll keep watch,” that’s fine! Give them advantage on perception checks to notice incoming enemies, and just ask, “Carol, are you keeping watch?” each turn instead.
Keeping that phrase handy—“while they’re doing that …”—can help the group work as a team and help you remember to engage with every player. Give it a try!
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Now get out there and tell a story!
Peace,
Maximilian