extraneous materials

Everybody loves a mysterious letter, a locked box, or a map at the table. The players become even more engaged when there are objects to interact with. All of this material takes time to prepare though. With a little creativity and time to put it together, your players will love it. When you play online, we are not able to pass around the map or read that letter, so how do you provide some engagement with objects? Well, you don’t…not really.

Sitting around a table with your players comes with a lot of benefits. In person roleplay not only allows for better communication, but also provides a shared experience when a material is given to the group. Watching the excitement spread across the table is a simple joy for myself, the GM, that just does not replicate online. So we have to compromise.

The number one tool can be done through online programs. Maps are good for spatial awareness and strategies for the players and there are several ways to display this to your players (I’m not listing them here, I trust you can find those). Other things can be mailed or emailed to your players if you want them to receive something privately, or email the whole group for a grand reveal. In one game, my players had frequent dreams that I would text to each of them, individually, and allow them to share with the group when they wanted to.

What I’m doing in my current campaign are newsletters. I have started creating articles with generic pictures about things that are happening in the world around them periodically. Some of these articles include the events that the players were involved with or affected. My players seem to be enjoying these as they do bring them up in game and in text discussions outside of the game. I will not commit myself to giving them one every week, or even every other week, but I am trying to send them out during major in-game downtimes.

If you are at the table, consider what kind of materials you could give your players to aid in their engagement with the story and the world they are exploring. Get creative. No matter how silly it may seem, your players will recognize the effort you put into it and appreciate it. Don’t let being online stop you either. If your group meets online, or even play by post, you can still do this through email, text messages, or even snail mail. Be creative, think outside the box, and ask for advice from others to come up with engaging material you can give your players.