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Archives of Nethys

Pathfinder RPG (2nd Edition) Pathfinder RPG (1st Edition) Starfinder RPG

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GameMastery Guide / Getting Started / Rules of the House

Other Activities at the Game Table

Source GameMastery Guide pg. 15
Despite your best efforts, you won’t always be able to keep all your players engaged with the action. Large combats may drag, and if you have a lot of people at the table, it may take quite a while for a player’s next turn to come up. Furthermore, the party may split, requiring you to divide your attention between groups.

In such situations, players may want to fill the time between turns with other activities. Someone might bring a book, a knitting project, or some figures to paint. Others might spend the time creating new characters. Finally, some players might sit and chat about out-ofgame topics. As long as the alternate activities aren’t distracting either the player involved or the other players from the game, it’s probably fine to allow them. If they start distracting the player involved to the point where he can’t follow what’s happening in-game, however, the group may want to ban those activities, or simply ask him to find another.

If the alternate activities are disturbing the other players, you can ask that those involved move to another area, away from the table. Just moving over to the living room couch may suffice—those involved can still hear the action, but the other players won’t see what they’re doing. Alternatively, those not involved with the action could make the popcorn, refill people’s beverages, and pick up the snack debris. Doing so can provide them with an opportunity to chat in another room for a while.

Out-of-Character Talking

Source GameMastery Guide pg. 15
Roleplaying requires lots of in-character conversation, but plenty of out-of-character chatter happens at the game table as well. It’s not usually difficult to separate them when the table talk is about the science homework or the plumber’s impending visit. But when the players are talking about what to do with the orc prisoner, it can be tough for the GM to determine whether they’re actually making threats or just theorizing, which can lead to problems if the NPCs show their hands by reacting to something a player didn’t intend to say in character.

One option is to simply require a player to stand up or make a specific hand gesture when talking out of character. Alternatively, you could have everyone use an accent when speaking in character. As long as everyone understands the convention, it should take the group only a few sessions to become used to it.