QQ&A: Overwhelm

I prefer GMing to playing for a number of reasons.

A key one?

There’s always something to do. Even during so-called quiet moments, there’s something you can plan, revise or review.

However, like a min-maxed PC, an overextended strength becomes a weakness. Likewise, there can be too much to do.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed at times.

Now, if you’re often overwhelmed, then you’re probably on the wrong side of the GM screen. If all you can comfortably manage is one character, there’s no shame in that.

However, you might find yourself overwhelmed only in certain circumstances.

Maybe your party likes to split into groups of three, forcing you to run parallel encounters.

Maybe they like to ask for the name and backstory of every insignificant NPC.

This can come in many forms, shapes and guises.

The answer?

It’s the same as with many problems: have a frank conversation with the players.

If they like splitting the party, make it clear that this slows the game right down and might mean you’ll miss stuff. It’ll mean some of the players will be out of action for long chunks of time, waiting patiently for their turn.

They might be fine with that. It might be fun for them. In which case, you’ve made it clear to them what the costs are. Go as slow as you need to. If that’s boring for them, they know how to fix it. If not, there’s no problem.

It’s the same with asking for NPC details. If they’re genuinely curious, invest in some good character generation tools or techniques. If they’re asking for that information as a joke – which is common – explain that the joke’s at your expense.

Yours and the game’s.

You might be tempted to punish them in-game for this. They want to split the party? Throw more than they can handle at them! They want to ask too many questions? Make the locals paranoid ex-adventurers with 9th-level spell slots!

I don’t recommend that. Deal with problems with the players at the player level, not the character level. Don’t be a petulant god.

Unless they refuse to discuss it in good faith, of course. If you make your thoughts clear and they keep pushing you for their own amusement, feel free to push back.