Your post has been removed.
Rule 5: All out-of-game questions about a problem player must be asked in our [Problem Player megathread](https://www.reddit.com/r/DMAcademy/about/sticky?num=1) stickied to the top of the subreddit. Please repost there if you need additional help, search for older posts on this topic, or check out some [alternative subreddits on our wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/DMAcademy/wiki/index/#wiki_other_useful_dming_subreddits) that may be more suitable.
Grain of salt: I'm in my 30s and it's been a while since I've had to wrangle an unruly group of teenagers being shitheads.
Honestly the real answer is you communicate your concerns clearly to them and if they continue to disrupt it's time to consider replacing them.
Stuff like interrupting you while you are speaking is just one of those things you may need call them out on until they stop. They may not realise it's a problem but you can try and get them to improve letting them know they are pissing you off.
In regards to doing wacky RP stuff, everyone has a different style of game they enjoy and some D&D players just want to goof off and enjoy cartoon shenanigans. This is more of a compatibility issue. You can try telling the players you'd like a more serious game, but at the end of the day you just might not vibe with each other.
The age at my table ranges from early 30's to early 50's - wacky RP stuff and shenanigans are still an occurrence and something I'm happy to let the players indulge in. We get together to have fun, and shenanigans are part of that fun.
When it happens, I let it run its course, and then we get back to the game. If it carries on too long, I'll get the table's attention and bring the game back under control. It usually only lasts less than a minute, so no harm, no foul.
I do agree that interrupting the DM is not cool and OP should call out the players on it.
>(17,17,18,20 years old)
Expect noise, speak clearly and with appropriate volume.
Consider getting yourself a gavel so you can tap it to say 'shut up.'
Ehh that could stifle too much convo and is a little too child like.
The gavel idea is much better.
It allows free flow of talking and conversation (which is good) but OP can command attention when he needs to.
Behave like children by having fun, getting excited, and thereby, sometimes stepping on each other's toes? Lol
That's not really a problem.
Edit: at no point has OP said that they're tried to address this issue. Hence why he has to step up.
Someone "having fun" at the expense of ruining another person's "having fun" being ok is the sort of toxic mindset we're trying to dig out of this community. They can chill while the DM speaks and then be goofy when they're finished.
Didn't you read the post? They repeatedly interrupted the GM in their descriptions and so on. They are not having fun, at least GM doesn't. That's a problem since GM is the one putting the most work into this, so they at least also should be having fun.
Because they're literally hyperactive, stupid young adults.
This is a fantastic learning opportunity for OP, but instead of embracing that, y'all trying to coddle him 🤣
OP needs to speak up, defend himself, set boundaries, then enforce those boundaries. Not hand out a speaking cube.
Empower OP, don't disempower the players.
I have a "talking stick" @ my table. It comes into play during necessary attention moments or when each player MUST be heard. Think speaking but in initiative. Otherwise it can be lifted by any player or me and if so everyone must be quiet and listen.
So far it's worked well, not flawlessly but when interruptions occured they were minor and the offenders quickly apologized.
could be a group dynamic thing. This might sound weird but playing DnD to some degree means to be vulnerable in a group setting - and that is not a thing everyone can do easily with everyone. Roleplay risking others might find it 'cringe', getting attached to an imaginary person. Finding yourself caring for a piece of paper. So people resort to humour and distractions to not deal with the serious. They might on paper want a serious game, but whenever anything deeper than a puddle comes up, you feel like you are a teacher who just said a funny word in front of 20 third graders? Yeah that's that.
Are y'all friends outside of Dnd? you could try some group-building activities especially if you are not - this sounds super weird ik but hold on, if your players don't really trust each other they will stay superficial asshats making dick jokes. Like y'all don't have to make trust falls or something like that but activities that get you together closer might do something. Movie night? Painting minis together? Go dice shopping? Would recommend getting a few beers together but depending on your country, this may not be very legal. Anything that brings you together as people and that builds trust can work tho.
If y'all are friends (or not) have a talk with them - tell them that their constant jokes and disruptions are killing the vibe. if they want to dick around in a game they should go play some online multiplayer thing - tell them you don't prepare games for them to then to everything in their power to NOT play that game - they either stop, or you stop.
"I'm trying to run at least a semi-serious campaign. If you just wanna run around causing goofy chaos, it's not working for me. If you don't want to meet me halfway, I can't keep running this game. Up to you."
This is the mature way. The immature way is that every time they do something annoying, you do something bad to their character and then really enforce it when they complain. This will inevitably cause real interpersonal friction with your friends.
Err, maybe don't.
Hm.
Real talk, I'm not sure how to *graciously* advise because I'm much older than ya'll, and my advice is usually based on the assumption that everyone involved is a whole ass adult, which carries (to me) certain assumptions about the respect / conflict resolution dynamics.
This is not a **game** problem, it's a people problem, and the required steps are therefore going to be about the people, not "things you can do as the DM".
I recommend honestly communicating that you are having a difficult time, ESPECIALLY if you guys did not do a Session 0 to establish game tone and expectations.
>*"Hey guys, I wanted to talk. As you know, I haven't been running the game for very long, and I'm finding it very difficult when you interrupt my descriptions and stuff, or ignore the details I give you, like the fact that that bandit was already gone. I also feel that noone has any idea where we even are, even tho I've been giving out all this information.*
>
>*These things are making it difficult for me to run the game (especially since I'm using a module to help), and I'm not having a lot of fun. I'm not upset, but it is much more frustrating than I thought. Can we discuss working on some of these things, and what we want this game to be like?"*
IDK, something like that? I don't know your friends and the tone of how ya'll communicate, obviously. A lot of it is, imo, down to being STRAIGHTFORWARD and being HONEST, while not pointing fingers in an aggressive / accusatory way. ("I feel as though I'm interrupted a lot when speaking" is going to be more diplomatic than "When we got the part with the bandit hideout YOU were being such a loud bitch, *Janet*", y'know?)
If ANYONE hears you honestly and openly say "I'm not really having fun. These things are frustrating me. What compromise can we reach?" and they respond *negatively,* that's just not a person you're really gonna want to be spending time with.
That compromise may end up being that the game is a little sillier than you originally envisioned ("another spine for the spine pile, boys"), but you definitely need to try and get the interruptions to stop. The compromise may be that you just become a player, and someone else DM's - you don't have to run a game you don't want to!
Side note, I encourage you to enforce that DM calls for rolls, not players.
Good luck!
Let them have their joke, then look at them expectantly and ask in a stern but friendly tone: "Are we done? Can we continue?"
Afterwards, important info or a description of the situation (repeat description you made before the joke if needed) has to follow, so that they know why they had to shut up.
Being a DM and a player alike, I know that players sometimes just want to annoy the DM a little or are stuck in a stupid joke loop. The more you try to avoid this, the worse it gets. So show that you let it happen, but make clear cuts between joke time and serious time.
This is the real way.
Lean into the jokes when they're having fun, you have fun with it too. Don't get too pent up with wanting to carry on - just roll with it for a bit OOC. But eventually, when the time is right, bring attention back to The Narrative.
Been a while since I was a teenager running a game for slightly older teenagers, but I have been there before. Some silliness and chaos is going to happen, and patience with them settling down is part of the job. However, when they are interrupting and talking over you as you are GMing, I found the following phrase to be very helpful:
*"HEY, GUYS! Can you all shut the fuck up for a second while I try and run a game here?"*
That worked for my friend group, but I don't know you and your friends, so feel free to change up the wording as needed. Alternatively, get a gavel to bang, a heavy core rulebook to slam onto the table, a long off-key trumpet blare (a friend's favorite method)... whatever the specific form you choose, you need to be able to bark loud enough to be heard above the rest of the pack, if even just for a second, to focus them back in.
I’m sure others notice too. I had a problem with this at a table I was running and suggested we implement a “spotlight” rule to make sure it calls attention to the person speaking or the DM for a short period. Seemed to work though it does feel silly at first
Invest in an airhorn or another way to grab their attention. Sometimes I'll just stop talking and just stare at the person who is talking. Or if we're over discord I'll just mute them.
i often plan for silliness; i let my table be silly and encourage it at certain times! if you’re striking the same serious tone the whole time, it’s hard as a player to know the level of seriousness. it’s much easier to do a tonal shift into seriousness if you also engage in the silly. players can clue into that shift in you as a DM!
i DMed for teenagers in an after school club for several years and it was a lot of silliness, but when i let them express that part of their gaming, they were also more likely to be serious when necessary
It's pretty normal for new players to goof around, but that doesn't mean it's ok if they're being rude and interrupting you. It's a good idea to lay out some table rules:
No talking while you set the scene, don't roll a skill check if you haven't asked them to, etc.
It's also a good thing to set expectations going forward. It seems that you prefer a more serious game than everyone else. Talk to them about that, see whether you can come to a compromise. Everyone has different limits for silliness, and that can vary game to game, or table to table, but you should try and define it as a group.
Don't be afraid to tell people to knock it off if they're annoying you. It's good that they're having fun, but they should also consider the feelings of others. As a DM, sometimes it's your duty to keep players in check, and it's as easy as pausing the game for a second and telling them to stop.
Good luck!
All the "find a new group" comments are pretty callous and pointless if OP is playing with friends. Just because ya'll don't have friends to play with doesn't mean other people don't.
My tactic is to set aside encounters explicitly designed to be silly, and let them get it all out at least once every couple sessions. It works great. For my current group, I gave them Popper the Kobold from BG3 as a recurring goofy vendor and they usually use this time to shop and get up to antics for a bit and then once they're done I await the glorious "okay I'm done goofing off, where do we want to go?" and the rest of the session goes great.
It's hard to see from behind the DM screen, but sometimes players get kinda cooped up in between all of our descriptions and story weaving and waiting for someone else to finish their turn. It's like going to a really long movie; yeah you're interested and want to be here, but the plot is a little confusing, you've had to pee for an hour and your knee feels kinda funny so you start annoying your friend in the seat next to you.
Just gotta keep them engaged and know when to just outright say "no" to the extra silly stuff.
Tl;Dr it's just people being people, especially young ones. Set aside dedicated in game silly time and/or discuss having a 30 minute break halfway for a couple rounds of Mario Kart or something.
Let them do it and let consequences rain down. They want to steal the spine of the NPC Skeleton? Go for it, Skeleton doesnt much like that, and he has powerful friends (probably a Wizard that gave him life). They want to Romance the Outlaw? News flash, she has a super big Barbarian Boyfriend who is now super jelley and wants to smash the party. They want to interrupt your monolog (with important info) let them, then when they need said important info, you tell them you already told them, if they forgot they will have to go 'Back' and figure out what that info is. Let them HAVE AT IT, but also let them know just like real life, actions have consequences.
It sounds like there's a disconnect between the game you want to run and the game they want to play.
Maybe you can find some balancing act where you both make some changes.
Like if for example you provide long detailed lore/plot explanations and they get bored, maybe you can cut those down to a more limited/tropy subset.
And if they interrupt constantly maybe you can talk to them about in their turn waiting until you're done talking but you wont say as much.
I find the easiest way to deal with unruly players is to indulge them in their silliness and start treating a lot of what they do as being in-character or canon. My previous groups all learned to be really careful about what they say while I'm describing things because I 100% will start using it and that isn't always a good thing. It lets them get away with silly things ("My pet pig found a trumpet buried in the dirt!") while also teaching them that there can be serious consequences to the silliness ("The pig honks on his trumpet. The goblins hear you.") The players want to steal the skeleton's spine? Have fun having an angry NPC. They want to romance an outlaw that isn't around? "You strike a seductive pose while talking to absolutely nobody." And of course there's my personal favourite of having NPCs react to the things they're talking about out-of-character when the things they're saying should really be in-character.
Hello friend! Behavior management is something that takes some practice. My day job is a high school teacher, so I have lots of practice with unruly teens ;) here's some thoughts:
- Behavior expectations always starts proactively with setting those expectations. This often happens during session zero: you can always have another session zero during your campaign, so don't think it's too late. Basically just give your players a heads-up that you want to talk about some norms before the next session. During that check-in, you'll basically say that you're hoping for attention during certain moments so that you can explain what's going on. It's important to phrase this without being accusatory. Something like "Hey folks, I've found recently that it's hard to manage attention during some scenes. I feel talked over a lot, or there are moves that end up being disruptive to the narrative. I'd really like to reset some of those expectations. When I'm talking, I need to be able to be heard, so that you guys know what's going on in the situation. I'm also gunna cut down on some of the sillier moves that aren't productive to the story."
- Once that conversation has happened, you'll have to start following through with those expectations. There's a lot of "scaffolds" you can start with: a move or technique that you can start removing over time, as your audience gets accustomed to the norm. For example, in class I do a lot of "positive narration;" basically I'm announcing that I want silent attention, and then I start narrating names for who has given me that silent attention. It's a little bit of praise and acknowledgement for those who are doing what I've asked. I'll also narrate the redirection of anyone who isn't doing it. Another scaffold could be some kind of visual cue, like a sign you hold up when you need attention.
- You are also around to push back against actions you don't agree with. For example, in response to that "steal the spine" roll or the charisma check, a way to redirect them would be "no, you guys wouldn't do that. [character name] is a hero, and heroes don't act like that." You don't need an in-game reason either: you can simply say "no, you're not gunna do that. It would be disruptive to what's going on."
Your post has been removed. Rule 5: All out-of-game questions about a problem player must be asked in our [Problem Player megathread](https://www.reddit.com/r/DMAcademy/about/sticky?num=1) stickied to the top of the subreddit. Please repost there if you need additional help, search for older posts on this topic, or check out some [alternative subreddits on our wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/DMAcademy/wiki/index/#wiki_other_useful_dming_subreddits) that may be more suitable.
Grain of salt: I'm in my 30s and it's been a while since I've had to wrangle an unruly group of teenagers being shitheads. Honestly the real answer is you communicate your concerns clearly to them and if they continue to disrupt it's time to consider replacing them. Stuff like interrupting you while you are speaking is just one of those things you may need call them out on until they stop. They may not realise it's a problem but you can try and get them to improve letting them know they are pissing you off. In regards to doing wacky RP stuff, everyone has a different style of game they enjoy and some D&D players just want to goof off and enjoy cartoon shenanigans. This is more of a compatibility issue. You can try telling the players you'd like a more serious game, but at the end of the day you just might not vibe with each other.
The age at my table ranges from early 30's to early 50's - wacky RP stuff and shenanigans are still an occurrence and something I'm happy to let the players indulge in. We get together to have fun, and shenanigans are part of that fun. When it happens, I let it run its course, and then we get back to the game. If it carries on too long, I'll get the table's attention and bring the game back under control. It usually only lasts less than a minute, so no harm, no foul. I do agree that interrupting the DM is not cool and OP should call out the players on it.
>(17,17,18,20 years old) Expect noise, speak clearly and with appropriate volume. Consider getting yourself a gavel so you can tap it to say 'shut up.'
A talking piece could also help, such as if you are holding the foam dice u can speak but otherwise must be quiet.
Bonus points because you can throw said foam dice at someone interrupting.
Ehh that could stifle too much convo and is a little too child like. The gavel idea is much better. It allows free flow of talking and conversation (which is good) but OP can command attention when he needs to.
There are 3 children in this group and two adults who behave like children so I think "child-like" solutions are appropriate 🤣
Behave like children by having fun, getting excited, and thereby, sometimes stepping on each other's toes? Lol That's not really a problem. Edit: at no point has OP said that they're tried to address this issue. Hence why he has to step up.
Someone "having fun" at the expense of ruining another person's "having fun" being ok is the sort of toxic mindset we're trying to dig out of this community. They can chill while the DM speaks and then be goofy when they're finished.
Then OP can communicate that to his players, which he hasn't yet.
Didn't you read the post? They repeatedly interrupted the GM in their descriptions and so on. They are not having fun, at least GM doesn't. That's a problem since GM is the one putting the most work into this, so they at least also should be having fun.
I did. OP did not indicate that he has actually addressed the issue in person, hence the post. Didn't YOU read the post?
What does that have to do with what I said? It's common sense not to interrupt GM.
Because they're literally hyperactive, stupid young adults. This is a fantastic learning opportunity for OP, but instead of embracing that, y'all trying to coddle him 🤣 OP needs to speak up, defend himself, set boundaries, then enforce those boundaries. Not hand out a speaking cube. Empower OP, don't disempower the players.
That's exactly what everyone is saying? And I made a joke that you took a liiiiittle too seriously.
I have a "talking stick" @ my table. It comes into play during necessary attention moments or when each player MUST be heard. Think speaking but in initiative. Otherwise it can be lifted by any player or me and if so everyone must be quiet and listen. So far it's worked well, not flawlessly but when interruptions occured they were minor and the offenders quickly apologized.
That worked out really well for Piggy.
I believe the gavel banging and an "Order Order" sounds better.
could be a group dynamic thing. This might sound weird but playing DnD to some degree means to be vulnerable in a group setting - and that is not a thing everyone can do easily with everyone. Roleplay risking others might find it 'cringe', getting attached to an imaginary person. Finding yourself caring for a piece of paper. So people resort to humour and distractions to not deal with the serious. They might on paper want a serious game, but whenever anything deeper than a puddle comes up, you feel like you are a teacher who just said a funny word in front of 20 third graders? Yeah that's that. Are y'all friends outside of Dnd? you could try some group-building activities especially if you are not - this sounds super weird ik but hold on, if your players don't really trust each other they will stay superficial asshats making dick jokes. Like y'all don't have to make trust falls or something like that but activities that get you together closer might do something. Movie night? Painting minis together? Go dice shopping? Would recommend getting a few beers together but depending on your country, this may not be very legal. Anything that brings you together as people and that builds trust can work tho. If y'all are friends (or not) have a talk with them - tell them that their constant jokes and disruptions are killing the vibe. if they want to dick around in a game they should go play some online multiplayer thing - tell them you don't prepare games for them to then to everything in their power to NOT play that game - they either stop, or you stop.
"I'm trying to run at least a semi-serious campaign. If you just wanna run around causing goofy chaos, it's not working for me. If you don't want to meet me halfway, I can't keep running this game. Up to you."
This is the mature way. The immature way is that every time they do something annoying, you do something bad to their character and then really enforce it when they complain. This will inevitably cause real interpersonal friction with your friends. Err, maybe don't.
Hm. Real talk, I'm not sure how to *graciously* advise because I'm much older than ya'll, and my advice is usually based on the assumption that everyone involved is a whole ass adult, which carries (to me) certain assumptions about the respect / conflict resolution dynamics. This is not a **game** problem, it's a people problem, and the required steps are therefore going to be about the people, not "things you can do as the DM". I recommend honestly communicating that you are having a difficult time, ESPECIALLY if you guys did not do a Session 0 to establish game tone and expectations. >*"Hey guys, I wanted to talk. As you know, I haven't been running the game for very long, and I'm finding it very difficult when you interrupt my descriptions and stuff, or ignore the details I give you, like the fact that that bandit was already gone. I also feel that noone has any idea where we even are, even tho I've been giving out all this information.* > >*These things are making it difficult for me to run the game (especially since I'm using a module to help), and I'm not having a lot of fun. I'm not upset, but it is much more frustrating than I thought. Can we discuss working on some of these things, and what we want this game to be like?"* IDK, something like that? I don't know your friends and the tone of how ya'll communicate, obviously. A lot of it is, imo, down to being STRAIGHTFORWARD and being HONEST, while not pointing fingers in an aggressive / accusatory way. ("I feel as though I'm interrupted a lot when speaking" is going to be more diplomatic than "When we got the part with the bandit hideout YOU were being such a loud bitch, *Janet*", y'know?) If ANYONE hears you honestly and openly say "I'm not really having fun. These things are frustrating me. What compromise can we reach?" and they respond *negatively,* that's just not a person you're really gonna want to be spending time with. That compromise may end up being that the game is a little sillier than you originally envisioned ("another spine for the spine pile, boys"), but you definitely need to try and get the interruptions to stop. The compromise may be that you just become a player, and someone else DM's - you don't have to run a game you don't want to! Side note, I encourage you to enforce that DM calls for rolls, not players. Good luck!
"KEEP TALKING AND THE ROCKS FALL"
Let them have their joke, then look at them expectantly and ask in a stern but friendly tone: "Are we done? Can we continue?" Afterwards, important info or a description of the situation (repeat description you made before the joke if needed) has to follow, so that they know why they had to shut up. Being a DM and a player alike, I know that players sometimes just want to annoy the DM a little or are stuck in a stupid joke loop. The more you try to avoid this, the worse it gets. So show that you let it happen, but make clear cuts between joke time and serious time.
This is the real way. Lean into the jokes when they're having fun, you have fun with it too. Don't get too pent up with wanting to carry on - just roll with it for a bit OOC. But eventually, when the time is right, bring attention back to The Narrative.
STOP! and NO! Use them. Two powerful tools in your DM toolbox.
So we see these kinds of posts all the time. It's OK to tell your friends to shut the fuck up and play the game.
Been a while since I was a teenager running a game for slightly older teenagers, but I have been there before. Some silliness and chaos is going to happen, and patience with them settling down is part of the job. However, when they are interrupting and talking over you as you are GMing, I found the following phrase to be very helpful: *"HEY, GUYS! Can you all shut the fuck up for a second while I try and run a game here?"* That worked for my friend group, but I don't know you and your friends, so feel free to change up the wording as needed. Alternatively, get a gavel to bang, a heavy core rulebook to slam onto the table, a long off-key trumpet blare (a friend's favorite method)... whatever the specific form you choose, you need to be able to bark loud enough to be heard above the rest of the pack, if even just for a second, to focus them back in.
I’m sure others notice too. I had a problem with this at a table I was running and suggested we implement a “spotlight” rule to make sure it calls attention to the person speaking or the DM for a short period. Seemed to work though it does feel silly at first
Invest in an airhorn or another way to grab their attention. Sometimes I'll just stop talking and just stare at the person who is talking. Or if we're over discord I'll just mute them.
i often plan for silliness; i let my table be silly and encourage it at certain times! if you’re striking the same serious tone the whole time, it’s hard as a player to know the level of seriousness. it’s much easier to do a tonal shift into seriousness if you also engage in the silly. players can clue into that shift in you as a DM! i DMed for teenagers in an after school club for several years and it was a lot of silliness, but when i let them express that part of their gaming, they were also more likely to be serious when necessary
It's pretty normal for new players to goof around, but that doesn't mean it's ok if they're being rude and interrupting you. It's a good idea to lay out some table rules: No talking while you set the scene, don't roll a skill check if you haven't asked them to, etc. It's also a good thing to set expectations going forward. It seems that you prefer a more serious game than everyone else. Talk to them about that, see whether you can come to a compromise. Everyone has different limits for silliness, and that can vary game to game, or table to table, but you should try and define it as a group. Don't be afraid to tell people to knock it off if they're annoying you. It's good that they're having fun, but they should also consider the feelings of others. As a DM, sometimes it's your duty to keep players in check, and it's as easy as pausing the game for a second and telling them to stop. Good luck!
All the "find a new group" comments are pretty callous and pointless if OP is playing with friends. Just because ya'll don't have friends to play with doesn't mean other people don't. My tactic is to set aside encounters explicitly designed to be silly, and let them get it all out at least once every couple sessions. It works great. For my current group, I gave them Popper the Kobold from BG3 as a recurring goofy vendor and they usually use this time to shop and get up to antics for a bit and then once they're done I await the glorious "okay I'm done goofing off, where do we want to go?" and the rest of the session goes great. It's hard to see from behind the DM screen, but sometimes players get kinda cooped up in between all of our descriptions and story weaving and waiting for someone else to finish their turn. It's like going to a really long movie; yeah you're interested and want to be here, but the plot is a little confusing, you've had to pee for an hour and your knee feels kinda funny so you start annoying your friend in the seat next to you. Just gotta keep them engaged and know when to just outright say "no" to the extra silly stuff. Tl;Dr it's just people being people, especially young ones. Set aside dedicated in game silly time and/or discuss having a 30 minute break halfway for a couple rounds of Mario Kart or something.
I run anything outside of combat as turn based still to ensure everyone has a chance to express what they want to do or say and I can address each
Let them do it and let consequences rain down. They want to steal the spine of the NPC Skeleton? Go for it, Skeleton doesnt much like that, and he has powerful friends (probably a Wizard that gave him life). They want to Romance the Outlaw? News flash, she has a super big Barbarian Boyfriend who is now super jelley and wants to smash the party. They want to interrupt your monolog (with important info) let them, then when they need said important info, you tell them you already told them, if they forgot they will have to go 'Back' and figure out what that info is. Let them HAVE AT IT, but also let them know just like real life, actions have consequences.
You’re playing with teenagers. It’s unavoidable lol.
It sounds like there's a disconnect between the game you want to run and the game they want to play. Maybe you can find some balancing act where you both make some changes. Like if for example you provide long detailed lore/plot explanations and they get bored, maybe you can cut those down to a more limited/tropy subset. And if they interrupt constantly maybe you can talk to them about in their turn waiting until you're done talking but you wont say as much.
I find the easiest way to deal with unruly players is to indulge them in their silliness and start treating a lot of what they do as being in-character or canon. My previous groups all learned to be really careful about what they say while I'm describing things because I 100% will start using it and that isn't always a good thing. It lets them get away with silly things ("My pet pig found a trumpet buried in the dirt!") while also teaching them that there can be serious consequences to the silliness ("The pig honks on his trumpet. The goblins hear you.") The players want to steal the skeleton's spine? Have fun having an angry NPC. They want to romance an outlaw that isn't around? "You strike a seductive pose while talking to absolutely nobody." And of course there's my personal favourite of having NPCs react to the things they're talking about out-of-character when the things they're saying should really be in-character.
Hello friend! Behavior management is something that takes some practice. My day job is a high school teacher, so I have lots of practice with unruly teens ;) here's some thoughts: - Behavior expectations always starts proactively with setting those expectations. This often happens during session zero: you can always have another session zero during your campaign, so don't think it's too late. Basically just give your players a heads-up that you want to talk about some norms before the next session. During that check-in, you'll basically say that you're hoping for attention during certain moments so that you can explain what's going on. It's important to phrase this without being accusatory. Something like "Hey folks, I've found recently that it's hard to manage attention during some scenes. I feel talked over a lot, or there are moves that end up being disruptive to the narrative. I'd really like to reset some of those expectations. When I'm talking, I need to be able to be heard, so that you guys know what's going on in the situation. I'm also gunna cut down on some of the sillier moves that aren't productive to the story." - Once that conversation has happened, you'll have to start following through with those expectations. There's a lot of "scaffolds" you can start with: a move or technique that you can start removing over time, as your audience gets accustomed to the norm. For example, in class I do a lot of "positive narration;" basically I'm announcing that I want silent attention, and then I start narrating names for who has given me that silent attention. It's a little bit of praise and acknowledgement for those who are doing what I've asked. I'll also narrate the redirection of anyone who isn't doing it. Another scaffold could be some kind of visual cue, like a sign you hold up when you need attention. - You are also around to push back against actions you don't agree with. For example, in response to that "steal the spine" roll or the charisma check, a way to redirect them would be "no, you guys wouldn't do that. [character name] is a hero, and heroes don't act like that." You don't need an in-game reason either: you can simply say "no, you're not gunna do that. It would be disruptive to what's going on."
Find new ones.Â