Empowering Fellow Players (Episode 83)

On the Shoulders of Dwarves

### Why? As the name of the episode suggests “Empowering Fellow players” means that you empower other players and they will empower you. But, on a more pragmatic note, empowering other players makes the game more fun for all participants, it makes events more memorable, increases immersion, and let players feel the impact of their actions. The improv game “15 minutes of fame”. ### The Seven Secret Techniques for Empowering Fellow Players (as handed down by the Dragon Bard): 1 : **Be attentive** (04:10) (listen to what other players at the table are saying) 2 : **React to your fellow PLAYERS ideas and actions** (05:45) (react to the ideas and descriptions of your fellow players) 3 : **React to your fellow CHARACTERS ideas and actions** (06:45) (e.g. Have your character Make strong emotional choices regarding the actions of other characters (I loved it, I hated it, It made me uncomfortable, I envy that ability, etc..) refer to Robert Plutchik wheel of emotions) 4 : **Be a fan of other characters** (08:40) (Much like the GM saying). 5 : **Ask other players provocative questions about their agreed-upon sphere of creative power** (09:36) (ask other players about the lore in the world that their character is immersed in) 6 : **Insert the previous exploits into the shared history of the party** (12:10) (mention it in recaps, mentioned them when referring to past events or when suggesting new courses of action) 7 : **Be suggestive when appropriate** (12:45) (suggest an addition to someone's idea, “you know what would add to that?”; also, “when appropriate” mean you don’t steal the spotlight from the other players and don’t dismiss other players ideas). ### GMs, how can you enable this at your table? (11:10) - Use co-op rules where possible (14:38) - Create obstacles that require co-op (16:20) - Leave room for players, and be attentive (17:30) The storytelling game [Intrepid](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/121044/Intrepid-A-Storytelling-Adventure?affiliate_id=29668). ### Summary (21:15) In the words of the great philosophers Bill and Ted, as written in Bill and Teds’ excellent adventure “Be excellent to each other”. ### Taking the load off () Eran - Is writing a district for [City of Mist](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/266983/City-of-Mist-Players-Guide?affiliate_id=29668), spending my time watching movies and reading Wikipedia entries Uri - Ran his first [Masks: A New Generation](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/193258/Masks-A-New-Generation?affiliate_id=29668) session. Hurray! ----- Email us at [e-mail] with questions, topic suggestions, and comments on this episode, and check out [our Facebook group](https://www.facebook.com/groups/dwarfpodcast) [We have a Patreon page](https://www.patreon.com/dwarfcast), in case you'd like to support us in a monetary fashion. Also, most links to [DriveThruRPG are affiliate](http://drivethrurpg.com/?affiliate_id=29668), which means we get a bit of money if you buy through them, with no added cost to you. Intro and outro based on On the Shoulders of Dwarves by the Cliches Duo. On the Shoulders of Dwarves is shared under [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)