Okay good, now you have at least some idea who they are. In essence the PAW Patrol is a group of young (animated) puppy dogs who represent the major law and rescue services of of a town known as Adventure Bay. Each episode their handler, Ryder, gets an assignment or two from the locals and assigns his pups to help clean the mess up. Each pup not only has a specialty (police, fire, recycle, etc...) but also a position in the overall social dynamic of the group. I began watching this show because it was not too cutesy and my lil hatchling seemed to like it. Well now she loves the show and can name all the pups, which is fantastic. Kudos to the show runners for making intelligent and engaging characters.
Over time as I watched the show I realized how the group dynamic and its mission oriented mechanisms were not unlike any number of adventuring RPG games I have read over the years. In fact this setup could easily be ported to something like Cyberpunk or a town/local area focused horror game. The focus is on mission of the week and each mission has usually two, though sometimes more pups assigned to it. It handles this ensemble in an excellent way, letting different pups work together and even sometimes go solo. Some missions require more pups and some use each pup, plus an assist from Ryder himself who is always coordinating things.
However, even though not every pup shines in each episode, every pup is SEEN in each episode. The other pups will often get called in as the situation changes and for extra backup or support. If there are stars of the show, I would say they are Chase, the police dog, and Marshall the fire dog. Marshall is a bit clumsy (I suspect it is a breed thing?) and is often seen as the young goofy outsider. He saves the day but just as often needs saving himself. Chase is without a doubt the leader and acts like an older brother to the other dogs. As a group things go very well socially. It should be noted that there are two female pups as well who are highly competent, but probably do not get the screen time they could.
Now how does this tie into role playing, specifically running an RPG? Spotlighting is one of the most difficult concepts for a young and or new game master to get her or his grip on. In essence, Spotlighting means making sure each player and character has a moment to shine within the context of the game play. This can be difficult at the best of times and even more difficult in a small time frame or convention space, where people will have distractions and feel rushed. If you can learn to use that Spotlight well, everyone will enjoy the experience. Even after three decades I still realize I have a great deal to learn about Spotlighting, but what I can offer up here is my advice. Maybe it will help you too.
General Thoughts
- Know your players. This is important because everyone has their issues and their baggage and their difficulties. Take some time to suss out some of those issues and get to know these people. The more comfortable you are with their eccentricities, the easier time you will have. (Will talk about this in terms of conventions further down)
- Practice. Have conversations where you get different folks input. Watch other GMs and see what they do right and what they do wrong. Run lots of games, even just for fun.
- Don't Fall In Love: Do not fall in love with a character or player. Now I know this sounds a bit harsh, but what I mean is don't let your personal feelings dictate the Spotlight, either good or bad. Don't reward or punish a "good" player; let the dice fall where they may and be fair.
- Everyone has a Marshal. Each group has one or more players who demand more attention than the rest. Accept now that you will be spending more time individually with them than any other individuals. That can be okay as sometimes the reasons they get more spotlight are they are experienced players or they know the material very well. It should not be an issue as long as everyone gets their time to shine AND the amount of time you spend with that one person is not more than you spend with the group. If they are taking up 2-3 hours of your game, it is time to have a talk.
- Do not be afraid to be harsh. Don't let the anger build up; that is how fights start. Take the person aside and let them know there may be an issue. Try never to have the discussion at the table and keep it calm and positive. Also, TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for it. Even if other players are complaining, never throw them under the bus. If they were being unfair you would not be having this conversation anyway. As the game runner, you need to always wear your big boy or girl pants.
- Don't Play with Spouses and Friends. Wait, what? Yes make sure you play with strangers when you can so that are not tempted to show favoritism or forgive rude behaviors because your spouse, partner, or best friend from college is at the table. Sure, obviously you can and should play with people you love and like, but playing with strangers can help you up your game as an overall GM as well as in spotlighting.
- If you are running a home game that meets at least twice a month, develop your adventures and missions in such a way that each character will be needed. The typical Dungeon is a pretty good at that. There are dangers that test brawn, brains, and burglars. Do not design an adventure, which will exclude one or more players on a regular basis. Let a different player or two shine each session.
- If you play once a month (or less.. sacrilege!) you should definitely design the adventure to highlight each character in each adventure. Otherwise one more players may wait months for their turn to shine and that really is no fun.
- Use a mental (or actual) timer. Give each player five minutes and then segue to another player and then another. Some won't need five minutes, but others will use every damn second! That is okay as long as hear from each player. Additionally this can condition the players to your style and they can be prepared for their five minutes when their turn comes up.
- Use a 30 second combat timer. If a player is still deciding after 30 seconds, unless he or she is asking questions and clearly just trying to get the best information available, then tell them act or hold their action. Be consistent. Play the Jeopardy music.
- Offer side quests. If possible, offer side quests to players. These are sessions outside of the normal game time that allow you to focus on a single player. This goes a long way towards making a player feel heard and respected.
- Spend five minutes figuring out who is who and who is with who and who knows the rules.
- Make Table rules and stick with them. Gently establish your authority.
- Be prepared. Really prep before a convention if you can, even prep for running impromptu games.
- Learn to quickly build rapport. Now do not be creepy but just practice building a rapport with someone quickly.
- Look folks in the eye and use their character names. If you show that you are attentive it goes a long way toward building that rapport and a good rapport covers many sins.
- Begin the adventure with an introduction and action phase, even if pressed for time. It can be as simple as asking for a Perception check, just so each player and character have a one on one conversation with you, the GM.
Hope this is helpful
SMH
