Know They Enemy: Game Mode

This enemy is one of my most hated enemies – and I’ve mentioned it once or twice before. Game mode is defined as the state of mind that most players enter into, as soon as a battle map is drawn, or dice begin to roll. They zero in on the game aspects of D&D and usually forget about roleplaying or the world that their characters live in.

More on this insidious multi-headed demon after the jump!

Identifying The Enemy

Game Mode is like a half trained attack dog, in that it can be a great ally at some times, but if you happen to have a slab of meat in your pocket it will turn on you faster then a cowardly rouge when faced with a great red dragon. Worst yet, it tends to ride in the wings of out last entry, The Grind, and it rides shotgun on a few other enemies we have yet to get to.  Game Mode can be a great thing to help move the game along in combat, or even outside the combat model by pushing players to move their characters. But it becomes an issue when it breaks storytelling immersion, or destroys character actions. Common symptoms of Game Mode include: Starting fights with random NPC’s just to try out a new power; Asking to use Athletics to prove your point in a social heavy skill challenge and slaughtering every enemy in a fight with glee, but forgetting that the local government punishes all manslaughter as murder.

Alleviating Game Mode as DM:

Okay DM’s lets be honest – the best way to bring the players out of Game Mode is to make sure you don’t go there too! Some things to help you keep your mind where it should be (half on narrative and half on game mechanics) as as follows:

Make sure to play your monsters to their intelligence scores. A monster with a score of 4 is going to act a little more like an animal then a creature with an intelligence score of 10-12. In the same token, look at their wisdom scores too – because if they are sorta dumb, but really wise they may better choose their prey.

Describe, describe, describe. Everything. All the time. I cant stress this enough, to make sure that your combat or skill challenge feel less like a group of rolls with modifiers and more like those awesome high action battle sequences that you always see in the movies, describe it as such! The players only really have a single window into the world, and that’s you – Mr. DM – so make sure that what they see on the other side is as good as what they see on the other side of the movie screen!

Change your vocabulary to exclude certain Game Mode enduceing words/terms. Such as : “Uses the power…”, “Slides/Pushes/Pulls your character…”, and “Makes his perception check…” Instead use terms like these: “Swings his huge axe overhead…”, “Clashes swords with your character before hurling him…” or “With his heightened senses…” These small things will be like a constant reminder that the characters are locked in heated combat, instead of just playing a game of chess!

Alleviating Game Mode as Player:

Players, this enemy targets you! So you must be vigilant, you must stay wary, and you must keep your head in the game! Or is it out of the game? Anyway, your advice is much like the DM’s advice but a bit different, here we go:

Don’t just read the mechanical description of your powers, think about what your power looks like when preformed and describe it! Try to use the environment in the descriptions too as this makes for some really memorable moments! It is a common misconception that taking too much liberty with the descriptions of your abilities will grate on your DM. It might, depending on how your DM plays, but I know for myself I love it when my players take the initiative and describe their powers/skills or whatever. Now there is a bit of a catch to this one though – make sure that you are just describing the power, not attempting to gain additional mechanical benefit from it. Sure your character may use a lightning based power on an enemy that is half submerged in water, describe how awesome that effect is with all the dancing arcs of electricity and burning monster flesh smell, but don’t then ask the DM if it can deal extra damage! Some systems (like my second favorite RPG Exalted) reward players mechanically for descriptions – and as much as I would like to pull this thought into D&D, the numbers just don’t work out that way.

Have your character engage in playful banter with other characters at the table. Don’t go with full on insults or speeches – just some quick character interaction between yourself and your friends. If you’re playing the Cleric and you heal a character that happens to disbelieve in the gods, throw out a quick “Good thing my god exists now, isn’t it” with a wry smile. Or if you’re a martial character and you slide an enemy, describe it as a good push/throw and comment in character how that was one of your best throws yet! Think about the scene in Lord of the Rings with Gimli and Legolas counting kills, that can really build character bonds, and also help keep your head in the world your DM has spent time building for you!

Now for the disclaimer: Not everyone dislikes being in Game Mode – sometimes that is what they enjoy most about D&D. That’s fine, and a perfectly valid way to play. But I make the assumption that those that play D&D usually are looking for more than a mini’s game, otherwise they would just play a mini game. So I assume that they want to keep themselves immersed into a living game world, at least to some degree.

What other tips do you feel will help alleviate Game Mode symptoms? When was a time that you noticed yourself or your DM slip into Game Mode? Leave me some comments to let me know!