Let’s imagine you got two players in your game. One is super engaged! The other just shows up because it’s game night.

Would I be able to tell the difference, looking at their character sheets at the end of the adventure, which player was which?

SHOULD there be a difference? I love that (apparently) the consensus is: Notes!

lol!

— Matt Colville? (@mattcolville) November 8, 2021

My favorite players take notes, work on their characters, and weave them into the world. But it’s also fair for players to want much less than that and be fairly removed and passive. It’s an allowed way to play. If the game demands engagement, it may push casual players, or perhaps even Slayer types, that they aren’t welcome.

— Alphastream (@Alphastream) November 8, 2021

I’ve also met players who, in their heads, they role played and engaged a lot. But outwardly they did not. They loved the game. They didn’t realize how inwardly they played until we talked about. Couldn’t believe I didn’t know much about their PC. Flabbergasted.

— Alphastream (@Alphastream) November 8, 2021

I see a lot of people saying “the engaged ones are the one who take notes!” And that feels too much to me like saying, “There’s only one right way to engage!”

We have multiple people who don’t take a single note, but they roleplay, talk about their character between sessions, /c ask questions about the world, chase the plot, help plan, etc.

There are so many ways to measure engagement; I think the narrower the definition of "engaged," the more we risk shunting out good people who simply don't engage the same way.

— Sadie ➤ Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep (@incandescaent) November 9, 2021