The Lack of Leadership
I was thinking of writing an article or two on some of the worst encounters/battles our party had in the last campaign and boy, did I have some great options to choose from. While often successful, we walked the tightrope of life and death way more times than we should have. It was no one person’s fault, but a collective of bad decisions, bad rolls and a lack of communication till it was almost too late. Running through these scenarios in my head led me to the topic I want to discuss today. What happened to the role of party leader?
Before we go any further, let me clarify that a party leader is not a person that makes all the decisions for the party. I know the term leader probably puts off a large number of people. Use whatever term makes you feel comfortable…party leader, the voice of the party, supreme overlord of the campaign. The leader is normally the person that speaks for the group in those situations that need one voice. When you’re addressing the king, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want the entire party of five heroes all shouting their thoughts at him. Every group needs that one well-spoken and clear person that can represent them, whether it be to the local nobility, or the orc war chief debating on your fate.
Nor should the party leader be the person who has the best stats at the table. Just because Mary has an 18 Charisma doesn’t mean that she is the party leader if since it is a role play heavy campaign with lots of conversation. Sure, they may be the ones that you want talking to the king, but this doesn’t make her the party leader. A party leader isn’t the oldest or smartest person sitting at the table (we all know that the DM thinks they are the smartest person at the table). They do not decide which hallways the party is going down at every junction. They can’t tell you which spells to cast, and they sure a hell don’t get to decide who gets what when it comes to divvying up treasure.
They are a voice that speaks for the collective after the collective has decided what they are going to do.
Why do we even need a Party Leader
Some campaigns don’t. I’m not saying that in every table a party has to have a leader to take them on their adventures. But some groups need one. We’ve all been in those groups that just flounder around aimlessly. It takes them three sessions to get through one room or deal with one NPC. A person that is “in charge” can keep the party moving forward. There are a few types of tables, however, that this can prove difficult.
First is a party full of betas, where no one can make a decision and no one wants to hurt anyone else’s feelings. No one in this group is willing to take charge, paralyzing the party This prevents them from doing anything, from picking a direction to go to whether or not to fight or flee. This group needs a leader badly or the game becomes stagnant, frustrating both the DM and the players. Of course, finding an individual willing to do that when everyone is a passive and nonconfrontational person can be difficult. Someone needs to step up, or they can draw straws, roll for it, etc. Once decided, that person can ask what other people think, and work by majority rules when deciding what direction to take. If nothing else, they can decide whether or not they should take the right or left hallway, moving the party forward.
The other is the exact opposite, a table full of alphas. Everyone at the table wants to be in charge. This is the “too many cooks in the kitchen” scenario. Everyone thinks they are the party leader, that their idea is the best, and no one is willing to compromise. These groups spend a lot of time frustrated and players can harbor resentment for multiple sessions over something trivial. There can be yelling, pouting and overall chaos throughout the session. Even worse, the party may split up, and we know that you should never split the party. It makes it difficult for the DM, not to mention that your chances of dying go way up.
There is one other situation that is worth mentioning. That is when one dominant personality takes over the table. They usually grab power right from the get-go. Then can cajole, bully and charm the rest of the group into following them. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but you need to be very careful in these situations. This is another situation where resentment can build up in players. Everyone has ideas on what they should do even if they don’t feel comfortable sharing them. When one person takes over, that lack of comfort is only exacerbated. Many times the only person having fun is the person pulling all the strings, while the rest of the party sits solemnly around the table waiting for direction, whether they want it or not
What to Do
None of these ideas are very original or mind-blowing, but it’s amazing how few groups actually practice them. It’s hard in any situation. If you’re at a table with strangers you don’t want to be “that guy/girl”, even when it is obvious that someone needs to say something. It can be even worse when you have a table full of your friends. I know many people that have told me that Billy is one of their closest friends, but they can’t stand playing D&D with them. The game is supposed to be fun, not be stressful and ruin friendships.
The first idea is to rotate who the party leader is every session. This doesn’t mean that the person gets to make every single decision that the party will make over the next four hours. They are the person that gathers all the opinions from the rest of the table and lead the discussion on which one to take. They can speak for the party they are speaking to the king or a creature that wants to kill them. They must be aware enough however, to hand over the reins to another party member if their persuasion stinks and someone else has proficiency. It is not a totalitarian dictatorship, but more of a presidential democracy.
Talk it out. You always see on Reddit and Twitter where people complain about the problems at their table. The overwhelming response from the hive mind that is the internet is to talk it out with as a group. It’s great advice, but does anyone actually do it? I understand that just because you gather everyone and sit around a table that people will open up and talk about how they feel. Each group listed above has its own set of challenges when you try to do this. It helps if the DM can act as an arbiter in this situation, making sure everyone gets a chance to have their voice heard. You must be willing to accept constructive criticism and hear things you may not want to hear. Hopefully, you will come out of the pow-wow in a better place and can move forward. Worst case scenario, people move on to find a table that better suits their personality. It sucks when that happens, but it’s usually for the best.
As I stated above, some parties don’t need that person who can guide the party through a difficult encounter or keep them on track. The function like a well-oiled machine. Each player has their actions and bonus actions ready to go, and with a simple wink or nod of the head, they know what the others want them to do. For the rest of us, sometimes we need that take charge person so we don’t get bogged down in the little details that don’t matter. It’s fine to have aa spirited debate amongst the players at the table, but when it takes twenty minutes for one round, someone needs to get everyone organized and guide them through the encounter.
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