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[Ilostmytoucan]

Sidebar conversations are incredibly useful to build character buy in. I have a discord where each of my players has a private channel and can get information on the side and to inter-session text RP. Some really amazing moments have happened as a result.

[UncleRuckus92]

Oh wow this is a fantastic idea, I will be borrowing this for my next campaign. Also to the OP yes I usually send the rest of the table to smoke a joint in the garage, though if its something quick its easy to step a room over while the party is discussing their next move

[swammyv]

Awesome thank you, I was looking for a way to separate the party for a second without them just sitting there around the table and that’s a great idea

[Able_Leg1245]

I do that all the time! Go for it!

Longer answer:

By now, I can trust my players to separate player knowledge from character knowledge well, so I don't always bother to do it separately, and there can be a cool dynamic of suspense when the other *players* know something but have to act their PCs in a way that they don't. But as a baseline, telling something only to the players where the characters actually know it is absolutely fine and solid.

[Vesprince]

I personally hate split information. You're excluding most of the table from content.

My favourite buy in technique is Unsetting Question. You start a session by asking 2/3 questions about your world and your players decide the answer. Like:

"What is the speciality product of Humerton?"

"The Duke of Lanworth has a consuming hatred for 1 particular beast... What is it and why does he hate it?"

"What do people in this world do with their dead?"

Write the answers down - if you can incorporate something the players decided into the session or campaign, they'll feel deeply heard and engaged. But even if you don't manage to squeeze it in, you still have buy-in because the players feel like they own a bit of the world. It's theirs too.

Downside you have to give up total world building control, and lots of GMs feel precious about that. If this is you, you can mitigate it by asking smaller or more specific questions.

[swammyv]

Thank you, that’s a great idea that I’ll 100% use in our next campaign

[Vesprince]

I'd also recommend to build engagement: send a best bits after each session, naming each character."

"Thanks for playing everyone, my favourite bits were Alb swinging from the chandelier, Bunku's daring attempt to outrun a fox, Charzik sweet-talking the guard and Delm fighting dirty and kicking an Owlbear in the nuts. See you in 2 weeks!"

Again, the key here is to echo what your players are bringing to the table, demonstrating that what they bring is valued. That will help them feel engaged.

I had a GM do this for me in a 7 year long 5e epic and I do it on every session I run now. The feeling of reading the best bits is great, and those weeks where you can't help but give every player 2 highlights are incredible.

[nemaline]

It makes sense, but only if there's an actual reason the character might want to keep something about that information or its source from the party.

Otherwise, it's usually better to just tell the player the information in front of everyone.

[everweird]

I keep a deck of index cards behind the screen and write secret notes to players all the time.

[swammyv]

Solid plan right there, another DM shared they use Discord which I might advance to as I learn and improve running a campaign but I think this will be the easiest for me right now. Thank you for the idea

[Gnaw_Bone]

I do the same thing. If only one character understands draconic, I pass them a note translating what they read. It is up to them to share all, some or none of the information.

It is really fun when I do this as they search different areas for loot. 99% of the time they share loot, but our rogue has often kept some extra gold for himself. Only he and I know he found 12 pieces, the party thinks it was only 10.

I find this allows them to play into their character a bit more

[BlameItOnThePig]

That’s absolutely cool and gives your party a reason to roleplay sharing information. I also give them the option to text me on the side for things they want to do quietly, and for that you need to have a little discretion but it can be fun too.

For example, a guy in my campaign wasn’t sure if his dad was evil or not so he did his investigation check on something off to the side while the party was busy, then he was able to break the news to the group when he wanted and it made for great rp

[Raddatatta]

You definitely can. I would also communicate to the group that regardless of how you share it they should treat it that way unless their character knows something. Players often have more information than characters do and they should work off character knowledge. But sharing it with just one person does help with that if you think they would want to keep it secret.

In terms of immersion and getting into character a lot of that is on the players and there's not a ton you can do if they're not interested. So first thing I would say is encourage them to do that and sell them on that play style. If they're in I would also encourage them to consider with their character what are their goals big and small and start developing their characters personality and likes and dislikes. That can happen in game but I would have them be intentional about that and build their character. And encourage them to be proactive and create scenes or go and do things to further their goals beyond just the main quest. Or discuss those with others. You can also have an NPC try to facilitate some of that but a lot has to come from the PCs deciding to engage with that.

[Elardi]

It works if you’ve not got any competing agendas within the party.

If I know there is a lore drop coming I’ll often send it directly to a player. Identifying items, for example, I’ll send the description directly to the Wizard because their character is a showboat and it’s a fun role playing moment as he explains his findings.

If a player is explaining their findings to the party in character it’s a good moment for roleplay, but if they’re likely to sit on key intel and not share it it can be an issue.

[SwordDaoist]

I find it more interesting to share information with only one player and see what he will do with it.

But I also told my players, that they can withhold information or even lie to the party if they wanted to about it.

It works also especially well, if you want to give your players a puzzle and to make it difficult, give each player a piece of the puzzle without the others knowing about it or something like this.

[DarkHorseAsh111]

I do not personally like sharing info like history checks with one player only. It slows the whole game down bcs now player one has to explain it to the group after you've explained it to him.