Hi Kristopher! I think several of the folks who have already answered have offered some great advice. I also find that a lengthy backstory can be a little tedious, resulting in fatigued or bored players. This inevitably causes the group to get off-task. A good mix of backstory, setting, encounters, interactions, etc... will keep the group on their feet. Also, for those with short attention spans, I would keep your sessions to 2 to 3 hours in length at most, and make sure that the party sets a goal, or you do. Sometimes parties can lose track of what they are doing if they are not clear on where they are going or what they will need to do next. Furthermore, leaving the campaign on cliffhangers at the end of a session could help too. This way, the next time you meetup you will already have a group excited to play. Hope this helps somewhat. - Sorana (Marketing Manager)
Try to incorporate what they do back into the story, your the DM, they should respect the law you lay down. I once made a curse of random. They had to roll a six sided die custom to them. one guys sword possibly slip out of his hand and hit someone or double damage, a rouge had her weapon sing so she could never had the upper hand, make up something to keep them interested.
Put rules in place and make sure to enforce them. If they're getting off task in the game itself welcome to the blight of every DM :/
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