Boredom is your enemy. Kill it with fire.

[Sir Neil]

"BTS has two major aspects, investigation and combat. If you can't contribute to both, don't bother coming to the table."

As a player, you have no way to know how the night's adventure is aspected. If you bring a combat monster into Murder on the Occidental Express (Throw Mummy From the Train) , or if you bring an egghead with zero combat ability into Against the Gargoyles or A Ghosthunter in Dyvval you're likely to have problems.

Number one is boredom. While the rest of the crew is piecing together the mystery, the combat monster's player is playing X-Box in the living room, because he has no way to help the group past the challenge. They can call him back when it is time for clobberin'. Other nights the egghead's player is the one playing X-Box. While the crew is grinding down the gargoyle forces, his character is stuck on healbot duty away from the front lines. They'll call him back when they need his spicy, spicy brains.

The most important thing is that every player has fun every time. Boredom != Fun. Help your players create characters that can overcome challenges before and after initiative is rolled.

[mrloucifer]

Another method Ive learned to help dela with this is to add more "soap opera" bits to the game.

In my group I have the following things to keep players distracted currently;

-One's working on their wedding plans with an NPC
-One trying to deal with salvaging their vetrinary clinic as their night activiites as affecting their work.
-One dealing with heroin addiction
-one of them trying to earn big bucks as a journalist (currently works for the After Midnight tabloid magazine and wants to get away from it.)

I usually go between the group thats deducing something and the parties that are doing other things so everyone is getting time in and doing something.

It become a fun thing letting the players find goals with their characters besides fighting against the rising tide of supernatural evil... it keeps them thinking and they truly feel like they are evolving their characters, more so than just going up in XP levels.

I wont kid you, it creates more GM homework, but its worth it.

[Sir Neil]

I loved the "soap opera" bits. (In D&D, we called it "magical tea party" time.) We'd have "adventures" that were nothing more than an excuse to sit around and talk in character.

Man, I miss my group.

*ahem* Regardless, this is a game. Soap opera won't save us when the dice start hitting the table, for that you need effective character building.

[mrloucifer]

LOL!!! Magical tea time... thats funny, I dont care who you are!