@BryanB (and Kurt) – Yeah, abbreviating the solo player’s time is about the best you can do without being direct. I hope that today I’d be direct and just tell them, “I know X interests you, but you’re wasting four other people’s time. Tell me what you want to accomplish and we’ll roll for it quickly.”

Bottom line is that I DO think it is the responsibility of the GM to keep the spotlight evenly distributed if you are playing a system that doesn’t help arbitrate this for you. The players are implicitly required in most games to maximize what their PCs can do, so it is only natural and right that they should want as much spotlight time as possible to increase their chances of achieving their goals. If the group isn’t playing a game with rules that will ensure everybody has equal time, it falls squarely on the GM I think to make sure it happens.

As a GM, it can be a difficult juggle. Often times, I will just roll with the moment and hope that I can get enough focus time for everyone. My hope is that everyone gets a choice scene in the session or that there is a good amount of time sharing going on. The egg timer is an excellent tool for split groups or individual scenes that I have somehow gotten away from.

I once had a problem player that liked to bog the game down in minutia that only he was interested in. My tendency to hand wave what he wanted to do was not satisfying his needs. He actually wanted to role-play the collection of herbs and spell components or the search of a salvage yard for spare conduit cables. One die roll for a search was not sufficient for him. A take “20″ approach didn’t make him happy either. He actually wanted to play out the search, one agonizing minute at a time, as if he was in a solo PC/Console game.

The searches got silly because I would tell him that there was absolutely nothing worthwhile to search for and he would take that as, “You didn’t roll high enough, search quite long enough, or search in the right spot.” He was tenacious. It was hurting the games. I couldn’t understand his fascination with minutia and the other PCs were on the verge of pushing him into a gravel grinder. I finally had to say, “Your play style just isn’t working with everyone else’s. What can we do to make things fun for you again?”

His “hogging the spotlight” issues never did get resolved to anyone’s satisfaction and he no longer games with us. I often wonder what I could have done differently as a GM, but I think I was patient and accommodating as much as I could have been.

It’s heavy-handed, but I don’t think the rest of the table is going to complain much. (Caveat: I don’t know Dusty; I’m only using him as an example of “I’m having fun alone again, while the rest of the group builds dice towers.”)

I’ve had some players who were terrible about hogging the spotlight– and I’ve had trouble keeping them from dominating a discussion and making everyone wait too long. (Dusty played with us for a while; his character annoyed us because in every campaign he’d want to sneak off and do something creative… away from the table, so everyone else’s play ground to a halt.)

It’s only tangential, but I also tend to ‘draw out’ the wallflowers when discussions takes place, Otherwise the stronger personalities may dominate.

I usually try to manouver one group into a combat or a skill challenge, something that has rounds. Then I switch back and forth, giving the absent party member(s) an “initiative” at the very end of the round. It helps build tension, making whatever is going on with the missing players – a search, a negotiation, a mad dash for help – feel a lot more urgent. It also ensures I don’t forget anyone.

Personally, I think a GM needs to be thinking of particular roles and backgrounds when making adventures. What would be interesting to whom, and for what reasons? If you look at your plan and see that half the group is left out, change a few things:

Too many traps/locks for the Rogue? Then make an essential one different. The lever isn’t a trap. It’s just a lever… but it’s on the other side of a chasm, and the Ranger is the best person to make the shot. A riddle might best be solved by whoever has the highest Int, but the Wizard has his parts already with an arcane challenge and a cipher. So make it a military riddle. The Warlord now has his chance to shine. Or it’s the creedo for the Order of Pelor, and the Paladin knows his vows by rote. Make some traps/issues physical. The door isn’t locked, it’s just really warped. Now the Fighter can apply strength to the challenge.

All it takes is a look at one’s gameplan and asking oneself: Will everyone – or most people – feel involved? If not, alter a few things as done in the examples above. When it comes to background hooks and involvement, I’ve always said: If you don’t give me a background with hooks and ways for me to put you front and centre on occasion – and aren’t proactive in being involved to make it happen – don’t complain; you’re riding shotgun. (Said to experienced players, obviously. Initiates receive help upfront and along the way.)