You Don't
The problem here is the premise. This isn't school or work. You can't force people to do homework if they don't want to, at least not without creating bad feelings at the table. The single most important rule of gaming is to have fun. Are they having fun when you try to force them to do these things?
I don't feel that most of what I'm asking is exceptional, and most of
it is suggested in the storytelling section of the God Machine
Chronicle.
It is, and it isn't. It depends on what kind of game they want. In my current D&D campaign, I have players with very detailed backgrounds, multiple ongoing stories, NPC affiliations, the whole nine yards (lets call him player A). I have another PC who has only the most basic character backstory, and are primarily interested in doing quests and reacting to the story that I give them (lets call him player B).
A goes so far as to write character journal entries between sessions (something I also do). B doesn't think about the game between sessions. A has good mastery of the rules. B requires help at games to know how to use some of their abilities. You get the idea.
I don't have to do anything to get A to do these things. I didn't even ask for some of it. A does it because A finds creating this stuff fun, and thus wants to do it. That's what gaming is supposed to be: fun. If players find it fun, you won't have to try and force them. They'll want to do it. If they don't find it fun, are you really adding anything by trying to make them do it?
Like you, I'd like it if B was more like A. Unlike you, I don't particularly try to change how B acts. The only thing I do is offer a gold incentive for those who wish to write character journals or session recaps, and that goes to group treasure. It's a "do this and everyone gets a bit more awesome" benefit, rather than a personal benefit. The reason why is that it's an encouragement to do it without creating ill feelings that someone with more free time can gain an extra advantage in character.
Why Not?
B simply isn't into the game that much. They like the company, they enjoy playing, we have a good time with them there, but that's it. If I ask them to do more, they'd refuse. If I try to force them, they'd get annoyed. They just aren't interested in putting in that kind of work.
I don't have to cajole or pressure A, as A is doing it because he finds it fun. B is not, and that's cool. A is happy, B is happy, and we all have fun at the table, so I'm happy.
It's worth noting that as the DM, I spend far, far more time on the campaign than anybody else. That's part of the job. World of Darkness in my experience with it (which was all in Old WoD) is no different, the storyteller has a lot more work to do than the players, even if the players are especially engaged. That's just how it is, and you shouldn't hold that against the players.
Group Mismatch
So to me, your real problem is that you have a mismatch in expectations between you and the rest of the group. You expect them to put time into the game when not actually playing, and they don't.
None of you are wrong in how you want to play. However, you can't have this kind of a mismatch in expectations without someone being unhappy. Right now, that someone is you. You have three options:
- Do nothing, and continue to be frustrated that they aren't putting the effort in that you want.
- Nag, cajole, beg, plead, or bully them into doing the things you want, and risk building resentment in them.
- Have this same conversation with them, and explain to them straight up why you want things like a character history. Do it respectfully, and just explain how you'd use it in part of your story. Do not try and guilt them based on how many hours you put in.
Obviously, I recommend #3. If they decide they can do some of what you want, great! If they don't want to, at least you will know that and can accept it (changing expectations accordingly) or re-evaluate how much effort you want to put in... or even if you're playing the correct system and type of game at all.
System/Campaign Style Change
If you're playing in a system and campaign style that expects players to put in work on backgrounds and your players don't want to, it's possible the only good answer is to change one or both of those things.
Campaign styles are things like a story intensive narrative game, a sandbox game, a dungeon crawl, a mindless monster bash, a zombie apocalypse survival horror, and so on. You want to match the campaign you're running to what your players actually want to do. If you're trying to run a narrative campaign with extensive backstory and they mostly want to run around as "Steve" bashing the heck out of everything in sight, you probably need to adjust the campaign.
Similarly, although it's possible to do most styles of campaigns in most systems, some systems are more suited to some types than others. WoD (back when I last played it) did really well for a lot of things, but a game where players don't want to invest in backstory, and especially a straight up dungeon crawl are not what it excels at.
You should try and sort out with your players what type of game you want to play. Once you agree on that, you can figure out if Hunter (or WoD in general) are suited to that. If they are, great! If not, it's time to consider picking a system that has mechanics that are suited to what you do want to do.
You don't necessarily have to change if you really like the system. I've played in narrative heavy, RP heavy, story driven D&D 3.5 campaigns. It's entirely possible to do it, even though the system doesn't do a lot to help you do it. It's easier to do it in another system, but everybody at the table knows and likes D&D, so we wanted to use it anyway.
The most important part is to get the campaign style right. If you do, you can usually make it work even if the system isn't suited to it (but a system that helps you do it is going to be beneficial).
The Same Page Tool can be of some help in figuring this out. It's important that you do it with your players, as it's the group collectively that has to sort this out.
Ask your players how they feel about it
It's possible they don't feel any slowing down (or are ok with it). Maybe a big group isn't a problem for them.
If they want to stay as one group, ask them to help you to make the game flow better. That include:
- Knowing the rules. Not necessary all the rules, but enough so that they know what to roll most of the time.
- Knowing their character and their number. No by heart of course, but they should know where to look for that sudden Natation skill check.
- Knowing the rules specific to their character like how to use sneak attacks, what their spells do, ...
- Still being 'active' when it's not their turn, by listening to what's happening and thinking about what to do.
You can also prepare yourself before the session. For instance:
Have the battleground and the 'flow of battle' ready before the session
Have all informations quickly accessible. I personally have a paper with a short abstract of every NPC to be in the battle. All the attack and defences values, HP, equipment, special abilities... in the same place, always visible to me.
Since you're on Roll20:
- You can use the macro included in the character sheets (or build your own, or make your player build them) to make the game faster. Things like attacking or rolling for Initiative can as quick as clicking a button and reading the result.
If they also feel they're too many, you can split the party.
You can for instance play the two group in the same campaign, with one group going after one half of a McGuffin, while the other track a group of bad guys wanting to use the other half of the McGuffin to gain power beyond imagination.
An other possibility is to split the party, and run the same campaign twice. It greatly reduce your preparation load (even if they follow very different path, you can reuse assets like map and NPC without the players noticing), but you get other problems like not remembering which team did what in that village, or spoilers from one team to another. Careful note taking and a simple explanation to your players should avoid both those issues.
In both case, you need to see about your schedule. Do you run twice as many games? Will it be one group one week and the other the next one? It's for you to decide as the group.
Best Answer
I have a similar situation in my group; I feel that a lot of the time, I get spoken over the top of, and my input is ignored, even to the point where I might come up with something, and they'll ignore me, and continue the conversation to the same point, and come up with the same thing I just suggested 2 minutes prior.
It is frustrating, and disheartening.
You have mentioned that the issue is apparently tied to your character's boldness in conversation (in your comment);
I take it that you mean that your RP is having an effect on this issue. You play your character as louder, and therefore you get an input, because you cannot be ignored. You play your character quieter, and it is easily overlooked.
I would suggest talking to the entire group about this, to work out a way forward. It might be that the rest of the group are actually getting excitable about a situation, and can often get "tunnel vision", only seeing their own input in the story. It could be that they are simply playing the characters as loud and deaf, so that they simply cannot hear you. Either way, this is something you need to address with the whole group.
Some suggestions on how to manage this might be the use of an object - a spoon or a ball or something like that - the person that has the ball is the one that is speaking - any one else has to wait their turn. This is a good management tool for everyone to learn to pay attention to everyone in the group.
The important thing to remember is that these games are meant to be fun for everyone, and if the others aren't making it fun for you, something needs to change.
An important note: I should also say that I feel this situation is going to require someone takes responsibility for enforcing whatever practice you take. Again, when you find a solution, perhaps suggest that the GM takes responsibility for this - remind the players that you are using the "talking stick", or to pull players up when they speak over the top of others; "Dave, Johnny was talking. When he's done you can contribute."