Post/Author/DateTime	Post
stembolt 06-30-03, 11:19 AM	This thread is intended as a place for DMs to put things that they have done to increase the amount of roleplaying in a gaming group. My biggest success was with something I call a character quiz. Each gaming session I would start with a quiz on last weeks adventure. The quiz was designed to make the players familiar with the world and the prize was bonus XP. (I usually rigged it so that doing well on the quiz would up your characters level) The key to using this technique was in molding it to the campaign and in a good selection of questions. In the campaign I first used this on it was a palladium based game and the campaign was set in a magical university. Each of the characters played a different type of magic user. So the first quiz was name and profession of all the PCs and the NPCs in your dorm (there were about 10 or so NPCs in their dorm). And a few things like the names of teachers and departments. The second quiz was an expansion. You had to give details about each character. One guy had a dog, what was the dogs name? One person was obsessed with guns, what guns did he always carry? And so forth. Later the questions would be about the various characters interacted with. Like when the crime boss was talking to you how many guards were there? What was the gangs symbol? One of the NPCs gave you his goal in life, what was it? This worked out incredibly well. The PCs paid very careful attention to what was going on knowing that it would come up in a quiz. The way that this helped with role-playing is that the Pcs knew everything about each other and about the NPCs. How many games have you DMed where the players did not even know the names of the other characters? In this campaign they knew everything about each other and this really facilitated role-playing. The next game I DM I intend to use this system even more extensively. I plan on giving about 1/3 of character experience out through quizzes. !/3 through combat and 1/3 through meeting campaign and character goals. Honestly this system worked out better than I ever imagined it would. I would really encourage people to give this idea a try. If anyone wants more information or suggestions let me know.
Qual-Kehk 06-30-03, 11:29 AM	I like that quiz idea and might just give it a spin in the Greyhawk game I am currently running. I typically offer bonus xp for continually adding more detail to backstories and personality development. I also give out bonus xp for in character journals. Also, for certain skills(like Bluff), I offer a sort of synergy bonus to the skill check if a player is able to actually roleplay out his/her bluff in a convincing manner. Lastly, there are some xp penalties I attach to encourage better roleplaying: Keeping OOC knowledge separate from IC knowledge, etc.
Mikal 06-30-03, 03:02 PM	Hmm.. maybe by making npc's that the players can appeal to perhaps, ones that seem to connect with the real life players. Connect with the players first, then start slipping them the IC stuff, and, before you know it, they're talking more. If the problem is more of a 'take no prisoners' attitude, then maybe you should make a few fights where THEY get trounced on, and the enemy party captures them, thus showing them another way. Or perhaps by showing them that if they wantonly kill the enemy all the time, they may screw themselves later on, and so on. Give them tangible in-game benefits if they rp more (i.e. overcharge them 150% if they don't rp haggling a little bit, or perhaps lessen rewards for certain bounties and whatnot if they don't rp it.)
Taran 06-30-03, 03:43 PM	Put the players in the spotlight, and they'll want to / be forced to roleplay more. Play to their backstories, give them quests that personally affect them sometimes (as opposed to the Overarching Plot (tm)), and they'll be more interested. I like the character quiz thing... a GM for a Darksun game I played in last year used something similar to that (some of the questions were related to the last session, others were related to the character in general), and it got the PCs (all 10 of us) much more interested in the world, our characters, and the game itself. Lastly, make sure you aren't pushing your players too far... if they're strictly hack'n'slash players, forcing them through 3 sessions where there are no opportunities to unsheath their blades will only cause boredom, unless your ideas for those sessions are REALLY interesting.
stembolt 06-30-03, 03:56 PM	One thing that the DM has to do when asking for player backgrounds, is to use them. It sounds like a no brainer but I have been in campaigns where the PCs were all asked for comprehensive backgrounds. We all supplied fairly complex backgrounds, even combining background details so we all fit together. The DM then completely ignored all of our backgrounds. I had some details about how my family was trying to kill me and a few other really juicy details. Everyone had similarly great backgrounds. Not only did he not include the backgrounds, the DM got really mad when we tried to bring in elements from our backgrounds into play. So my advice to DMs and Players is to work on crafting a background together and then remember to use it.
Rhaynin 06-30-03, 04:58 PM	In my current campaign the other players and i started right from the beginning to answer 100 questions regarding our characters and wrote after each playing session a diary entry from the view of the characters. They also had to search a pic fitting their character and had to show it to the other players Also my DM brought a cool thing into play... Each player had to choose a "Dark Mystery" for their characters from wich the other players, except the DM, didnt knew a thing.... And right now in our campaign one of our group has been kidnapped cause of my Mystery, so we are on our way to help him out... It is about a really deadly assasin who wishes my death cause i killed in front of him the most important person in his life... Now he seeks my death, and wants to cause me pain and despair. And to fullfill that goal he kidnapped and tortured my friend nearly to death :cool: I have yet to see if it brought more roleplay into the game but well see...
Otto the Bugbear 06-30-03, 05:35 PM	I found this list (http://www.geocities.com/poetess47/100questions.html) and I've really been contemplating using it for the game I run. The party is 4th level now, but I think it won't be too much of a problem for them to fill these out still. I may change it to 75 of the 100 questions, players choice, but I'd have to go over it a little better. Not only can it help players to roleplay better, especially if they don't RP so great right now, but it can also really add some plot hooks, history, and make players think about how lame it is to have every frickin character ran away from home because he got mad at his parents. (Well, just one guy actually, but it's true.) Another is to award bonus XP based on how well people roleplayed their character. I don't use this yet, but I've played with a DM that handed these out -- in secret -- at the end of every session. He had a formula worked out where if you at least tried, you got a certain amount, and it scaled up from there depending on how well everyone else did in comparison. I think perhaps the top award would be double the lowest, with everyone else in between. Anyway, great topic Stembolt. Cheers Otto :)
Fiantha 07-01-03, 03:17 PM	I give bonuse XP at the start of the game for character backstory when I DM. As a player, I write in a journal to summarize each session, and I sometimes email the entry to players who missed the game. I think the most important thing a DM can do is just to act out situations like buying a horse or a gather information check. Describing an NPC's actions in detail (The storekeeper adjusts his glasses and slowly closes his account book. He sighs the sigh of one who has been interupted too many times today, looks down at the pesky halfing and mutters "What can I help you with today" in the manner of someone who has said the same words so many times they become merely syllables devoid of meaning.) can help the PCs to roleplay out a simple exchange. I don't do these descriptions too often, they get very boring after a while, but using them occasionaly adds realism to the game. Be careful of determining haggling and information gathering solely by dice, my +17 diplomacy bonus bard wound up buying every major purchase for everyone in the party after we started making bargaining a use of the diplomacy skill. Have the PCs say what they are doing, not just roll dice. Just my thoughts. --Fiantha
Kushiel 07-01-03, 06:05 PM	One of the things that one of my DM's did in a game that really caused us to RP was that in a game where we started out 1st level, for the first session or two we were actually 0th level. We had 5 HP, 5 skill points, no BAB, no Feats and pretty much just our personalities and our ideas. We were all forced to work together, and to RP because there was no "Im a fighter, hey you cleric go do X" because none of us had class levels, we only had our conception of the characters. It also really made us feel like we knew one another, because there is nothing like almost having a party of 5 die to a single orc to create group affection.
PyroMancyr 07-02-03, 01:44 AM	I've always asked players to make a background history of their characters.... and from these I would give customized stat adjustments.... example from a game i ran had one character who was a 6'6" Amazon, who could go toe to toe with almost everything thrown in front of her.....In her homelands she had a +4 Cha bonus because she was looked at as being what every good little (Amazon) girl should aspire to as soon as she crossed borders, she had a -4 penalty...since before i even started i told players that the world would be predominately patriarchical... but then, since that campaign didnt involve sidetrips inth the Amazon's homelands (it ended before it got that far) I didna tell them that they would be getting that same -4 penalty as soon as she took them home for a visit.... I am also a huge fan of giving xp for good RP.....and i let them know before play.. and during as well, when i would throw in an adventure that was almost all rp....that included events that would eventually affect the group later on.... but then, id also let players know that if they make a deep background then expect to know it well...who knows when something from their past would pop up in anadventure....
Valder 07-03-03, 05:19 PM	I can't imagine not running a game without at least some idea of everybody's back story. Life has a habbit of coming back to my players - they don't stop living just because they're on an adventure. Because of this, there's something I like to do at least once with every game session - I like to include a scene that has absolutely nothing to do with adventure. Picture a game like a TV show - An introductory scene might start out with the heroes tossing back ales in a tavern, or out at the lake fishing and chatting. Or maybe while they're on a quest we have a campfire scene and tell a ghost story or two. A few weeks ago in my own campaign we had a situation that came up between a barbarian teenager and the party's amazon (grew up in the beastlands, has some feline qualities) that had NOTHING to do with them investigating mysterious dissapearances at a university and reports of Mind Flayer activity in the region: Wolfe (party fighter): Okay, Moose, what ARE you doing? You're always weaving together that darned twine! Moose (barbarian): Just something Killian said back when we were making a break for it and escaping the giants' fighting pit a few months ago. Mystra (Ranger/Sorceress): (Laughing) All I can remember is the Magus falling over and nearly squashing me flat! Well, that, and that Feather was drugged and kept scratching me like a chew-toy. Feather (Feline amazon): ... Moose: Well that's what he said, remember? (Imitates Killian's deep, low growl) 'Maybe we should get the lady a ball of string.' Party laughs, Feather scowls. Feather: I honestly have no memory of any of this. Party laughs harder as moose unwinds his creation, a large ball of twine and starts slowly dragging the string along the floor. Feather's voice remains nonchalant, even mellow: I assure you, your toys do not interest me in the slightest, barbarian. Nevertheless, Feather's eyes don't leave the facinating string as he drags it in a circle through the room, and her tail thrashes back and forth furiously despite her relaxed poise. The next morning, the party's back on the hunt for illithids - but little cut scenes, narratives, and spontaneous player dialogue have added wonderful depth to the story that otherwise would never have been realized.
stembolt 07-06-03, 11:00 PM	Here’s one of my recent RP ideas. Instead of just giving a bonus in the beginning, why not give an ongoing one? My idea is to give bonus XP based on the “characters color” this includes background, personality description and so forth. The bonus ranges from 1 to 5 percent (by the way if you want to give encouragement to players 1% is better than zero. Just give a little less base XP and they will never know). Make the upkeep ongoing, so they always need to expand and refine their “color”.
Mikal 07-07-03, 10:57 AM	Here's another idea I sorta 'borrowed' from an old issue of KODT. Start a new campaign, and have everyone sit down and tell the group about their charecter. Background, family, and whatnot. Let the group get to know each other. Then shift the charecter sheets one place to the left, thus having players use a charecter they DIDN'T design themselves. Have them get to know the charecter. Have them come up with some quirks. Then, if they actually roleplay him, have GOOD things happen to that charecter. Thus giving them an incentive to get into the mind of a charecter that they didn't create. Also, since they didn't actually come up with the charecter concept, then they probably don't care as much rules and design wise as to how to play him, since they're sorta getting him 'second hand'.
stembolt 07-09-03, 12:55 AM	The post that Mikal made is a bit extreme, but it gave me another great idea. While people are creating characters each other person makes comments about how they could improve the character (RP wise). Here’s the catch, the player must incorporate at least 2 of the ideas that other people made.
flyingmoose 07-09-03, 01:10 AM	At the start of the first (and sadly last) campaign I ran, I had the players roleplay tracking one another down at the start of the mission. The campaign was starting at 10th level and there had been a war in which the PCs had fought and gained much of their current status and power. The king sent forth soldiers to fetch the heroes of the great war (the pixie-faerie agreed and went quietly but the hobgoblin druid\barbarian started beating them up out of boredom before they had a chance to explain after which he half-assedly apologized and helped the last of them carry the first of them back home). Basically, each character's initial encounter required at least a little roleplaying and that helped set the tone of the campaign and get things rolling. Not rolling very far though. I found I don't actually like DMing.
Monikerrpg 07-10-03, 08:53 AM	We always got full or better XP for any encounter rating that we overcame, be it by fighting, diplomacy(most often) or other means (I tossed the raven a copper and it flew away, cawing "shinyyy!") We also got xp equal to the party's average level for every fully roleplayed scene that advanced the story(and there were a lot) with bonuses to anyone who really got into things- we voted on those, but anyone could nominate another person. We were always a very roleplay intensive group, but the XP rewards we got made it so much sweeter (and actually leveled us in a reasonable amount of time, which we would not have otherwise, being combat avoiders as we were.) Good roleplaying also earned First Choice of Candy, for those who prefer a more tangible reward for their efforts. ^____^
epimetheus 07-10-03, 01:41 PM	The best role playing I have seen is when a player deliberately does something that he (the player) would prefer not to do, but does because it fits the character's personality. An example might be deliberately giving a useful major magic item to an NPC because the character values the NPC and the NPC needed it. Note that this only works if it is a real sacrifice. If the character is 20th level and sacrificing a +2 sword it's not really a big deal. Another example might be, after the player knows there is an ambush ahead, but the character doesn't, and the player believes the character will likely die in the ambush, not trying to come up with reasons why the character would be more wary then usual and might be able to avoid the ambush. The good part about this kind of role playing is that you KNOW the player was role playing, as opposed to just trying to do whatever the player considers best. For theses actions I give out a lot of experience when I run.
fatty mcgee 07-18-03, 03:38 AM	i just wanted to say, that everyone so far has had some great ideas, keep it up fellas! i am going to try my next campaign by asking everybody to flesh out whatever character they want, as long as there is a good back story and lots of useful plot points, i will be pretty free eith allowing them to play whatever (within limits of course) and then i will take thier completed back stories, quirks, flaws, and character sheets, and use them to spin the storyline for the campaign, i think it will hopefully be a great opotunity for everybody to play whatever they have always wanted to play. it could backfire pretty badly of course, what with the potential for blackguards and paladins coming out of it for example, but it will definately give a good reason to fill up on background and quirks, not to mention the campaign being based around it makes for a rewarding reason to do it.
dirk hightower 07-24-03, 02:40 PM	Well, if you really want to enhance roleplaying - don't send the party down into a dungeon... I know the game is called DUNGEONS & dragons.... but you can pretty much check the roleplaying at the door(the dungeon door). Sure, every campaign has to have a mix of story and hack and interaction.... and there are always a least short cavern forays in every campaign. I think the setting and NPCs drive roleplaying - it's hard for characters to work without a canvas (or, rather, a stone wall)...
Hildebar 07-25-03, 07:22 AM	Roleplaying is easier when the PCs have decisions to make... The DM needs to provide plenty of opportunities for the characters to have to stop, discuss and then decide what action to take next. The decision may be as simple as 'Do we go through the left door or the right door?', or it could involve a huge campaign-shaping moral dilemma. In either case, the PCs are likely to have different priorities and points of view, and this in turn will promote discussion. Help to encourage in-character discussion by offering significant XP rewards, in realtime, and in public. I like to hand out Silver, Gold and Sapphire awards of 100, 200, and 300 XP respectively to recognise and reward good roleplaying that enahnces the game for all. At the end of the session, the players 'cash in' their awards, and add them to their base XP award for the adventure. It works extremely well. Hildebar.
Mr. VanderMeer 07-25-03, 08:25 AM	I give no bonuses for background. Players should make these because they enjoy it and because they'll make the game better. The better the roleplaying my players display the better the whole experience will be. The DM and the players push eachother to perform better. (PS: I am not a fan of too much overacting, weird quirks or disabled characters for the sake of roleplaying.)
hiryuu 07-25-03, 09:51 AM	Well too bad. If you're not overacting, you're not roleplaying. You should be ahmming it up! This is a roleplaying game, after all! Ham it up! Get up and show them how your character is doing something, wave your arms, make a funny face! If you need practice messing around with method acting, get a game of TFOS going! Your sessions will never be the same. As for weird quirks, everyone has weird quirks. I know someone who's so terrified of spiders, he can't come over to my house for very long because there's a web outside my lving room window. I personally like to eat jell-o and bacon on my pizza.