Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Aberlonian 02-23-07, 12:46 PM	The players I'm with now don't want to act out their character's conversations word for word. They just state "I ask if there's any news about the rumour" or "I try to negotiate a better price". Should I encourage the players to act out their characters by acting out the NPCs responses, or should I just stick to their method "The tavern owner says there's no rumour", etc. It doesn't really detract from the game, but it does make it seem a bit video-gamey.
PenderGrass 02-23-07, 01:01 PM	I would suggest not dictating to your players how to play their characters. Rather, so long as you continue acting out the NPC answers in-character - if the players seem impatient, try shortening the answers, but try to keep them in-character (if that is your desire). Likely, you will soon find that your players will follow your example. There is no reason why in-character, NPC-to-PC verbal exchanges cannot be short and to the point, but still fun to role-play. :dragon: ****
ciryx2k 02-23-07, 01:04 PM	The players I'm with now don't want to act out their character's conversations word for word. They just state "I ask if there's any news about the rumour" or "I try to negotiate a better price". Should I encourage the players to act out their characters by acting out the NPCs responses, or should I just stick to their method "The tavern owner says there's no rumour", etc. It doesn't really detract from the game, but it does make it seem a bit video-gamey. This is a problem I'm having in a game I'm running right now. The reason for this is because I've got some people who are very new to RPGs in general, and therefore, new to D&D. To make matters worse, the more seasoned players seem to be taking queues from the new ones and have actually STOPPED this. My way of fixing it is I will talk in character for my NPCs and thereby encourage an in character response from the players. Another thing that helps is I have an evil player in my group of neutrals and goods. This has actually HELPED me in this respect because when things come up, I will specifically tell them instead of the players discussing what their characters don't like about eachother, they need to play this out in character. I had one game session get hijacked for about 2 hours because of a huge in character argument between the characters... and I let it happen and smiled. They're learning to talk through their characters and that makes me proud. Remember, when everything's hunky-dorry they won't wanna talk. Give em someone to yell at and they'll be all for it :).
CharlieRock 02-23-07, 01:05 PM	I love those social skill checks. :D
unfortunate_crow 02-23-07, 01:12 PM	I have 1 player (our paladin) that always does this. It gets annoying when everybody else IS talking in character. I encourage it as much as possible by having the NPCs speak in character as well. I just reward the characters who ARE doing it with extra RP experience. If the one player doesn't care about missing out on this, his loss.
CroBob 02-23-07, 01:16 PM	Sometimes characters are blunt and in a hurry. Frankly, I have some players (well, one) who would muck things up if forced to role-play many social situations. I do allow him to simply say what he's trying to accomplish and roll a diplomacy for it because, frankly, his character is just plane better at it than he is.
PenderGrass 02-23-07, 01:20 PM	I just reward the characters who ARE doing it with extra RP experience. If the one player doesn't care about missing out on this, his loss. It should be noted that DMs should use a lot of caution when punishing players for what may be a personal inability of playing the way the DM thinks they should be playing. Some people just don't have the ability to speak in-character all the time. The "reward" of those that do speak in-character will likely be more attention from the DM, as well as getting more play time. More often than not, this is more than enough "punishment" that a non-in-character-speaking-player should suffer. :dragon: ****
Aberlonian 02-23-07, 01:40 PM	Like I said, it doesn't detract from the game much, but I think the players are just too self-conscious to let go and talk in character. I've been playing the NPCs up a bit, making jokes and so forth to lighten the mood and show that playing a character can be fun. I was just wondering if this is a common phenomenon. I guess it is. I hope my players open up, though.
PenderGrass 02-23-07, 01:51 PM	I hope my players open up, though. Do you use the player names when speaking to them - or their character name? Also, try to open the game with some sort of non-game chat and let everyone relax a bit before you start. :dragon: ****
Aberlonian 02-23-07, 02:00 PM	Do you use the player names when speaking to them - or their character name? Also, try to open the game with some sort of non-game chat and let everyone relax a bit before you start. :dragon: **** I always use their character names once the game starts, but that is a good point. We're all out of game friends, so I don't think that the players are uncomfortable with each other. They are all first time players (except my fiancee who has played in one other campaign), so I think it may be reluctance to roleplay out of fear of mockery. I try and make it clear this isn't the case, and roleplay my NPCs quite a bit. I make them a little over-the top (evil guys being REALLY evil, the bartender uses lots of puns and sexual innuendo, etc) to try and make it seem more fun.
CharlieRock 02-23-07, 02:01 PM	Use the wise-cracking henchman routine: Have an old dude get hired on to guide them to where their next dungeon is. Along the way (in the mornings or right when everyone is settling down around the campfire) or after a battle just say some things to them IC. I did this once (okay quite often) and they always remember some of these conversations. :) Edit: Even something simple (like right after a mage fireball something): "Where can I get one of those, young feller?"
PenderGrass 02-23-07, 02:07 PM	Edit: Even something simple (like right after a mage fireball something): "Where can I get one of those, young feller?" "Right here!" - >>>blasts the old fella with a fireball<<< Sorry, just had to respond in-character. Which is proof that it works. :dragon: ****