Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 NoGravitas Apr 06, 2015 20:34:56	I had a player in tonight's session go out of his way to want a longer time for RP/character development, chatting between the characters and bringing up various backstories. I had a few others express that they liked it, and a desire for more.   How can I encourage and bring that out, rather than just stating "okay folks, you are on a boat, go ahead and chat?"   There has been plenty of roleplay coming up as part of interactions with NPCs and in various encounters, but not so much between the PCs. Most of the time, the interaction is NPC and PC, not so much PC-PC. How can I encourage this sort of PC-PC interaction, where I can just sort of step back?
#2 transcendantviewer Apr 06, 2015 20:37:45	What are the characters in your group?
#3 mbeacom Apr 06, 2015 21:01:44	There are lots of tools in the bag for how PCs can form relationships with each other. The no brainer is the bonds (and flaws and ideals) mechanic that is present in so many games these days, 5E included. 13th Age also has a cool one called "One Unique Thing."  It sounds like you could really benefit from a collaborative backstory/bond session where the players workshop (meaning, they have an idea to begin with but flesh it out through interaction with the other players) their backstories, how they are familiar with each other and what their relationships look like in practice.   For instance, you could have your players bring fairly developed backstory baselines to a game session and then have each discuss them (in character if you like). Then, as appropriate, other players can chime in and offer suggestions that would allow their players to enter in. So, let's say the Rangers backstory is that he started off as a woodworker who would often walk the forests looking for the perfect saplings to make chairs and over time he learned to protect himself while in dangerous areas of the woods. Eventually he used his skills to protect a traveller who had lost their way and he felt such a surge of energy and power that he decided to take up the Ranger life. Another player might see an opening and assert that the person the Ranger saved was his uncle who told him the story and inspired him to seek out the Ranger. On the way, he had been robbed and beaten and had to survive on the streets of an unknown city, slowly acquiring the urban "skills" necessary for survival.   Now you've got a Rogue and Ranger who are linked and share an interesting backstory that was not only fun to create but will color a lot of RP going forward, not to mention give you the DM a ton of fodder for creating great personalized campaign materials.   Do this kind of thing for every member of the group and you've got a 3-4 hour session easily if they like it. You can have similar workshop sessions at the beginning of each regular game session as you talk about the things that have transpired and how they have affected the members of the group and their relationship to each other. Did the cleric stabilizie the frontline fighter last session? Perhaps that fighter is now beginning to question their usefulness and sees themselves as a liability and the cleric has to act as a sort of PTSD councelor. Maybe the wizard had to cast a fireball that was unable to avoid a party member and now the party member thinks the wizard is not trustworthy, creating a negative bond. There are tons of options to be explored if your players like this out-of-band gameplay.    One thing to keep in mind when engaging in this type of collaborative storytelling is that it's perfectly fine to use the mental eraser. Meaning, if you workshop an idea but then something better comes up or that the group prefers because it sets up some other piece, it's ok to say, "Yeah, that thing we said before, it never happened, it was really like THIS". Then the "THIS" becomes canon.
#4 NoGravitas Apr 06, 2015 21:21:05	transcendantviewer wrote:
#5 Ozzmal1 Apr 06, 2015 22:26:58	It sounds to me like your players want more social interaction in there game, not neccesarily roleplaying (the two arent always the same, roleplaying opportunities can exist in almost any situation.) And thats fine, social interaction (especially between the PC's) is something that ive seen lacking from alot of games (your games may be different, its just a small thing ive noticed running games in the past). Here are some ideas I would try.   -Dont allow characters to explain there motivations for making a decisions WHILE there making the decision, atleast in situations that would not normally permit them to do so. An example, a king is offering the PC's a handsome reward to track down a traitor to the kingdom and bring him to justice (dead or alive). Batcrap mccrazy (an example), the chaotic cleric in the party has a strong distrust of the king, and proceeds to tell all the other players at the table "Hey, I dont trust this scumbag, so im not gona do it, or if I do go along with it ill find out more before I bring the "traitor" in". Which is all fine and dandy, except if hed said that in game, the king would have had his head on a pike. Players are not telepaths, dont allow them that luxury. By taking it away you will force PC's to explain there actions to each other at times, perhaps even leading to a bit of friction in the party. Apply this even in combat situations, does your fighter really have time to explain to squishy blasterpants why hes going after the goblin trying to escape rather than dealing with the goblin attempting to spill blasty's kool-aid? Probably not.   -As a DM, you can introduce tough decisions to your party. Put them on the spot, make them decide between two courses of action without a clear answer on which one is right. Make sure both actions have rewards and consequences. This will naturally foster dialect between your players, they will have to work together in order to make a decisions, and even then all parties involved may not be satisfied.   -And also, make sure you as the DM backoff from time to time. At the end of the night, when the campfires lit, just go silent for a bit. This will allow to PC's time to communicate if they wish to do so.     Just some ideas, most of them not mine to be honest (much was imprinted on me from a certain angrydm). Hope they help you enjoy your game. Sorry for any typos.
#6 mbeacom Apr 06, 2015 22:38:26	Ozzmal has some good advice. I'll just add, to ask questions that both lead and push. As you play, and especially when the PCs are interacting, listen for that "moment" or that "comment" (that clearly seems to be interesting and you think people will enjoy to develop) where you can add a question or two to push them to develop it further or flesh out the thing you heard. If someone states that his character is nervous around royalty(just some on the spot RP or idea popping up), ask about it. Don't just ask "why?". But ask, what was it in your past that lead you to feel this way? And if they're stumped because you put them on the spot, this is ok, you can offer a tip (did you have a bad experience as a child?) or even put it to the "audience" by asking other people if they have a guess as to why the PC might feel this way based on what they know of that character. Then let the player choose if he/she likes anything they come up with and if they do, run with it!
#7 transcendantviewer Apr 06, 2015 22:46:12	I read your response, NoGravitas, and I'll just say that the best way for characters to bond, and for players to role play that bonding experience, is for something to happen and, at the very start of the session, rule that there will be no metagaming at the table. They will speak in character and descripe their character's (attempted) actions, but nothing else, unless it's something like "Pass the chips" or something. But, this is something that you should only enforce when playing with friends, and only if they're all okay with trying it.
#8 bawylie Apr 06, 2015 23:28:42	I do something a little different.    I pull 2 PCs into a situation (or a scene) with one NPC. Sometimes the NPC wants something, sometimes they offer something. On a 3x5 card, I'll arrange the 3 in a triangle and note sources of conflict or sources of cooperation. Any common goals go in the middle of the triangle.    I end up with each PC having 4 things running with each other PC and several other NPCs. Then I use these as "B" stories.
#9 BoldItalic Apr 07, 2015 0:04:39	It's great when players start to weave stories about their characters bonding. To coin a phrase, backstories become "front stories" and it add a whole new dimension to the game. In my experience, it will kick off  more easily between pairs of players than with a group. While the players are adventuring as a group, "group thinking" takes over and people are more cautious.   Do you make much of downtime activities? If so, try suggesting to the players that they split up in pairs (one threesome, if there is an odd number of players)  and go carousing together, each pair to a different part of town. Let the players choose their own partners and let the players sit apart from the table, in their pairs, while they are doing it. Give them, say, 20 minutes to invent their own stories about how their characters bond, become best buddies, find common experiences in their past, do crazy things together, back each other up in tavern arguments, and generally do fun stuff together that has nothing to do with rolling dice or earning XP and everything to do with creating the fiction. You can float around between the pairs facilitating if you like, and encouraging the process.   If it works, the players will come back to the table bursting to tell their stories to the others.
#10 iserith Apr 07, 2015 5:52:49	NoGravitas wrote:
#11 Coredump00 Apr 07, 2015 8:16:34	I think there are two possibilites, and its possible they don't even realize which one they want. (Or maybe both)   1) They may want to have more in game 'social time' between just the PCs. Kind of like just hanging out and chilling at the bar with friends. This is fairly straightforward, you just need to leave them alone in a room, perhaps with a conversation starter, either a situation coming up, or an NPC that triggers coversations...   2) They may just want to flesh out their character relationships more.  I tend to believe this is their actual goal.  For this, I would pull it ouf ot 'in game' and just have some out of character discussions.  One thing I like to do is have each player 1) Say one thing everyone else knows about your PC, 2) Say one thing most folks believe is true, but can't be sure. Have each Player describe something his PC as done/said/has in common with another PC.  Then that the second PC do the same with a third PC.  If you want, you can let them embelish the previous tie also.       If you check out Iseriths "Actual play reports" they do this kind of stuff as warm ups before each session.... you may want to try something like this for a few minutes each week.