Roleplaying Tips Weekly E-Zine Issue #190

6 Ideas To Encourage Roleplaying

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SENT BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY With Compliments

From: Johnn Four, http://www.roleplayingtips.com
johnn@roleplayingtips.com

CONTENTS:
--> A Brief Word From Johnn

--> This Week's Tips

1. Take Stock Of Your Group And Current GMing Style
2. Inspire Players Through Better Introductions
3. Use Common Phrases And Lingo
4. Character Backgrounds, The Continuing Saga
5. Chronicles, A Wonderful Tool
6. Keep It Going--Recognize, Reward, And Reinforce

--> Readers' Tips Of The Week:

1. Watch Children's TV Shows For Inspiration
From: Paul Bliss
2. Plexi-Glass Battle Maps
From: Mat W.
3. A Dash of Realism into the Unrealistic
From: Richard C.
4. The Cure for the Common Kobold
From: Jared Lain
5. Using Cardboard Tokens Instead of Miniatures
From: Andrew Perkins
6. German Names
From: Neil M.
7. Handling Out Of Character Information
From: Geoff B.

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A BRIEF WORD FROM JOHNN

I'm Back! But My Email Was Down

-------------------------------
It took just under 44 hours after I left for vacation for
spam to fill my email account to the brim. Grrr. So, if you
sent me an email after 7pm Sunday the 16th, then it would
have bounced. Sorry--please re-send it.

This Week's Article About Roleplaying

-------------------------------------
In Trevor's article this week I hope you find useful some
new twists on old pieces of advice and a couple of new tips
that haven't appeared in the ezine before. I'm always keen
on presenting tips to help those who wish to roleplay
better, so thanks for the article submission Trevor.
More roleplaying tips are always welcome singly or in
multiples. :)

Cheers,

Johnn Four
johnn@roleplayingtips.com

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6 IDEAS TO ENCOURAGE ROLEPLAYING

By Trevor Dreher

It can be frustrating when you have spent time preparing a

complex and interesting NPC who is then slain by your group
of rollplayers and hack & slashers before he even has a
chance to get a word out. Roleplaying becomes much more
enjoyable when the players are involved in the plots and
intrigues of the campaign and when they have interesting
characters. I have some suggestions on how to improve
roleplaying, and I believe the overall enjoyment level, in
your campaign.

1. Take Stock Of Your Group And Current GMing Style

===================================================
What type of players do you have? Are they min/maxers, roll-
players, actors? A great article on player types and their
strengths and weaknesses is:

http://www.roleplayingtips.com/issue179.asp

What's your GMing style? Do you have every encounter

prepared in detail or do you free form everything? Do you
like lots of combat or do you prefer more cerebral conflict?
How much roleplaying do you actually want from your players?
You also need to consider what style of campaign you enjoy
running.
What do you and your players expect from the time you spend
roleplaying? The campaign survey article is great:

http://www.roleplayingtips.com/issue184.asp

[You can choose to put additional emphasis on the

roleplaying oriented questions.]

Evaluate the last four combat encounters that your group has
had. How many of those encounters had a non-combat option
that, had the group taken it, would have resulted in the
same or a greater level of success then they obtained
through combat? If your group feels they can be rewarded
well for negotiating or interaction then they may take that
route.

Evaluate how you hand out experience points (karma,

possibilities, whatever your game uses). Is it mostly based
on the number of monsters slain and amount of treasure
looted? What's the biggest experience reward you've given
out when your players choose a non-combat option?

Assess your group's preferences and style. If your players

are expecting to blow everything to pieces in a Battletech
style setting and you are trying to run a D&D campaign full
of political intrigue, the problem is obvious. Good role-
playing is about good communication and, to some extent, you
need to cater your campaign to your players.

I had run into some frustration with my players in my

Shadowrun campaign because I felt they were pretty one-
dimensional. Watching the same group of players play
Earthdawn under another GM was a real eye opener though, as
they roleplayed well. They were into the heavy political
intrigue of his campaign. It made me realize that I needed
to reassess my GMing and campaign styles and present more
opportunities for roleplaying.

2. Inspire Players Through Better Introductions

===============================================
You never have a second chance to make a first impression.
If you want your players to get into character and utter
more than "I'm Jack," to the NPC king then play on their
egos.

Have the NPC King reply, "Hello, Jack. I am Lofra

Mageslayer, freer of the Princess Aroara, slayer of the
Beast of Tiladonya, friend to all halflings, and sworn enemy
to all who worship Set." Do that a few times to your PCs and
see if they do not start to elaborate their own
introductions.

An additional opportunity is opened when they expand their

introductions. When Jack next meets a major NPC and adds a
few credits to his name, let your NPC follow the natural
course of conversation and ask. "Jack, I could not help but
hear that you had slain the dragon Duzma. Tell me, how you
were able to accomplish such a feat?" There is nothing
players enjoy more than reliving past glories. It allows you
to have the players play in character more as well.

3. Use Common Phrases And Lingo

===============================
A great article on this:

http://www.roleplayingtips.com/issue172.asp

Have your NPCs use common expressions. "May Hades' Never

Ending Wraith Take You!". An ugly curse. They add flavor and
depth to your campaign. Keep your phrases short and simple
at the beginning. When the players have the feeling that
they are being upstaged they are bound to start using
phrases themselves, maybe even create their own.

If your NPCs feel that the PCs do not use them in context or
what they create is silly, then let them laugh at the
players. If they use a phrase in context then have them
react to the insult or complement accordingly. When the
players are visiting other locals in your game world and use
a phrase, have the NPCs identify where the characters are
from by the phrase. "A believer in Hades?! You must be one
of those accursed Greeks!" Or "A Greek! You saved my people
in the Illania War. My home is your home!"

4. Character Backgrounds, The Continuing Saga

=============================================
Wherever you are in your campaign encourage your players to
continue to create and evolve their characters in writing.

"There was never yet an uninteresting life. Such a thing is

an impossibility. Inside of the dullest exterior is a drama,
a comedy, and a tragedy."
-- Mark Twain

If that statement reflects everyday individuals then it must

be doubly true of the characters who are the heroes/villains
of their world. Encourage the characters to leave their
backgrounds with a few possible plot hooks so that you can
use them to interact with. If they do leave a few hooks then
you need to do your best to utilize them.

At the start of a campaign a page should be sufficient for

character background; but after playing for a few years the
character's background--and history--should have expanded.

Have the NPCs in your campaign plan a big birthday

celebration for the character every year of game time. Does
the character's new age mean new responsibility? In my old
D&D campaign, my half-ogre player was thrilled to finally
meet his ogre father after many years of looking. He became
very depressed when he discovered that his father planned to
march his army on the character's adopted city. The
character evolved his goal, which had been to meet his
father. Now his goal was to stop him. It made for a great
series of adventures. Players are always more interested if
the adventure has personal relevance to their character.

5. Chronicles, A Wonderful Tool

===============================
Does your group remember every adventure that they have
undertaken? How can they recall the powerful NPCs they have
met or the details of their tales in the local pub? A great
way to encourage roleplaying is to elect an official
chronicler for each session or adventure. It will be this
person's job to write the events of the characters in-
character. This can take the form of a tale, a news report,
or an accounting to a superior, but it is not simply taking
notes.

The chronicles accomplish many things. If someone misses a

session a quick reading brings him up to date. If important
information needs to be recalled it can be found. It gives
the characters a sense of history as well.

In our Earthdawn campaign we rotate the role of chronicler.

It is very interesting as everyone writes from his or her
characters perspective. We want the chance to chronicle so
that our character can be in the limelight.

6. Keep It Going--Recognize, Reward, And Reinforce

==================================================
Alright, you have your group starting to roleplay. They
actually interact with NPCs and each other in character,
they're using common phrases, have evolving backgrounds, and
everyone wants to chronicle. Now, how do you keep it going?
You need to continually encourage them.

Recognize
---------
If your player uses a common phrase or chooses reason where
they may have previously relied on brute strength, you need
to tell them "Well done." "Wow, your character may have
survived that encounter with the giants but I don't think
Joan's would have. That was a great bit of giant 'logic'." A
sincere pat on the back, in front of the group, will give
credit and serve to reinforce that behavior in the future.

Reward
------
Try to make your biggest reward to the players based on
roleplaying. Your chronicler has just sent you a well-
written 20 page story of the group's last 8 sessions. You
need to give him something for that extra effort. It could
be extra experience points, but try to get into the feel of
the game. Maybe a local king, impressed with his tales,
brings him into the royal household where he can learn a
previously unheard of spell.

Reinforce
---------
Listening can sometimes be difficult as a GM. We have so
many things to worry about. When your players are in
character though, really perk up. Try your best to stay in
character. Try to get a flow going and keep the group in it.

* * *

Remember that your players will usually follow your lead.

So, take the initiative via your NPCs. Realize that you can
influence how your group plays and that the players will pay
heed to your example. I am sure you will find that once you
have begun to get your players more into character your
sessions will become even more enjoyable for all.

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READERS' TIPS OF THE WEEK

1. Watch Children's TV Shows For Inspiration

From: Paul Bliss
============================================
Dear Johnn,

I've been reading your ezine since issue #134 and I've
learned something new in every letter. Keep up the fantastic
work.

Story/Items/Creature Ideas
--------------------------
I'm constantly looking for unique items, creatures, and
situations to place within my campaigns. One of the best
sources that I've found is children's television.

Prime example: There's a show on Nick Jr that has a Spanish

girl who explores. In one episode, she had to rescue a
Prince from a tower after going thru a forest and an
encounter with a witch. From this simple 22 minute program I
was able to run a 6 month campaign in which the players had
to discover where the Prince was taken to and who had taken
him. And once they got to the tower, it took them three
sessions to complete. All of this was inspired from a simple
children's show.

Another unique creature derived from the same show was a

creature called a "Wizzle". I took this creature and made it
the essence of a living wish. So, if a player chose to use a
wish, it would kill the creature. This was a great position
of compromise since the "Wizzle" was
talk, and of course would state that
Luckily, for this particular Wizzle,
Paladin, otherwise, the thief of the
its existence rather quickly.
a living being, could
it wanted to live.
it was rescued by a
group may have ended

From the same show sprung some unique ideas. For example,
the group now has a talking map that always knows the
beginning, the middle, and the end routes needed to get
somewhere. This doesn't mean that there are only three steps
to find the destination. Usually, the most important details
are left for the players to discover.

DM Helping The Players

----------------------
Sometimes players get stuck. They think they've tried all
their options (Augury, Wish, searched EVERYWHERE, etc.) and
they start to look at you with blank faces. At this point, I
have a little magical "Butterfly" come into existence and
either tell them what to do or land on the object needed to
complete the puzzle. The Butterfly is used very rarely, and
if a player calls for the butterfly, they know they will
lose precious experience points if it appears.

I always try to leave a hint in an NPC conversation or

something that they find along the way and hope that they
can piece the puzzle together on their own. I find this
brings a great sense of accomplishment to the players who
solve the puzzle. This also helps when setting up a scenario
or conflict as the players come to learn that the clue can
be dropped anywhere from anyone or anything in the campaign.
This ensures that all the gamers will listen to you with
full attention.

2. Plexi-Glass Battle Maps

From: Mat W.
==========================
A great idea that my gaming group has used for years: put
sheets of paper printed with one inch squares under a sheet
of plexi-glass. It helps us to draw (with dry erase markers)
the area of the battle so we can position our minis and get
an idea of what we are facing. When we are done, a damp
cloth plus a couple of minutes and a throne room becomes the
crypt of Blankety-blank the Evil.

3. A Dash of Realism into the Unrealistic

Via The GMMastery Group
From: Richard C.
=========================================
A while back I decided to take a basically standard D&D
world (gods, magic, monsters) and put a dash of realism into
it. Some of the ways I did this include:

Population Size
---------------
The biggest contributor to population growth was
refrigeration. When any first level wizard can cast a ray of
frost, any druid can enhance rainfall and plant growth, and
any cleric can cleanse a water supply, the growth of
population is going to be nearly that of industrial America.

The Boss Isn't Always The Biggest

---------------------------------
I had a campaign a while back where the characters finally
got to the evil King and killed him in about two seconds.
Why? Well, the man was a king because of his political
connections. Why didn't someone kill him and take over?
Because that starts a whole chain of killings where they get
killed, too. Obviously, any schmuck with a pistol and one
eye could have killed Hitler, and a few almost did, but the
largest reason he never got whacked by, say, Himmler, is
because then someone would have killed Himmler, in the name
of revenging Hitler, and then got themselves killed. What
the King had, in this case, was a lot of money and some
guards and wizards, but once they were gone he was a 5'8"
dude with a mustache and a longsword. 2nd level noble. Easy
pickings.

Commoners Don't Have An Inherent Distrust of Wizardry

-----------------------------------------------------
In a low-magic world this might be understandable, but
commoners mistrusting sorcery in the D&D world is like me
distrusting science. It makes microwaves, it makes nukes,
but I don't cringe from any piece of technology I come
across. The peasants are used to it, it's part of their
daily lives. Fireballs scare them and healing spells are
cool.

No Balance
----------
There is no balance in this world. Why would there be?
Criminals get away unless they make wizards mad or do
something stupid and get caught. Evil kings rule for a long
time, sometimes evil regimes last for hundreds of years, and
no one does jack about it. This is the way the world works
on Earth and, regardless of whether or not magic exists,
this is how it would work in most places.

Evil Is Not Insane

------------------
Evil characters are just antisocial and totally self-
serving. Not lunatics. They don't randomly sacrifice people
or do evil just to do evil, unless they are clerics of some
lunatic god or lunatics themselves. Most evil people are
almost indistinguishable from good folks, except that the
stupid ones are thugs. The smart ones, while often criminal
and deceitful, are clever enough that they look like
upstanding citizens. They don't go around stealing virgins
because doing so would put them in a great deal of risk.

Heroes are Entrepreneurs

-----------------------
My heroes usually aren't motivated by some higher morality
or great quest. Paladins and clerics aside, they are usually
just outgoing people who don't mind sleeping in the woods
and have the guts to charge an orc encampment to get money.
Sure, sometimes they do it for the good of the townspeople,
but you bet there would be a lot less cops if they didn't
get paid.

No Magically Learning Stuff

---------------------------
This is just a skill and multiclassing restriction I put on.
If a character states and roleplays that he's investigating
some religion or magical lore, practicing swordplay or
climbing, then he can pick a new class or skill up, no
problem. But that *poof* thing is just absurd.

I'm not criticizing anyone else's worlds or anything,

unrealistic worlds can be fun, too, but I think that some
realism occasionally would be nice.

4. The Cure for the Common Kobold

From: Jared Lain
=================================
The kobold more often than not has been little more than a
minor inconvenience to the adventuring party. It is true
that the kobold has many things against its favor. They are
small, relatively weak, and portrayed as the poor cousins of
goblins.

However, these diminutive creatures have several advantages

that, if properly used, can give even seasoned adventurers
second thoughts about having to deal with those damned
kobolds.

Point 1. According the Monstrous Manual (2ed.) the kobold

has average intelligence, equal to that of a typical human.
This means tactics and strategy are all well within their
grasp. On average, a kobold is going to be smarter than a
goblin, and is not going to make grievous combat errors.
Many of the next points will come back to this primary
point.

Point 2. The kobold is nocturnal. They are at their best

advantage at night, and being intelligent, they would
exploit this. A kobold attack is not going to be a stand and
deliver battle. The creatures will attack in the dark, using
attempts at stealth, and using surprise to their advantage.

Point 3. The D&D 3E kobold is listed as having a lawful evil

alignment. Added to a tribal social structure, kobolds would
be organized but still possess an animal-like ferocity. In
the African Savannah, lions avoid baboons. The baboon is
similar in size to the kobold and is capable of mauling a
lion. Now, imagine a community of intelligent baboons who
know the lion is a threat to them.

Point 4. Humans, and demihumans are enemies and food to the

kobold. Accordingly, the kobold is not going to show mercy
of any sort, nor compassion for his enemy.

Now we have a picture of a disturbing creature. Barely three

feet tall, the kobold is an intelligent, cunning, hateful
creature who sees the adventurer as a threat to his home or
community and as a way to feed said community. In tribal
societies, successful warriors gain things desirable to
them by killing foes, providing food, and protecting the
community.

In the campaigns I ran, kobolds were frightening creatures.

Raids would come at night with kobolds attacking from all
different directions. Arrows were shot, dipped in slowing
poison, and knives were used in close combat. More than one
adventurer was cut down and drug back to the kobold's
hidden warren.

The fact that some kobolds engaged in slave trading allowed

the PC to be ransomed back to safety, shaken by their ordeal
among the kobolds. Others remained alive, imprisoned with
some of the townsfolk they had come to rescue. In the most
practical terms, meat is best preserved by being kept alive.

In the end, the PCs hated the kobolds for being foul and
evil creatures, and the players had sort of a love hate
relationship with them. Players hate a good villain, but
love a great one.

5. Using Cardboard Tokens Instead of Miniatures

From: Andrew Perkins
===============================================
Johnn,

Another idea for cheap fig replacements are Cardboard Heroes

available from Steve Jackson Games.

http://www.sjgames.com

Something else people might want to know about. They are

rather inexpensive and work really well for NPCs.

6. German Names
From: Neil M.
================
Johnn,

Was checking the net for old German names for my next
character in WFRP and found this site. I think would make a
good resource.

http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/bahlow/bahlow.html

7. Handling Out Of Character Information

From: Geoff B.
========================================
re: http://www.roleplayingtips.com/issue168.asp#r5

In the tip "Does Yelling Work?" by Anthony M. he mentions

the propensity for his fellow gamers to help each other out
in combat, sometimes getting into arguments. The problem is
extended arguments in tactics and extended battles that take
forever. I believe this problem can be seen in other
situations as well, not just combat.

My gaming group has come up with the rule that anything

suggested by another player Out of Character cannot be used
by the character! This means that if player A, in fierce
combat with Trolls, mentions to the Wizard character on
player A's turn that he should use a Fireball spell to
destroy the Trolls, the wizard character can no longer use
his fireball. It basically boils down to only the player can
decide what to do with his character and outside
intervention is reacted to with negative effects.

Now the people I play with have been playing for a long time
and so each of us make characters we know we can play and
the systems we play in are thoroughly known to us. This
presents a problem for new players or inexperienced players.
We usually relax this constraint for brief periods at the
beginning of a new system or for helping new players get
acquainted with the way a system works.

A way around this is to specifically speak in character

(which sometimes brings its own confusions - "How does the
barbarian know about dispel magic?"). Also there are rules
that sometimes help out new characters in this fashion. For
example, the Merit "Common Sense" in the World of Darkness
books is specifically for helping newbie characters getting
hints.

Anyway, just an alternate point of view on how to solve this

problem with out of character discussion on tactics. It
seems a little harsh sometimes, but it really keeps the
players in character and limited to what they know or could
do.

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That's it for this week's issue.

Have more fun at every game!

Johnn Four
mailto:johnn@roleplayingtips.com

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