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How do I get more roleplaying out of my players?
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<blockquote data-quote="(Psi)SeveredHead" data-source="post: 3219714" data-attributes="member: 1165"><p>Maybe you shouldn't focus on backstories. Believe me, writing those can get annoying. I've been in a number of internet campaigns, and they almost always require long backstories. (In a face-to-face campaign, I was supposed to answer 100 questions. Literally. I answered about 90 of them.) Ask for something short that you might find in a DnD novel.</p><p></p><p>Note that backstories don't always affect RP - wheeling and dealing with the local lord might not involve my backstory <em>at all</em>. It's a function of how creative I can be and what sort of abilities my character has. (On the issue of social skill checks, check out Rich Burlew's great Diplomacy rules in my signature.)</p><p></p><p>I don't want to write out details about my character's family, or his last girlfriend, or anything like that. It's not relevant to the campaign and (hopefully) will never show up. Only ask for things that might become plot hooks.</p><p></p><p>Asking questions that can "screw" PCs, like "what does he fear?" almost never work. I don't want to say my character fears fire, because several sessions later, the trustworthy GM will (not deliberately!) introduce a scenario with a burning building, and then I have to sit outside or suffer some status condition because he's too afraid to be a hero! It's like asking questions about relatives - smart villains will threaten them (but won't kill them all, as that only makes the heroes angrier and have nothing to lose, etc).</p><p></p><p>Asking positive questions like "why do you adventure?" or "where did you learn to be an armorsmith?" works much better. It's also a great way to find out if someone just wants to play a psychopath *rolls eyes*</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="(Psi)SeveredHead, post: 3219714, member: 1165"] Maybe you shouldn't focus on backstories. Believe me, writing those can get annoying. I've been in a number of internet campaigns, and they almost always require long backstories. (In a face-to-face campaign, I was supposed to answer 100 questions. Literally. I answered about 90 of them.) Ask for something short that you might find in a DnD novel. Note that backstories don't always affect RP - wheeling and dealing with the local lord might not involve my backstory [i]at all[/i]. It's a function of how creative I can be and what sort of abilities my character has. (On the issue of social skill checks, check out Rich Burlew's great Diplomacy rules in my signature.) I don't want to write out details about my character's family, or his last girlfriend, or anything like that. It's not relevant to the campaign and (hopefully) will never show up. Only ask for things that might become plot hooks. Asking questions that can "screw" PCs, like "what does he fear?" almost never work. I don't want to say my character fears fire, because several sessions later, the trustworthy GM will (not deliberately!) introduce a scenario with a burning building, and then I have to sit outside or suffer some status condition because he's too afraid to be a hero! It's like asking questions about relatives - smart villains will threaten them (but won't kill them all, as that only makes the heroes angrier and have nothing to lose, etc). Asking positive questions like "why do you adventure?" or "where did you learn to be an armorsmith?" works much better. It's also a great way to find out if someone just wants to play a psychopath *rolls eyes* [/QUOTE]
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