Need help getting shy players to open up!

[pawned79]

Hi everyone,

I have a really creative sharp player at my table, but she's very shy and quiet when it comes to things like talking to NPCs. I've seen her play a few characters now and it is a real trend. My group and I do a lot of RP, and I'm worried that she isn't getting as much out of the game as everyone else is. As I move around the table and give each player their moment in the spotlight to RP, hers is always significantly shorter than everyone elses, with much fewer words and much less character expression. How do you help shy players open up at the table?

Patrick

 

[Zaruthustran]

So, you need help getting a girl to lose her inhibitions? Try booze.

Seriously. If she's shy with you guys, loosen up the mood of the table with a few beers.

Or, have you considered the possibility that her *character* is shy, and she's just a really good roleplayer? Good roleplaying does not have to = constant yammering.

-z

 

[d20Dwarf]

I can't wait to see the reaction to the suggestion that you ply your women with liquor to lower their inhibitions...

As an alternative suggestion, where does she sit? It often helps to seat quieter players closer to the DM where they will be easier to interact with and they will also be the center of everyone's attention more often, since most players look to the DM for the majority of a game (when they aren't flipping through books, grrrr).

Try seating her closer to you and see if that doesn't promote interaction.

Another thing to do would be to make her character the center of attention in a positive way. Need someone to discover a vital clue, make it her. Is there something from a player's background that will advance the story or get things jumpstarted? Make it her character's background.

I did this in my game on Saturday and her character became the source of most of the roleplaying interaction, even from the other players.

 

[KnowTheToe]

So, you need help getting a girl to lose her inhibitions? Try booze.

Seriously. If she's shy with you guys, loosen up the mood of the table with a few beers.

Or, have you considered the possibility that her *character* is shy, and she's just a really good roleplayer? Good roleplaying does not have to = constant yammering.

-z

I think this is great advice. It worked very well for me all through college

Game wise you may want to focus on a storyline specifically for her character.

 

[d20Dwarf]

I think this is great advice. It worked very well for me all through college

We all know how you finally got your wife to marry you. You don't have to tell us again.

 

[pawned79]

Alcohol is absolutely out of the question. No one else need suggest it again.

Second, I know it isn’t just the character. All her character actions are in character and good role playing, but her conversations, or the lack of, are out of character and consistent from character to character. She just doesn’t ACT the role.

Some other information that might be helpful is the fact that the current game in question consists of myself as the DM, her and her fiancé. We’ve all known each other for a few years now. Watch a lot of movies and spend a lot of time together. It isn’t the company; it is the spotlight that she shies from. I need help getting her to act and play her part. We do a LOT of RP in our games.

Patrick

 

[Tewligan]

Alcohol is absolutely out of the question. No one else need suggest it again.

Even Zima?

 

[nnamdobs]

You seem pretty frustrated. Is she disrupting the game?

I'm a bit of a shy player myself, and my very first reaction to this post was that perhaps she doesn't enjoy the spotlight like the the other player(s). If you're concerned about HER enjoyment, like the original post mentioned, maybe you should just talk to her frankly (and tactfully) about it. If she doesn't like the spotlight, why force it?

If it's disrupting the game, then that's a little different. If it's just the three of you, maybe the fiance could shed some light on the subject and offer suggestions for things to open her up and/or subplots that would interest her. Also, with that few people, could you adjust the game so it's still fun for everyone, even if she continues to shy from the spotlight?

If it's more than the three of you, you could still enlist the fiance's help. You can ask him for info like above, plus set up a situation where just the three of you are RPing together -- make the other players leave the room. She might feel more comfortable in a smaller, more intimate group.

Good luck!