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<blockquote data-quote="Quickleaf" data-source="post: 2406650" data-attributes="member: 20323"><p>Here are some ideas that I've had success with:</p><p></p><p>"Closed book gaming" -- No rulebooks are consulted during the game, players only reference character sheets and the GM only references the adventure. If this feels extreme, throw in a half-way break to check the books</p><p></p><p>"Lead by example" -- Provide enticing NPCs who are clearly more than a gimmick (funny accent, stereotype, combat monster, etc). The more convincing you get at this, the better. You might try to artfully weave potential modifiers into your description of a situation. For example: <em>...looking down at you, the mounted tax-collectors scoffs, "This hovel has not been blessed by a true noble till my steed set forth within!"</em> Players could take advantage of the tax-collectors haughtiness, and use the bluff skill to get him to gloat, allowing another ally to sneak out. Or they could try to get his horse to rear...inside the cramped hovel. Perhaps the tight quarters mean it's easier to flank the tax-collector? </p><p>This gives your new player a motive to listen to your artful descriptions. At first, they'll be listening for a modifier/situation to use to their advantage, but that's OK.</p><p></p><p>"The foil" -- Create an NPC who is the ultimate rival to the PC. Sometimes, we need to define ourselves but what we are not (hey, it's a start). For example, you might create a dwarven monk who abandoned the monastery after an argument with the lama. Perhaps the lama wanted him to forsake his family name and/or cut his hair (both big offenses to a dwarf!) before becoming steward. When this monk refused, he was exiled with a big uproar. Now he deters would-be monks from the monastery, warning of the lama's fanaticism. He sees the monastery from the outside: A group of people who don't work, rely on sustenance from others, and commoners consider them "holy"? The ex-monk begins hiring would-be monks as help on his fishing boat. If the monk PC is still in service to the monastery, you now have a perfect foil to play off of.</p><p></p><p>"The lure/moral dilemma" -- Pick some aspect of the game the player does get (e.g. combat) and use that as a lead-in for role-playing the character's motives. For example, introduce the idea of "A Warrior's Code" that many combatants seem to observe. It's more than "no cheating", in fact a warrior is expected to honor the dying request of a fallen foe. Now your PC has a moral dilemma. Do I forget about this code thing and risk my reputation getting damaged? Or do I follow through on my foe's dying request no matter how difficult?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Quickleaf, post: 2406650, member: 20323"] Here are some ideas that I've had success with: "Closed book gaming" -- No rulebooks are consulted during the game, players only reference character sheets and the GM only references the adventure. If this feels extreme, throw in a half-way break to check the books "Lead by example" -- Provide enticing NPCs who are clearly more than a gimmick (funny accent, stereotype, combat monster, etc). The more convincing you get at this, the better. You might try to artfully weave potential modifiers into your description of a situation. For example: [i]...looking down at you, the mounted tax-collectors scoffs, "This hovel has not been blessed by a true noble till my steed set forth within!"[/i] Players could take advantage of the tax-collectors haughtiness, and use the bluff skill to get him to gloat, allowing another ally to sneak out. Or they could try to get his horse to rear...inside the cramped hovel. Perhaps the tight quarters mean it's easier to flank the tax-collector? This gives your new player a motive to listen to your artful descriptions. At first, they'll be listening for a modifier/situation to use to their advantage, but that's OK. "The foil" -- Create an NPC who is the ultimate rival to the PC. Sometimes, we need to define ourselves but what we are not (hey, it's a start). For example, you might create a dwarven monk who abandoned the monastery after an argument with the lama. Perhaps the lama wanted him to forsake his family name and/or cut his hair (both big offenses to a dwarf!) before becoming steward. When this monk refused, he was exiled with a big uproar. Now he deters would-be monks from the monastery, warning of the lama's fanaticism. He sees the monastery from the outside: A group of people who don't work, rely on sustenance from others, and commoners consider them "holy"? The ex-monk begins hiring would-be monks as help on his fishing boat. If the monk PC is still in service to the monastery, you now have a perfect foil to play off of. "The lure/moral dilemma" -- Pick some aspect of the game the player does get (e.g. combat) and use that as a lead-in for role-playing the character's motives. For example, introduce the idea of "A Warrior's Code" that many combatants seem to observe. It's more than "no cheating", in fact a warrior is expected to honor the dying request of a fallen foe. Now your PC has a moral dilemma. Do I forget about this code thing and risk my reputation getting damaged? Or do I follow through on my foe's dying request no matter how difficult? [/QUOTE]
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