Rewarding Roleplaying

[Major Moab]

Interesting thread and interesting pints made.
I have always felt a bit, ?awkward?, about the xp system in d&d. You are reqarded for antisocial behavior (this is a personal opinion, not a statement of fact). You gain strength by killing other entities, many of them intelligent creatures. I've always wanted non combat rewards, and 4ed seems to have included this (maybe that's my DM).

But xp for roleplaying does not seem to be the answer. Why would you become a more advanced person by behaving like yourself all the time? Luckily, there are a number of other values in the system that could be the rewards of behaving the way the character would.
1) What if you made action points a reward for behaving according to character. An affirmation of self could explain why you have the self confidence and willpower that an action point represents.
2) Surges? You regain surges by behaving according to your own code of ethics. Alternatively, maybe you could set up some sort of system where second winds could be used more than once in an encounter, based on the character behaving appropriately 9this one seems rather defender oriented).

My point here is that, with minor modifications to the rules, one could reward those who want to roleplay more while not crippling those who don't.

On a related subject, while every well fleshed character should have saintly traits and sinner traits, roleplaying a behavior that is detrimental to the group, no matter how you rationalize it, should not be rewarded, imho. The obstinate character should not be rewarded by pouting his way through a dungeon. An arrogant person, could just as easily be roleplayed by becoming enraged at an enemy for cutting his clothes, or an insult that hits particularly close to home. He can still fight FOR the group, not against it.

Another two penny's from my jar. Hope i didn't lose my train of thought in this.

 

[bargle0]

I do something very similar. I provide a network of choices. How they get from Point A to Point B is up to them. I'll draft up an article shortly on this.

Do you allow for a Point B', Point C, Point M, Point Z, secret Point Aleph Null, plus everything in between? I love it when players surprise me. Even if it means using the dungeon to start a lumber concern or something crazy like that.

In organized role-play situations, I find that people are less inclined to get in character. Mostly, this is because the end-points are pre-determined: as long as all the combats and skill challenges are completed successfully, how they play their character makes no difference. That is, there is an ordained Point A and Point B. Sometimes there's a Point B', which is nice, but it still limits the effect of player choice.

Here's an anecdote:

Right now I'm running an LFR-compatible home game that is a prequel for the Netherese conquest of Spellgard. It's constructed from various modules that involve the Netherese or the Church of Shar. I have a player who wants to betray the rest of the party to the Netherese. Aside from the backstabbing, which some players won't like no matter what, there is no real way for me to satisfy his RP goals without completely going off the rails. In a free home game with no pre-determined Point B, I can get him there and wonderful things can happen. As it is, with the LFR modules and rules being what they are, he'll probably have to retire that character pretty soon.

Obviously things are a little more liberated in a home game, since there are no real rules regarding interactions between players. However, if the DM has a pre-determined Point B in mind, it might discourage players from doing what they really want with their characters.

So, I think we're asking the wrong question here. It shouldn't be, "How do I reward role-play". Instead, we should ask, "How do I encourage role-play". The answer is to empower players: make their choices matter. In my opinion, this is what gets people role playing more than anything else. It's also what differentiates table-top role-play from CRPGs. A CRPG can have a network of decision points and end points, but it's still a very finite thing. By and large, if the developers did not plan for players to do something, it can't happen except entirely by accident.

On the other hand, the table top DM can let the players start their lumber export business even if that was never the DMs intent. If the players want, they can start using the portal in the dungeon for transporting fine old-growth lumber to the far-away merchants of opulent Shangri-La. And it will be awesome.

NB: Why am I running an LFR game? My players like to feel like they have something at the end of a game. In this case, it means they'll have legal LFR characters that they can take to game days and conventions. It's a deal I have to make to get their attention. Ironically, it's the guy who suddenly wants to betray the party who usually objects the loudest to anything but LFR sessions. Maybe I'll get them on board for a liberated home-game when this arc is complete.

 

[Matt James]

You're assuming that I meant 'reward' as a tangible benefit, specifically to the character. Rewarding roleplaying is to encourage. Players want different things out of the game, how do you reward them for roleplaying? It's not the wrong question. It's simple a question to develop a dialog on the relationship between DM and player, and how you keep the RP aspect of the ame alive.

Point A to point B doesn't, and shouldn't, be a straight line. Infinite options can exist to get you there. The DM, however, should consider having a skeleton of what the story will be. No railroading is required.

 

[Scribble]

I'm not sure if this is specifically what you want, but I definitely think it's important to engage players in RP ways outside of the specific mechanics of the game. Not only does it keep the players invested in the game, but also helps you as a DM.

For instance one of the players in one of my old groups found some random NPC kid being mugged, and decided to save him. He then to my surprise said he wanted to also teach him a few moves to defend himself in the future... I thought this was a pretty cool idea and played up how much the NPC took to learning the moves. The player asked the NPC if he wanted to be his "apprentice." He did and so I re-stated the NPC as a low level ranger follower.

It really seemed to cause a connection between the player and that NPC more then just a random follower would get I think...

Later on, the NPC was petrified and had to be abandoned. The player had planned to go back to rescue him as soon as he could, but the NPC ended up becoming one of the main villains in the game.

The big reveal ended up being a pretty starwars NOOOOOO moment... and the player even seemed visibly shaken for a bit.

 

[bargle0]

You're assuming that I meant 'reward' as a tangible benefit, specifically to the character. Rewarding roleplaying is to encourage. Players want different things out of the game, how do you reward them for roleplaying? It's not the wrong question. It's simple a question to develop a dialog on the relationship between DM and player, and how you keep the RP aspect of the ame alive.

Fair enough. I think "encourage" encapsulates a broader concept than "reward", but I can see your point of view.

Point A to point B doesn't, and shouldn't, be a straight line. Infinite options can exist to get you there. The DM, however, should consider having a skeleton of what the story will be. No railroading is required.

I don't mean to imply that Point A to Point B is railroading, necessarily. In short, I think the DM should allow for players to go somewhere other than Point B, and should allow the PCs to reach point B in a way never anticipated during planning.

To answer your original post directly:

The best way to reward role-playing is to let choices that are the result of role-play matter at a fundamental level.

 

[Matt James]

My last reply to you reads very mean-spirited. It was not my intent. Just wanted to say that.

I like your definition/answer.

 

[Drammattex]

Can't give XP to bargle or scribble anymore, but thumbs up.

Hm, maybe ENWorld needs a "Like" or "+1" sort of feature.

 

[Rhenny]

Very interesting thread. I totally agree that roleplaying is a reward in itself and like so many have said or implied, roleplaying decisions have consequences that either affect plot or characterization. Sometimes, instead of awarding players for roleplaying, the DM just needs to give the players more situations where roleplaying furthers the quest or adds to character depth. When this happens, roleplaying isn't "fluff." In fact, when roleplaying leads characters to great locations, success in future quests, interesting treasures, or critical pieces of information, roleplaying becomes the "meat" of the game, and combat becomes the "fluff."

If combat becomes a "bad" choice, "roleplaying" becomes more attractive by comparison. Because of this, I often present my players with opportunities to encounter intelligent monsters and NPCs that the PCs know are too powerful to attack. Then, as they roleplay, they either gain allies, enemies, or fail to influence. A great reward could be that the young dragon that the party did not kill, will one day, when it is more mature, help the PCs fly to a difficult location, or it may just give them information that will help them defeat another villian that the PCs are concerned about, or it may give one of the PCs a special item.

But, as always, make sure you know your players and strike the right balance. Combat and Roleplaying are both very important for making the game more exciting.

Cheers.

 

[was]

I think that good roleplaying is still an essential part of the game and I appreciate a GM that rewards it.