Any DMs ever try this?

[Mallus]

And if you seem so scared of the thought, let me just say lucky your not in my group.

Not scared, I just don't see how it would work in practical terms beyond the length of an encounter or two.

There are a lot more ways to roleplay then through spoken words.

Sure. But none of them as effective.

Sign language and pantomime can be a lot of fun with the right group and if done very sparingly.

Change that to 'very sparingly' and I could agree with you.

Your probably not an ideal candidate for this which is fine.

That's probably true. In the game I run, if the NPC's couldn't talk, the session wouldn't be worth playing. That said, I'd love to play what you're describing. I'd curious to see if could be proven wrong.

As to wiping out player interaction, I disagree 110%. If your players aren't open to trying to communicate without talking maybe so. If they are, it actually makes interactions between players even better.

How do see this working? In a combat situation, it's fine. In fact, it would be comedy gold (as are most D&D fights when the PC's fail to communicate).

How would characters formulate/discuss complex plans without langauge? If the PC's are literate, and you force the players to write everything down, all you've done is switch them to a slower, less efficient method of communication.

If they can't write, then you've pretty much eliminated the ability to share complicated and/or abstract ideas. Tedium would set in quick. I can't see this doing anything but killing any kind of nuanced play in favor of pure 'kick down the doors' action.

I suppose it really depends on the environment the players are trying to navigate. If its tighttly bounded, like a dungeon complex, I suppose it might work better...

From my experience, some players have enough trouble communicating using something as familiar as their native tongue. Asking them to rely on sketch artistry or mime or whatever else seems like a insurmountable barrier to meanigful communication.

Neat idea for part of a single session, though.

 

[The_Warlock]

Very intriguing idea, and very workable if you have players who are willing to think outside the box.

In a low power D&D game I was in, my character (psywar/rogue) and the primitive shaman (barbarian/cleric) would often communicate complex battle plans to each other in character with hand symbols so that the enemies wouldn't hear us talking.

In real life, myself and the other guy would actually just come up with appropriate hand signals on the fly for what we were doing, and often scared the other players and the DM with the speed with which we could relay relevant tactical information to each other without uttering a word while the DM was describing things to another player or other players were holding a conversation, only to be weirded out by us creating Combat Sign Language on the fly.

The biggest problems you will face is some players will literally stop talking as they get into it, and some people may not be as quick picking up sign and body language, so there will be a disconnect in the clarity and rapidity of communication between some players. This can lead to some feeling left out.

Things which are important:

Let the players develop their own creole of sign language. It'll end up being more personal, and after the adventure is long passed, they may surprise you and use it in tense, stealthy situations.

The lack of lots of gamers talking may seem jarring, have a well thought out selection of ambient sounds and music. Since the characters are limited in their communication, add sound to the run which helps communicate clues and environment.

Lots of visual handouts.

And, while it may be over the top, if you have a sand-table, or an On Your Table mini-Zen Garden...set that up so that the Players can draw in the sand. It's not something anyone would expect, but when all you can say is "urghl", the ability to draw what you mean in the dirt is a cool prop, and yet a terrifying reminder of what you have lost.

Good luck...and please make sure to let us know how it goes if you do it...

 

[The_Warlock]

I almost forgot....

Oh, and if any characters actually have artistic skills (Profession: engraver, calligrapher, illustrator, etc)...allow them to "speak", since they will have a visual language which they can utilize...This allows some player communication from people who may have skills they took for background reasons and may never have thought they would be actually used....

 

[JVisgaitis]

If they can't write, then you've pretty much eliminated the ability to share complicated and/or abstract ideas. Tedium would set in quick. I can't see this doing anything but killing any kind of nuanced play in favor of pure 'kick down the doors' action.

When you said player interaction, I thought you were referring to the time they would spend interacting with each other, not how effective they are at it. My fault. I agree with it being more complicated and I wouldn't run a mystery-type adventure around this type of concept.

I won't be doing this for a few levels yet (the characters will be 2nd in our next adventure), but it is something I'd like to try. What I'm thinking of doing is having this take place in some sort of cavern-like complex where this creature was summoned. There will be hints sprinkled throughout such as notes from the wizard who summoned the beast and how it can be defeated. I'm thinking weapons that deal sonic damage would be very effective. I'm also considering putting in special rooms where the PCs can communicate freely (areas that the wizard had ensorcelled so he could work his magic).

I think it will certainly be difficult, but could make for a very cool adventure if ran correctly.

 

[Mallus]

My fault. I agree with it being more complicated and I wouldn't run a mystery-type adventure around this type of concept.

It is a good idea, used in the right circumstances. My initial responses were so negative because the games I run and play in would never qualify. I DM a game set in a sprawling city, where whole sessions pass wihout combat, and what enjoyment to be found it them comes largely from interacting with verbose NPC's. And the game I play in is monthly with 5-6 hour sessions. Anything that slowed the campaign down would be unworkable. I should've made that clear.

 

[JVisgaitis]

I DM a game set in a sprawling city, where whole sessions pass wihout combat, and what enjoyment to be found it them comes largely from interacting with verbose NPC's.

Well, in that case I certainly can't see it working...