DM: Encouraging More Role-Playing in an RPG

[Janx]

I swear I answered a thread like this last month on how to get the players to roleplay more...

I don't make my players write up huge backgrounds. I do ask that they give me a sense of what the PC is like. Is he smooth or gruff. Does he try to help people, or is he selfish.

I also try to make the quests be personally relevant to the PCs. I don't do quests to deliver a jug of milk to the far side of town for 5gp. Not unless the PCs are REALLY into running a milk delivery business or scabbling for coin.

Instead, I make quests that I thinkt he PCs would personally take an interest in. Perhaps because it revolves around a topic of import to them (I want to run this town, so of course I'm going to protect it).

Try to encourage 1st person dialog with important NPCs. Don't stop and dicker around buying turnips. But do try to setup instances where important NPCs ask the PCs for advice, "I'm having this kind of problem, what do you think I should do PC#2?"

The players may just like killing monsters and stuff, but you can still incorporate some role-playing moments into it. Don't just make the dungeon be yet another set of randomly generated rooms. Put some NPCs into the mix who need help or want what the PCs have. Don't just make it the typical screw-job quest. Introduce NPCs who want an item from Room 5 that they can't get, or want to use the 1st level dungeon as a base, after the PCs clear it. Anything that gets them interacting with people who are allies, or at least not threats.

Introduce some causes that the players might get behind (free the house-elves!). This also sets up the sympathetic villain. Make an NPC who believes in cause X, that some of the players also agree with. Over time, radicalize the NPC to where they've escalated operations from fund-raising, to protests, to acts of violence.

 

[ExploderWizard]

Episodic play tends to be more difficult with regard to roleplaying. Continuity in the gameworld really helps out but if if you are just jumping from self contained adventure to adventure then there isn't time to build up that continuity.

The same thing can happen in a game run by a single DM that doesn't get to run that often. If a month or more of real time goes by between sessions then its harder to remember what you were doing, who all the NPCs are, etc.

As for roleplaying within each adventure its really up to the individual and what he/she enjoys. Some people enjoy getting into character more than others. Self contained adventures can also feel like artificial tactical challenges to be won if there is no spillover into the next session. Its hard for a player to develop a rapport with the rest of a campaign when the DM position switches so often. If you form a friendship with an NPC is there any guarantee that the NPC will be around past that session? These are the kinds of things that can naturally lead to people engaging with each other and the adventure but not the game world.

Perhaps each DM could run his/her own campaign? You would still only have to run a game as often but things within each campaign would be consistent. It would also give all players a chance to play multiple character types.

The downside would be keeping up with so many characters and keeping what is happening in each campaign straight.

Best of luck.