Encouraging PC depth and group cohesion

[SuperJebba]

Hey, guys. So I'm about to embark on the WotBS and I need some ideas for helping my players creat their characters and group. Historically, my guys create their toons and don't put much thought into their backstory. And when said toon dies, they almost always would rather reroll then get the guy brought back to life. Likewise, the group never really becomes a group. This really hasn't been a problem because we normally do dungeon crawls and there isn't a whole lotta depth.

Lately, however, they've been getting much more into the story and been a little less about phat lewtz, so I'm encouraged by this.

With the WotBS, i feel like the most fun and fulfillment would be had if they really got into their characters and had an attachment to the world at large. I also feel that having good chemistry among the group, even if the players are of varying views that cause conflicts along the way, will create a richer experience.

Now I understand that this is a game and if the players have fun, that's all that matters. That being said, I would also like to have fun as the DM and see the players really get into the story I'm telling (surely I'm not the only DM who gets bummed out by the players not being as excited about the story as I am).

I don't want to railroad anyone into doing something they don't want to do, but I'm just looking for some tips and suggestions you guys have used to get your groups committed and more involved in their characters. Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[bobhayes]

Give them a bonus magic item for creating a backstory with in-game implications.

Something sketchy and half-assed, give them a potion or something.

Somebody writes up a page of great notes, give them a nice piece of magic armor.

Somebody creates a ten-page backstory complete with a map of their home village and the politics of it, give them a near-artifact unique item - to avoid unbalancing, make it limited use or something, but reward them.

 

[DumbPaladin]

I'm not opposed to the item rewarding, but if that's not your cup of tea, there are other ways to reward people who are making more of an effort:

-- Grant a bonus feat as a reward for something they've done, or even something they learned in their past (award the feat after reading what they've written), but ONLY do this after giving everyone a deadline to turn something in, so Player B can't watch Player A gain a feat, and then go write a backstory that screams out "give me bonus feat X"!

-- Make side quests into "character focus episodes". Hell, even make parts of the main plot focused on those characters whose players have put time into creating a rich backstory.

-- Reward people with actual histories with being able to draw upon those histories! If they grew up in village X or were friends with Y or part of organization Z, allow them (and only them) to benefit from those alliances, and the players with zero backstory will soon come to realize it is ONLY a benefit to them to have one.

 

[Greenfield]

Tell the players that you want some help in making the game world, and ask each of them to describe the city or country they come from. Who was the mayor or first citizen, etc.

Do it conversationally, and help them with the back story. And rather than handing them magical bennies, give them a point in Profession based on their background, and a few points of Knowledge - Local for their area.

Also, invent their childhood nemesis, that annoying older brother or sister, or some similar character that can evoke some emotional engagement.

In play, go technicolor. That is, use colorful descriptions of people and places. If you have any acting chops, play up the voices and/or mannerisms of the people they have to deal with. Try to draw them into the story being told. I mean, you're moving from dungeon crawls, which tend to be mostly traps and hack-n-slash, and into a world where back story helps. So do your part and provide some back story for the game world itself. Give them a place to hook their story to.

Hint: Simply saying, "We're playing in Greyhawk" won't cut it.

 

[Corsair]

Hint: Simply saying, "We're playing in Greyhawk" won't cut it.

I agree with this so much. DM's often don't realize how much simple things like how they describe the game to the players affects how the players prepare. Specifically, saying "hey guys, lets play X module" has a chilling effect on backstory, I've found.

 

[LostSoul]

New PCs start at level 1. (Or whatever WotBS says the lowest level is.)

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

Spend a session creating characters and then once they've statted them out spend a session on character development to determine how the party came together. Allow them to tweak their characters based on what comes out of the second session. Work in some story lines early on so the PCs know where they're headed.

 

[shadzar]

Only every so often will a gorup of random people be chosen for a task. More people working together and knowing each otehrs strengths and weakneses and working around them will get more work as a team.

Make it harder for them to take part a players constantly die and the team doesn't work together because people will not recognize their strengths.

If they want to lie about their strengths as a party to an NPC, pull out the bluff checks and such to see if the NPC recognizes that these people are not really known to each other enough to work together.

Might need a game before you start playing or so to pull this off. Couple of nights to get ready while you sort out the next big thing.

If they question why people are starting to not hire them or give them quests, whatever; just let an NPC tell them: You don't seem to know each other well and be interested in working together. We need people who are more together to perform this task.

If that doesn't work or explaining to them the number of new characters is becoming a problem for the game with party cohesion and such out of the game...then maybe they just have no interest in those things?

 

[Nebten]

The fact that the DM calls the characters "toons" probably is a good indicator as to why your players make them disposable. Tainted grape from the vine and all the stuff.

In WotBS, the characters will gain access to certain special powers (starting in the second module). If a character dies, these powers shouldn't transfer over to another PC. Therefore if the player wants to keep the power, the party should figure out a way to bring the PC back to life. Also, the characters will forge bonds with a number of NPCs by their actions. Later on in the story, these NPCs won't be as friendly to the situation if its a new adventuring group then they dealt with previously.

 

[Nomnath]

I personally don't like the idea of offering incentives for backstory or penalizing them for rerolling. Incentives for content makes it feel too much like homework. Rerolling should be a difficult choice to make, but it should be a choice espcially since in my games I sometimes kill them in ways that makes it so they can't be brought back.

What I do to make sure they aren't always rerolling is to make rerolls 2 levels lower than the highest level, so if sean is lvl 11 and bill dies, then bill comes back at 9. But then if sean dies and suddenly the highest remaining person alive is mike who is at 10, then sean has to come back at level 8. It prevents them from rerolling too much and incentivizes them to keep ressurect instead (only lose 1 level instead of 2) without being too punishing. I also rule that if they reroll a character, then they use avg PC wealth to create the character and all items that character has disappears (lost with the body) perhaps even removing items from the others if the reroller didn't have that much on him.




The biggest thing is, you have to get your players to identify with their characters. Force them to speak in character every now and then when they want to find information or diplomacise with a major NPC. It's fine if they don't have a backstory, you can force them to make one up in small bits over time.

Tricks:

-hit them with illusion spells that emulate their fears/desires. (at high levels drop a wierd and spend 20 mins talking about everyone's phobias)

-introduce a character that forces them to repeat a ritualistic greeting every time they meet that incorporates small amounts of backstory. (hello I am blank son of blank slayer of blank. I am the hero of westblank, the killer of blank the blank. I was trained in blank academy and had blanks for supper). Write down what they say and stress that failure to say it exacty as they jsut did will have consequences in the future.

-force them to have entry papers to a town and make the application process much longer than they're willing to wait, then allow them to BS a reason why they already applied a while ago into their backstory.

-send them to jail and have the jailor ask for character references... people they grew up with, family members, former employers, even the major law figures of their hometown.




If all else fails, invoke the plot device clause: If you lack a backstory element that opposes this, then I reserve the right as DM to insert it into you backstory, enjoy being the deadbeat dad of 8 kids.