Help a roll-player role-play!

[Asmor]

So, one of the things I'm trying to do is get myself to actually role-play more often. I'm a dyed-in-the-wool combat-maniac roll-player by nature, but I really want to add more role-playing to my repertoire.

I'm currently DMing a biweekly game, and I'm trying to force myself to create situations where I can roleplay. So far, that's basically just meant that there's an NPC or two that the party has to interact with while in town. Even on the frequent occasions when an NPC is travelling with them, I tend to completely forget they're even there. Hell, they've got a half-ogre bodyguard right now that I forget to roll initiative for most of the time, never mind actually role playing his reaction to whatever's happening.

Here's some problems I've identified...

*I don't feel like I can keep it up for very long even if I force myself to do it. I tend to rely on combat as a crutch just to fill up game sessions, because I don't think I can prepare enough non-combat content to last the typical 4 hours or so of net play time after taking into account breaks and such.

*I have an incredibly difficult time trying to come up with... "interactions," for lack of a better word. For example, I'd love to run a game full of political intrigue, people plotting against each other, etc, but the mere thought of trying to come up with a plot line like that just boggles my mind.

So... I guess what I'm trying to ask for in way too many words is advice on 1: Making RP last and 2: Creating and organizing complex, character-driven plots.

 

[Glyfair]

I'm sure you'll get a lot of tips, but I think you are trying the toughest way. When you aren't experienced or comfortable roleplaying it's hard to do it as a GM. It's like diving into the deep end of a pool.

I recommend you find yourself a game to play in that is somewhat roleplay oriented. Get comfortable with being in character for a length of time that way.

After you get comfortable there, start small. You have a half-ogre in the party now, so give him some hooks. Maybe he constantly confuses homonyms ("Why not eat the steak instead of putting in vampire's heart?") Maybe he's feels protective of a party member who he isn't a bodyguard for. He gets in a quandry when both are threatened at the same time (maybe being indecisive for a turn).

Maybe he's deathly afraid of something. Have him run away at the first sight of a goblin or rat, If the party has to spend time convincing him to enter the dungeon because he saw a mouse will add a roleplaying encounter to the night, and even create continuity when the players find out they have to capture a wererat.

 

[Harmon]

First things first, give your characters accents, and patterns to their speech.

Next, try placing yourself in the position you find your characters, pretend that you are there in the tavern, sitting with your friends, talking, laughing, and toosting fallen friends and complimenting the villians that fought so well. "Here's one to that Ettin- he nearly cleaved my shield in two."

Tell your GM and fellow Players that you want to try to get into role playing, and that you arn't very good at it and you need help. Friends will help you, people not your friends will laugh and mock.

About the combat solid campaigns, I like a campaign that starts with a fight, has a good fight in the middle of the session, and one right at the end. Thing is I like that as much as I like the role playing, so you and I have something in common.

Try the accents first, and the speech pattern. Squent an eye, or tilt your head to the left while you speak, or something different so that everyone knows its your character talking and not you.

 

[robberbaron]

Remember that Role-Playing isn't some mystical power that you are born with - it is just acting. You don't have to be a great actor to be a great DM. Sure, it helps, but you don't have to have polished characterisations of every NPC you create. Some of them really are dull and uninteresting.

My tips would be:
Relax. Don't force it and risk going too far the other way - having all non-combat encounters (everybody likes combat).

Use accents. Make your major/recurring NPCs different from each other. Again, don't overdo it or you'll get laughs instead of player participation.

Practice. I know it sounds daft but practice your voices. Practice your mannerisms in a mirror. Practice being someone else.

 

[Herobizkit]

So, one of the things I'm trying to do is get myself to actually role-play more often. I'm a dyed-in-the-wool combat-maniac roll-player by nature, but I really want to add more role-playing to my repertoire.

A noble quest. There is a time and place for everything, and talking is no exception.

[...] So far, that's basically just meant that there's an NPC or two that the party has to interact with while in town.

And for starters, that's perfect. Keep in mind that you're telling a stroy through the NPCs. Each NPC can be, but doesn't have to be, as detailled as any Player Character. That in mind, try and stat out a few key NPC's per area the PCs intend to visit, but add a few quirks/interests/habits to them as well. For example, in my d20 Modern game, I made an NPC called "Big Red" -- he was a Dwarf Mage, with a flaming red beard, scottish accent, and always wore a kilt. He's actually a tattoo artist, but got mixed up in a gang war on his block and became more "martial". I got my inspiration from an actual tattoo artist in my hometown; he was every bit the Norseman, complete with flaming red beard which he wore in braids. Since it's generally assumed that Dwarves have a Scottish accent (for some reason), it was easy to add that in, and ditto the kilt. I also took Mage because I wanted him to be able to draw magical "tattoos" like scrolls for non-spellcasters. Fun stuff. The moral? Use real-life people as inspiration for your NPCs.

Even on the frequent occasions when an NPC is travelling with them, I tend to completely forget they're even there. Hell, they've got a half-ogre bodyguard right now that I forget to roll initiative for most of the time, never mind actually role playing his reaction to whatever's happening.

To be fair, you have enough things to worry about as DM without worrying about add-on NPCs. Leave the dice-rolling to the person he's supposed to be guarding, and worry about the rest of the monsters.

*I don't feel like I can keep it up for very long even if I force myself to do it. I tend to rely on combat as a crutch just to fill up game sessions, because I don't think I can prepare enough non-combat content to last the typical 4 hours or so of net play time after taking into account breaks and such.

If you can talk, you can make a non-combat situation last 4 hours, IF comabt is not an option, or the PCs are really enjoying the event in question. It's much harder to entertain a group with "just talking"; there's always someone itching to fight, sooner or later. The idea, though, is this... keep the PCs talking. If you require PCs to talk to a NPC to get a goal, make that goal require another NPC -- to buy stuff from, to get info from, to harrass them, or to just follow them around and comment on everything they do.

*I have an incredibly difficult time trying to come up with... "interactions," for lack of a better word. For example, I'd love to run a game full of political intrigue, people plotting against each other, etc, but the mere thought of trying to come up with a plot line like that just boggles my mind.

Those kinds of adventures are really hard to make if you're not a decent writer. BUT, there are easy ways around this, as well. Try watching CSI, for example. Keep a running log of the main characters, people they talk to, how those people are related to others in the show (ie this person is the daughter of that person; this guy saw that girl at the parking lot where the daughter from the previous example also saw that girl), and how the crime resolves itself. If that doesn't suit you, try playing Clue. In Clue, you have to make all sorts of logical yes/no conclusions and filling out boxes on your score sheet to "rule out" people. In the same vein, design an adventure based on the same logic puzzles... there are books with all kinds of said puzzles in them. I designed a murder mysery based on such a logic puzzle and it went over very well; one victim, 8 suspects, all had a reason for why they'd want the victim killed.

The secret for making RP last is to keep talking until your audience gets bored. Making character-centric plots... watch more TV.

 

[InVinoVeritas]

Role-playing doesn't have to be added artifically; it's what happens all the time, both in and out of combat. Non-combat is everything that happens when you're not in combat, from intrigue to ordering a beer to sleeping.

Role-playing can also involve roll-playing at the same time. It's discussing strategy, sharpening weapons, haggling for that armor, and learning Fireball.

In addition, role-playing can even happen in the middle of combat. It's taunting your opponent, casting that Fireball with a flourish, or even charging that troll because it just has to die.

In short, virtually anything can be role-playing. It doesn't mean you have to choose a substandard combat style, or avoid combat, or artificially inject it into your game. Role-playing can just happen.

To add more role-playing to your game, think about your surroundings. Where are the PCs? What are they doing? Is it sunny, raining, cold, hot? Have they just made a friend? Insulted someone? Learned a juicy rumor? What do the townspeople think of the PCs?

Just keep asking these questions. Try to imagine yourself as being in the world, living in the world, and being the NPC or monster or whatever. What would you do? What would you say? What would you think? That is the essence of role-playing.

The best thing is that it can be done both in combat and out of combat. For example, in my Paridon game (see my sig) the PCs have met with a lot of people in non-combat situations, but they've also met with people in combat situations. Lug is an example of someone who is pretty much only met in combat, but he's still talking, thinking, and responding to the PCs.

If you're more comfortable with combat, then you might want to start with role-playing in combat. The half-giant bodyguard: why is he there? How does he fight? How do you think he would react to himself standing around in a combat forgetting about initiative? Why does he do what he does? If you're asking and answering these questions, then his responses will be natural and role-playing.

Also, as you get better at this, you'll find that you don't have to actually develop complex, character-driven plots; the characters will do this for you, both PC and NPC. So, the BBEG escapes this time and hides out in town? Great. So, the barmaid at the town was leered at inappropriately and didn't get a tip from the PCs? So what happens if the barmaid serves the BBEG when he walks into the bar? If they learn about each other's dislike of the PCs, they might work together... and now there's a spy with a cover story of a barmaid. Believe me, the complex, character-driven plots will write themselves after a while.

You've already taken the first steps and done a fine job. Keep practicing, and it gets easier.

 

[Herobizkit]

Also, if you're not keen on NPC's "on the fly", you can always fall back to stereotypes. Take the Archie folks, for example:

Archie Andrews: clean cut all-around good guy; loves cars and two women
Jughead Jones: quirky best friend; lazy, loves food and hates women
Reggie Mantle: cocky, snarky prankster; loves bugging Archie and showing off
Veronica Lodge: snobby Daddy's rich-girl; loves money and attention
Betty Cooper: tomboyish girl-next-door; loves Archie and being nice

and the random crew:
Dilton Doiley: brainiac, short, nerdy
Moose Mason: duh Jock, strong and slow
Big Ethel: tall, lanky, awkward, ugly
Chuck Clayton: coach's son, cartoonist and athlete... arguably the "token black guy".

... and that's just off the top of my head. Building "on the fly" NPCs with these (and similar) basic guidelines, you can develop more details as you go... and as you go, their stories get more interesting, and longer...

 

[Alnag]

First thing first. I think, if you like the "roll-playing" or rather combat element of the game more, there is no need to force yourself into the "role-playing" or rather story element of the game. As a player you should enjoy the elements of the game, which brings you fun.

On the other hand, as a DM you have to accent the elements of game, your players enjoy. This might bring problems if you group contain players with different tastes. Which is the most probable case.

Now, this first part of my post will not help you much. But I have to tell that. Now for adressing you games, more properly. You can really use the trick of "bang" and I guess, it will suit you well. Instead of creating complex plots (which is hard) you will prepare universal situations which will disbalance the party... and than you will LET THEM react on it.

The trick is to follow the lead of the players rather the other way. Not his "bang" situation is very much a suprise moment, which will make them to react. They will have to. You should prepare one bang for each player (based on their characters) and few universal ones.

The situation must be universally applicable, so you can use it no matter what. Some examples:

You wake up and find out, somebody has been searching something in your backpack. Your things are dispersed all around. But it seems nothing is missing.

(Now the player might react like... And what about the medailon? And you can react on that hook... with, yes the medailon is not there. And that make it something important...)

It is more complicated with NPCs. But possible as well. Players return to the home city. They visit their favourite hooker in the church of red lantern. ... "I am pregnant honey." BANG! Not with you, but with your brother!

You can add these "bangs" into combat as well. Your draw absolutely common sword. (1st level characters) It is shining with strange blue flame BANG! What's wrong with that sword?

The kobolds are attacking. Not in the traditional scattered band as usuall. They are using phalanx. And they actually surrounded you. The have improved their tactics 200%.

And so on...

 

[1upus]

Not sure I have much to add to whatever everyone else has written, but thought I would throw my two bits in anyway

Like many others here, I've played in many games, and to be honest, the bulk of our games end up being roll playing, rather than role playing. Why? Guess it's part of the group. The guy who is our regular GM tends to enjoy the combat aspect more than the gaming aspect, and hence we end up tackling most encounters with violence rather than tact. And, in our group, we found that D&D tended to bring out the hack and slashers in the party rather than role players. There just seemed to be more dungeon crawling than actual social encounters.

That changed a little while back when we had a new GM to the mix, plus a new system, in this case, it was AEG's 7th Sea. Looking back on it now, it wasn't so much the system as the GM, but the change in rule set as well as a setting where everyone had a feel for the setting seemed to bring out the role players in the group. Since everyone has seen a swashbuckling movie, it wasn't hard to think up a character concept to start with. From there, the GM seemed to be able to draw out the characters from their concepts. He tailor made encounters/events within the game to suit the characters, making each player grow the character even further. And, to make things more interesting, the GM liked political games,and set things up almost to the point where he had the party going after each other....not in a physically violent sense, but politically.

For a generally roll playing group, this was a major change in game play. What it took was a change to shake up the general malaise, plus a setting where everyone had some investment in. The GM filled in the reset by tailoring the game to the characters, rather than making the characters react to an encounter.

Since then, we have had a rotation of GMs and in most cases, we end up being very close to roll players again. Some GMs have had more success than others in getting the group to roll play, but never like that first instance.

We have just started Pendragon with that 7th Sea GM and the results are still the same. Less of a political game, hence less social interaction in that sense, but still more role playing from the group. Again, we have the same mix that draws out the role playing.
1] A setting that everyone is familiar with and can draw reference from quickly
2] A GM that interacts and tailors the game to the players, pulling on both the character's back story as well as the player's individual styles/preferences.

Not sure if that is of any help, but as someone else has written above, talk to the group and discuss what you are trying to achieve. Get a consensus from the group and go from there.

However, you are doing this the hard way. If you want to learn to role play, its probably easier as a player first, then a GM last. As a GM, not only do you have to focus on the NPCs the players have just encountered, you have to keep track of the larger picture/story.

 

[moritheil]

This is a topic near and dear to my heart. On ENWorld I am notorious for defending powergaming, but I only took up powergaming because I prefer to concentrate on roleplaying rather than worry about numbers or rolls during a session.

The greatest advice I can give you is that these things take time, and you should not expect them to come naturally. I last advised a player who was a weightlifter, and I explained to him that just as he wouldn't expect someone who had never gone into a gym before to go in and start with heavy weights, so too one should not expect to start with heart-wrenching drama. Start small and build your way up. Roleplaying is not an on/off switch; it comes in degrees.

The number one step to take is to separate your in-game knowledge from your metagame knowledge. That is, keep a list of what your character knows and thinks. Over time you will find that it diverges from what you know and think - often considerably.