D&D 4E How Will 4e Encourage Role Playing?

[Zaruthustran]

they're not going to spend it figuring out why Tinklewillie Gleependorp left his cozy burrow to chase after the assassin's chalice in the first place.

Er... why did he leave his burrow?

Damn you, (contact), for making me want to hear more about even throwaway examples!

please finish Liberators of Tenh

 

[JoeGKushner]

Because new players only have so much attention/processing available, and if they're spending it trying to learn a rule-set, they're not going to spend it figuring out why Tinklewillie Gleependorp left his cozy burrow to chase after the assassin's chalice in the first place.

I tend to think role-play is picked up at the table and is more a function of game-group culture than it is rules or rule-book driven. That said, a chapter wouldn't hurt. RP is half the fun.


Okay, two-thirds of the fun.

I can see your point.

But if you're all new players with a new GM, where is the game-group culture coming from? Online play? Completely different beast no?

 

[Alnag]

I am really on two minds with this one. First, we really know very few pieces of information about this game. On the other hand the marketing is really, really heavy on crunchy combat meachanics (which is cool, indeed) but almost no info on some serious RP support.

I agree that smooth, good system facilitates RP.

I can see how monster roles helps to create non-combat encounters, or combat and RP encouters. Interesting twists and such.

What I am missing so far is some kind of DM's guide to player's RPG (something like Law's first chapter in DMG2), something about RP in PHB (much, much needed!).

And seriously something about alignment and RP... or some such thing.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Role playing can be encouraged (and maybe this is even the best way to encourage it) simply by having a superior system - one that is quick and easy to learn, runs smoothly and efficiently with few interruptions for looking stuff up, and that is fun to work with.

Yep. Roleplaying happens the most when the game enables fun stuff to happen and then gets the hell out of the way.

4E (like True20 before it) sounds like it's going down that path. My group already roleplays at the drop of a hat. It'll be interesting to see if 4E brings out even more.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Role playing can be encouraged (and maybe this is even the best way to encourage it) simply by having a superior system - one that is quick and easy to learn, runs smoothly and efficiently with few interruptions for looking stuff up, and that is fun to work with.

In my experience one of the things that encourages role-playing most is including in the books some kinds of hooks or springboards that spark off ideas.

A superior system might help you with the mechanics of it, but isn't likely to inspire you to consider playing a dispossed bastard noble's son, a cheeky street urchin or a cultured librarian - but something like the PHBII archetypes which stonegod mentioned certainly would.

It doesn't even have to be as long as those archetypes, and I'd suggest that it was handled completely separately from class information... but it would be great for sparking off role-playing character bases for people.

Cheers

 

[Li Shenron]

No, serously, the Player's Handbook is a terrible book when it comes to showcasing role playing and encouraging it. The Hero Builder's Handbook, D&D Dummies book, and Player's Handbook II are all far better.

I'm not saying the book needs relationship charts or needs players to come up with complex backstories that tie into the root of the campaign or anything, but I'd like to see something that provides reasons for role playing and rewards for doing it well.

Let the flames commence!

Generally speaking I think that the rulebooks don't have much responsibility with regard to roleplaying... certainly there are a few things that help inspire to roleplay: fluff text, examples, artwork... The rules themselves never really help much, and trying to make rules for RP sometimes has the opposite effects of making people not wanting to roleplay at all, if they get the feeling that they should go through mechanics to represent it. I'm in fact thinking about charts that have appeared on some products.

However, I have to say that DOWNTIME is what you we really need for the roleplay. Investigations, walking your way through the plot, meeting NPCs and interacting with them verbally (or at least, not chopping their heads off). Other side activities like crafting, knowledge gathering and even managing your equipment and possession, are not really roleplay but they help defining the personality of your PC.

The increasd focus of combat which I'm expecting from 4e, goes the opposite direction... I am sure that we will still be able to do all the RP we want between adventures, that's not under question! But still it strikes me bad to see the slogan "4dventure!" and then feel like the focus is going more and more into combat... Of course combat is an important part of adventures, but what about investigation? Scouting? Traps and puzzles? Maybe "4ction!" would have been a more faithful slogan?

 

[LostSoul]

Role playing can be encouraged (and maybe this is even the best way to encourage it) simply by having a superior system - one that is quick and easy to learn, runs smoothly and efficiently with few interruptions for looking stuff up, and that is fun to work with.

Yeah, that wasn't true in my case. I started with Basic (Moldvay or whatever) and that was (and is) a good system. How much "role-playing" (acting in character) did we do? None.

If they put in a rule that said something like, "In order to roll the dice, you have to describe how your character acts," that would help. Throw out examples for combat, skills, whatever. For something strict along these lines, look at Dogs in the Vineyard.

 

[LostSoul]

The increasd focus of combat which I'm expecting from 4e, goes the opposite direction...

I don't think 4e is going this way, considering some of the things we've heard about making social and other non-combat encounters more exciting.

 

[Li Shenron]

I don't think 4e is going this way, considering some of the things we've heard about making social and other non-combat encounters more exciting.

I don't know, we have to see... But certainly lots of gamers are calling for even more combat and less "everything else", and WotC listens to the market.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Generally speaking I think that the rulebooks don't have much responsibility with regard to roleplaying... certainly there are a few things that help inspire to roleplay: fluff text, examples, artwork... The rules themselves never really help much, and trying to make rules for RP sometimes has the opposite effects of making people not wanting to roleplay at all, if they get the feeling that they should go through mechanics to represent it. I'm in fact thinking about charts that have appeared on some products.

I don't think that people are calling for 'rules for roleplaying'.

What they are identifying is the usefulness of having text which spurs people to consider how they could roleplay - which is something that I would think an RPG rulebook would want to take very seriously