Meta-Game Rewards for In Character Play

[Reynard]

The simplest example, of course, is bonus XP for "good role-playing" or whatever term you like to use. I am not really talking about that, though.

IME, it is very difficult for players to engage in certain kinds of in-character role-playing, particularly the kind that might be construed as "losing". Fear is the most obviosu example, whether it comes from going into a dark hole filled with things that want to eat you, the shambling dead that want to eat you, or the house sized fire breathing lizard that wants to eat you and take your stuff. Certainly, there are mechanical ways to simulate fear and 3.x does a good jonb with those. But as often as not, players will accept whatever the mechanical penalties are and keep on trucking, not really "playing afraid". And if there isn't a mechanical effect, few players ackowledge the scariness of a situation at all.

Fear isn't the only "negative" role-playing situation, of course: all the classical vices come to mind as things both real people and literary heroes fall prey to all the time, but rarely impact D&D protagonists (well, Greed, but that's about it...)

So, I am trying to think of ways to encourage the "that's what my character would do" mentality, even when that thing wouldn't be beneficial for the character. But I don't want to be punitive -- I don't want to punish a player for not playing the way I think they should. trather, I want to reward a player for playing their character as a dynamic, complex individual that its cold stone cool (or whatever) all the time.

The only thing I can think of off the top of my head is giving at Action Dice for such behavior. Any ideas?

 

[Aholibamah]

In my own experience you have to build up a certain amount of trust with your players, and sometimes reinforce this by telling them. This means that while you let the dice do the talking most of the time the players know that you actually would rather that they succeeded and are disappointed with them when they don't.

Also you can emphasize that it is not like a video game--just because they lose an encounter or a battle or something doesn't mean they can't somehow prevail.

 

[LostSoul]

Allow PCs to have some descriptive traits. Greedy, Coward, Venal, etc.

When they play to that trait, and it gets them in trouble, action point.

 

[BeauNiddle]

One of the problems is you DONT actually want them to roleplay their fear. What you want them to roleplay is being brave enough to confront their fear - by going down into the hole / cave / lair / etc.

Having one (or more) players suddenly derailing the game because 'their character' would refuse to do said action is much worse, IMO, than fearless characters. At least as a player I've found that while occasionally it's nice to do one of those in-depth roleplaying scenes where you persuade / support a character to do something they aren't predisposed to do it gets very wearing when you have to plan sessions around avoiding other players character flaws.

But then again maybe I'm just be judgemental.

action points / bennies / maybe even a blessing seem the most reasonable rewards - non permanent affects that allow the character to be a bit better for the next scene. XP rewards I'm less fond of due to their permanent nature.

 

[FATDRAGONGAMES]

action points / bennies / maybe even a blessing seem the most reasonable rewards - non permanent affects that allow the character to be a bit better for the next scene. XP rewards I'm less fond of due to their permanent nature.

Ditto. I've tried XP rewards and rapidly changed my mind. I just pass out poker chips (bennies) that can be cashed in to re-roll a die roll later on. Watch out for players wanting donating their chips to another player in the game in a clinch situation-I do not allow this.

 

[Mishihari Lord]

Cookies

or Krispie Kreme doughnuts

More immediate gratification than game-related stuff and fewer game-related problems down the road.

 

[DestroyYouAlot]

HackMaster solves this problem rather handily, with Honor. In a nutshell, playing your character according to their race, class, and alignment, especially when it's against the character's best interest to do so, will earn you Honor. (So will general bad-assery, but this is supposed to be a heroic game, no?) You have an Honor bracket according to your level. Being in Honor is the default state, having no in-game effect. Being in Great Honor nets you +1 on any die rolled during the game, and a mulligan (once-per-session reroll), not to mention better reactions from the general populace. Being in Too Much Honor strips you of the benefits, and the chances for wandering monsters double. (The gods dislike hubris.) Being in Dishonor gives you a -1 to every die roll, and marks you with a karmic bullseye. (It's not unheard of for a HackMaster PC to find themselves in an Honor spiral that ends up claiming their characters - it's that central to the game.) The actual in-game application is tricky at first, but it's very effective at encouraging certain behaviors - all you need to do to adapt it to your game of choice is to change what behaviors are rewarded.

 

[Aust Diamondew]

Cookies

or Krispie Kreme doughnuts

More immediate gratification than game-related stuff and fewer game-related problems down the road.

Seems it would cause more out of game problems denying cookies to some players and then giving them to others based on when the DM thinks they roleplayed well.

Roleplaying is an game thing=in game reward (if any).

Of course good roleplaying produces intangible rewards, just as smartly fighting your way past an obstacle does.

 

[Thondor]

The World of Darkness (eg Vampire, Werewolf) has an interesting system that pertains to this.
Each character must pick a Virtue and a Vice, when a character acts against what is best for them in accordance with their virtue or vice they gain a willpower point. The vices are based on the 7 deadly sins, there are seven virtues to but I'm not sure how they decided on those.
I don't really understand action points (never played with them myself) but I presume that this would be a reasonable substitute for willpower. The real point is that the character must act in such a way as to seriously make there life more difficult. An example is a character with the Justice virtue not killing an hated enemy, knowing of course that the Law may not find him guilty or he may break free. Another is one with Gluttony for alcohol becoming drunk when he know's he needs to make a good impression -- the result dire consequences.
Regardless these souldn't be given out frequently or lightly.