My Players wont Roleplay

[wizardneedsfood]

Get out of the dungeon. It bears repeating. Dungeon crawls aren't exactly the best place for deep in-character introspection.

 

[Janx]

I think the problem is your encounters are combat encouters.

For example, we get to a hallway, and at the end in a 6x5 wooden door, with a doorknob. Then a player says, "We open it". Then they walk in, and are approached by a small group of goblins, with bloodlust in their eyes as they slowly approach the heroes and he says, "I attack one".

Most players would react with "I attack!" given that description.

You need to give encounters where direct combat is OBVIOUSLY not the best solution. You shouldn't make your next session an "all talk" game. If they like dungeon crawls, stick with it. But add some spots where talking gets them something.

Hostage scenes are good. A goblin with a kid being held makes it harder to kill right away. Heck, if they shoot and hit the kid, that'll have repercussions (which you should tell the player before they fire). Finding a prison cell section (with imprisoned good guys to talk to) can lead to something ("hey, let me out and I'll draw you a map of the next level").

Make them say what their character says. Don't let them get away with "I tell the goblin to let the kid go" make them tell the goblin directly ("we got you outnumbered, let the kid go or we'll enjoy slowly cutting you to pieces")

Get them invested in the campaign. If they don't have something they're trying to achieve that is directly tied to the world, they're not going to roleplay as well. A guy who "wants more powerful weapons" isn't too concerned with the details of the world, other than where the next dungeon is. Whereas, a guy who is looking for "the Sword of Ciderak" may be more interested in who wielded it last, and how all the guys who held it, became kings.

Typical easy hooks are:
looking for a specific item (tell them about a dungeon that has a specific item, not a dungeon that might have some magic stuff)

advancement in career (military career, etc. I want to become a general!)

Business advancement (give the players the pieces of a company, and they may take it up, trading or shipping company, etc)

Most role-playing comes from players finding other things to advance BESIDES their character's level.

 

[maddman75]

Is this a fairly new group? Have you taken over DMing from someone else, or have you guys only been playing six months. If so, they simply may not realize there's anything other than hack & slash.

Talk to them at first, let them know you'd like to do more role-playing. Another thing you can do is parse the dice into more tangible results. For example, don't just let it go with a player say "I hit the goblin for six." When he says that, reply with something like "You drive your sword at the creature. It squeals like a stuck pig as your blade buries itself in its shoulder!" Make sure you make the PCs sound cool. With a little luck, they might start doing it themselves! If so just roll with it.

Or Wulf may be right as well. They just might not want to role play. I'd look for some other players if you want to role play and they don't. Personally I don't see why total hack & slashers play tabletop at all - computers do it so much better.

 

[Westgate Polks]

First off, welcome to the boards. It's always nice to have new folks join, post questions, and comment on other posts - helps keep the perspective fresh.

If I understand your post correctly, I gather that you would like the players to be more descriptive with what they do and be more 'in character" during combat and such. If this is your primary area of concern, there are a few simple techniques that can work.

1. One-Time adjustments. To encourage PCs to use their surroundings, be in character, and be more descriptive that just "I attack one", be willing to assign a one-time +1 (or higher) bonus as a reward for well-described in-character actions. Not only is this a simple solution, but it is instant gratification for the PCs. They act a certain way and get an immediate tangible pop for it.

2. Experience. As has been mentioned above, award an XP bonus to those working on role-playing to indicate you appreciate their efforts.

3. Lead by Example. Again, several above posts suggest showing the PCs what you are looking for.

Of course, I recommend taking some time before the next gaming session and speaking with your players. It is possible (as was mentioned above) that some folks are not interested in the role-playing aspect of the game. Trying to "fix" problem will result in you running a game that does not mesh with the players preferences.

Best of luck to you! Be sure to let us know what you attempt and how it works out.

 

[diaglo]

Hey all, im a DM at D&D for about 6 months now. Weve been running a campaign in a custom created world, and its been working pretty well, except for one thing. While they have expert tactics(they use flanking, formations, support etc.) and good charecters, I cant get them to roleplay. They solve situations like they are in the real world. For example, we get to a hallway, and at the end in a 6x5 wooden door, with a doorknob. Then a player says, "We open it". Then they walk in, and are approached by a small group of goblins, with bloodlust in their eyes as they slowly approach the heroes and he says, "I attack one". Any help is appreciated.

it is a building exercise...for new players and new DMs.

in your examples.... they pretty much only have 1 answer available to them... if you don't give them examples of possible other solutions...

You: You see a door.
Them: we open it.


they aren't experienced either... so perhaps they aren't asking enough questions to get you to be more descritptive or set more wheels spinning.


You: there are various tracks leading to and from the door. the torch has burned out... so you will need a light source.

them: what kind of tracks? how many? is the door locked? how long ago was the torch used?

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

First off, I agee that talking with them is the first step. I did this with my group and found one person who has no interest whatsover in role-playing his character, he just enjoyed the tactical challenges. Others were just not comfortable doing it, and one player felt he was an excellent role-player and siafd he loved doing it even though he really never did much of it at all, other than having an attachment to his family heirloom weapon. Anyway, we role-playing bonuses had a bad effect on those who were not interested in in role-playing, so we stopped that.

Anyway, the point of course is to try and help you, so what I have done to help draw out the people who are less comfortable role-playing is to use the NPCs. In one situation, the party needed to find a map that someone in town who passed away was reported to have had. The party went to the house this person used to live in and asked the woman living there currently if they could look around the house. I role-played this woman to the hilt. Starting out a little suspicious and scared of these strange, armed people, she would not let them in. I kept in-character the entire time when speaking with the group. When they responded out-of character to me, they made little progress with her. But hen they tried to convince "me" to let them in in-character. I played up more interest in what they were saying. Eventually they talked their way in and even had her making them tea, chatting the whole time while they searched for hidden compartments in the house where a map might be hidden.

It is slow progress each time we play, but I am getting more and more from my shy players, and the person who thought he was a great role-player seems to be learning something as well. I don't let role-playing non-combat situations dominate my game since I still have the one person who doesn't like that aspect as much, and the others still enjoy a good fight.

 

[ShinHakkaider]

Been at it six months? Good start!


Now... If you want to kill your game, follow the above advice.

More practical advice is to either run the kind of game your players WANT to play (and judging from your description it sounds like they just want to kick down doors and kill bad guys), or find new players who want to play the kind of game you want to run.

I'm not saying that it can't be done (convincing non-RPers to RP) but experience has taught me that you're most likely just going to create a game that's a drag for everybody involved... you and your players.

Remember that the point of all of this is to have fun. Don't waste time and frustration trying to put square pegs into round holes. Let your players have fun. If you absolutely positively won't enjoy yourself unless your players are roleplayers, you need to find new players. You can do it now, or you can do it later when your current players drift away from your game because you aren't giving them the gaming experience they are showing up for.

Wulf

Best answer thus far...

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

Personally I don't see why total hack & slashers play tabletop at all - computers do it so much better.

Because it's possible to not enjoy roleplaying but still to enjoy social interaction with friends.

Pretty simple, really.


Wulf

 

[Umbran]

Now... If you want to kill your game, follow the above advice.

More practical advice is to either run the kind of game your players WANT to play (and judging from your description it sounds like they just want to kick down doors and kill bad guys), or find new players who want to play the kind of game you want to run.

If you want to kill your game, follow the above advice

I think Wulf is jumping the gun here. You've only been at it for six months. If your players have only been playing as long, I submit that you folks haven't tried enogh to know what kind of game you want. You've been given a buffet, and have only tried one dish.

However, there's no need to go into complicated things with chips and all yet. By your description, you haven't given them much reason to role play yet. When faced with a door, they'll go through it. When faced with a bunch of goblins that have bloodlust in their eyes, of course fighting is going to be one of the first options.

As others have mentioned - the best way to experiment is to start giving them encounters where fighting is not the obvious conclusion. Give them situatiosn where the best way through is to talk. If they still choose to fight, have them face the consequences.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

I think Wulf is jumping the gun here.

Just cutting to the chase.

For a DM who's been at it only 6 months, now is a perfect time to nip any bad habits in the bud.

Bad habits like, "I am the DM, and I have a story to tell, dammit, so the players just better learn to dance to MY tune!"


Wulf