PC to PC Banter Help

[EnochSeven]

Hi Folks

I'm getting back into roleplaying after a 25 year break and am quite rusty. Ok actually back when I played 25 years ago there was no roleplay at all....it was just hack and slash.

I find that I like the roleplay, but am struggling and could use some advice.

I would like to increase my banter between myself and other pcs in character. I don't really want anything too heavy, just something light and fun.

Here is what I have done so far:

1. Myself and another player are collecting tooth necklaces from worthy foes. During battle and after battle we discuss whether foes are worthy; it's pretty fun.
2. Myself and another character have hygene problems. There is amusing banter as we attempt to determine who is more foul - a minotaur or a dwarf.

When we start my next campaign in 4 weeks I've decided that my goliath will be an aspiring chef who will butcher interesting creatures we slay.

Again, simple stuff that's hopefully fun.

Can anyone suggest additional types of things? I'm looking for simple fun stuff, but eventually as I grow more proficient I'd like to have more depth than just what I have listed above.

Thanks for any examples or suggestions you may have.

 

[the Jester]

One of the easiest things to do is to affect a voice for your character; just exaggerate one trait (outrageous cockney accent, lisp, high pitched, etc). Some of the most memorable roleplaying that I have ever seen involved a pc with a lisp, alcoholism and a tendency to "dander the children on my knee". Hilarious!

Adding a like/hate/fear is good too. If your pc is afraid of spiders, you can roleplay it in an encounter, not by hamstringing yourself and not fighting, but by having your big goliath fighter shriek like a little girl every time the spider attacks him.

Then there are collections. Some pcs like collecting trophies from foes (your tooth necklaces); others might collect odd clothes, shoes, insects, stamps, books, etc.

Or give yourself an obsession. Speaking of shoes, one pc in my game some years back had a shoe fetish. Another was fascinated by doing "scientific" experiments with green slime and suchlike things. Maybe you insist on visiting all the temples in the towns you enter, or you refuse to defile a religious altar, even of an enemy faith. Maybe the first thing you do in each city is visit the whores' district. Maybe you're constantly examining the herbs and plants while the party travels.

In general, picking one trait and looking for opportunities to show it off is a good start. The possibilities are really endless.

 

[Oryan77]

It's good to see you making a strong effort to roleplay rather than only focusing on the technical parts of the game!

Maybe others will disagree, but I find it very hard to roleplay well if other players are not roleplaying much (this is from the DMing perspective). Interaction like you are talking about just comes naturally when others are also roleplaying their characters. So if my players are roleplaying and getting into it, then it makes me more comfortable and I can interact with them a lot better.

It sounds like you are already off to a good start. You and another player have a "quirk" for your characters that gives you something to talk about. But really, try not to think about things to talk about...just talk! All roleplaying really is is just being yourself....except you aren't yourself

When you are hanging out with your friends, do you think about what you will talk about before you meet up? Or do you meet up and just start talking about stuff? Roleplaying is no different really.

Ask yourself what kind of personality your goliath chef has. Is he friendly, stubborn, funny, etc etc? Just get a general idea. Then when you play, just remind yourself that you are a funny chef and when he talks, stay in character. Don't just respond as yourself, respond in the way you think the goliath would respond. If an NPC asks you if you want an ale, don't respond the way you might, "Naw.", or "Naw man, I'm cool." You should elaborate the best you can and respond the way a funny goliath chef might, "An ale? Is it watered down? This place is a dump and I ain't about to put no watered down drink in my gut!"

If the other PCs are discussing tactics for an encounter, stay in character and it might encourage them to do the same. These are great opportunities for roleplaying with fellow players. Don't just say, "I don't know man, Jake will just get his fighter killed if he does that. I think we should...." Instead, say it in character, "WHAT?!? That's the dumbest thing I've heard today! If Olgar wants to just run in like that, then fine....after the battle, I can make stew out of his carcass...I've always wondered what human meat tastes like."

Tavern encounters and marketplaces are a great time for roleplaying also. Talk to NPCs in character. Remember to ask the DM questions so you can interact more appropriately. Who's in the tavern? What are they wearing? What are they doing? How are they acting? Then, if one sounds interesting, approach that NPC and just start talking, "Any of you guys care to compete in a friendly arm wrestling match for a few gold?" And during & after the match, ask them questions, "So are you guys locals or just passing through?"

Players may not realize how much funner they can make the game if they simply force the DM to give more information. Simple interaction like this with NPCs and lots of questions about the surroundings can really spice up a game. It might have nothing to do with the adventure, but some of the funnest games are when we're just screwing around like this!

 

[Oryan77]

One of the easiest things to do is to affect a voice for your character; just exaggerate one trait (outrageous cockney accent, lisp, high pitched, etc).

This depends on the group of people you're playing with. I've watched groups roleplaying with voices where nobody seemed to mind, and I've heard people say that they like to use voices. But I've also heard a lot of people complain about it. I am not a fan of voices at all. It usually comes off as very creepy and uncomfortable, and usually annoying.

I probably wouldn't mind the DM doing a voice on occasion as long as it was insightful and not distracting. But when a player does it, man does it get annoying fast. It's also usually not very original (The dwarf with a Scottish accent? Or the Gnome with the high-pitch voice? Why must I suffer?).

As a player, I personally don't think you need a voice in order to roleplay better. And having a speech impediment sounds interesting, but it can get boring fast, and annoying even faster.

But if you & the rest of the players don't mind it, then use a voice. Obviously it works for some groups. But please, ask the other players first

 

[pneumatik]

I've had a lot of luck making a very flat character for my PC, at least to begin with. Make him extremely noble, or very negative, or depressed, or always confused, or something. Then just always think that way when you talk. It should make it easy to get into character. It will also give the other PCs / players something to comment on or respond to, since you'll be different than you normally are.

 

[Theo R Cwithin]

IMXP, most of it just comes from enthusiasm. Honestly, it sounds like you're already doing it right. Since your group is into it, that's 99% of the effort done.

There are lots of little tricks from improvisational acting. Some have mentioned accents. Key expressions or vocabulary ("Boy howdy!" "Great scott!" "my presioussesss") are also really good-- and easier to remember because you can jot them down for next time. An associated facial expression or carriage (eg. bug-eyed; squinty; frowny; hunched; etc) gives a consistent visual cue for others to hang on your character. And of course the "schtick", like your IC banter about hygiene, is what really fleshes it out.

IMO, it doesn't have to be complicated. If the group's into it, it'll work itself out.

 

[weem]

As a player, I think voices are great in moderation. It would get to me if someone used the voice every time their character spoke. I use various voices (nothing too 'out there' though) for my characters, but I think the key is to use it occasionally, particularly when you are stressing something important, or when you want to call attention to it. I do speak from my character's perspective as often as possible, but not always with the voice.

As a DM, there's a number of things I do to get people speaking from their character. I stopped at 2 for now because it got a bit long and I should be working right now, haha....

1) Have NPC's call attention to things (naturally in conversation) that are part of their character. It can be just about anything, and can include things the player never detailed like a tunic, or dirt on their boots for example...

NPC to PLAYER 1: "You have some crud on yer back my friend", he steps to your side and brushes off what appears to be a few leafs and webs, "You must have been walking through the brush."

It adds a bit of realism, or life to a conversation (which is cool anyway). More importantly, it also calls out "character" details that will probably illicit a response of some kind, of which the player will feel more compelled to answer from the characters point of view (in my experience).

2) I will sometimes give players insights into their environment based on their race, or class etc by drawing their attention to something that would not otherwise be noticed (generally because we feel it's not important enough to). That doesn't mean it has to be important though - much of my little rp interactions like these mean nothing mechanically to the game.

For example, you could tell the group as they enter a clearing in the woods, "the cluster of trees begins to part just head of you and eventually you step into a clearing". It's a simple descriptive statement aimed at everyone in general - nothing special.

But, you can get the same information to everyone by showing it to them from the eyes of just one of the party members as well. For example, instead of the above descriptive text aimed at everyone, I may instead turn (physically turn my body) and face the Elf of the group... "This place is as peaceful of an area as you have visited in a while. Your comfort with the natural essence around you allows you a read on the path ahead - you are quickly approaching a clearing"

This puts the player into the head of his character. He knows his character has learned this because of who he is. At this point, I think most players will feel prompted to say something - again, from their characters point of view - maybe warning the players to stop before the clearing, or maybe telling them it would be a good place to rest. Either way, there is a prompt there.

It also had the added bonus of giving that player a connection to an aspect of his character that makes him unique from the others in the group. These are things (unique aspects and attention) that I think players (including myself) really enjoy. They connect you to your character and help pull you into them. It effectively sharpens the image in your mind of your character which is great for prompting more RP from a player.

 

[blargney the second]

I like to come up with riffs outside of game time - short one-liners that encapsulate a certain facet of my character's personality. Then when the game is rolling I'll wait for a good moment to use the riff to maximum effect.

I guess it's like readying an action to dialogue.

 

[utopia27]

conflict and development

quirks and relationships are a good start - standing rifts. They also establish relationship with other characters.

One thing I've always worked towards is character motivation - for a given situation, what perspectives are driving the character's actions? Does the banter beween the dwarf and the minotaur create a bond of cameraderie? If the dwarf police try to arrest the minotaur, how does the dwarf resolve the conflict between his loyalty to his friend, and an inherently lawful nature and respect for the clan's authority? Can the minotaur bring himself to resist the impulse to smash the dwarf cops? Can his buddy the dwarf talk him down? Does the minotaur blame his friend the dwarf for the behavior of the dwarf cops?

I've got an eberron halfling druid(ess) "Fern" in a current campaign. She's generally a pretty mellow, though impulsive and somewhat impatiently ambitious personality. When a local Sheriff banned her companion dinosaur from town ("looks dangerous") Fern reacted... poorly. The adventuring group was relatively new - and she was definitely the outsider. She didn't have a huge bond with her party yet ("not my tribe"). But she had a strong STRONG bond with her companion, and only substantial remnant of her home plains. So her consideration for getting everyone in trouble was pretty low. The Sheriff was a Bad Guy (both in her eyes at the time, and it turns out in the long run as well..). So she made some trouble, got beat down, and arrested.

Her party bailed her out (nice of them, considering..) - something that helps establish a bond with the party. And not as though the paladin and cleric of the lawful good god of justice are going to let her rot on a trumped-up charge by an evil Sheriff...

Also long-term, Fern has a list of "world's-better-off-without" folk. THe Sheriff tops her list. She doesn't make a big deal about it (she's reserved, speaks with actions more than words... one of those quirk things). But someday, she's going to find an opportunity to go back and revisit that sheriff. If the goody-goody guys want to arrest and prosecute &c. &c. then Fern will be OK with that. On the other hand, Fern has recently learned these neat spells, "contagion" and "call lightning". So she's really quite ready to dispense with the governmental/organized criminal justice approach.

Another interesting source of roleplaying is character development. How does your character adjust his motivations and relationships over time? Does the character become more attached to his adventuring group? Does he start dating a girl named Yoko and spending too much time away from the dungeon? I had a character (Kort) that inadvertently ended up with a child - 3/4 dragon, and acted as his familiar. Kort didn't share with his party the difference in his "new familiar". But having your kid around in an adventure changed some of his behavior and outlook - and caused some consternation in the rest of the party. At one point Kort had to go off and do something moderately suicidal - so he entrusted his daughter to one of the other members of the party, along with the traditional "open when I'm dead" letter of explanation. Lots of drama when the envelope was opened. More drama when Kort returned (he was mostly dead for 2 years local...).

So... don't be afraid to build in conflicting motivations into your characcter - and try to remember to engage them when you determine your character's reactions. And don't be afraid to let the characcter develop.

Character conflict and character development - huge contributors to the "cooperative storytelling" aspect of roleplaying.

 

[pawsplay]

This depends on the group of people you're playing with. I've watched groups roleplaying with voices where nobody seemed to mind, and I've heard people say that they like to use voices. But I've also heard a lot of people complain about it.

Well, those people aren't human.

I am not a fan of voices at all. It usually comes off as very creepy and uncomfortable, and usually annoying.

Oops! Sorry, man.

But seriously,

1. Voices are fun (for some people, I guess)
2. Voices make it 100x easier to tell when someone is speaking in characte, and
3. Voices make characters more memorable

All of those benefits seem highly compatible with the goals set forth in the OP.