Reward for Roleplaying?

[JohnClark]

I seem to be in the minority here, but I found that roleplaying awards can really work well and keep the focus on staying in character. The best example of roleplaying rewards was in a Deadlands game I played, where the DM would flip a fate chip to someone who did some exceptionally neat/profoud/bizarre roleplaying thing. In addition, at the end of every session a sort of roleplaying MVP would be chosen, and that person got two fate chips as well as the coveted .44 magnum shell until the end of the next session.

Here's some examples of things that players did to earn roleplaying awards.
1.) One of the characters was a bit of moralist, and after we defeated a mad scientist who had been doing experiments on children, this guy put a shotgun to the back of his head and blew him away, rather than capturing him and allowing us to question him.
2.) My character was a catholic priest, and I ended up stepping on a land mine. I heard the click and stopped, and the huckster (a sorceror of sorts who uses playing cards to cast spells) said he could save me. So he casts his spell but draws a black joker (bad), causing the demonic hand he summoned to slam me on to the land mine rather than push me away. Thankfully I had a ton of fate chips so I was able to save myself (divine intervention ), but he destroyed my guitar case (think the movie desperado)! We had a great in character convo about the relative merits of demonic pacts (before that incident I didn't know he was a huckster) and we each got a fate chip for that.

 

[Wycen]

In a previous campaign, our DM actually had a role playing contest. One session he told us to bust out all the stops and even dress up, etc. He had purchased a t-shirt from Reaper Miniatures and after the group voted on who the best roleplayer was, he handed them the shirt.

This isn't something I'd recommend if you can't afford it of course. And it can lead to weird things, like the guy playing a fighter bringing in his real honest to steelness sword. Which he left behind.

I agree with the idea of asking who the best was and giving them a bonus. But be careful that if that person constantly is raking it in, others might resent that.

 

[babomb]

I don't give roleplaying XP anymore. It hasn't really worked. Plus, it's not really fair to newbies or others who aren't as good at it. I do give XP for overcoming challenges the same as combat, of course. I give participation awards. If you show up and you don't cause trouble (out of game), you get XP. It doesn't matter if you're the casual gamer who goes along with everyone else, the hack-and-slasher whose idea of roleplaying is yelling a battle cry, or the classically-trained actor who stays in character even when he asks someone to hand him a Coke; you get the same XP. If I think the session went particularly well, I give more, but everyone gets the same amount.

I might reward a particularly well-played scene, but with something like a fate point or hero point or whatever you want to call it. I think the best way to reward roleplaying is to respond in kind; that is, in game. If he lets the BBEG get away to save a kid, have the kid idolize the PC. If the bard's player writes songs (even if they aren't good) or even just writes new lyrics to the tune of "Jingle Bells", he gains a greater reputation. If his song, say, defames an NPC, people react accordingly. He might, eventually, encounter townspeople singing his song, or even another bard who appropriates it. (That's not to say to disregard his perform check, but give him a little bonus to it and make an extra effort to point out the effects.)

The important thing is to reward players for making an effort, not just the players with silver tongues.

 

[tetsujin28]

Actually, they're precisely the same thing, as far as I can tell.

Roleplaying != acting.

 

[HeapThaumaturgist]

I give out Action Points for "cool stuff". Cool stuff ranges from an amusing or entertaining moment of role playing to "getting into character" and doing things that way, or to cinematic descriptions, etc etc. It's all "good roleplaying", but of different types. Sometimes, heck, we'll give it for something purely dice related like a hellatious critical at a dramatic moment.

As for -XP- rewards ... I've tried them. They're either essentially insignificant to anybody other than an item-creator, or they're too frontloaded.

I always give out party XP for overcoming difficulties not related to combat ... either with ad-hoc CR based on eyeballing, or giving them the XP worth for "defeating" whatever NPC they're dealing with.

--fje

 

[EdL]

I will give them out in small amounts for role playing. Not acting. (Playing in character, ham it up all you want, but if it isn't in character you don't get anything extra.)

And it can lead to weird things, like the guy playing a fighter bringing in his real honest to steelness sword. Which he left behind.

(?) Most of the people I've played with over the years have had an arsenel of some sort or other. Usually swords and such. One guy who has a federal machine gun permit brought a new purchase to a game for us to ohh and ah over. A 1921 Thompson submachine gun. (Those sucers are heavy!) Everyone was suitably impressed. (No kids where we play, usually.)

 

[Aust Diamondew]

For every hour worth of RPing give each character 75XP*character level. That way if you do nothing but RP for 4 hours after 4 such game sessions (approximately) you will level up. Thats about how frequent you're suppose to level up in d&d and I assume about the same rate as d20 future.

Now ofc if they do paticuarly well give them more and if they fail to overcome the obstacle/accomplish the objective give them less or none at all (just like if PCs were to fail to overcome a monster in battle).

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

I'm running a d20 Future campaign pretty soon, and while it will have a lot of action and whatnot, I intend for it to be a pretty roleplay-heavy game. Would any of you suggest rewarding the players xp for good roleplay, and if so, where can I find rules for such a system?

I would not award XP for roleplaying. Roleplaying is its own reward - and can net you more phat loot anyway if done right.

 

[Stormborn]

Like most of the others here, I say no.

However, that doesn't mean that you can't reward roleplaying in otherways. There are lots of systems out there that can easilly grafted onto any d20 that give mechanical in game rewards for "Flaws" or "Traits" or whatever else you want to call them. Or you can adapt your own system. PenDragon and WoD (and others) both have mechanics for character traits and would be worth looking at if you plan on doing it.

 

[tetsujin28]

For every hour worth of RPing give each character 75XP*character level. That way if you do nothing but RP for 4 hours after 4 such game sessions (approximately) you will level up. Thats about how frequent you're suppose to level up in d&d and I assume about the same rate as d20 future.

That's a nice idea! Consider it swiped!