Role playing to the detriment of the game

[Negflar2099]

I've seen situations just like this. I was Vampire: The Masquerade and one of the other players created a slightly insane vampire doctor. Problem was he refused to come out of his mansion claiming that he's quite comfortable and doesn't need to go out on hunting missions with total strangers. The GM had to constantly all but force the player to have his character be involved. Needless the rest of us were pretty frustrated.

The problem is while this might make perfect sense from a character stand point it makes no sense from a game stand point. In other words when he set out to make the character instead of realizing that the character he's going to play has to go on adventures with the rest of us he purposefully created a character that just wants to stay at home. He didn't create a real PC. Instead he made an NPC and trust me the DM did not need the help.

That's what it ultimately comes down to. When you're deciding what kind of character you're going to create and how that character will behave you have to be mindful of the fact that this is a game and that your PC will have to go on adventures. If you create a stay at home character who is too scared to get involved or you create a nasty mean person who doesn't get along with anyone or any other non game conducive character concept you're not being a good roleplayer. You're being a jerk.

 

[Greg K]

This is always good advice. Unfortunately, it doesn't guarantee that the DM will correctly work out how those motivations he's discussed relate to the adventure at hand. He could be wrong.

The great thing about making the player primarily responsible for providing their character's motivations is that they can't be wrong about them. For that reason alone I find it to be the most practical approach.

Motivations for adventuring yes. However, imo, its the DM's responsability to use those motivations to get the charcters into the adventure (or at least to the location). Afterall, the GM knows the campaign world, the characters, and the adventure. He can tailor the adventure (even if a module) to accomodate the characters such changing how an NPC approaches the characters (or even the NPC itself), throwing in bits of existing plotlines (e.g., a hint to a to motivate the characters (e.g. the NPCs has information to something they seek), etc.,

 

[S'mon]

Motivations for adventuring yes. However, imo, its the DM's responsability to use those motivations to get the charcters into the adventure (or at least to the location). Afterall, the GM knows the campaign world, the characters, and the adventure. He can tailor the adventure (even if a module) to accomodate the characters such changing how an NPC approaches the characters (or even the NPC itself), throwing in bits of existing plotlines (e.g., a hint to a to motivate the characters (e.g. the NPCs has information to something they seek), etc.,

If the GM has time to prepare, maybe he can do this. But it's completely unfair to expect the GM to come up with this off the cuff, when there are 4 or 6 or 8 PCs to attend to.

 

[El Mahdi]

If the GM has time to prepare, maybe he can do this. But it's completely unfair to expect the GM to come up with this off the cuff, when there are 4 or 6 or 8 PCs to attend to.

IMO, not only do I feel that it's not unfair, but I think it's the very definition of what a GM should be doing. Different GM's do this to varying degrees of success based on experience, but I think it should be the level to which all GM's should endeavor to achieve. No-one will ever reach a point where they are "perfect" as a GM (unless they are completely self-delusional), but we should definitely try to achieve this.

 

[buzz]

It's not an issue of whether it's the GM's job or the player's job. It's the group's job.

To assume otherwise is to claim that a good game can happen without prior communication and consensus, and that's simply not true.

 

[Imp]

None of the GM-improvisations cited in this thread have been particularly demanding though. And I'm not someone who just goes off the cuff all the time – I do worry about things like presentation & coherency. Nor do I think the GM has to bend over for the players at all possible junctures. It's just, this stuff here, not really that hard to finesse.

 

[howandwhy99]

I don't think any of the OPs concerns are serious problems. It isn't up to the DM to force the PCs to work together or even stick together. Any PC who wants to leave can leave. My PCs have taken hiatuses for several sessions from what the party decided to do and I rolled up TempPCs to still get to go and play with the group. No problem.

 

[Blair Goatsblood]

Roleplaying is more of a problem for me when another player's character starts chatting in-depth with the imaginary innkeeper about his imaginary family and the imaginary weather while the rest want to kill some imaginary things and take their imaginary stuff!!

 

[El Mahdi]

Roleplaying is more of a problem for me when another player's character starts chatting in-depth with the imaginary innkeeper about his imaginary family and the imaginary weather while the rest want to kill some imaginary things and take their imaginary stuff!!

Huh?

 

[Blair Goatsblood]

Huh?

Sometimes players role play a little too much, especially when it regards trivial matters with trivial NPCs, eg:

DM "The Innkeeper charges you 2gp for room and board"

Player "Rolgath the Cheap inisists that is outrageous and offers 1gp" (Rolgath is a 6th-level character with hundreds of GP)

DM "Sigh....Okay"

Player "What? No haggling? What's the innkeeper's name?"

DM "He avoids eye contact and scurries away with his gold piece before you can question him"

Player "What are we fed?"

DM "Roast goat and apples"

Player "What kind of apples?'

DM "Umm..red ones..."

Player "They don't have a name?"

DM "Ummm...They're Mordenkeinitosh Apples"

Player "Rolgath the Cheap asks where the apples come from"

DM "The innkeeper says they are grown in an orchard outside of town"

Player "Who's orchard?"

DM "Ummm....Applefarmer Applebee...."

Player "Is there a musician in the inn?"

DM "Ummmm (rolls dice)...yes"

Player "I go up to him and request a ballad"

DM "Um....he performs a sad balled"

Player "I ask the musician the story behind the sad ballad"

DM "The minsterl says.."

Player "I ask the minstrel his name and where he's from"

DM "I am Bard Singsong from the Isles of Muse..."

Player "I ask him where the Isles of Muse are"

DM "The minstrel suddenly has a heart attack and drops dead"

Player "I finish my meal and find Applefarmer Applebee's Orchard"

DM "????"

Player "Didn't you read Rolgath's backstory? His favorite food is apples. What varieties of apples are grown in the orchard?"

The rest of the players in the group "The party as a whole attacks Rolgath the Cheap. Sneak attack or fireball first guys?"