troubles.....

[Samothdm]

and yes, most of the others have about as detailed (if incredibly unlikely) backstories

Okay - one last suggestion. Ask them to come over for a "character workshop" party or something. Have some snacks and try to have each player find one or two "hooks" in their backstory that they can focus on during the role-playing aspects of the game. Similar to the ideas you got from Djeta and/or me or whatever ideas you come up with on your own.

Just keep it simple to start - one or two little details that will come out during play. That should be a great start.

Then, separately, talk to your DM and mention that you've really taken an interest in trying to get people to RP their characters better. In return, you'd like positive feedback either during or after the session on what the DM thinks is improving. Positive feedback, and maybe a little extra XP, should help motivate the group.

Good luck!

 

[Regal Worm of Slopp]

Thanx.....and Good Night

 

[milotha]

Here are some suggestions/thoughts.

You could be the stoic figure with a heart of glass. You act as if you don't care, but you really do. Since your halfelven SO was executed for being a theif, do you help those less fortunate? Do you rage against the unjust repressive penal system? Since another SO died of a disease, how do you feel about clerics. Were they unhelpful in your time of need? Were there none around to help? Would you consider taking levels of cleric to learn cure disease so that another wouldn't have to suffer your same fate?

 

[Regal Worm of Slopp]

i like these ideas alot, and they all would work for my character.....tahk you, and ill be sure to chat again someitme

 

[S'mon]

I think if I were DMing for this group I'd try to concentrate on running a good 'kick in the dungeon door' campaign; one of the meatgrinder dungeon-crawls like Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil ought to satisfy their lust for slaughter in a controlled context, all outside-the-dungeon stuff could be abstracted, at least to start with. I could occasionally sneak little 'roleplay bits' like friendly NPCs, plot/story threads & such into the dungeon, and see if the players 'bite'.
While hack & slash gaming is often derided, probably most players in a D&D game like to kill something at least _once_ per session, I know I do. The 3e DMG gives a lot of support for hack & slash play, more than for deep-immersion play IMO, so it ought to work well.

 

[billd91]

OK, I'm going to make a somewhat controversial suggestion. DON'T spend too much time on a detailed backstory. Instead, focus on how the character reacts to things around him, what kind of personality he has, affectations, goals, desires, ways of speaking and then make up a history outline that can get him there.
I've seen plenty of players capable of writing backstories ranging from clever and interesting to turgid and rambling and still seen them unable to role-play their way out of a paper bag. Role-playing comes from having a concept of the character as he is now, in the present, and not just from having some kind of detailed history. Pick what you want to (and can) play now and put in a little backstory to support it.

 

[billd91]

Im a new D&D player, and i have been playing for about 3 months now. our DM is a good DM, and he is the most experienced out of us all. So of course, he has high standards. And because of the huge difference in experience between the DM (about 2 years) and the players (between 3-7 months), we are terrible at roleplaying which is a must for our DM, and we still have the craving for action action action (though i can still have fun just talking). Our DM is frustrated because his older more experienced group has broken up, and he has us to deal with, and it is not going well. The sessions simply miss that spark that makes the evening all fuzzy in memory, and i have no idea how to fix it. Our DM is a bit moody, and prone to being a jerk when angry.

I have to take one step back here. You and the rest of the players have about 3-7 months experience playing the game? And the DM has 2 years? Let me give you a clue. The DM is little more than a newbie compared to some of the rest of us. His extra 17-20 months of experience really isn't that much in the grand scheme of things. Maybe a more experienced gamer would have more patience as a DM...

But anyway, if you've been playing such a short time, that DM should be grateful that you guys are mastering the rules much less getting used to role-playing.
I also have to ask about how well he role plays if he has such high standards for you. Does he give impressions of different voices or other clues to indicate different personalities in the NPCs he plays? And if he is any good at it, did he learn from a more experienced player than himself in his other game? I'll bet he did.
I think you should tell the DM that he should cut you guys some slack and give you a chance to learn how to RP well before he blows his stack.

 

[Samothdm]

So, Regal Worm, how did you session this past weekend turn out? Any improvement from the players and DM?

 

[Samothdm]

*bump*

Sorry for the bump - just curious to see what happened in the last session.