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Message: <blockquote data-quote="chatdemon" data-source="post: 233890" data-attributes="member: 228">Yup, D&D has always been that way, Gygax has written on more than one occasion about his distaste for 'ameteur thespians'. D&D is, after all, derived from wargames. Gygax has said that the rules of the game must serve to resolve the action; ie. finding traps, battling monsters, casting spells, growing your character's abilities, etc. The amount of role play in a game, and how it is encouraged or rewarded, should be left up to the game master.I agree with that theory 100%, BUT...3e could take a few steps to help a DM encourage role play. Now, if you look at your DMG, page 168, it suggests allowing only 50 xp per PC per session for role playing awards.. 50. Compared to the hundreds they ca amass slaughtering orcs. Given that guideline, is it any wonder the average D&D player tends to downplay the role playing of their character and commences with the ass kicking at the earliet opportunity?My solution is twofold:1> up the XP for good role play, perhaps to as much as 500 per session for outstanding characterization. This shows the players that role play is important to you as a DM, and rewards them for doing it. You must be careful though to not apply the same standards to each player. Get to know them, learn what constitutes good role play from them. For example, if Joe is extremely outgoing and flambouyant, and is the president of his school's drama club, he will be more comfortable with interacting with puzzles and NPCs. Adjust his rewards down a bit, so that to get the maximum reward, he has to really put out an effort. Inspiring the good role players also helps to set an example for the weaker ones. If on the other hand, Mary is shy and introverted, it might be difficult for her to do much more than roll dice and go along with what the party is doing. Try to guide her a bit, give her prompts and hints (like if the players are interrogating a goblin, you could remind Mary that her character speaks goblin and would make a great party spokesman here). Reward her when you motice an obvious effort to contribute to the story, and adjust your NPC's behavior to reflect the way the player approaches the interaction. 2> Cut the XP awards for combat in half, that's right, in half. For everyone except fighters. Give fighters 3/4 of the 'real' XP award. This balances the fact that most fighters don't have much of a concept beyond 'im a sword for hire' or 'i likes to kick me some orc ass', and the fact that most players of fighters will not invest heavily in the skills and feats that help involve them in the puzzle solving and NPC interaction that will generate them role playing XP. This also tells the non-fighters 'hey, I'm not a fighter, if I want to keep up with Regdar in levels, I better get in character and contribute.It is best to introduce a custom system like this at the start of a campaign, and I strongly suggest discussing it with the players beforehand, so there are no rude surprises when it comes time to hand out XP. If you explain your reasons for wanting to promote story and role play, while still keeping the fun of combat, most players I've ever known will adjust accordingly, or simply play fighters and let the other players do the role playing.</blockquote>

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