Hello!
I was curious about what House Rules people may have created for their tables to help promote and reward role-play at the table. I know everyone runs their tables differently, but at our table (at least when I am DMing) roleplay is a primary importance. There are plenty of tactical board games out there, and I do not really want to spend my weekend running another.
As such, a few House Rules have sprung up over time to help facilitate this, and I was curious to know what other DM's may have come up with as well!
-Descriptive Bonus-
What?: If someone describes their action, attack, etc with exceptional panache or superior role-play, I usually tack on a bonus to whatever it is they are attempting. While this is typically just a +1, there have been instances of jaw-droppingly memorable moments where higher bonuses have been allowed.
Why?: This is to escape from "I attack again." *Roll* I missed.
I find this a great way to get the number obsessed into the roleplay seamlessly.
-Unarmed Attacks-
What?: Everyone in our games are considered to have improved unarmed strike, though they must still take it as a feat to qualify for any feats or skills that have it as a prerequisite.
Why?: Because movies, stories, games, etc are chock full of people throwing punches, knees, shoving, etc in the middle of pitched fights and it seems a shame to rob the players of that for something they just wanted to do for the sake of roleplay. IE: Forgoing another powerful sword swing to rattle off a quip while headbutting their opponent. Few will want to do that /and/ get an AoO against them for the sake of roleplay. I find this has drastically improved the cinematic quality of our combat scenes as a result.
Further?: On a case by case, CMD checks might also get a pass- DM allowing, if it makes sense in the situation.
-Questionnaire!-
What?: For particularly heavy campaigns (Like modules, that investment should not go to waste on shallow concepts) character questionnaires can add completely unexpected depth to characters. Example questionnaire.
http://dreadpiraterose.wordpress.com/2009/12/30/100-questions-to-ask-about- your-role-playing-character/
Why?: Because if you are going to sink days and days and weeks and months of your time into creating and breathing life into a world for a group of people, the least they can do is humor you enough to fill out a sheet.
A more serious answer though, is because it really adds unexpected depth to characters. I have had several players come up and remark on how much more interesting and enjoyable their stories were after completing those, as it forced them to really flesh them out in ways not available to them at the table. It gives them history, and reason, and goals.
-Roleplay Tally Sheet-
What?: Mark down your player's names, every time they roleplay something out in a very satisfactory way, mark down a tallymark.
Why?: Because (I don't know how long you guys play) at the end of 16 hours of gaming, it is hard/impossible to remember all of what occurred and players can feel a little cheated on roleplay XP rewards. Keeping a tally sheet allows you to easily count up a reward at the end of the game that makes sure that players leave the table feeling that their roleplay helped them in return.
-Spontaneous Enchantments/Curses-
What?: Heroic/Harrowing events can leave their mark on objects present at the time of the event. This can result in enchanted or cursed items naturally metabolizing over the process of adventure.
Why?: Because magical doodads just coming from number-crunching enchanters looking to make some coin is very.. very... boring. Useful and necessary come time to spend money, but also boring. I don't enjoy my players best items coming from a trip to Walmart.
Instead, the DM can allow dramatic events to leave their mark. A dagger used to kill a family member is now cursed with their vengeful spirit. A sword (actual example) that took a Drow priestess to negative hitpoints over ten times in one combat now seems to almost seek out Drow naturally. Armor that withstood the scorching breath of a dragon as a warrior huddled over a child to protect it now seems to shrug off further exposure to heat.
Adventures are chock full of situations that could leave magical/fate residue on equipment that are way... /way/ more interesting to the players than "I bought it at Magic Mart." I have even had players attempt to harness this intentionally, like with a certain Blackguard embarking on a side quest to plunge his sword through the heart of X amount of _______ under the light of a full moon, culminating with the final one being on a special dark holiday. All to get a magic sword he probably could have bought. Awesome.
-Rare Regents as Focuses to Help with Spellcasting-
(This one might be a bit out there for people, sorry.)
What?: A slain magical creature can have a portion of it's being harvested as part of a simple ritual to capture it's essence into the object. Ex: The Horn of a Dragon, the Stone Heart of an Elemental, the Claw of a Linnorm. These can in turn be used to empower spells that sync up with their aspect in some way. (DM's Discretion on Requirements and Effect, always one-time use.)
Why?: Because I have found this makes even the most innocuous random encounter or monster fight have memorable echos down the line, and also makes their defeat more rewarding as they usually do not carry treasure. When a player triumphantly raises the dagger sized stinger of a monstrous wasp they defeated four levels ago to help empower their new swarm spell at a critical moment- all of the pieces fall together in very satisfying ways for players and DM both. All from an otherwise forgettable encounter.
----------------------------------------------------
I'd love to hear what other DMs and Storytellers have come up with. These have worked wonders at our table, and I hope to learn about more ways to embolden roleplay at the table. I understand that my own examples I've listed would definitely not work for everyone's table, but I hope that someone else gets some good use out of them as well.
