Hi. For a couple weeks now I have been playing in a campaign in which half of the players are under eighteen (specifically 14 and 16) While I am not the DM I would like to find ways to involve them more in roleplay (they are both ok when it comes to combat). So how do I draw them in and make them feel more passionate about the various scenes and settings we find ourselves in?
Any thoughts or advice on achieving that?
I ask people to pick a character concept from their favorite book, movie, TV show, etc. it makes the people much more passionate about their character and they usually pay attention to those little details. Another idea is to award exp based on RPing (be careful with this one).
Talk to them "in character". Have your character show interest in their's.
"So, Artavicus, I see you favor the battle axe. Is there a tale to that choice?"
Or perhaps team up with one or both when the party is in town, such as suggesting you three go replenish the party's supplies while the other's tend to something else.
I've seen that often used in our campaigns; a more experienced role player taking a reserved player along to buy supplies, check out a tavern, look for a game of chance, etc.
And lastly, be descriptive in what your character is doing. "I'm going to attempt to tumble past the troll and, as I come to my feet behind it, try to slash it behind the knees to bring it down."
Maybe some of this will encourage them to try the same.
And lastly, be descriptive in what your character is doing. "I'm going to attempt to tumble past the troll and, as I come to my feet behind it, try to slash it behind the knees to bring it down."
Maybe some of this will encourage them to try the same.
This is a favorite of mine, I use this all the time especially as a GM. It adds a lot more flavor to tell a player that the enemy doubles over and spits blood while his eyes nearly pop out of his head when the monk lets loose a stunning fist.
Part of the problem is just with character generation... young newcomers often make boring cliche characters... its hard to role-play generichero genericbroodinghero etc.. What I have done with runs with the awkward youth are things like "OK everyone add a free profession" or occupation from tome of secrets .. its not much, but anything to give them a little extra to play off of helps.
If it works for you, find out if they would like to make new characters. That way you could work on their bio's with them and give them a little direction...already incorporated in the campaign world. Maybe even give them some secret knowledge...make em feel special.
I know when I was a kid that I was embarrassed of roleplaying.
Just giving them a good example to follow, removing any kind of judgmental outlooks in the game group and making them feel at ease will help their roleplaying expand a lot.
One of my longterm players is fond of asking the other players about their Int, Wis and Cha scores, as well as alignment. He then comes up with a humorous profile of them, based on the info. Everybody laughs at this, but most of the time the player in question re-asserts his or her own profile instead. Most of my players already have bios, simple or otherwise, but it at least gets the conversation going with them.
It's a nice bit of reverse psychology for the newbs, that gets them involved.
Offer Gold, XP, or treasure for a 1 page background of your character, or a defining moment from his life.
just make sure they like that aspect and you don't push too hard.
apart from that, if the people around them roleplay, they will probably too. Monkey see, monkey do.
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A group I played in hers ago had two very experienced players and two relatively new players. One of the things I noticed is that the two new players (not teens but this applies to teens as well) kept quiet and let the two experienced players run the show.
So we (the experienced players) decided to purposely seek out their input on every single thing, no matter how trivial. And soon we handed over most of the decision making chores to them. We took up supportive roles in the game. Honestly it was more fun for all of us. The two new players became MUCH more involved in the game, and the two experienced players got to have some fun without the burden of leadership (i.e. we got into a LOT of bar fights).
I think involving new players in decisions early makes a big difference, then sit back and let them take leadership roles in the party. The experienced players then have fun roleplaying and that encourages the new ones to role-play more as well.
1)Get a backstory.
2)Use the backstory.
I remember playing a star wars game where I wrote up just a short little story about how my smuggler was an ex pirate who got his own and ship and went on his way...
Later in the game we were stranded somewhere, and sent off distress beacon... the guy who shows up was my old Pirate Captain!!!
ANYONE could have shown up for the rescue... the fact taht it came from MY backstory made the game special and really got me into character, thinking about how the character acted and thought.
Since then I ALWAYS try to have a backstory for a character.. I usually toss in at least one friend and one enemy that may or may not come back to haunt me... some times they do... sometimes they don't. But it's good to be looking over your shoulder in game too ;)
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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As important as a backstory is to many people, it's actually not essential to roleplaying. For example, I currently have three active PFS characters. Two of them (the oldest and the most recent) started as piles of stats, and developed personalities after the fact. The middle one I created around a concept I thought of.
And you know which character I'm least attached to? The one where I put flavor ahead of mechanics. I have trouble "getting into it" with that character, while the other two - originally designed with only mechanics in mind - have developed personalities and I've grown rather fond of them.
So although lots of people who already enjoy roleplaying like to create backstories, they're far from essential and asking for them could put a player "on the spot" - and being uncomfortable does not foster better roleplaying. I say give them space, and try to create an atmosphere where they feel comfortable regardless of whether or not they're roleplaying. When they become convinced that no one's wishing or expecting that they do a certain amount of roleplaying, they'll be free to explore the concept on their own terms.
Hi. For a couple weeks now I have been playing in a campaign in which half of the players are under eighteen (specifically 14 and 16) While I am not the DM I would like to find ways to involve them more in roleplay (they are both ok when it comes to combat). So how do I draw them in and make them feel more passionate about the various scenes and settings we find ourselves in?
Any thoughts or advice on achieving that?
Lead by example, by role-playing the villains and NPCs yourself - they will get it and catch on soon. I do this with my Sunday group of six, only two of whom are over 18 (ages are 27, 19, 14, 14, 12 and 9! but then three of them are my kids).
Try to interact with the characters on something where they can't possibly respond out of character, such as a monster they killed or the layout of a castle.
I am going to be somewhat bold here and for that i apologize in advance to any female gamer here.
Allow them/give them a lot of opportunities to bang chicks, lots of hot chicks, make them easy too.
That's what most 14-18 males seem to think most of the time* so in order to get them more interested in the game allow them to do something they like.
I guess that using their favorite book/movie/video game etc. can work too but i think that this approach takes more effort (fiding the book/movie etc., finding what part they liked most, finding a way to implement it to the game blah blah), so i say let them bang hotties (smoking or otherwise).
*Being that age recently myself (now i am 21) really enforced my opinion that this is true.
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Most of the time new players are not sure just what to do to 'RP' their characters or how to even make a backstory for them. I love the '101 questions' below to help flesh out any pc and get my mind going on background and story.
It may be a little overkill for new players so revue it and pare it down to what you think might help for them.
1.What is your full name? Do you have a nickname?
2. How old are you? When is your birthday?
3. Where were you born? Where do you live now? Are you patriotic?
4. Who are/were your parents? (Names, occupations, personalities, etc.)
5. Do you have any siblings? What are/were they like?
6. What is your occupation?
7. How tall are you? How much do you weigh?
8. What color is your hair? What color are your eyes?
9. What is your race?
10. To which social class do you belong?
11. Do you consider yourself to be attractive? Do others?
12. What is your style of dress?
13. Do you have any scars? Tattoos? Birthmarks? Other unique physical features?
14. Do you have any allergies, diseases, or other physical weaknesses?
15. Are you right- or left-handed? Left
16. What does your voice sound like?
17. What kind of vocabulary do you use?
18. List three quirks or other defining characteristics.
19. How often do you bathe? Do you wear perfumes?
20. What kind of facial expression do you commonly wear (dour glare, wry smile, etc)?
21. Do you use body language? How?
22. Do you have a commonly used saying?
Part 2: Growing Up
23. What is your earliest memory?
24. How much schooling have you had? Did you enjoy it?
25. Where did you learn most of your knowledge and skill?
26. How would you describe your childhood in general?
27. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
28. When and with whom was your first kiss?
29. Are you a virgin? If not, when and with whom did you lose your virginity?
30. Do you have a notorious or celebrated ancestor? Does that affect you?
Part 3: Past Influences
31. What do you consider the most important event of your life so far?
32. What do you consider your greatest achievement?
33. What is your greatest regret?
34. What is the most embarrassing or shameful thing ever to happen to you?
35. Do you have any secrets? If so, what are they?
36. What is the most evil thing you have ever done?
37. When was the time you were the most frightened?
38. Have you ever traveled outside of your country? If so, to where?
Part 4: Beliefs And Opinions
39. What is your alignment?
40. Are you basically optimistic or pessimistic?
41. Do you believe in a god? If so, which one and why?
42. Do you believe in an afterlife?
43. What is your greatest fear?
44. What makes your character angry? Sad? Happy? Why?
45. Do you think people are basically good or basically evil?
46. What are your views on politics? Religion? Sex?
47. What are your views on gambling, lying, theft, and killing?
48. How far will you go to defend your beliefs?
49. How much do you value money?
50. In your opinion, what is the most evil thing any human being could do?
51. Do you believe in self-sacrifice for the greater good?
52. Do you believe in the existence of soul mates and/or true love?
53. Are you superstitious?
54. How much do you respect the beliefs and opinions of others?
55. How honest are you about your thoughts and feelings?
56. Do you have any biases or prejudices?
Part 5: Relationships With Others
57. Who is the most important person in your life, and why?
58. Who is the person you respect the most? Despise the most? Why?
59. Do you have a significant other? Who?
60. Do you have a lot of friends? Who is your best friend?
61. How do you relate to members of the same race? Class? Sex?
62. How do you relate to members of a different race? Class? Sex?
63. Have you ever been in love? If so, describe what happened.
64. What do you look for in a potential lover?
65. How close are you to your family?
66. Do you want a marriage, family, and/or children?
67. Do you tend to argue with people, or avoid conflict?
68. Are you a listener or a talker?
69. How long does it usually take for you to trust others?
70. Do you hold grudges?
71. Do you tend to take on leadership roles in social situations?
72. Do you like interacting with large groups of people?
73. How well do you express yourself?
74. How quickly do you judge others?
75. Do you care what others think of you?
76. Do you have any enemies? How or why are they your enemy?
Part 6: Likes And Dislikes
77. What is your favorite pastime? Color? Food? Possession?
78. What are your preferences in arts and/or entertainment?
79. Do you smoke, drink, go whoring, or use drugs? Why or why not?
80. How do you spend a typical Saturday night?
81. What is your most cherished fantasy?
82. How long is your attention span?
83. Do you laugh a lot? What do you find funny?
84. Is there anything that shocks or offends you? If so, what?
85. How do you deal with stress?
86. How much athletic ability do you have? Artistic?
87. Do you like animals? Do you like children?
88. Are you spontaneous, or do you always need to have a plan?
89. What are your pet peeves?
Part 7: Self Images
90. What is your greatest strength as a person? Weakness?
91. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
92. Are you generally introverted or extroverted?
93. Do you like yourself?
94. Do you have a daily routine? How do you feel if your day is interrupted?
95. What goal do you most want to accomplish in the next six months? Your lifetime?
96. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years? 20 years?
97. If you could choose, how would you want to die?
98. What is the one thing you would like to be remembered for after your death?
99. What three words would you use to best describe your personality?
100. What three words would others probably use to describe you?
101. Why are you risking your life to adventure?
One someone has invested that much thought, they often get more attached and better idea of the character as more than a combat cartoon.