I am in need of some GM advice. I have a weekly adventure path group which I GM. This weekly group had to shift to a virtual tabletop over a year ago using Google Hangout due to the distances we've moved over the years. This group is made up of people that have been friends and have been role-playing for over 20 years.
I also maintain a bi-monthly face to face session with a different AP with the same group of people. What I have found is a significant difference between the level of RP between the two groups. The VT group has seemed to adopt a "video game" mentality when moving through the AP, while the face to face group seems to RP much more, and in general just have more fun. This is no doubt a common bi-product of the virtual vs face to face space.
I am looking for ways to incentivize RP with my virtual group. Are there any reward systems anyone uses to promote deeper RP? I don't want to use XP as an incentive as I tend to follow the AP's suggested progression paths. Thanks for any assistance you can provide!
One Hero Point awarded at the end of every session for 'best role-player'?
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If they have nothing to gain from roleplaying, they will keep playing it a video game. I mean, yes following the adventure path progression is alright but quite frankly, some modification isn't the end of the world. Guess, I would recommend to check on your players backstories. I mean the AP objective is important true but quite sure that Bob the slayer goal in life isn't just to kill the last boss of the AP and there is something that he wants to do. Basically when they feel like, they don't have much choices in the turn of events, they tend to play it like video games.
Basically ask your players what they want to do.
Asking players what their characters' personal goals are can help - as long as you're willing to tweak the adventure to make room for activities that serve those goals.