Hey everyone. So I'm DMing a group of really shy people. All of them love roleplaying of sorts in online games, but for two sessions they've been sitting down face to face and nothing really has come up.
They've all written good backstories, but none of them are really willing to bring any of that up. They've all taken up the role of "dark, broody, mysterious dude" and won't snap out of it.
What is the best thing that I, as a DM, can do to nudge them along and get them to be more confident? I know they're good at RP and want to do it, but I don't know what the best way is!
you have more than one issue here, expect varying responses across a number of different topics
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If they're inventive enough to come up with good backstories, then I'd recommend working that angle.
You want them to open up? Challenge them to further develop their backstories so that they have some tie to at least one other character in the party.
Siblings. Lovers. Fated to die together. Whatever. Couch it in such a way that everything is about the characters rather than the players, and the OOC interaction will come without their realizing it.
Once those links are forged, roleplaying them ICly will come naturally.
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Try to include their backstories into the adventure. Do they have old enemies? Have them show up. Families? Involve them somehow. Have npc characters interact with them directly to force them to respond. If their character plays a pivotal role in the adventure they will be more interested and more likely to want to hop in maybe even lead.
you have more than one issue here, expect varying responses across a number of different topics
Fair enough. I understand that the players will get more confident over time, but I'm wondering if there's anything I as the DM can do to give them a nudge so to say.
All good stuff so far! One of my players did mention a few names of old friends in her backstory so I'm going to throw them a plot arc based off of that.
one of the primary issues is that playing 'dark, broody, mysterious dude' works so much better online or in Play-by-Post, as opposed to face-to-face on the table-top
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I'm not sure if this will help people who don't have inherent performer's personalities, but let me give it the old college try anyway:
May I suggest that, before you start your gaming session, you all do a couple rounds of theater improv games ("What Are You Doing?" is a favorite of mine)? It might help them unlock their abilities as performers, and the goofiness which theater improv games tend strongly toward might help them more comfortable with each other.
Tell them to ditch the wagnsty dark broody mysterious dude personas and make some real backgrounds. Basically tell them to stop being murder hobos.
Or go onto pfsrd and Generate one for them. In fact, random backgrounds are much better for new players than generating their own.
That said, if all else fails. Take the advice of one Professor Milgrim. Wire up shock tasers to their nipples and administer increasing volts for noncompliance with roleplaying prompts.
I'm Hiding In Your Closet's idea of playing some improv-oriented games could serve as a good icebreaker. I know that, as someone who's relatively shy and an introvert, that getting started is one of the hardest parts of interacting with people around an RPG. Some of that will always be an issue, but if you can break through once, it'll help establish the game table as a safe and friendly place to role play.
Make sure you set an example with your own role playing of NPCs.
Present mixed examples - first person and third person with descriptions so that you're modeling multiple methods of role playing. One of them may engage a player more than another.
I wouldn't worry about giving rewards for role playing yet. It sounds like they haven't gotten so far with it that dangling carrots is going to help.
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I've found the cause to be rooted in expectations, or lack there of. People who are new to the game need to know what to expect as a roleplayer. What can you do? How far can you go? If I do this, will it be wierd? How will my fellow gamers react?
When I first began roleplaying, these were the questions I would ask myself. I was a videogame roleplayer, perfectly at ease within my own skin and knew that whatever I did on my own was perfectly fine. Opening up like that and sharing that experience with other was ... daunting. I'd say almost terrifying, but I've moved well beyond that with maturity.
I have two well established groups that I game with:
Group 1 I started from scratch, as the DM, and recruited new players from my pool of friends. We were already comfortable around each other but roleplaying would force us to get to know each other in a deeper way. I dove head first into this game and showed them how far you could go. I am a reserved person, formerly introverted (still am, but I get out a lot now). I immersed myselves in the roles of my NPC with intensity and hilarity, unloading all that pent up creativity in my player's faces. They got to meet a whole new side of me and it allowed them to open up and join me in the craziness.
Group 2: I joined as a player. The group is much more reserved and focuses heavily on the gritty and tactical side of gameplay, with little emphasis on the roleplay. Small amounts of alcohol help ease the wheels and let the creativity flow. Out of character jokes are common place and it is more of a casual roleplay environment. Still, I immerse myself in the actions of my characters and try to bring a spark of hilarity to the gameplay.
I guess what I am trying to say, in short, is... you will need to lead by example. Show them the depths of your own ability and hopefully a kindred spirit sparks to life within. Fan the flames, build that fire and watch them grow.
Also, important rule. What happens at the table, stays at the table.
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Perhaps if you roleplayed more, boldly acting out the roles of the NPCs they might be encouraged to respond in kind with the PCs. Make it fun.
I once had a GM who spoke in Ebonics whenever we encountered a street thug. It wasn't altogether immersive considering the setting, but it was a lot of fun and got the rest of us to make up or own voices/personalities for our own characters.
We have our own case of "Brooding, mysterious and dark" persona that, while pretty fun to see ocasionally, don't always make it easy for the player to play as he might've intended. I've found that many who attempt to create this type of character is striving to make a faultless badass, not necessarily a mary-sue but close enough, with a cold thousand-mile stare, yadda yadda. What can break up the steretype is some sort of humiliation or involuntary participation in local events. I had my investigator attempt to get our brooding ranger drunk by using "touch injection" to absorb copious amounts of liquor and pass it on to him.
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I do what Ravingdork said. Best thing to do to get players out of their shells is by being the first one to make a complete fool out of himself. Do accents for your NPCs, act out everything, get them to laugh if you can. Get them to look at you and your antics and think, "Man what hes doing looks like fun I want to join him!"
No one wants to be the first one to start roleplaying because it's embarressing to do so, so BE the first one to do it.
Remember that the GM does more roleplaying than anyone else at the table, show em how it's done!
ALso, never never never force people to roleplay! It is awkward for everyone and will just annoy those who have difficulty with it. You have to let them come out of their shells on their own. I've always hated the "Describe how you killed him" thing a lot of GM's do as a means of encouraging roleplay. This is stupid and just sounds forced and awkward no matter how good you are at improv, and is honestly just a lazy GM tactic to for those GM's that don't want to do the describing themselves. Don't be that GM!
GM'ing is 90% acting, show them how to roleplay and they will follow your lead.
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Here's a perhaps off-the-wall consideration, but what's your campaign's plot?
I've tended to notice that when the plot of the story is simple, there's often a lot more room to explore the characters. For players, when there aren't pitfalls, twists and mysteries throughout, they have some grounding, and can think to themselves "How is my character going to react to this?" rather than they themselves, insofar as concerned with the metaplot is "What's going to happen in the story?"
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They might be shy, or reserved, or feel silly/awkward doing in person what they used to do whatever happened behind screens before. Your players are people and they have fears and anxieties like any other humans. Its only natural that they have great cerebral ideas for their PCs (good backstories) but don't really dive into roles when they're at the table.
This might be it for how they RP in person, and the challenge falls to you as a GM and fellow player of the game to be willing to accept that. Talk to them. See if they're comfortable with this level of engagement and if it is, so be it. If you want more and they're not ok with it you may be looking for other players.
If however everyone at the table says they need to RP more (whatever that means; it's very subjective) then here's some ways to help nudge them:
1. Encourage skill use: create social or puzzle-based encounters. One I like to use at 1st level as an ice-breaker is the "heroic save" scenario. PCs are in public (town, in the middle of a ship, on a road in the midst of a caravan, etc) when monsters appear. Said monsters are everywhere and the players could spend the entire session just fighting. Suddenly a cry rings out: "MY BABIES! PLEASE! SOMEONE SAVE THEM!" followed by the crashing of wood. Two little girls are trapped; could be under a fallen cart, could be in a runaway caravan, or maybe on the second story of a burning building. Now sure, there are monsters everywhere and all of the public area is in jeopardy but what hero in their right mind would let a kid die? Saving the girls isn't about JUST murdering monsters. The PCs will have to lift a broken cart that's full of goods and swarming with monsters; maybe they have to control the panicking draft horses all the while batting monsters off a moving vehicle; they've got to get INTO the burning building or scale the side, dealing with the hazard as well as the creatures they're fighting.
2. Now that you've got them thinking like heroes, treat them as such: create the kids' mom as an NPC. She should have something relevant to offer the PCs after the fight; I usually go with the mom being influential around the neighborhood and spreading the word that the PCs are heroes to give them a 10% cost of living decrease. But then its on you as the GM to RP that boon. It's not enough to say "cost of living is reduced." Show them HOW it's reduced. "Oh, it's YOU guys!" the shopkeeper says, pushing another patron out of your way. "Right this way heroes! I've got deals for you on these fine masterwork backpacks just in from up north. Genuine dragon hide! Nothing but the best for our heroes!"
3. Ask the players "How?": everything these guys do, even when they fumble an attack, should add something to the overall narrative of how awesome they are. If you're just telling them about it they might feel left out. Instead challenge them with the word "how" as in:
Player: I attack with my battleaxe
GM: How?
Player: Huh? I just told you, with the axe.
GM: No, how do you attack with it?
Player: What, like, what feats? I've got...
GM (interrupting): no, describe it to me. What are you trying to do?
Player: Umm... I don't know, trying to... umm... hit the orc in his face
GM: Ok, roll
Player: Umm... 18. Does that hit?
GM: You drop sideways, luring his head just a half inch closer then pivot, bringing the axe up and down in a deadly arc! As it hurtles right for the orc's face he moves with it, minimizing the blow! You hit but didn't manage to cleave his face; instead you came down glancing off his collarbone to lodge in his shoulder. Roll your damage...
Then apply the same dialogue to social encounters. Ask HOW when the PCs gather info, intimidate, research between adventures, or use other non-combat skills. Even when it's as simple as making a Climb check in the wilds ask them how they're doing it. This gets your players in the habit of describing their character; his actions, mannerisms, and method of action in all things. Hopefully, with practice and repetition the players will just learn to work this into everything without your prompting.
4. Remind your players their characters should always be doing SOMETHING: the story of the game might be made up or narrated by you, but it goes nowhere without the players moving it forward. As such they should never be standing around doing nothing. I like to roll initiative for everything to keep my players engaged. Example:
GM: the hallway dead ends in a solid oak door 30' ahead.
Ranger: Ok, I check for traps
GM: roll initiative
Ranger: what? Who's attacking?
GM: No one yet; I want to know what everyone's doing.
Wizard: I got... 15
Fighter: 6
Inqisitor: 18!
Ranger: 11
GM: Ok, inquisitor; what're you doing?
Inquisitor: Umm... I check for traps
GM: How
Inquisitor: Right! Um, I cast Guidance on myself and ask Pharasma for divine insight. My guy has Darkvision so I'm just going to inspect the area visually through the darkness. I got... a 23 Perception
Wizard: Well I'm going to tell my owl to circle the area in a visual search as well while I cast Detect Magic and try to sense any auras in the area. My familiar got... 12. Crap.
Ranger: well I've got a glaive with reach so I'm going to prod around and try to search for traps that way. Perception... 19
Fighter: My guy has Knowledge: Dungeoneering. Can I use that?
GM: to do what?
Fighter: Well, it says I can identify underground hazards and monsters and stuff. I'll look around and try to identify any normal hazards or see if anything looks out of place.
GM: Ok, give me a Knowledge check
Fighter: Umm... SWEET! 21!
GM: OK, here's what happens...
The group begins to spread out. The inquisitor kneels briefly to the holy symbol in her hand, then rises and peers into the dark. She notes an odd, wet patch on the floor but can't quite make it out with much detail though it smells faintly of lamp oil. The wizard sends his owl off and casts his spell detecting a faint aura on the side where the oil has gathered though his familiar notes nothing. Ranger, as you're tapping you don't notice anything out of the ordinary but just as you're moving up to the next area you can reach the fighter spots something. The kobolds you've encountered so far have favored fire and there is unnatural scorching on the wall near where the oil has gathered; normally such would be the result of a torch bracket or something but none are present here and the normal dank breezes you've been feeling down here seem to breathe upward through a tiny hole in the ceiling.
Congratulations: together the team detected a Burning Hands trap that chars everything in a 15' radius beneath the hole. You might mention the PCs have a bad feeling (those who rolled a 20 or higher) and then they can decide what to do next. Bottom line as all of the advice begins to come together the hope is that your players feel engaged, empowered and willing to insert themselves into the role of their characters at a moment's notice.
Some sort of acting or dramatic exercise is good, but I suggest having it be in character, rather than just a game. For one thing, it is much less offensive to have your players be engaged in activities that share their characters stories rather than you telling your players you want them to do this because they aren't good enough at roleplaying.
In the Amber Diceless RPG, there is a section on character quizzes, basically short questions that ask about a persons backgroud, philosophy, etc. Something like this would be good at the start of each session, basically prepare a bunch of questions on cards and have each player draw one or two and answer in character before the game starts. Personally, I think this is beneficial for any game, no matter how good the players are at it.
Questions would be things like:
Describe your characters biggest enemy as a child.
What is your characters greatest fear?
Describe your characters first pet or a pet that he wanted to have.
This helps the players get into character, helps them understand each others characters and forces them to think about more than just the numbers on their sheets.
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Really, as a GM you need to engage your players. Even experienced role players can shut down and be unresponsive if they lose interest in what is happening.
You engage players by setting up situations that they want to take part in. Since you don't seem to know your players play styles to engage them directly you'll need to do some guesswork and experiment with them a bit.
Fortunately, it sounds like your players all gave you rather detailed cheat sheets in the form of back-stories. You can mine backstories for a lot of material and it should start to draw players out. I recommend you focus on details that will attract multiple players at the same time. This will allow them to not only engage the situation, NPCs, etc, but also engage each other as the situation draws them in.
You can also talk to the players and ask them what they want to do, and kind of things that will drive their characters and in turn them. Though if they are new they may not understand well enough to make think kind of judgement.
The key part is to learn to be able to engage your players in the game. From there you can try more complex things like challenging their expectations, or pushing them outside of their comfort zones.
One thing to be aware of is that not all players are comfortable with the Acting portion of Role playing. I have a player that finds acting in character to be very creepy and uncomfortable. She will only play RPGs if everyone present understands and accepts that she will be playing her character in the third person. I personally am a terrible actor and will frequently play characters in the third person because it is easier to play that way. So make sure you understand your player's expectations as you idea of roleplaying could be very different from their own.
Lots of great suggestions here.
Just give them adventures where their characters have a chance to shine. Give them scenarios where they have to roleplay in a way that has meaning for their characters.
Once you get the ball rolling, the rest will take care of itself.
RPing is a lot easier for me online than it is in person. I've come to accept it. Typing text for my character is comfortable, voicing it is not. Could be the same thing for them.
That said, it sounds like they've created characters that close themselves off from the world. Ask them what their characters are passionate about, what sort of challenges they'd like to roleplay.
Ex. "My character hates puppies, but I'd like situations in which he has to interact with them to succeed" or "My character loves astronomy, he comes out of his shell to learn about constellations, and to share it with other PCs/NPCs".
There is indeed a plethora of good advice to be found. For me as a GM, here are a few ways I have tried to help new roleplayers get into character.
1. Always lead by example. NPC's interact with the party to the best of my ability. They are never bland or nameless, and have motivations. GM PC's is also a good way to extol this, if you have one, show your players good RP by having your GM PC act as poster child.
2. Gently but with consistency steer your players to try to "stay in character" during game time. The mental exercise of this builds confidence and the more familiar they are with their PC's and their motivations, the easier roleplay becomes, as at some point, they forget they are players and just sort of fall into the habits and role of their characters.
3. Spread the IC conversations around. Even if the party has a face, all the players should get time to be "the face" when it comes to IC interaction. Also encourage players to try and stay IC when they talk to each other.
4. The little things go a long way. As stated before, some improv games really help people build their skills. Even if it just a particular stance, a speech pattern, a favorite facial expression, these little bits help flesh out characters, and can often help keep players immersed each time they use them.
5. Last and biggest one, always be patient, and no matter how hookey, or oddball some of the RP ends up being, at least the players are TRYING, and throwing out rewards for such is a nice way to give something back to your players for their hard work at trying something that is in fact, difficult for many folk.
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Hey everyone. So I'm DMing a group of really shy people. All of them love roleplaying of sorts in online games, but for two sessions they've been sitting down face to face and nothing really has come up.
They've all written good backstories, but none of them are really willing to bring any of that up. They've all taken up the role of "dark, broody, mysterious dude" and won't snap out of it.
What is the best thing that I, as a DM, can do to nudge them along and get them to be more confident? I know they're good at RP and want to do it, but I don't know what the best way is!
Good RP starts with the DM. During social interactions you need to get in character too. Instead of saying:
"The guard says you can't enter this area"
Try:
"The guard approaches you, stone faced and determined, clearly recognizing you all from the various wanted posters surrounding the city. He tries to walk over casually, but is clearly on edge, with his hand on his scabbard."
"G-g-good evening adventurers." he says nervously. "What brings you here?"
When you start playing the characters, and talk in first person character, your players will soon follow. Make them talk in first person even if it is awkward. Once you give them a little 'push' they will start doing it without any encouragement, especially if they invested a lot of time in their back stories like you mentioned. Good luck with your group!
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Yeah ham it up! your players will follow, just try not to lead them off a cliff, both Lemmings and the Pied Piper hate it When people steal their shtick :-)