I live in an area were not many people are in to RPGs, so my group is pretty much what I got. I love deep diving into characters and making lots of NPCs, an lots of role-playing in general, but my players perfer fighting and don't really make personallys for there characters. How can I make it fun for them while keeping it fun for me?
I used to have a rule (which D&D 5e has made into an actual rule) where players needed to present me with a short (minimum 2 paragraph) backstory. The reason being that I told them, was that it helps me custom tailor the content of the adventure to them.
D&D 5e simplifies it with players having 2 personality traits (that can be selected from a list in the background entries), 1 flaw, 1 bond, and 1 ideal.
It's easy to hook a player when you use what they give you. You presented the rule as an open thing with them, to involve them more directly. When you use it they'll light up a little and since it's something you had them invest in they'll learn the more they put in, the more they'll get out.
It's up to you as a DM to present them with situations where they need to interact with NPCs. If they seem reticent, use live bait! Make it clear that some group of NPCs has something that the PCs want (a magic macguffin, or whatever) and they need to interact in some way to get the item or to get the clue leading to the item.
Another good thing is to use props, like character cards with a pic and a few memorable details about each NPC.
How old is your group? Surely you can get them to roleplay getting an adventure hook, at least. Start small, and work your way up. For example, after a tough battle, let them rescue an NPC who knows about some key resource that would help them (like removing a "permanent" affliction, say).
My group isn't old at all. We haven't really done a muti session yet, but from our one shot games they don't seem to WANT to get emersed. All of these one shots weren't supposed to be one shots... But I'll try to do what you guys suggested!
If they really don't want to role-play it's impossible to make them. You can encourave them though.
You could reward players for good role-play, either by giving experience or using a bottle-cap style system (give them a token that they can turn in to let them roll twice on an important roll, or something similar).
Something my current GM has started doing is making us describe the killing blow on creatures. Putting the narative in the players' hands will get their creative juices flowing, and could easily spill over into their social interactions.
Finally I've found that I often don't role-play characters i've created very well because i spend a lot of time thinking about the mechanics. When I'm handed a pre-gen character I find acting it out a little easier - maybe because my brain sees it differently, I'm not really sure.
For some people roleplaying takes time to develop. It often takes a couple of sessions to develop a personality. It also helps if there is an actual campaign with an underlying story. If all you are running is a series of short episodes that is probably hindering your player’s development. One shots often act as resets on this process and the characters don’t develop.
Create a longer adventure that will require multiple sessions to play. Keep the setting the same so that they NPC’s the players need to interact with are the same from game to game. You may simply not be giving them enough time to process the setting before it changes.
The fundamental rule of role playing is to say yes to things. If there's a bad roll, it's a "Yes, but..."
Murderhobo'ery should result in Most-Wanted posters going up. --Put the PCs on the run being chased by bounty-hunters more powerful than they are, and RP will start to break out.
The basics of basics is that if you want RP to happen, you need a long running game. One-shot missions and characters don't have time to develop.
It also helps if you introduce them to an environment and keep them centered in the same place for a while. Like starting a game where the adventurers run across a wagon being attacked by goblins who have blocked the road. After the Goblins are taken care of several NPCs introduce themselves. One is the merchant who owns the wagon, his 2 guards (injured but alive), a new priest that is going to serve in a local shrine, and the young daughter of the town mayor and her personal maid who decided to return from visiting their aunt a week early.
The merchant offers to put the adventurers up in an abandoned house he happens to own. He also offers a discount in the shop his family runs. The priest puts in a good word with the senior priest in town. The Mayor gets to hear all about the adventurers from his daughter and decides to see if they will take some jobs for him.
Throw in some interesting neighbors with odd hobbies and jobs. Put a tavern down the road. Throw in some shops with interesting owners. Have several people introduce themselves and ask for things. Have the neighborhood kids hang out around their house because they hope something good will happen. Write their parents up just in case someone wants to complain about their kids.
Make sure there is a large city that isn't too close, but isn't too far either. Eventually the players will feel a need to visit a large city, but if they spend a lot of time in this town, they'll grow accustom to it and not mind if the adventures are based around the town.
Thank you! This is perfect!