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What do you do to improve role playing in the group you play
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Gry Sarth
Jedi


Joined: 25 May 2004
Posts: 5304
Location: Sao Paulo - Brazil

PostPosted: Tue Aug 09, 2005 11:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

On the "guest NPC" theme. What I've doing lately is when one of the players isn't on the current scene, I'll assign a lowly NPC to him on the spot. Like the other night one player went alone into a Cantina to search for info, as he was walking around talking to people I said to the other idle player "ok, you're the drunk iotran sitting at the corner table, disappointed about your life", and later I pull him aside and whisper "if you get the chance, create some trouble for the PC". So I only have to focus on setting the scene and giving the info to the PC, and eventually the guest-NPC accused the player of being a spy and he was thrown out of the cantina. It's a good system.

What we always do after and adventure is discuss the character's feelings and state of mind. How they evolved through that adventure, how their feeling towards each other were affected by it, how they're coping with the situation, whether or not their objectives remain unchanged or they had a change of heart on any subject. All those things that might not have become clear during the adventure because the characters don't walk around blabbing about their feelings, but knowing these thing will enrich their role-playing on the next adventure.
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K_Feldspar
Sub-Lieutenant
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Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 70
Location: Wisconsin, USA

PostPosted: Wed Aug 10, 2005 2:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just recently it was suggested to me I award cp on the spot for extra special role playing. I also try really to lead by example. I create hand outs, I talk like wookies, and I try to be haughty imperial officers. I also award people for doing artwork. Anything that removes them from our mundane, and gets them into their Star Wars universe. For some it's easier than others. Some of my players will even explain why their characters are acting the way they are. We refer to it as having the 'internal monologue' piped to the outside for all to hear. Smile
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Tahlorn
Lieutenant
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Joined: 31 Jul 2005
Posts: 98

PostPosted: Wed Aug 10, 2005 2:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If it would earn me extra CP, I would game in a costume.

The other GM in my group has been known to hand out a character point on the spot for really good RPing or completely in-character actions, even when the player knows it isn't a very smart one.
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KageRyu
Commodore
Commodore


Joined: 06 Jul 2005
Posts: 1385
Location: Lost in the cracks

PostPosted: Wed Aug 10, 2005 7:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

To punish bad role playing, at times I have been known to spray paint those styrofoam packing peanuts yellow and pass them off as popcorn.
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Vanion
Lieutenant
Lieutenant


Joined: 27 May 2005
Posts: 96
Location: Austin, Texas

PostPosted: Thu Aug 11, 2005 6:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

There are a few things I have done at one time or another, most of them I still do.

First off, I give character points in secret. I give each player a scrap of paper with his CPs written on it. One of the biggest things I judge when handing out CPs is quality and effort in their RPing. This encourages each player to RP as well as they can during the game because they know I'll reward them each according to that, individually.

I also sometimes give each player a blank "character developement worksheet", found in the Heroes and Rogues book. I (again in secret) reward each player bonus CPs from 1 to 10, based on how well they filled it out. I've learned that MOST of the time, my players have put in a lot of effort on these sheets and always help them define their characters afterword. I also advise them not to read aloud this sheet to the other players... only allow the info to come to light through ingame RPing.

I also try very hard to put a huge amount of personality into every importent NPC that they meet and I almost always speak in-character as the NPC. I find that the GM often sets the standard for the session. The better I RP, the more the players get into their own RP.

Lastly, I use cut-scenes. I know this has kind of been touched on already. I use what I call "interludes". Usually I have these written up before the session. These cut-scenes always further the story, even though the PCs themselves have no knowledge of events that are happening elsewhere. I find that players are pretty good at not using info that their characters do not have (meta-gaming). Most of the time I can count on my cut-scenes to showcase how vile the "bad guy" is, or instill a sense of urgency (i.e.: the players know that time is running out through the cut-scenes, even if their characters do not). It makes them feel like they are truly a part of the world, I think... making their characters a little more "real".
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scott2978
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander


Joined: 02 Jun 2005
Posts: 220
Location: Arizona, USA

PostPosted: Thu Sep 08, 2005 7:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I once went so far as to lower the difficulty numbers by a couple points for players who role played particularly well.
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Jedi Skyler
Moff
Moff


Joined: 07 Sep 2005
Posts: 8440

PostPosted: Wed Sep 14, 2005 2:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Vanion wrote:
There are a few things I have done at one time or another, most of them I still do.

First off, I give character points in secret. I give each player a scrap of paper with his CPs written on it. One of the biggest things I judge when handing out CPs is quality and effort in their RPing. This encourages each player to RP as well as they can during the game because they know I'll reward them each according to that, individually.

I also sometimes give each player a blank "character developement worksheet", found in the Heroes and Rogues book. I (again in secret) reward each player bonus CPs from 1 to 10, based on how well they filled it out. I've learned that MOST of the time, my players have put in a lot of effort on these sheets and always help them define their characters afterword. I also advise them not to read aloud this sheet to the other players... only allow the info to come to light through ingame RPing.

I also try very hard to put a huge amount of personality into every importent NPC that they meet and I almost always speak in-character as the NPC. I find that the GM often sets the standard for the session. The better I RP, the more the players get into their own RP.

Lastly, I use cut-scenes. I know this has kind of been touched on already. I use what I call "interludes". Usually I have these written up before the session. These cut-scenes always further the story, even though the PCs themselves have no knowledge of events that are happening elsewhere. I find that players are pretty good at not using info that their characters do not have (meta-gaming). Most of the time I can count on my cut-scenes to showcase how vile the "bad guy" is, or instill a sense of urgency (i.e.: the players know that time is running out through the cut-scenes, even if their characters do not). It makes them feel like they are truly a part of the world, I think... making their characters a little more "real".


This totally rocks. I completely agree; the gamemaster sets the scene for everyone present. Back when I was actively gaming as much as possible, I used to go out with my fellow gamers and pick up figures, ships, whatever I could get or make. We all had old SW ships & figures, plus GI Joe's we'd bought, taken apart, and mixed to make custom figures. This really helped bring the scenes alive at some points. It was also a blast just trying to find figures that had components that matched (or even vaguely resembled) the characters we'd already drawn up. So sometimes the whole gaming experience bled over into real life, making the entire schebang that much more fun.

I give MUCH in the way of kudos to Vanion and GMs like him who are willing to invest so much for their players. It is people like them who make roleplaying so much fun and worth the experience.
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Volar the Healer
Jedi


Joined: 04 Aug 2003
Posts: 664
Location: Arizona, USA

PostPosted: Wed Sep 14, 2005 2:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

One other thing I do to encourage good roleplaying is insist PCs can only spend character points on skills they used that adventure. I also consider "two days in hyperspace" an opportunity to improve skills.
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Jedi Skyler
Moff
Moff


Joined: 07 Sep 2005
Posts: 8440

PostPosted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 10:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Volar the Healer wrote:
One other thing I do to encourage good roleplaying is insist PCs can only spend character points on skills they used that adventure. I also consider "two days in hyperspace" an opportunity to improve skills.


You betcha! This would be a good time for them to either improve skills they are going to use later on in the adventure, or work on skills they know they either want or need to improve for later on, perhaps another campaign, but it doesn't appear evident that they'll get a chance to flex those particular muscles in the current situation. Excellent, Volar!
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Vanion
Lieutenant
Lieutenant


Joined: 27 May 2005
Posts: 96
Location: Austin, Texas

PostPosted: Fri Sep 16, 2005 10:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Volar the Healer wrote:
One other thing I do to encourage good roleplaying is insist PCs can only spend character points on skills they used that adventure. I also consider "two days in hyperspace" an opportunity to improve skills.


This was something I had used at one time in a Star Wars D6 group, then dropped. I've decided to go back to it! I think it's a great idea.
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Jedi Skyler
Moff
Moff


Joined: 07 Sep 2005
Posts: 8440

PostPosted: Fri Sep 16, 2005 10:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is especially good if you have Jedi in your party that have no other time to really get some training in. If you have non-Force users in the party it can get real boring for them watching your Jedi trying to levitate stacks of credchips to strengthen their TK... Evil or Very Mad
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