How to encourage roleplaying

[drakinn]

Over the past 22 years of playing and GMing I have noticed a few things and GMed for every type of play. I have noticed when the players get immersed into the game they have much more fun then just going from one kill to another and yet there does have to be balance. I currently have a group that has players that avoid getting to know NPCs, don't engage with towns people and ask questions, and they miss important clues that are crucial to seeing the big picture. I have adjusted the xp table to reward such actions as well as had them develop in depth backgrounds that I build stories around. still there hasn't been much improvement just this last time they rushed and missed things to get to the action. I put this here instead of the GM forum because I want input from players as well as GMs it might help.

[strtkwr]

Try putting in a villian that is way too powerful for them, and then have them go about trying to find a weakness (or weapon) to exploit in order to defeat them. They could do this by doing some investigating, talking to NPC's, research, ect...Just make sure that the Villian is powerful enough that if they keep trying to combat him without finding his weakness , they would keep getting their butt's kicked.

[The Dark Elf]

they need a mystery to unravel and one that they cannot help but be affected by.

they could be framed for something, or all the townsfolk shun them (cos of their religion, race, magic use, outsiders etc.), or some of their items have been pickpocketed or anything!

[Bood Samel]

Make sure theres lots of action but also action they have to think through. Maybe put them in hazardous terrain, like a building or tunnel that'll collapse if they use guns, or have them get chased through difficult terrain. Also send them to madhaven, you can't really shoot your way through that place. Madhaven=think or die.

[drakinn]

Put them in social situations. NPC asks the player a question, or the player must convince somebody of something, etc. Can't shoot your way through a conversation, so get to RP'ing.

This I have started doing more and it has started working I am also developing individual story lines running into an old friend, being asked to be on the look out for something, making a friend at a pub we will see how it builds

[Killer Cyborg]

I currently have a group that has players that avoid getting to know NPCs, don't engage with towns people and ask questions, and they miss important clues that are crucial to seeing the big picture. I have adjusted the xp table to reward such actions as well as had them develop in depth backgrounds that I build stories around. still there hasn't been much improvement just this last time they rushed and missed things to get to the action.

There's already been some good advice, probably the most important of which is asking the players what kind of game they want. This is important because there are some players who simply have no interest in anything but combat. My last D&D group had a player who would get up from the table and go home if it looked like there wasn't going to be any more combat that session. Then he'd come back next week, looking for more combat. The guy couldn't appreciate role-playing, and he couldn't be made to appreciate it.

Now, if all the players say that they just want combat, don't give up all hope of role-playing happening... just don't focus on it. But if you make them have fairly fleshed-out characters, you can slowly work in some role-playing during combat.
Speaking as somebody who's character has interrupted more than one NPC Villain's speech with a baton to the back of the head, I'd advise against trying to get them engaged in conversation during combat, but there are other role-playing opportunities.
If a character hates Goblins, put him in a situation where he has to choose between attacking a goblin henchman or attacking the bigger threat of the main NPC. This will give him an opportunity to weigh the character's competing desires to kill goblins as a first prioirty or to try to accomplish the mission. That sort of thing.
Have NPCs around that are simply too powerful for the party to defeat. Over time, this can teach them that not everybody is worth attacking, and this might lead them toward exploring other options.

In general, the ways to encourage role-playing, in addition to what you're already doing (using XP as a bribe, etc), are:
-Find out what makes the players excited, then let them do it. Usually, people have more interests in life than just combat, it's just that they don't really know that these interests can be filled via role-playing.
If they're the "if there are girls here, I want to DO them!" kind of player, then sometimes let them find some girls and do them. You probably don't want to role-play this out in too much detail, but by making them jump through a couple of simple hoops before they get to the goal, stuff like having a conversation with the girl first or something, you can get them to role-play a bit more.
If the player is into sports, bring the subject up in the game somehow. Maybe have him bodyguard a (insert sport here) player of prominence or something. Or just have somebody talk to him about sports at the local bar during downtime.
If the player like James Bond, give him opportunities to look good in a tux and to gamble (and win), and to drive fast cars.
If the player is into cars or guns in real life, give him an opportunity to live out a simple fantasy in the game. Give his character that (insert fancy and/or collectible car name) that he's been wanting, or that rare/obscure/fancy SDC gun that he wants in the real world (and let him use it productively).
We're not just playing Role-Playing Games here, they're fantasy Role-Playing games. Let the people live out their dreams in different ways, even if they're only small ways. Most people have enthusiasms other than combat.
-Make them think. If they like straight-forward combat, give that to them... but slip in other stuff here or there. Toss enough ambushes at them here or there that they learn to look for ambushes. Toss them powerful enough foes that the PCs can't win in a straight-up fight, but give the PCs chances to set up ambushes that will let them win, so that they'll learn to seek the advantage when possible instead of just mindlessly wading right into combat.
In Rifts, the high cost of armor repair, and the scarcity of repair shops, can slowly teach people better combat strategy. Send a series of low-powered enemies at them over time, but don't let the PCs get to a repair shop for a while. The first fight will go easy, and they'll be cocky. The second as well, probably. But by around the 3rd or 4th combat, they should start to notice that the little bits of damage they're taking in each combat is building up, and will eventually kill them if they can't get some repairs sometime. This should teach them to at least try to avoid getting hit, instead of letting their armor do all the work, which should get them to put more thought into strategy.
Moreover, they should learn that sometimes combat just isn't worth it. If you lose 10 MDC off your armor fighting a demon, that's not too bad... but that's still a net loss of thousands of credits if the demon doesn't have any loot (or simply doesn't have much loot).
Necessity is the mother of invention, but the flip-side of that is that most people don't like to think things through unless they have to. So make them have to.
-Make them use skills. See what skills their characters have, and set up situations where the skills come in handy. If they play guitar, set up a situation where their character can go undercover as a musician, or even just sit on a corner with his hat out, playing for a few creds from passersby. Or give them one of the Instrumecha from Lancer's Rockers. If the character has the Cooking skill, let them know that the meals they prepare while they're camping are actually good because they have that skill.
Conversely, if the characters don't have any non-combat, non-adventuring skills, set up situations where they'll regret it. Make them miss out on that CR 10,000 prize money from the guitar contest, money that they need for their armor repairs. Make them understand that if they can't Cook, then any meals they prepare aren't going to be very good. give them indigestion or even the runs where appropriate. Don't be too cruel to them, by show the necessity of non-combat skills. Make them get lost if they don't have Land Navigation. Make them miss out on warnings and clues if they aren't literate, or if they don't speak anything other than American.
Look over the list of skills and think about each one, and see why they might be necessary, then show the necessity (and utility!) of the skill to the players.
-Make them use special abilities. Much the same as with skills, players often don't fully think through their full list of abilities. If all they think they have is a gun, everything is going to look like a target. Make sure they know that they can do other things. Make them use spells and psi-powers in non-combat applications. Make them use racial abilities.
Make them understand that their character can (and SHOULD) do more than just blast stuff to pieces.
-Make them use (and buy) equipment. 50' of rope is standard for adventurers for a reason; it's handy. Put them in situations where they can use the rope, and/or where they'll regret not having it.
Every time the party encounters a situation that they can't immediately solve, they should each stop and fully read over their character sheet. They should look at their skills, powers, attributes, equipment, and everything else on the sheet to see what they have that might possibly be useful in their particular situation.
And you, as GM, should make sure that they learn this.
-Don't get too carried away with the old "ROLE-play vs. ROLL-play" nonsense. Sometimes, players need dice to role-play their character. If a player gets tongue-tied, but wants to play a glib conman, let him. Don't make him improvise every speech, lie, or short con that the character makes, not if he's not up to it. Just like you don't make players stand up, grab a sword and/or gun, and perform the combat moves that their characters are performing.
The dice are there to let people role-play characters that they could never BE in real life. They're there to represent skills that our characters have that we don't.
Don't forget that. The limits of role-playing are the limits of your imaginations, not your real-world abilities.
You don't want to rely on the dice for everything, of course, but you should understand their purpose.
If the player can't come up with a good spontaneous lie like his con-man character could, let him get away with simply telling you the kind of lie he wants to use, not the actual words. Then roll some dice and/or role-play the NPCs response to see how well the lie is told and/or goes over.

That's all I've got for now. I'll let you know if I think of anything else.

[TechnoGothic]

Well my advice is simple.

Plan on more Social encounters for the game. Have them alot more non-combat activity in general in game. Have Family or Friends show up out of nowhere. Just make up the Family or friends (NPCs) as the player should have already informed you of details. If they failed that, fill in the void yourself, as GM its up to you to focus on more than combat. Let the players know before the game begins however, if the game is going to focus on Role-playing more than Combat-playing. I had several combat junkies leave our group, and i'm happy they left to be honest. Now we can focus on the FUN aspects of Role-playing games, the actual Role-playing itself.

As i said, just let them know in advance your going to focus on Role-playing more than Roll-playing.

[Balabanto]

Confront the characters with situations that can't be solved by fighting. They'll roleplay because they have to, but eventually, they'll get into it.

"Those bandits stole my hog!"

"Your motorcycle?"

"No, my hog, my two thousand pound Bertha. Don't know how they lifted that big ole pig with all the squealin' and shoutin goin on. Can yuh get her back for me? I aint got much, just some pork chops and a few pounds of bacon, but ah think the bacon's worth it..."

How do they get this guy to give up something more than bacon? Now, granted, for most of us, not much is better than bacon. But if one of the characters in the group is a vegetarian, now you have to get him to give up prized root vegetables. Everything is in the presentation.

[Kalidor]

This is where the D20 system makes things easier but it works in Rifts too -- I will put them in situations that require them to use non combat skills like Lore or the equivalent of spot or listen checks. If they don't have the skills I just make it a point to let them know that having a guy with knowledge in a particular subject would be useful.. but it's possible someone in town might know -- then I let them decide who they want to talk to and how they want to approach it.

If they start to see they need certain skills enough times they will start picking them.

[DBX]

There's already been some good advice, probably the most important of which is asking the players what kind of game they want. This is important because there are some players who simply have no interest in anything but combat. My last D&D group had a player who would get up from the table and go home if it looked like there wasn't going to be any more combat that session. Then he'd come back next week, looking for more combat. The guy couldn't appreciate role-playing, and he couldn't be made to appreciate it.

Now, if all the players say that they just want combat, don't give up all hope of role-playing happening... just don't focus on it. But if you make them have fairly fleshed-out characters, you can slowly work in some role-playing during combat.
Speaking as somebody who's character has interrupted more than one NPC Villain's speech with a baton to the back of the head, I'd advise against trying to get them engaged in conversation during combat, but there are other role-playing opportunities.
If a character hates Goblins, put him in a situation where he has to choose between attacking a goblin henchman or attacking the bigger threat of the main NPC. This will give him an opportunity to weigh the character's competing desires to kill goblins as a first prioirty or to try to accomplish the mission. That sort of thing.
Have NPCs around that are simply too powerful for the party to defeat. Over time, this can teach them that not everybody is worth attacking, and this might lead them toward exploring other options.

In general, the ways to encourage role-playing, in addition to what you're already doing (using XP as a bribe, etc), are:
-Find out what makes the players excited, then let them do it. Usually, people have more interests in life than just combat, it's just that they don't really know that these interests can be filled via role-playing.
If they're the "if there are girls here, I want to DO them!" kind of player, then sometimes let them find some girls and do them. You probably don't want to role-play this out in too much detail, but by making them jump through a couple of simple hoops before they get to the goal, stuff like having a conversation with the girl first or something, you can get them to role-play a bit more.
If the player is into sports, bring the subject up in the game somehow. Maybe have him bodyguard a (insert sport here) player of prominence or something. Or just have somebody talk to him about sports at the local bar during downtime.
If the player like James Bond, give him opportunities to look good in a tux and to gamble (and win), and to drive fast cars.
If the player is into cars or guns in real life, give him an opportunity to live out a simple fantasy in the game. Give his character that (insert fancy and/or collectible car name) that he's been wanting, or that rare/obscure/fancy SDC gun that he wants in the real world (and let him use it productively).
We're not just playing Role-Playing Games here, they're fantasy Role-Playing games. Let the people live out their dreams in different ways, even if they're only small ways. Most people have enthusiasms other than combat.
-Make them think. If they like straight-forward combat, give that to them... but slip in other stuff here or there. Toss enough ambushes at them here or there that they learn to look for ambushes. Toss them powerful enough foes that the PCs can't win in a straight-up fight, but give the PCs chances to set up ambushes that will let them win, so that they'll learn to seek the advantage when possible instead of just mindlessly wading right into combat.
In Rifts, the high cost of armor repair, and the scarcity of repair shops, can slowly teach people better combat strategy. Send a series of low-powered enemies at them over time, but don't let the PCs get to a repair shop for a while. The first fight will go easy, and they'll be cocky. The second as well, probably. But by around the 3rd or 4th combat, they should start to notice that the little bits of damage they're taking in each combat is building up, and will eventually kill them if they can't get some repairs sometime. This should teach them to at least try to avoid getting hit, instead of letting their armor do all the work, which should get them to put more thought into strategy.
Moreover, they should learn that sometimes combat just isn't worth it. If you lose 10 MDC off your armor fighting a demon, that's not too bad... but that's still a net loss of thousands of credits if the demon doesn't have any loot (or simply doesn't have much loot).
Necessity is the mother of invention, but the flip-side of that is that most people don't like to think things through unless they have to. So make them have to.
-Make them use skills. See what skills their characters have, and set up situations where the skills come in handy. If they play guitar, set up a situation where their character can go undercover as a musician, or even just sit on a corner with his hat out, playing for a few creds from passersby. Or give them one of the Instrumecha from Lancer's Rockers. If the character has the Cooking skill, let them know that the meals they prepare while they're camping are actually good because they have that skill.
Conversely, if the characters don't have any non-combat, non-adventuring skills, set up situations where they'll regret it. Make them miss out on that CR 10,000 prize money from the guitar contest, money that they need for their armor repairs. Make them understand that if they can't Cook, then any meals they prepare aren't going to be very good. give them indigestion or even the runs where appropriate. Don't be too cruel to them, by show the necessity of non-combat skills. Make them get lost if they don't have Land Navigation. Make them miss out on warnings and clues if they aren't literate, or if they don't speak anything other than American.
Look over the list of skills and think about each one, and see why they might be necessary, then show the necessity (and utility!) of the skill to the players.
-Make them use special abilities. Much the same as with skills, players often don't fully think through their full list of abilities. If all they think they have is a gun, everything is going to look like a target. Make sure they know that they can do other things. Make them use spells and psi-powers in non-combat applications. Make them use racial abilities.
Make them understand that their character can (and SHOULD) do more than just blast stuff to pieces.
-Make them use (and buy) equipment. 50' of rope is standard for adventurers for a reason; it's handy. Put them in situations where they can use the rope, and/or where they'll regret not having it.
Every time the party encounters a situation that they can't immediately solve, they should each stop and fully read over their character sheet. They should look at their skills, powers, attributes, equipment, and everything else on the sheet to see what they have that might possibly be useful in their particular situation.
And you, as GM, should make sure that they learn this.
-Don't get too carried away with the old "ROLE-play vs. ROLL-play" nonsense. Sometimes, players need dice to role-play their character. If a player gets tongue-tied, but wants to play a glib conman, let him. Don't make him improvise every speech, lie, or short con that the character makes, not if he's not up to it. Just like you don't make players stand up, grab a sword and/or gun, and perform the combat moves that their characters are performing.
The dice are there to let people role-play characters that they could never BE in real life. They're there to represent skills that our characters have that we don't.
Don't forget that. The limits of role-playing are the limits of your imaginations, not your real-world abilities.
You don't want to rely on the dice for everything, of course, but you should understand their purpose.
If the player can't come up with a good spontaneous lie like his con-man character could, let him get away with simply telling you the kind of lie he wants to use, not the actual words. Then roll some dice and/or role-play the NPCs response to see how well the lie is told and/or goes over.

That's all I've got for now. I'll let you know if I think of anything else.

IMO all GM's and players should enlarge the font, print it out and nail gun it to their forehead before they begin their scenario. so that during the gaming session when a player looks at at GM (Vice Versa as well) they notice it and take a moment to think and ponder, before they say "this is what i do" or "this happens"

[DBX]

Players should understand consquences of their actions - not just the bad but the good as well

Players treating CS encounters as merely restocking pit stops.
they won't after they realize the CS bounties brought bubba fett after them,
or when the next time they attack a CS patrol, they find CS special forces drop on them before they've had a chance to reload their weapons

they walk into Lazlo (safehaven from CS reprisals) but find they just got arrested for the random killing of a CS patrol


They get better paid for taking in a living bounty than exploding the target into a million pieces

At end of scenario where players "had shoot first ask questions later" policy, let them know within the ingame situation that they would have had a better pay day, if they actually talked to so and so NPC before they killed him. As that npc would have made them a more profitable offer or that a particular NPC they had killed, would have told them the solution to their question.
that a certain NPC would have made it easier for them to get to their destination if only they had talked to her, so that instead of having four random encounters before their prize, they would have only have to contend with one random encounter


establishing quickly that non comabt skills and abilities can be used to profit the player if they are used correctly, and at the same time if combat skills are used incorrectly or at the wrong time, they will have a detrimental effect on the player's character.
Character's fighting display has brought them to the attention of the very people they were trying to stay concealed from in the new location they got to.

the local gangs notice the player groups display and decide to teach them who is top dog in the town. unwanted encounter ensues. they kill a few of them, and find they have killed the local city rat. The one they would have relied on to restock their gear

[DBX]

If the GM sets up that people's action have consequences then the world becomes more visceral and Player Character reactions CAN become more realistic. But it is the world that dictates this...and therefore the GM...not the Player...and Players can...and DO...play psychopaths and sociopaths.

I have to go back to the GM/Player contract. If everybody at the table is clear on what is expected they can act as expected. If you don't get that clear there is bound to be table conflict.

WildWlaker

WildWalker

To an extent i think a GM has to dictate, but players will start to learn with consquences/rewards, that there is an easy way and a hard way for their characters to achieve goals. The GM shouldn't stop them from choosing the difficult path but the players shouldn't complain afterwards

I think GM/Players talking to each other is a must to really enjoy the gaming experience, and to let both get the most out of the gaming session

a player should let GM know how he sees his character and goals and the GM should inform him of his expectations of the character. Also the charcters could increase/decrease in power, evolve in characteristics. ingame character related events occurring helps but these shouldn't occur at the GM's whim.

sooner or later GM/player should talk to each other. GM to learn if player is happy with the direction he is taking player's character in, and explain why he thinks that its a good thing. The player to explain to GM if he likes/dislikes and the reasons for those feelings. player should suggest alternatives for his character's development and let the GM know how he sees things progressing as the campaign develops.

Our enjoyment of the scenarios we ran increased greatly once players started talking to the GM. The reasons i think a GM can dictate to players is because soemtimes players don't see the overall picture. players are to engrossed in own character to notice the bigger picture/storyline the GM is weaving.

In one of our rifts campaigns, the GM altered/enhanced a character through scenarios (according to him), but the player throughout that campaign saw it as a negative (according to how he saw things)

it was only after we stopped gaming that campaign that the GM revealed the things players missed and explained what players did that he hadn't expected them to do.

one of the things that stood out clearly to the player who thought GM had arbitarily weakened his character was that the alteration made by the GM actually made his character. in fact he wouldn't have made the character any other way if he was to create him from scratch, as that change through the campaign became the essential characteristic of that campaign.

Alot of grief/bitterness could have been stopped at the root if the GM/players had actually talked to each other during the scenarios, rather than at the end. they may have enjoyed the rp'ing sessions even more than they did

[Tearstone]

If the GM sets up that people's action have consequences then the world becomes more visceral and Player Character reactions CAN become more realistic. But it is the world that dictates this...and therefore the GM...not the Player...and Players can...and DO...play psychopaths and sociopaths.

I have to go back to the GM/Player contract. If everybody at the table is clear on what is expected they can act as expected. If you don't get that clear there is bound to be table conflict.

WildWlaker

WildWalker

To an extent i think a GM has to dictate, but players will start to learn with consquences/rewards, that there is an easy way and a hard way for their characters to achieve goals. The GM shouldn't stop them from choosing the difficult path but the players shouldn't complain afterwards

I think GM/Players talking to each other is a must to really enjoy the gaming experience, and to let both get the most out of the gaming session

a player should let GM know how he sees his character and goals and the GM should inform him of his expectations of the character. Also the charcters could increase/decrease in power, evolve in characteristics. ingame character related events occurring helps but these shouldn't occur at the GM's whim.

sooner or later GM/player should talk to each other. GM to learn if player is happy with the direction he is taking player's character in, and explain why he thinks that its a good thing. The player to explain to GM if he likes/dislikes and the reasons for those feelings. player should suggest alternatives for his character's development and let the GM know how he sees things progressing as the campaign develops.

Our enjoyment of the scenarios we ran increased greatly once players started talking to the GM. The reasons i think a GM can dictate to players is because soemtimes players don't see the overall picture. players are to engrossed in own character to notice the bigger picture/storyline the GM is weaving.

In one of our rifts campaigns, the GM altered/enhanced a character through scenarios (according to him), but the player throughout that campaign saw it as a negative (according to how he saw things)

it was only after we stopped gaming that campaign that the GM revealed the things players missed and explained what players did that he hadn't expected them to do.

one of the things that stood out clearly to the player who thought GM had arbitarily weakened his character was that the alteration made by the GM actually made his character. in fact he wouldn't have made the character any other way if he was to create him from scratch, as that change through the campaign became the essential characteristic of that campaign.

Alot of grief/bitterness could have been stopped at the root if the GM/players had actually talked to each other during the scenarios, rather than at the end. they may have enjoyed the rp'ing sessions even more than they did

I agree that the GM does have the right to dictate, however, a player is responsible for their character, and it's development. I don't see how a GM has a say in that, other than certain events that may happen. It's up to the player and occasionally the dice, that decide how their character reacts, thinks, feels, and the like.

[Jorel]

Cash is the best way to encourage players to do what you want. Have everyone put into the pot at the beginning of the night, and whoever is deemed to have done the best "role" playing gets the pot at the end of the session. Voted on by all the the players, and the GM gets either 2 votes, or none. GM's choice.

[TechnoGothic]

Cash is the best way to encourage players to do what you want. Have everyone put into the pot at the beginning of the night, and whoever is deemed to have done the best "role" playing gets the pot at the end of the session. Voted on by all the the players, and the GM gets either 2 votes, or none. GM's choice.

That doesn't work.
They just vote for themselves. Forcing the GM to vote. Which will **** off eveyone except the winner. I say the GM should get the pot if their is no clear winner.

[TechnoGothic]

They still would vote for themselves if there is money involved. Greedy players all of them.

-------------

Best bet is just to focus on Non-combats for awhile.
Force them to RP out buying their supplies, haggle for better deals. Discover a family member is in Jail somewhere. Have them "feel" love for the family member ... even if Alignement says they might not.

[Cinos]

There is no singular good way to get a group to begin Role Playing that's foolproof. Down to good old fashion RP that can operate without the need of rules, or with little intervention of them, is extremely uncommon. The only true way to do it is to start doing it. That's it. If you're the GM, give vivid descriptions, try to voice out NPCs worth the effort, get in the shoes of NPCs, Villians and the like and make choices based off their opinions. With any luck it rubs off on the players. Offer minor rewards (like EXP for in character choices / actions / Role Play, or EXP multipliers should they remain in character for the session, such as +10 - 25% EXP gains), but don't try to bribe them or force them into it, it's more likely to backfire then do any encouragement.