weem
First Post
Weem’s DM Tips for RP Prompting and Immersion
Many of us would like to see more role-playing out of one or more of our players, and for good reason. These are role-playing games after all. We are seeking to immerse ourselves in alternate worlds and essentially let our imaginations take over for an evening.
But the benefits of a rich RP experience do more than simply allow you to be a hero (or perhaps a villain?) for a night. They have a way of helping resolve other common problems DM’s face that in some cases may not initially seem related to a lack of role-playing or deep enough character immersion.
I practice a lot of what I call “RP Prompting” in my games. These are techniques I have used to draw my players into deeper role-playing or to help them become more attached or immersed in their characters’ story. Most of my planning time (which, in total, equates to 3-5 hours the night before the game) involves thinking of ways to initiate RP prompts, and ways to draw attention to the importance of their characters in the story. They drive the story, and I always have a general idea of where they are heading. My improvisation skills are what I consider my strong point, and so that means I can focus more(most) of my time on the RP/Immersion aspects of my games.
A quick disclaimer before I start. Some of these tips you will have used, some may not work that well in your group and others may have you scratching your head. I make no assumptions about how well these will work for you – rather I simply want to share what works for me and my groups. This list does not cover everything I do, but it does cover the ones I feel are the most important/effective tools.
Character Foreground
One of the things we (in general) focus on initially when we think of role-playing is character backgrounds. Going into great detail with character backgrounds can be good, and even works for me for the most part, but when it comes to helping produce good RP opportunities in game, I like to create what I call a Character Foreground instead, and I like for my players to do this as well.
Character foregrounds, as opposed to backgrounds, focus entirely on the here and now. I tend to think of it as “what have I been doing the last day or two that lead me to hook up with this group”. Here is a quick example I used in another thread recently…
So that's a quick example. It covers nothing of my characters’ life from more than a day ago, which leaves plenty of topics for conversation later (aka RP-ing) in-game. I may have some of the background information written down, but it would be in a very basic format (a few sentences maybe – just something to prompt me when asked, but not so much that I am bound by anything).
Help Create Unique “Outisde of the Box” Character Aspects
I want my players to be attached to their characters. I want them to care if they live or die. Whenever I can help create this connection, I do it.
One of the ways I accomplish this is to work with players to give their characters some unique aspect(s) that are for this character only. If the Elf Ranger dies, and rerolls another one, he will no longer have the unique aspect of the previous one. Furthermore, these unique aspects evolve and grow with a character, which often times creates within the player a desire to see where this aspect leads – just how far will it evolve.
Here is one example of how I did this in my current campaign (4th Edition for those who are curious)…
The Psion
The player of the Psion (at the time) explained that he saw his character as someone exploring his powers for the first time. He wanted to be someone who could manifest his abilities in ways outside of combat that did not stem from the power cards necessarily. He described a wandering gambler trying to hone his mental powers attempting to pick up the thoughts of others, and to try and "push" his thoughts into other's minds.
Of course, he has a power that allows him to basically do this, but he talked of it going a step further - allowing him to persuade people in a way, to get them to think something of his choosing. He understood that this kind of thing would be spotty and that for a while it could be as much of a problem for him as it could be a benefit (it might return false info, or he may end up sharing thoughts he didn’t want to share).
He liked the idea, and I was already full of ideas for the role.
Examples in play...
- In the first game, while watching someone in the forest, I let him know he was getting a sense for the thoughts of the person. He asked what he was picking up and learned that the person seemed anxious and was wondering when everyone would arrive.
- In the second game, someone in a tavern was giving him and the PC's some grief and he said out loud something I don't recall specifically, but it was something along the lines of "yea, big help", and in a very sarcastic way. So I asked him, "did you say that out loud?" and he said, "no"... so I replied, "well that was odd... you didn't say it out loud, but he seemed to hear 'something' that irritated him, and he looked around right as you thought that". So, the player understood his emotional reaction, while internal, had 'leaked' into the NPC's mind - he even said, "oops, I need to watch that".
Realistically Meaningless Actions
One of the things in life that occurs all the time but rarely makes it into movies or tv shows (or our games) are the little gestures we make, or things we say that go nowhere or have no importance to the current conversation. When we don’t include these things from time to time, it can feel like any action, no matter how small, MUST be important to the story. Otherwise, why employ it.
By bringing these aspects of life into you game you can not only add a bit of reality to your game, but you can also use it as a tool to draw attention to character aspects that will help a player with character immersion.
SIDE NOTE: I would quickly mention two shows that immediately come to mind that did things like this (focused, very briefly on things that were insignificant to the story, but gave you tiny bits of insight into their characters) – “Seinfeld” and “Rosanne”.
One example is to have an NPC call attention to something (naturally in conversation) that is part of a player’s character. It can be just about anything, and can include things the player never detailed, like a tunic, or the presence of leaves and webs on their for example...
It adds a bit of realism or life to a conversation (which is great on its own merit). More importantly, it also calls out character details that will likely illicit a response of some kind, of which the player will feel more compelled to answer from the characters point of view (in my experience) since attention was drawn to it in-game.
The great thing about this is they are easy to come up with on the fly, and done very quickly.
SIDE NOTE: Something quick like this is especially nice when the room gets quiet during a PC to NPC conversation - use it to fill those long silent moments while a PC ponders his/her next actions, etc.
Special Character Insight
I will sometimes give players insights into their environment based on their race, or class etc by drawing their attention to something that would not otherwise be noticed (generally because we feel it's not important enough to). That doesn't mean it has to be important though - much of my smaller RP interactions like these mean nothing mechanically to the game.
For example, I might tell the group as they enter a clearing in the woods…
Instead, I might translate the same information to everyone by showing it to them from the eyes of just one of the party members as well. For example, instead of the above descriptive text aimed at everyone, I may instead turn (physically turn my body) and face the Elf of the group...
This puts the player into the head of his character. He knows his character has learned this because of who he is. At this point, I think most players will feel prompted to say something - again, from their characters point of view - maybe warning the players to stop before the clearing, or maybe telling them it would be a good place to rest. Either way, there is a prompt there.
It also had the added bonus of giving that player a connection to an aspect of his character that makes him unique from the others in the group. These are things (unique aspects and attention) that I think players (including myself) really enjoy. They connect you to your character and help pull you into them. It effectively sharpens the image in your mind of your character which is great for prompting more RP from a player.
Using “Voices”
One of the things people new to RP-ing avoid most frequently is using voices for the characters. In fact, many veterans do as well. I won’t go into detail regarding the proper amounts or styles that should be used – my thinking is they are best used in moderation. Instead, I want to focus quickly on making voices work with regards to RP prompting and character immersion.
As a DM, characters not using voices (that aren’t theirs naturally) does not bother me one bit – but I do want the players to speak from their characters perspective, and by using voices myself, it’s a natural prompt for the player to respond from said perspective. When they speak from the perspective of their character, they are being further immersed in his/her reality.
For most of my NPC’s, I simply use my own voice. But there are a number of ways to give your own voice unique aspects.
Talking faster or slower than normal
Stuttering
Awkward pauses (accompanying these with eye gestures helps too… looking down for example, or even hand gestures… scratching your head or chest)
Don’t Say Uh
When you are speaking as an NPC, do not use “Uh” or “Um” unless the NPC is actually undecided or unprepared for something. This is very different than YOU, the DM being unprepared.
For example, if a player asks an NPC, “Where were you born?”, the NPC should not respond with “Uhhh… hmmm… here actually”. He knows where he was born more than likely, and if not, then that would be the answer “I’m not sure” – either way, those answers come to people immediately. When you indicate out-loud in this fashion that you are not prepared, often times players are immediately extracted from the immersion you had going. It takes some work to get back to it.
If you need a moment to think, give yourself a moment by demonstrating SOME kind of reaction while you think.
EX:
Rewarding RP (Fate Point Cards)
Back in February I created some Fate Point Cards to hand out to my players as a reward for good role-playing. The idea of pulling Aspects from FATE into 4e was not my own, but was something I really liked. As I mentioned, getting more RP from my players is one of my primary goals.
More about the cards and how it works can be found here on EN World.
And Done.
The goal in my games is to get the players immersed in the game at hand and in their characters lives, and to remain immersed as long as possible. All games include moments of stepping in and out of this immersion, but in my experience, the longer you can stay “in” the better the game is and the more connected the players feel to their characters, their story, and what is essentially their world.
Congratulations if you made it this far, well done and thanks for reading! I hope one or more of these ideas can help you in some way with your own game.
Please feel free to share any feedback or questions about these, or even share your own tips and ideas!
Many of us would like to see more role-playing out of one or more of our players, and for good reason. These are role-playing games after all. We are seeking to immerse ourselves in alternate worlds and essentially let our imaginations take over for an evening.
But the benefits of a rich RP experience do more than simply allow you to be a hero (or perhaps a villain?) for a night. They have a way of helping resolve other common problems DM’s face that in some cases may not initially seem related to a lack of role-playing or deep enough character immersion.
I practice a lot of what I call “RP Prompting” in my games. These are techniques I have used to draw my players into deeper role-playing or to help them become more attached or immersed in their characters’ story. Most of my planning time (which, in total, equates to 3-5 hours the night before the game) involves thinking of ways to initiate RP prompts, and ways to draw attention to the importance of their characters in the story. They drive the story, and I always have a general idea of where they are heading. My improvisation skills are what I consider my strong point, and so that means I can focus more(most) of my time on the RP/Immersion aspects of my games.
A quick disclaimer before I start. Some of these tips you will have used, some may not work that well in your group and others may have you scratching your head. I make no assumptions about how well these will work for you – rather I simply want to share what works for me and my groups. This list does not cover everything I do, but it does cover the ones I feel are the most important/effective tools.
Character Foreground
One of the things we (in general) focus on initially when we think of role-playing is character backgrounds. Going into great detail with character backgrounds can be good, and even works for me for the most part, but when it comes to helping produce good RP opportunities in game, I like to create what I call a Character Foreground instead, and I like for my players to do this as well.
Character foregrounds, as opposed to backgrounds, focus entirely on the here and now. I tend to think of it as “what have I been doing the last day or two that lead me to hook up with this group”. Here is a quick example I used in another thread recently…
So that's a quick example. It covers nothing of my characters’ life from more than a day ago, which leaves plenty of topics for conversation later (aka RP-ing) in-game. I may have some of the background information written down, but it would be in a very basic format (a few sentences maybe – just something to prompt me when asked, but not so much that I am bound by anything).
Help Create Unique “Outisde of the Box” Character Aspects
I want my players to be attached to their characters. I want them to care if they live or die. Whenever I can help create this connection, I do it.
One of the ways I accomplish this is to work with players to give their characters some unique aspect(s) that are for this character only. If the Elf Ranger dies, and rerolls another one, he will no longer have the unique aspect of the previous one. Furthermore, these unique aspects evolve and grow with a character, which often times creates within the player a desire to see where this aspect leads – just how far will it evolve.
Here is one example of how I did this in my current campaign (4th Edition for those who are curious)…
The Psion
The player of the Psion (at the time) explained that he saw his character as someone exploring his powers for the first time. He wanted to be someone who could manifest his abilities in ways outside of combat that did not stem from the power cards necessarily. He described a wandering gambler trying to hone his mental powers attempting to pick up the thoughts of others, and to try and "push" his thoughts into other's minds.
Of course, he has a power that allows him to basically do this, but he talked of it going a step further - allowing him to persuade people in a way, to get them to think something of his choosing. He understood that this kind of thing would be spotty and that for a while it could be as much of a problem for him as it could be a benefit (it might return false info, or he may end up sharing thoughts he didn’t want to share).
He liked the idea, and I was already full of ideas for the role.
Examples in play...
- In the first game, while watching someone in the forest, I let him know he was getting a sense for the thoughts of the person. He asked what he was picking up and learned that the person seemed anxious and was wondering when everyone would arrive.
- In the second game, someone in a tavern was giving him and the PC's some grief and he said out loud something I don't recall specifically, but it was something along the lines of "yea, big help", and in a very sarcastic way. So I asked him, "did you say that out loud?" and he said, "no"... so I replied, "well that was odd... you didn't say it out loud, but he seemed to hear 'something' that irritated him, and he looked around right as you thought that". So, the player understood his emotional reaction, while internal, had 'leaked' into the NPC's mind - he even said, "oops, I need to watch that".
Realistically Meaningless Actions
One of the things in life that occurs all the time but rarely makes it into movies or tv shows (or our games) are the little gestures we make, or things we say that go nowhere or have no importance to the current conversation. When we don’t include these things from time to time, it can feel like any action, no matter how small, MUST be important to the story. Otherwise, why employ it.
By bringing these aspects of life into you game you can not only add a bit of reality to your game, but you can also use it as a tool to draw attention to character aspects that will help a player with character immersion.
SIDE NOTE: I would quickly mention two shows that immediately come to mind that did things like this (focused, very briefly on things that were insignificant to the story, but gave you tiny bits of insight into their characters) – “Seinfeld” and “Rosanne”.
One example is to have an NPC call attention to something (naturally in conversation) that is part of a player’s character. It can be just about anything, and can include things the player never detailed, like a tunic, or the presence of leaves and webs on their for example...
It adds a bit of realism or life to a conversation (which is great on its own merit). More importantly, it also calls out character details that will likely illicit a response of some kind, of which the player will feel more compelled to answer from the characters point of view (in my experience) since attention was drawn to it in-game.
The great thing about this is they are easy to come up with on the fly, and done very quickly.
SIDE NOTE: Something quick like this is especially nice when the room gets quiet during a PC to NPC conversation - use it to fill those long silent moments while a PC ponders his/her next actions, etc.
Special Character Insight
I will sometimes give players insights into their environment based on their race, or class etc by drawing their attention to something that would not otherwise be noticed (generally because we feel it's not important enough to). That doesn't mean it has to be important though - much of my smaller RP interactions like these mean nothing mechanically to the game.
For example, I might tell the group as they enter a clearing in the woods…
It's a simple descriptive statement aimed at everyone in general, but not very special.
Instead, I might translate the same information to everyone by showing it to them from the eyes of just one of the party members as well. For example, instead of the above descriptive text aimed at everyone, I may instead turn (physically turn my body) and face the Elf of the group...
This puts the player into the head of his character. He knows his character has learned this because of who he is. At this point, I think most players will feel prompted to say something - again, from their characters point of view - maybe warning the players to stop before the clearing, or maybe telling them it would be a good place to rest. Either way, there is a prompt there.
It also had the added bonus of giving that player a connection to an aspect of his character that makes him unique from the others in the group. These are things (unique aspects and attention) that I think players (including myself) really enjoy. They connect you to your character and help pull you into them. It effectively sharpens the image in your mind of your character which is great for prompting more RP from a player.
Using “Voices”
One of the things people new to RP-ing avoid most frequently is using voices for the characters. In fact, many veterans do as well. I won’t go into detail regarding the proper amounts or styles that should be used – my thinking is they are best used in moderation. Instead, I want to focus quickly on making voices work with regards to RP prompting and character immersion.
As a DM, characters not using voices (that aren’t theirs naturally) does not bother me one bit – but I do want the players to speak from their characters perspective, and by using voices myself, it’s a natural prompt for the player to respond from said perspective. When they speak from the perspective of their character, they are being further immersed in his/her reality.
For most of my NPC’s, I simply use my own voice. But there are a number of ways to give your own voice unique aspects.
Talking faster or slower than normal
Stuttering
Awkward pauses (accompanying these with eye gestures helps too… looking down for example, or even hand gestures… scratching your head or chest)
Don’t Say Uh
When you are speaking as an NPC, do not use “Uh” or “Um” unless the NPC is actually undecided or unprepared for something. This is very different than YOU, the DM being unprepared.
For example, if a player asks an NPC, “Where were you born?”, the NPC should not respond with “Uhhh… hmmm… here actually”. He knows where he was born more than likely, and if not, then that would be the answer “I’m not sure” – either way, those answers come to people immediately. When you indicate out-loud in this fashion that you are not prepared, often times players are immediately extracted from the immersion you had going. It takes some work to get back to it.
If you need a moment to think, give yourself a moment by demonstrating SOME kind of reaction while you think.
EX:
Rewarding RP (Fate Point Cards)
Back in February I created some Fate Point Cards to hand out to my players as a reward for good role-playing. The idea of pulling Aspects from FATE into 4e was not my own, but was something I really liked. As I mentioned, getting more RP from my players is one of my primary goals.
More about the cards and how it works can be found here on EN World.
And Done.
The goal in my games is to get the players immersed in the game at hand and in their characters lives, and to remain immersed as long as possible. All games include moments of stepping in and out of this immersion, but in my experience, the longer you can stay “in” the better the game is and the more connected the players feel to their characters, their story, and what is essentially their world.
Congratulations if you made it this far, well done and thanks for reading! I hope one or more of these ideas can help you in some way with your own game.
Please feel free to share any feedback or questions about these, or even share your own tips and ideas!
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