Authors' Comments
Roleplaying
I am generally more of a "hack-and-slash" player. I generally don't mind role-playing, but I tend to enjoy combat more.
However, last night we had a two-hour session that was completely role-playing. It was one of the best sessions I've ever played in, to be completely honest.
I think one of the biggest reasons that it was so fun was that the NPCs that we were interacting with were very thought out, and had a very detailed backstory with lots of emotion in it.
So if you want your players to role-play, make sure you have NPCs worth role-playing with.
However, last night we had a two-hour session that was completely role-playing. It was one of the best sessions I've ever played in, to be completely honest.
I think one of the biggest reasons that it was so fun was that the NPCs that we were interacting with were very thought out, and had a very detailed backstory with lots of emotion in it.
So if you want your players to role-play, make sure you have NPCs worth role-playing with.
Viewer comments
SeriousBiz on 12th Jun 2014, 1:38 PM
Admittedly, sometimes it's fun to save them from a bad situation they got themselves into through sheer stupidity and/or stubbornness, if making them atone for their crimes seems more fun than killing them off. It often does.
Yeah sometimes for the sake of not just ending the campaign you kind of have to fudge it, The best GM's I've had are the ones who are willing to fudge stuff rather than being a rule stickler.
As for atoning for crimes, just wait till the next strip ;-)
As for atoning for crimes, just wait till the next strip ;-)
Saving the PCs
Now, it is harsh, but i have the philosophy that as a GM, I am rooting for the players, but I am not one of them and so won't actively help them out. The GM should remain relatively impartial. That is why I cheer when they roll a critical just like the rest of them, but I won't step in to save them when they get killed.
It would be cool if Odin/GM kept talking to him like that and he didn't know who was actually talking.
"You ruined everything I have worked over ages for. Now I have to sort this entire problem with the Frost Giants out. Why do you have to go in there and just kill everything? Why can't you do what you are told?"
"You ruined everything I have worked over ages for. Now I have to sort this entire problem with the Frost Giants out. Why do you have to go in there and just kill everything? Why can't you do what you are told?"
And then Blake (inadvertently) reply back in the same way.
"I had everything under control. Why does everyone not recognize my greatness? The Frost Giants are wimps, you should have let me just annihilate them. Mass genocide is fun and talking is for wimps. You never let me do what I want. I'm telling mom that you're a meanie"
"I had everything under control. Why does everyone not recognize my greatness? The Frost Giants are wimps, you should have let me just annihilate them. Mass genocide is fun and talking is for wimps. You never let me do what I want. I'm telling mom that you're a meanie"
Roleplaying vs Hack and Slash
That said, even of you take those skills out of the equation, roleplaying is difficult. Players can talk amongst themselves and have interesting talk about their backstories while they kick back in a tavern every so often and that is nice, but to go one step beyond requires a special kind of dedication from a game master. To give every NPC the players decide to talk to unique features, something recognizable about them is difficult, but it can make for some very memorable characters.
Players remember the coolest fights they are in and the coolest conversations they have. I remember from the first town I ever GM'd the bartender of the local tavern Mogin who had the recipe for his secret family recipe stolen. Sidequest... yadayada, rather dull and predictable. After the players got it though, that is when things got interesting. The players all got challenged to a drinking contest against the bartender and they all got drunk and started talking about their lives and the undercurrent of racial tension going on that the players hadn't noticed.
The point is, that unless you have a GM who is invested enough in the setting to devise lives for NPCs AND players invested enough in the setting and roleplaying to bother learning about them, you won't have a good roleplaying group.
XiaoKe on 12th Jun 2014, 7:00 AM
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Roleplaying is an integral part of any RPG and it also makes the game a bit more interesting (Unless of course hack and slash is your kind of thing), there is of course a balance, too much roleplaying can be just as boring as no roleplaying. Roleplaying is something you probably should take into effect when making your character if you make an interesting character with a good backstory it can be a lot fun making decisions and playing whereas if you dont have a good backstory roleplaying can be super hard... So creating a good character does require more than simply making them good at hitting things.
Up next! Home Sweet Home?
Roleplay- The instance where you play the role of your character
RPG- Role Playing Game