Organization: University of Maine System
Date: Thursday, 5 Nov 1992 09:38:14 EST
From: SEM <IO01092@MAINE.MAINE.EDU>
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Re: Role-playing & game power (was; Re: Most powerful PC ever)
 <1d7dvvINNam3@master.cs.rose-hulman.edu> <Bx79Ly.1x8@watserv1.uwaterloo.ca>

I have met a lot of people who complain that there are very little
roleplaying in most RPG's but this is because new people are not
taught how to do it.  In most of the games I've seen, new players
are handed the PH, given an explanation of what to play and what
not to play (usually based on game mechanics) and then led through
an evening of fighting and problem solving.

Well, I like fighting and problem solving as much as the next
person but there is much more to roleplaying than killing orcs
and figuring out deathtraps and puzzles.  When I introduce a new
player to D+D I try to teach him/her how to roleplay.  For the
most part, I don't worry too much about the game mechanics since
in my experience, the less players worry about game mechanics
the better they generally role play.  In any case, mechanics are
something that can be taught as one goes along or they are
something the player can read outside of the game then bring up
questions.  Role playing, on the other hand, is something that
requires interaction and should be taught gradually.

The first thing I try to do is to get the person used to
speaking in the first person, rather than the third.  After the
player is comfortable doing that I introduce the concept of
the character having different preferences and motivations than
the player.  This is fairly easy since the character will come
from a well developed culture in which there will be many ideas
that are very different than what most people here in Bangor,
Maine hold.

Then I ask the player to give me some feedback one what his or
her character thinks of some of some of these popular beliefs.
If s/he (dis)agrees with them, why?  Has this character even
thought about these ideas, etc.?  Actually, there are many
more questions and concerns than this but I am simply trying
to convey a flavor of the process.

Once the player has some sort of idea what his or her culture
is like, I move towards helping that player develop a past
and a background for his or her character.  Who is in his or
her family, what are they like?  What sorts of jobs/education
has the character had?  How does s/he feel about all of this,
and so on ...

There is more to the process but this gives a flavor of what
I think is involved in developing a character that is fun to
roleplay as opposed to a character that is a bunch of numbers
and a sword.  It is important to listen to the
feedback that you are getting from the player.  Not all
players feel comfortable doing things the same way.  For
example, one of my players likes to sit down and take a few
hours and then present me with a completed character.  Another
player prefers to take about fifteen minutes creating a
character and develop her personality in the game.  Both
players good roleplayers who create diverse, interesting
characters.

In closing, the DM must also do his or her part if the game is
going to be worth role playing in.  If the NPC's are boring,
the cultural not worked out to at least a moderate degree, etc.
then players can hardly be expected to play three-dimensional
characters in a two-dimensional world.

Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd