From: swann@acsu.buffalo.edu (Stephen Swann)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Re: Roleplaying personal stuff (Re: Experience ...)
Date: 16 Aug 92 22:13:48 GMT
Organization: UB

In article <1992Aug16.105943.3395@eng.cam.ac.uk> yt1@eng.cam.ac.uk (Y. Tremblay) writes:
>>My characters tend to spend time doing what people in the real world
>>would do - they visit friends, they fall in love, they read books,
>
>    This is an aspect I have problem with.  It is not that I am against it,
>I actually like the idea, I just have problem with it.
>
>    I'll explain myself.  The problem I have with role-playing personal stuff
>is that it is _personal_ stuff.  When you are running a game and players
>start role-playing a lot of that, What do the other players do during this 
>time ?   

Two answers:

(1)  the whole group partakes.
 Example: the adventurers go to visit their friend and one-time
patron, the Baron of Altros.  They are very familar with this part of
the country, as they spent the early part of their careers here.  They
helped the Baron to find and destroy a cult that had been sacrificing
children to the "old dark gods" (actually dark fairies / woodland
demons) near where his domain borders on a faery forest.  They also
came to his aid when a band of Trolls moved into the hill country that
separates the baron's domain from the main "flatlands" of the kingdom,
and practically besieged the Barony for 6 months.  They did these and
other things while living off of his patronage (he allowed them the
use of his castle's modest armory to equip themselves, they could
"borrow" horses from him, and they were permanently welcome as guests
in his keep).  Now, when they go back to visit him, they'll stay with
him for maybe a week.  They'll tell him about all their adventures
while they've been away, they'll ask how his son is doing (and be
surprized to find out that he's 16, and has joined the King's army).
They'll get drunk and laugh about the time Hagroth fell overboard
during a pirate hunting expedition.  The fighters will probably go
boar hunting with him, for old time's sake.  The thief will probably
hit on the Baron's daughter (the twin of the son who joined the army),
and the Wizard will threaten to fry his ass if he steps out of line.
Eventually, they'll have had their fill of reminiscing, and they'll
take their leave.  Unless something "interesting" should happen while
they're staying there.  :-)

(2) Soloing personal stuff
 A lot of times the party just decided to take a month for everybody
to do their own thing.  We split the group, and everybody soloes the
next couple of playing sessions (or works in very small groups, like
maybe two).  Erileth will go to visit the thief that he's been in a
love/hate relationship with for years (a very skilled catburgler; she
almost killed him with a backstab the first time they met).  Mirloth
will fly (pegasus-back) to Lareth Antarea, where a master bard has
been teaching him to play the lute.  Vrendii will go get drunk with
his old Ranger buddy in Greenhold.  Foxmore will spend time training
his henchmen.  Ashlon will finally get to read that old tome on the
history of Mistmere that he's been meaning to get to.

>I see it a bit like the problem of the thief that alway goes alone
>to sneak around.  It is limited to one players (maybe two if they fall in love
>with each other) but I have problem to make it run with a group.  As well
>take each player alone for a session.  Like with the thief, I can deal with
>a certain amount of it but not too much.  

Sometimes, even when the group splits, we don't play it out in detail.
I do a quick determination of "exceptional events" that might occur
while they're doing this stuff, and if nothing significant happens,
then we just "say" that it was done, and that the party rendezvous 
in a month, and we start from there.

>    Even if it is a group event, like say the good old pub drink between
>PCs, I am OK with it for a short time or when PCs meet important NPCs and
>try to get some information (or start a brawl :^))  But, I would rather go
>and have a pint with the players than roleplay a evening at the pub between
>PCs.  
>
>Any though ?

See, we usually don't roleplay the events in the pub (unless the
players are really in the mood to, or something significant happens).
We just say that they did it, and move on.  Like when they tell an old
friend about their adventures, I don't make them tell him about their
adventures, they just say "Ok, at dinner, we tell the Baron about our
adventures."  :-) I usually only roleplay non-routine stuff, like if
the Baron had something important to say to them.  But if they're just
hanging out casually, doing something that they've done before, then we
don't roleplay the details of it.

-- 
Steve Swann                 |    Speak to me in many voices; make
swann@acsu.buffalo.edu      |      them all sound like one...  -BOC