Roleplaying a roleplayer

[Misfit702]

Hello, ladies and gents. First time poster long time reader. Here is the issue I currently have. I am GM'ing Pathfinder Council of Thieves path and we just finished the Six Trials of Larazod in book two. My group opted to act the play out and they all had a great time which is awesome. It was neat to watch them all get into their parts. I think they got TOO into it because two of them picked up the skill Perform:Act when they leveled to 4th and they want to pursue acting like that on a normal basis in between adventures. I have done some web searching but have not found anything like what they did in this last book. Is there a way I can satisfy their love for performing but not let it dominate the sessions seeing as the other two PC's had fun but don't want to become actors? Thanks in advance.

[Diarmuid]

Do you actually plan on RP'ing out their "acting" careers between adventures? Having a Perform or Craft skill could simply allow them to make some extra coin with their downtime.

[Bang!]

Do you think opportunities for the PCs to go incognito would scratch the players' itch?

[Telonius]

Guiding them towards a class or PrC that uses the skill might be in order. Under the right circumstances, I might even let them use Perform: Act instead of Bluff for a prerequisite, or at the very least let it give a synergy bonus to Bluff and Disguise checks. If "Master of Masks (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20070105a&page=3)" (from Complete Scoundrel) were good for anything but a one- or two-level dip, I'd suggest it. Maybe do a homebrew re-write of the PrC?

[Misfit702]

Diarmuid, that is exactly what they want to do. They want more "in-game" scripts for plays so they can act in the city of Westcrown in various plays. I just can't find anything out there. I told them about the perform check and they want more than just a roll of the die....lol maybe I should tell them to go to an acting class :smallsmile:

[Kol Korran]

i don't know the setting or PF very well, but here is my suggestion:
- have them get a bit of fame as adventurer, and then have an enterprising script writer approach them. he wants to write an epic play (or 2, or 3) about their adventures! but he is just a beginner, and would like to do this right. can they help him? this lets you and your party do several things:
1- they all get into script writing. since it's about their adventures, then they all have an interest in that. this could even happen off screen, between session. my former group used to have a wiki page where people wrote all kind of things, from a campaign log, to reflections about an encounter and so on. you can dedicate a wiki to that!
2- to "test the material" the actors (and perhaps the other players), perform rehearsals of written parts, with everyone playing someone else's charater. this could lead to great fun, or understandings on how others perceive you, and encourage great roleplay in the actual adventures.
3- NPCs! they suddenly become much more important as possible characters in the play. suddenly the speeches the bad guys are making are more important, the damsel in distress, the treacherous coward and so on.

hope this helps! :smallsmile:

[Diarmuid]

So they basically want you to write some plays for them to act in...

Dont really know what to tell you there. Maybe you could have a Thieves' Guild actually fronting some of the theaters and their group gets approached to work with them. The people who want to act get recruited to attend some balls, or dinners and create distractions while the not so acting enthusiastic players pull off some heist.

[Telonius]

Hmmm ... alternate idea.

Have them prepare a script about a morality play: an opera about a Warlock who sold his soul to infernal powers, and received his comeuppance in the end.

As they're rehearsing for a musical, one of the main actresses has an accident - a loose floorboard in the stage. Her understudy takes up the role immediately, and starts singing with some Words of Creation. Everybody is fascinated, but she refuses to say what exactly just happened. Then, other "accidents" start happening around the stage. From there out, it's up to you how close you hew to the Phantom storyline. :smallbiggrin: Is the understudy actually responsible? Is it actually a for-real D&D ghost? Could be a great plot hook, especially for people already interested in theater.

[Diarmuid]

Problem there, is that the other 2 PC's arent as into it as the 2 who want more opportunity to act.

[the humanity]

have your 2 actors be offered to join a traveling circus, and the others be bodyguards (or a more character appropriate job). if they join, combine some elements of acting with intrigue about a rival circus that always has a murder when they come to town.

(insert PC shenanigans trying to discover what's going on)

congratulations! you now know the rival circus has a mind flayer ringmaster! all his clowns and animals are illusions and twisted experiments except certain vampires who help him.
oh and you have to follow them because he's planning on eating your ringmasters brains- if you haven't just killed him already.

[Misfit702]

Thank you all for your advice! I am going to take Kol and Humanity's ideas and run with them. I appreciate all the input. Thanks again!