-Roleplaying-

[Bulix]

Hi,

I'm starting to play with a new group of people and I want them to take the game more like a role-playing theme than a Simulation...
They're pretty new to it all and don't get as excited and eager to play the game as I do... :smallannoyed:

Thank you very much. :smallbiggrin:

[Flickerdart]

You may be better off with a different system then. Something more rules-light. D&D 3.5 is very heavily invested in the mechanical aspect.

[Fates]

Meh, I disagree. In my experience, the system has little effect on how much the players roleplay. Talk to your DM about it- he/she'd probably be the best help you could get.

[Kelb_Panthera]

If you're fairly familiar with the rules, just help them avoid any major traps, but avoid teaching them to optimize until/unless everyone's on board with the game's power level dramatically increasing in short order.

Keep it in core to start. Don't worry about banning the broken stuff, most of it is pretty tough to stumble into and should only be a problem if somebody goes looking for MOAR POWAH! If that happens, then you ban. If you eliminate polymorph and alter self, as well as the planar binding/ally line, most of the rest isn't particularly problematic.*

Always remember it's just a game and everyone's there to have fun.

The rest is all tone and setup. If you don't treat it like a sim, they won't either.

*If you want a more comprehensive breakdown, look at the "what is broken and not a spell" thread.

[laeZ1]

I'm starting to play with a new group of people and I want them to take the game more like a role-playing theme than a Simulation...
hm...

They're pretty new to it all and don't get as excited and eager to play the game as I do...
hm...

If they don't get excited to play, don't force it upon them. It won't make them like it more.

If they are playing, and they enjoy it in a different way than you (ie, 5/6 people in the group are there for the encounters, while 1/6 is there for the RP) then maybe you're just playing with the wrong group of people.

Though from an IC standpoint, I've got a bunch of great stories of my characters trying to RP through a situation, clueless to my party sneaking behind the evil wizard/lizardmen/orcs/dragon to get the jump on the opponent.

In all honesty though, find players who match your playstyle, and don't force others to play a way they don't want to.

[LTwerewolf]

Also keep in mind this. (http://dictummortuum.blogspot.com/2011/12/stormwind-fallacy.html) Long story short: just because they may do a lot with mechanics doesn't mean they can't also roleplay.

[Yora]

Don't tie character advancement to dead monsters. One of the major motivations is usually getting new powers and ability quickly. When the speed of this is entirely based on how much monsters are killed, there's the automatic instinct to kill everything on sight.
If it doesn't really make much of a difference if you pick a fight or not, then looking for options with less risk because useful.

[Urpriest]

On a more practical and less general note, I've found that players have an easier time learning to roleplay when a significant part (around 20%, say) of every session involves goal-oriented conversation with NPCs. This is easiest done if the PCs are investigating something. The PCs need to talk to NPCs to get information out of them, which means they need to put some investment into their characters and how they react. This will get the PCs so used to roleplaying they'll be disappointed when a session is pure combat.

[Psyren]

On a more practical and less general note, I've found that players have an easier time learning to roleplay when a significant part (around 20%, say) of every session involves goal-oriented conversation with NPCs. This is easiest done if the PCs are investigating something. The PCs need to talk to NPCs to get information out of them, which means they need to put some investment into their characters and how they react. This will get the PCs so used to roleplaying they'll be disappointed when a session is pure combat.

The counterpoint to this is how frustrating it can get (on both sides) when your players don't know the right questions to ask - especially when their characters probably would. Then you're forced to drop so many hints they feel stupid, or railroaded, or both. It's a delicate tightrope to walk.