PDA

View Full Version : Talking to myself, NPC conversations and not being crazy?



Alcopop
2013-08-02, 05:01 AM
Hey forum,

I am in the process of setting up a game to run. I am currently working on a story that involves a young man hiring the party in order to rescue his imprisoned older brother, and leader of a revolution. There will be a reunion and then a surprise twist point of conflict between the two, forcing the party to take sides in this revolution or find a middle ground.

The one big awkward problem I'm having is that NPC's talking to other NPC's is just weird!

Dramatic moments between NPC's and Players can be amazing. But with dramatic moments between NPC's and NPC's your are essentially just sitting at a table talking to yourself.

Arguably NPC drama can be somewhat self indulgent, but I feel that if I can pull it off the narrative potential is pretty interesting. And even without this specific example this type of interaction tends to pop up anyway.

Do you guys have any tricks for this kind thing? The only thing I can think of is handing a friend a script...

Lorsa
2013-08-02, 05:06 AM
Do you guys have any tricks for this kind thing? The only thing I can think of is handing a friend a script...

If you are very uncomfortable with playing against yourself and don't want to simply explain the outcome of their conversation this is really your best bet. Get someone else to play either of the two NPC's in question.

Mastikator
2013-08-02, 05:09 AM
Don't have two NPCs talk to each other, just tell the players about the NPC conversation.

hymer
2013-08-02, 06:43 AM
Make them sufficiently distinctive and practice the little play beforehand. E.g.: When guy A is talking, look to your right and a little down, speak with a sneer, and keep the sentences short. When B is speaking look to your left and a little up, use plenty of gesticulation, and have him end nearly all sentences with 'eh?' Use slightly different voices for them. Have the two interrupt each other at least once. Finally have them both look appealingly to the PCs, knowing that they will be the deciding factor since A and B can't agree.

Edit: Oh, and keep it short.

Felhammer
2013-08-02, 07:00 AM
A trick deaf people use in sign language is to physically shift their position to illustrate a change in the person talking. So if a King and a Princess were talking to one another, then you face towards the left when talking for the King and face towards the right when talking for the Princess. Also, try an act like the person speaking. Adopt - and exaggerate - their mannerisms.

A DM I know does something similar but holds up both of his index fingers. He assigns each person talking to a finger and wiggles that finger when the NPC is talking. So, using the example above, his left index finger would move when the King is talking, while his right index finger would wiggle when the Princess is talking.

Other DM's I know use props, which can be as fancy as a royal scepter or a bejeweled dagger or as mundane as pens, books or dice. If you speak for each NPC while holding/fiddling with a prop, it will help showcase who is talking.

Beyond those tricks, using wildly different voices helps. Even bad voices/accents can really help make each character come alive.

If all else fails, just preface who is talking before you speak, as if you were reading dialogue from a play (i.e. King Henry says "And fore score and seven years ago..." but Princess Elinor interrupts, "But I wasn't even alive twenty seven years ago!" The King rebukes, "I know that!" The princess responds, "Sure you did Daddy! Sure you did!").

Deathkeeper
2013-08-02, 07:27 AM
Trust me, I know your pain. I made a really funny dynamic between my Sorcerer and his Pseudodragon in my first campaign, but sometimes I couldn't get the jokes off because he hated how nuts I sounded talking to myself.

Craft (Cheese)
2013-08-02, 10:31 AM
As soon as I read your description I immediately thought of this:

Revolution leader: "Thank you so much for having me rescued, brother, but I assure you, they would never have killed me, I knew too much!"

Younger brother: "I know. *shoots him*"

Jerthanis
2013-08-02, 11:50 AM
Include a lot of description of what the NPCs are doing while talking between lines of dialogue to help establish who is talking at each moment so it's more like you're reading a page of a fantasy novel out loud, rather than acting as two different characters at once.

If the PCs are physically present (and not spying on a conversation or whatever), have the NPCs invite them to provide information or reactions.

TuggyNE
2013-08-02, 06:30 PM
Trust me, I know your pain. I made a really funny dynamic between my Sorcerer and his Pseudodragon in my first campaign, but sometimes I couldn't get the jokes off because he hated how nuts I sounded talking to myself.

He who? The psuedodragon, or the sorcerer? :smalltongue:

Deathkeeper
2013-08-03, 12:49 PM
He who? The psuedodragon, or the sorcerer? :smalltongue:

Typo, meant to say *I hated
Then again, sometimes Zebes broke the fourth wall so maybe it was him. Crazy dragon.

Kol Korran
2013-08-04, 07:15 PM
I once had a bit of a problem like that. The advice someone gave me was to make the conversation between the two INCLUDE the PCs in it. The PC become valued by both NPCs, and also possible assets, so through the conversation both sides try to talk to the PCs, asking them questions, making comments regarding past events that may call for info from the PCs and so on. thus making this a more involved, and not just a talk with yourself, but with other people. Perhaps something like:

A: you've got him back! how did you did this so soon?
Player 1: bla bla bla
B: Indeed they are formidable merceneries, thank you brother for getting them. This group leader here sure is competent. (slaps him on the back, looking at him)
Player 2: more bla
A: I have been waiting long for your return brother, things have not been the same. (turnign to the players) have you been informed of my brother's doings?
Player 3: even more bla

And so on. You don't have to have every second phrase interupted by PCs, but put enough so, and it won't look like you're just talking to yourself.

Raine_Sage
2013-08-04, 09:50 PM
You could always just narrate it like you're reading a story. Depending on how long the scene is you might have to trim some of the dialogue to avoid boring the players but it would solve your problem.

So instead of having it read like

NPC: says a thing
NPC2: responds to thing that was said

It would read more like:

You watch as the brother runs up to his formerly captive sibling and greets him in a joyous manner. "Brother I thought I had lost you, come let us escape" he says, tugging on his arm. However instead of following his brother merely shakes his head. "I am sorry, but I'm afraid the situation has changed since I've been imprisoned."

Remmirath
2013-08-04, 10:31 PM
At one time I would solve this by writing the whole interaction out beforehand and then reading it, as one would read aloud a page from a novel. It makes it clear who's talking, doesn't come off as talking to yourself, and leaves plenty of room for planning.

The downside is that I've found that, at least for me, this approach usually ends up feeling a bit stiff, and unless I also took the time to memorise it completely means I have to glance down at the paper every now and then. Also, if the PCs are present (which at least one of them must be to be witnessing it, I presume), they have a way of joining conversations -- and it's tricky to write a scene out beforehand that takes into account what the PCs are going to say or do.

Now I do essentially the same thing, but just know what they're talking about and improvise it. I tend to roleplay more in the third person anyhow, so this does still end up with a good many descriptive bits thrown in. It has the added bonus of already being improvised, so if the PCs do something unexpected in the middle of the conversation it's easier to work it in.

Using different voices and mannerisms is always good as well.

Grod_The_Giant
2013-08-04, 10:56 PM
Sock puppets? :smalltongue:

You could have the NPCs talk to the players more-or-less independently.


If it's really important, then yeah, trying to bring in a friend to roleplay the other character will get the best results. I don't know how easy that'd be for your group-- you could probably get away with using a player if you really wanted, though a third party might work better. Don't give them a script, just say "hey, this guy is kind of a tool and wants his brother dead, blah blah blah character info" and let the conversation unfold organically.

Mr Beer
2013-08-04, 10:59 PM
Don't have two NPCs talk to each other, just tell the players about the NPC conversation.

That's what I do, I'm not acting out a conversation with 2 NPCs beyond a couple of sentences maximum.