Getting Players Invested

[Nagog]

So I've noticed in the many campaigns and games that I've played/DMed, that the first few sessions of a game tend to be a bit more murder-hoboey until some of the groundwork character development and campaign plot has been established. Some campaigns and characters never really develop out of the Murder Hobo playstyle as the player never really gets connected to the character they're playing. To combat this, I typically write out short stories before Session 0 to have the players read to get an idea of the setting and some of the characters they'll be interacting with. I also encourage the players to write a short story (~2 pages on average) about their characters on who they are before the campaign starts. This has helped a few of my campaigns jump right in to players acting in character, and allowed for good individual character development right from the outset. However, some players who aren't big into writing but are into roleplaying struggle to keep up with the curve with this, as many of the other characters have solidly established their roles and mindsets before the start of the game. How can I help these players discover their character in a way that doesn't have me deciding who they are for them?

[Zhorn]

I do write-ups for my players also, but I am mostly filling in the blanks that they did not have answers for.
In the weeks before session zero I'm in email contact with all my players and we're emailing back and forth over their characters, hashing out their motivations, end goals, and the player desires. Most of this is just sending them small questions that don't require high detail to answer. "how does your character prefer to fight", "what is their view on crime"", "what do they like to do to unwind" etc.
When I do the write up, there's usually very little that I give them that they didn't choose directly themselves (and I always check if it works for them or if there are things that need further changes to suit what they want), but it's presented as a detailed backstory and outline of how the character cooperates in a group setting. I also try to keep the write up to half a page or less, otherwise there's the TL;DR problem.

[Dork_Forge]

One method you could try is having the players in session 0 create aspects of the world, this can be done in the form of questions each person answers. For example: Do you have any relatives? What is your favorite place in *setting*? What's the name of x or who runs y?

This format helps those that aren't big into writing contribute and by helping build and shape the world they should be more invested into it from the start.

[Nagog]

One method you could try is having the players in session 0 create aspects of the world, this can be done in the form of questions each person answers. For example: Do you have any relatives? What is your favorite place in *setting*? What's the name of x or who runs y?

This format helps those that aren't big into writing contribute and by helping build and shape the world they should be more invested into it from the start.

The plot I have for my main campaign is extremely eclectic (Portals to other worlds dotting the landscape is the main feature, each character had the choice of being native or from a world of their own creation and being transported in at some point, etc), which is important to the progression of the overarching plot. However, that issue is specific to this campaign so I can adapt this for use in future campaigns, thanks so much!


I do write-ups for my players also, but I am mostly filling in the blanks that they did not have answers for.
In the weeks before session zero I'm in email contact with all my players and we're emailing back and forth over their characters, hashing out their motivations, end goals, and the player desires. Most of this is just sending them small questions that don't require high detail to answer. "how does your character prefer to fight", "what is their view on crime"", "what do they like to do to unwind" etc.
When I do the write up, there's usually very little that I give them that they didn't choose directly themselves (and I always check if it works for them or if there are things that need further changes to suit what they want), but it's presented as a detailed backstory and outline of how the character cooperates in a group setting. I also try to keep the write up to half a page or less, otherwise there's the TL;DR problem.

Thanks, I'll definitely do this. Thus far I have some subplots for pretty much every player, but there are a few that I'm at a loss for, and some that I have based around their race or class that I'm not sure will actually engage them, so getting more details should help me get ma better bead on how I can get them engaged with their subplot and the plot as a whole.

[Zhorn]

Thanks, I'll definitely do this. Thus far I have some subplots for pretty much every player, but there are a few that I'm at a loss for, and some that I have based around their race or class that I'm not sure will actually engage them, so getting more details should help me get ma better bead on how I can get them engaged with their subplot and the plot as a whole.
It can be tricky to give a subplot to every player before the adventure starts. Sometimes are easier than others.
For a couple of players in my last campaign, as we couldn't come up with an immediate goal for them to pursue from the first session, I instead focused on the type of character they wanted to play, and had some scenarios play out that because of the player's desired character traits, they couldn't help but get involved. In reality this is the 'right person in the right place at the right time' coincidence.

Example; party's furbolg monk was a fairly peaceful guy that was just travelling about to make friends and see the world. No immediate call to adventure or goal. Took the delivery job to Phandalin purely out of wanderlust (taking the adventure hook because it fit with his personality). When the party got to town and everyone else split up to pursue their solo motivations, the monk just socialised in town, where I roleplayed the npcs taking a liking to him, making friends, especially with the currently fully intact and safe woodworker's family. For anyone who's played LMoP, you can tell where this is going. Inciting incident occurs, and now the monk has a personal quest. Player didn't need to have a personal quest tied into their backstory, just the barest details on why the wanted to travel, "see the world and make friends", and before you know it they have the plot of Taken as their modus operandi.

If you can't think of something big, just utilise the small things, aspects of their personality. Though I suppose this falls into the purview of "until some of the groundwork character development and campaign plot has been established" *shrug*

[Honest Tiefling]

Try making a questionnaire? Roleplaying can be quite reactive, and some people struggle in being proactive with it when they aren't at the table. Questions can vary from more blunt ones like 'What are your character's short term goals?' to less immediate ones like 'What was your character's fondest memory?' or 'Who does your character respect?'. Might really give people the nudge they need away from the table. Of course, have a long enough list so a player can skip something to come back to later.

I suggest pushing players to do ONE thing for their character before the game, be it a story, filling out some questions, or even artwork, if you have any artistically inclined players.

And when in doubt, use bribery. Let players have a very minor magical item for free at the beginning of the game as long as it is tied to their backstory. Players will do ANYTHING for loot, including giving you a 10 page backstory if needed.

[furby076]

So I've noticed in the many campaigns and games that I've played/DMed, that the first few sessions of a game tend to be a bit more murder-hoboey until some of the groundwork character development and campaign plot has been established. Some campaigns and characters never really develop out of the Murder Hobo playstyle as the player never really gets connected to the character they're playing. To combat this, I typically write out short stories before Session 0 to have the players read to get an idea of the setting and some of the characters they'll be interacting with. I also encourage the players to write a short story (~2 pages on average) about their characters on who they are before the campaign starts. This has helped a few of my campaigns jump right in to players acting in character, and allowed for good individual character development right from the outset. However, some players who aren't big into writing but are into roleplaying struggle to keep up with the curve with this, as many of the other characters have solidly established their roles and mindsets before the start of the game. How can I help these players discover their character in a way that doesn't have me deciding who they are for them?

i have always written stories about any character i am going to play. It does give me a connection as the story was born from my experiences and imagination. Keep making them do that to have a connection.

Also, let them know (and enforce), murder hoboing tends to leave bodies or missing folks, and a trail that people can follow.

The stories don't have to be works of art but they need to have effort put in. I'd let a player know "no story, no playtime". If the player cant commit 30-60 mins writing a story, thy can't commit to 4-10 hours of gameplay once a month.

Also, there are RPG questionnaires out there players can fill out. I don't like them. 1) its usually 75-100 questions, 2) its janky - so you dont get a nice story flow...i imagine hard to read for a DM. But if you ar eOK with questionnaires, try those