Encouraging Roleplaying

[Thunda]

Hello All .. new to positing here, but have been lurking for a while now ..

I'm finding myself in a bit of a quandry lately ..

I've been GMing with a group for more years I care to remember - easily 10+ - through various systems .. from Hack 'n' Slash types (Rolemaster etc) .. through the StoryTeller system (Vampire, Werewolf) .. and now on to Deciphers Star Trek.

It's safe to say that we are an expereinced group .. with 3 of us out of the 5 .. being there since the beginning.

The thing I'm finding is the "Roleplaying" aspect of the "Roleplaying Game" is slowly declining. Less effort is being put into character creation, less effort into portraying said character correctly and more effort is being put in by players to act in ways they think the "have to" to "win the game" rather than how their character would react - regardless of the outcome - if they were being portrayed correctly.

It's not tedium or boredom. It's not that people want to stop doing it. Everybody agrees that its more enjoyable when people put the effort in to roleplay rather than just "playing the game".

I'm trying to find ways - whether its by the carrot or the stick - to energise people to get back to what we agree is most fun, but nothing seems to be working ..

So my question is two-fold :

1 On a scale of 1 to 10, what balance is your game/group? 1 being "Roleplaying? Thats a bit geeky isn't it?" and 10 being "To be or not to be .. "

2 What do you do to encourage roleplaying?

Thx in advance

Thunda

[ComaBoy]

Probably something like a 7 or so. I greatly enjoy good roleplaying but there's usually an element of 'wink, wink, break the fourth wall' to the games I'm in.

[Mitchell]

Here's an idea. Give adventures that require less dice-rolls, and more personality, like Diplomacy.

If they act out of character, (Like, Lie or something), reveal that the people they have to talk have minor telepathy, and notice that they act "off."

Also, just tell them. "Can't you try to roleplay more?"

And my group...probably a 8. My players try to have fun, and roleplay, and don't care about dice, but some of the players are similiar to the characters...but still different.

[Owen E Oulton]

The easy (and difficult) solution - role-play more yourself. Have the NPCs talk to the characters - in character. Do voices and body movements. Bring in a few props and use them - not to the extent of turning it into a LARP - and encourage the others to do so.

[qerlin]

What Owen said...

[knarf]

Definitely create opportunities for roleplay. Instead of NPCs just giving information, try to make the players work for it, such as through roleplay. If the players stay in one area or type of area, they may encounter the same NPC and develop a relationship. If you can do funny voices, use them for NPCs. If the voice is funny enough, they may stop searching your speech for clues and laugh at the way you say "absolutely." Make the unimportant important. Have an informational NPC make a comment about his mother in law. Mix that in with a couple of clues leading elsewhere, and , after much investigation, let the players discover that the mother in law is the villain of the story. Set up a situation that you don't even know how they're going to get out of it and watch them try. I did that once, and my players are still awed at my mastery of the art of the GM