Breakin' in the newbies

Aries Bachen · Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 1:03 pm Post subject: Breakin' in the newbies

I recently had two new players join my campaigne. Neither of them have much roleplaying experience. I'm looking for ways to get them more involved in the "in character" interactions, as my GMing style calls for alot of this. Any suggestions ?

garhkal · Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 6:01 pm Post subject:

I have done several things in the past..

1) Give out spot CP awards (usually a bonus one or two at most) here and there for good IC roleplaying. THis will hopefully encourage them to rp.

2) Have an after session player award selection, where the others vote secretly on who they felt ROLEPLAYED the best... Award +3cp for first.. 2 for second and 1 for third..
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Ankhanu · Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 7:53 pm Post subject:

Both of those methods have worked in my groups as well.
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Xynar · Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 9:34 am Post subject:

Make a situation that requires dialog from their characters. No rolls or skill checks, just dialog. Do this a couple of times where they're with other players, then single them out. This has worked for me.
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garhkal · Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 6:04 pm Post subject:

vong · Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 6:08 pm Post subject:

Lor-Pbk · Ensign Joined: 26 Sep 2007 Posts: 35

Newbies huh? Muahahahahah!!!

I know they are new... So this is a perfect time teach them about their mortality... I know they will spend alot of time creating thier first characters and they will be expecting high action and drama... Well... One thing I do to teach them how to play is I commonly drop my GM screen for the first game, so they can see how I'm rolling, to help teach them game mechanics. Yes this almost always leads to the dice killing one player. Or atleast moratly wounding them...( it's hard to fudge rolls when the players see them.) This leads to a great lesson to the players. (IMO) yeah it sucks for the player that needs to reroll. But You can look at as now he gets to roll with more knowledge behind him when he places his starting skill points. And/or the mortally wounded character will now and forever have a wicked scar or maybe a cyborg limb. (My very first character still carries a nice scar on the side of his head from my very first game. Where a bounty hunter hit me with a club and I rolled 2,1,1 to resist his damage. the GM was kind to the group that day... LOL)

Eiren · Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2007 7:54 am Post subject:

Good tips above Smile

What I usually do with a player new to roleplaying is something akin to the beginning's of a Vampire: The Masquerade character. In Vampire they suggest actually roletalking/roleplaying through the characters recent origins in a one on one setting which they call the prelude.

Example:

One of my longest running SW campaigns I ran had a new player (friend of one of the existing players) who had never roleplayed before. We hammered out a character together and I went over some of the basics of the game with him. Then, the first night we were to play I had him show up about an hour or so early and we 'roleplayed' in a one on one setting to get him a bit more comfortable with the idea of playing his character. It gave him a chance to try out 'being his character' without other people watching so he wasn't so self-conscious about it.

I also put him into a couple situations where I decided we would be rolling the dice (but situations that were easily survivable) just to get him a little familiar with how the dice rolling system works.

In essence it was just a little one on one time to get him used to everything and get his character some real background before joining up with the main group.
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vong · Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2007 8:39 am Post subject:

Jedi Skyler · Moff Joined: 07 Sep 2005 Posts: 8440

Plus that gives YOU, as GM, the chance to see a little bit of their roleplaying style. Then you can design your campaign to help bring out their best during the game.

vong · Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2007 9:17 am Post subject:

garhkal · Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2007 5:52 pm Post subject:

Esoomian · Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2007 6:00 pm Post subject:

Lor-Pbk · Ensign Joined: 26 Sep 2007 Posts: 35

I still say kill them all the first night... MUAHAHAHAh!!!

Aries Bachen · Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 8:33 am Post subject:

I like a good solo run to start a new character whenever possible. It's an excelent way to let someone get familiar with a new character. I also like the idea of having players secretly vote on additional ROLEplaying rewards and I plan on trying that out on the next run.
I recently tried running my two new players together without my mainstays, but with the help of an NPC crew member. This gave them a chance to make more important decisions and required more in-character talking without sending them out with no guidance. I also began a secondary adventure where they play different characters. On their first mission they failed miserably. But the're learning.
One thing I never do though , is kill everyone. Always leave one alive to tell the story.ha ha ha

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