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> get the most out of roleplaying
Ezre Gael Bain Iavas
Posted: Jun 21 2004, 09:32 PM
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Hey guys! I was thinking, and here's a few thoughts I had of ways to shake up roleplaying. I'm sure most of you have already thought of these, or done them, but whatever. Let me know what you think, and feel free to add to my list! biggrin.gif

1. have someone draw the characters so people know exactly what everyone looks like.

2. use accents for different lands. Then people could automatically tell where a npc was from. Also, using accents for different npc's enables you to just talk without saying "Darina says... etc ". They can tell from your accent who's talking. Usually anyway.

3. Make questionaires for characters, so you all understand what type of person people are playing.

4. Have players keep a little booklet on the intricities of their character so that they can refer back to it and keep in character. It helps them remember their personalities and act accordingly in situations.

5. Find pictures of locale so you don't have to always describe things. I picture tells a thousand words, and there's some good ones in National Geographics and books like that.

6. have scented candles. Eventually you associate the smell with roleplaying, and it gets you in the mood. Plus bored players can play with the melted wax. (just have plenty of burn cream on hand)

7. keep notes in a kickin cool notebook. Decorate it all cool with pictures and sketches. Get one thats leather bound or something like that and just jam it with cool roleplaying junk. It will be your official roleplaying notebook.

8. Make sheets of place names and people names. That way when you have a minor npc and you need a name you can pick one from there rather than looking about the room at objects and desparately changing the name a bit. Then you won't come up with weird names like Lampa, and chair-is.

9. Play outside in a cool park or in the woods.

10. make secret notes to give to players when it fits the story. If only one player is supposed to know something, then give them a note of what they see or whatever. Then the other players won't hear what happens and then have to hear it again when the character lets them in on it, cause they already heard their GM say it. (whoo! I think I just confused myself!)

11.Tape record notes instead of writing it down. Then no one has to be the scribe.

12. If you WANT a scribe, get them a quill to use. You can find them at Barnes and Nobles, and they're freakishly cool.

13. Put a lot into your npcs. Even if you don't reveal a lot about them, it will make them more real if you give them a background and real personalities.

14. Look thru old clothing books to get ideas on attire. People can pick what they wear and come up with some pretty cool stuff. Its a lot easier to visualize too.

15. Everyone should have their own personal D20 if possible. (I have 2). Then its their lucky die and you don't have to keep switching around. Plus they come in whompin cool colors.

16. Make a separate 'wound' sheet. Print a cool picture of a guy getting his head sliced off or some other such fighting scene so its obviously for damage. Then their character sheets won't get those annoying eraser holes from all the times they've nearly died from trollocs, myrdraal, etc.

17. Play by candlight. Nothing beats the awesomeness (and slight creepiness) of candle or oil lamp light. It adds a fantasy feel to the session and you can always make shadow puppets if you get bored.




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Sharn Penndroen
Posted: Jun 21 2004, 09:47 PM
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All very good ideas. I'm notorious for making accents (besides Southern ones). My last DnD game there was a Vampire Fighter named Vishnu. When I spoke for him it was in a freakishly sophisticated Transylvanian accent. Combined with the fact that he carried a scythe, the players thought he was so ultra-cool they hated to have to fight him and try to kill him. They had to team up with him for a while... he's not dead yet, and they don't look forward to killing him. smile.gif

Another cool thing is to have recurring enemies. Spend a lot of time on their backgrounds and abilities, and keep them around for a while. PCs seem to escape from all kinds of trouble. Why not villians? It makes the players hate them that much more and want to kill them truly. When they finally do win, it is a sweet victory indeed.


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Entropic_existence
Posted: Jun 22 2004, 12:53 AM
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I like these, although some of them I'd never do smile.gif I do like making accents although sometimes I just sound goofy heh. But I try and make sure my Illianers "Do be talking properly" and all. The secret notes thing works great, been doing it in my WoT game because my DM for SWRPG does so, works excellent and really cuts down on metagaming.


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Two Rivers Wolfbrother
Posted: Jun 22 2004, 02:59 AM
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Yeah, I think those ideas sound rad. I was already doing many of those, and a lot of the rest sound great too.
One time my friend and I tried to get our GM to let us play outside, but she (also my friend) did it only grudgingly. Hopefully she'll be more enthusiastic about it in the future after reading this post. I'm sure she's read it.
Expanding on Sharn's recurring enemy idea. Recurring goodguys is cool too. "Oh, there's old man Tomas again!" or "Vernen the Gleeman again? I like that guy!"
Also, with the scented candles, I think it's really about setting the mood. Have candles, and/or incense (but not incense with scented candles, plain only). Music's great, but don't listen to, like, the radio or modern stuff. Put in some Braveheart or Final Fantasy or something. Have different music for different situations, such as fight music, suspenseful music, wandering music, tavern music, etc.


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amylrins_peril
Posted: Jun 22 2004, 06:21 AM
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Marking rites of passage during the game as a roleplaying opportunity can help make the setting "come alive" for the players. No character dies without some sort of funeral rite, which can also help set a somber mood.
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Zarozynia
Posted: Jun 22 2004, 05:43 PM
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when a pc is made something special, such as a warder, or aes sedai, or blademaster, buy them a small present to commemerate the experience...give it to them "in character".

sometimes repitition is everything, for instance, when your characters encounter the seanchan, force each of them to swear this oath: I swear on the light and my hope of salvation to obey the forrunner, await the return, and serve the blood. Make them repeat it back to you out loud like they would have to have done if they were really there, dont let them cop out.

encourage your gleeman/storytellers in the group to not just roll a perform check but to actually perform for the group.

do more than speak for your npcs, act out some of their actions as well. if the group is drinking tea with a noble, fill up a tea cup, sip it when you think that she would have done so. use hand gestures, elaborate bows, facial ticks. All of these things will make them stand out more in your characters minds.

sometimes repitition is everything. for instance, if a character is very full of himself, he may repeat himself a lot. "I am the dragon reborn" says the false dragon found in hadon mirk. "You cannot hurt me, because I am the dragon reborn".


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bmtc
Posted: Jun 30 2004, 04:03 AM
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I love these ideas... I think they are great.

I have a comment, though... well, more of a question.

I found a place somewhere, a long time ago, before I got into the Wheel of Time RPG, that said what real-world accent, Robert Jordan had probably used.

For example, Seanchan use a Texan accent, and Ogier have an oriental accent (or at least I think that was what it was... I am sure about the Seanchan, but not about the Ogier.)
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tam al'moff
Posted: Jun 30 2004, 11:29 AM
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Not 100% but from memory I am sure this put togethor from RJ answers.

Two Rivers - Irish/English
Illianers - Dutch
Aiel - somewhat Slavic
Tairen - Spanish
Domani - Indian
Saldaean - Egyptian/North African
Seanchan - Texas


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Axel
Posted: Jun 30 2004, 05:05 PM
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From the way Bayle Domon talks I'd have though Ilian had a Scottish accent....


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The Great Gray Skwid
  Posted: Jun 30 2004, 07:25 PM
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QUOTE (tam al'moff @ Jun 30 2004, 09:29 AM)
Not 100% but from memory I am sure this put togethor from RJ answers.

Two Rivers - Irish/English
Illianers - Dutch
Aiel - somewhat Slavic
Tairen - Spanish
Domani - Indian
Saldaean - Egyptian/North African
Seanchan - Texas

That's "from memory?" Not from the WOTFAQ?

This post has been edited by The Great Gray Skwid on Jul 1 2004, 03:33 PM


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Sharn Penndroen
Posted: Jul 1 2004, 12:11 AM
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Alas, Skwid the Great, thou hast given us a link that is verily broken.


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The Great Gray Skwid
  Posted: Jul 1 2004, 03:34 PM
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QUOTE (Sharn Penndroen @ Jun 30 2004, 10:11 PM)
Alas, Skwid the Great, thou hast given us a link that is verily broken.

Whoopsies. Fixed!


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