tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2858586393857050613.post4557701777235752806..comments2024-01-26T11:56:46.170+10:30Comments on ST Wild: On Roleplaying: Player Tip: PCs and ... Tact?Shannonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00456068019298922261noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2858586393857050613.post-88316200651431582262014-03-26T09:07:32.329+10:302014-03-26T09:07:32.329+10:30Yup, a range of play can really hit all the spots....Yup, a range of play can really hit all the spots.Shannonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00456068019298922261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2858586393857050613.post-37410452314266793282014-03-26T05:56:38.375+10:302014-03-26T05:56:38.375+10:30Few things are more cheering on turning up at work...Few things are more cheering on turning up at work than finding the first fifteen words of this post in my inbox.<br /><br />Arthur is very convincing at this technique. I think the beard adds a regal touch.<br /><br />I think as with a lot of things, the most important thing here is to be aware of the issue so you can consciously decide what relation it has to the playstyle you're aiming for. Like you say, there's a load of times when you're looking for NPC interaction to be a structure for driving plot and getting information without looking to build relationships or take fallout. It's fair to assume that just like combat and travel gets abstracted, a lot of social niceties do too; same for "stage whisper" huddling and so on. And in very light-hearted games it can just be part of the implausible style rather than taken at face value.<br /><br />But being aware of the ideas you've discussed here offers another set of tools for steering mood and approach, while staying fairly light on the rudder. Having those options makes it easier to make games feel different. <br /><br />For example, Arthur runs both our D&D and our Deathwatch games. In D&D, we're moderately-official adventurers with a little bit of clout, often working under cover, and have to be a bit wary and tactful in our dealings. In Deathwatch we're the blessed warrior-angels of the Most Holy Emperor of Mankind, with divine and secular authority over just about every human we encounter, permission to kick off a war if it seems appropriate, and incidentally are superhumans in near-impregnable armour; our interactions with NPCs are very different and that really reinforces the sense of being a Space Marine. In many ways it's more important than the mechanics, because you succeed at stuff as a Space Marine about as much as you do as a 3rd-level fighter.Shimmin Beghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10350037986748679919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2858586393857050613.post-17203298319673588102014-03-25T07:26:46.054+10:302014-03-25T07:26:46.054+10:30This technique is really awesome. I adore it.This technique is really awesome. I adore it.Shannonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00456068019298922261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2858586393857050613.post-29609662790371211832014-03-24T13:18:37.267+10:302014-03-24T13:18:37.267+10:30Last does of espirit d'escalier, I promise: on...Last does of espirit d'escalier, I promise: one technique I find quite useful is to have an NPC repeat the basic points of a conversation back to the player characters, from the NPC's point of view, so the PCs can see exactly how they've manage to confuse/annoy the NPC in question. This is particularly useful when players shift weirdly between different conversational stances.<br /><br />"So, you come into my throne room, you're all smiles and flattery, you start telling me you need access to my dungeons, you won't tell me why, you accuse me of treachery to the realm when I demand your credentials from the Commonwealth Council, you hold whispered conversations in the middle of the audience despite me reminding you that I'm right here and not happy for my time to be wasted numerous times, and then you sum up by offering me thus admittedly rather large but still rather insulting bag of coins in return for 'access to the dungeons, no questions asked'. Am I being unfair here? Have I summed up the conversation more or less accurately? Good. Now, I'm afraid I have to say once again I can't help you because I still don't know who you are, you still won't explain what the 'problem' is you need access to sensitive parts of my castle in order to address, you still won't say who on the Council put you up to this nonsense and you still haven't apologised for being brutes and boors. The most I could possibly offer you is a job as a court jester, but I already have one. Do you have anything else to say, or shall I have the guards remove you now? Make it good or I'll have you escorted to the edge of my realm and declared persona non grata."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2858586393857050613.post-33756445144454752952014-03-24T13:11:56.264+10:302014-03-24T13:11:56.264+10:30General conclusion: to the extent I've observe...General conclusion: to the extent I've observed them, sloppy conversational habits thrive in games to the exact extent that the game tolerates them. The best way to get your players to approach conversations seriously is to have NPCs react to them realistically. Sometimes this entails giving them a chance for a take back. ("Wait, so you are directly threatening the baron in his throne room whilst alluding to you doing dubious stuff on behalf of a political rival of his? Are you aware of how impolitic that is"), but ultimately once you double down on this sort of thing and start enforcing the idea that this is a conversation with a human being, not clicking through dialogue boxes in a videogame, the better. In my experience people adapt reasonably quickly.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2858586393857050613.post-10159024822679980652014-03-24T13:06:58.451+10:302014-03-24T13:06:58.451+10:30My take on some of this, on what it's worth:
...My take on some of this, on what it's worth:<br /><br />Re: Talking about NPCs right in front of them.<br />When this happens I generally directly say to the players "Are you saying this right in front of this person?", and typically they realise how daft it is. I can see why players would want to discuss something about an NPC, but the middle of a conversation isn't the right time to do it. Going into a conversation with an NPC when you haven't actually worked out with each other what sort of tack you're going to take with them is straight-up a strategic error, unless it's a conversation which you weren't expecting to have - and if you weren't expecting it you shouldn't expect to have time to strategise full stop.<br /><br />Re: attempted bribery<br />Rare in games I've run. If players attempt it I'll consider the position of the NPC in question. If it's the sort of person who might accept a bribe then I'll genuinely consider whether it's a bribe worth their while taking. If it's going to be an insult or a blatant illegality (trying to bribe a police officer when his colleagues are stood right there next to him, trying to bribe someone of a superior social class to the PCs), I'll point out how silly it is if the PCs would be expected to know how silly it is.<br /><br />* deliberate or semi-random threats, sometimes just to test the waters<br />Immediately and irrevocably complicates interactions with NPCs, as one player has found out in my AD&D game (his chances of infiltrating the baron's castle are now much worse since the baron essentially makes sure his guards watch the PC in question like hawks if they know he is in the area).<br /><br />* assuming their interests and goals are the most important to everyone<br />* generally giving excellent grounds for suspicion<br />* intruding on privacy without appointments <br />* asking large amounts of nosy and personal questions of strangers <br />* being highly reluctant to give away anything about themselves <br /><br />These I would say all come under the category of "problems that solve themselves" - the players do this, the NPCs are offended, I make sure it's clear that what has caused the offence (NPCs splutters and says "I'm not normally accustomed to being interrogated by strangers in my own throne room! Who in the Hells do you think you are addressing?"), characters have to deal with the consequences.<br /><br />* omitting small talk and niceties<br />This I'm less concerned about because I do appreciate that there's only so much time in the session to deal with stuff, and I'm as keen to get to the meat of the conversation (where I find the best roleplaying is) as everyone else. In LARPs it's a different matter, of course, because the small talk serves immersion, but tabletop is a format where abstracting out the dull bits is an accepted technique everywhere else so you can apply that just as well to conversation.<br /><br />* chopping and changing approach between flattery, formality, threat, wheedle, deceit and frankness <br />NPCs will notice this and react accordingly. If the approach seems to be shifting at random they will take the characters less and less seriously.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com