Hello, basically the problem I seem to have is that the party does not seem to want to talk to each other a lot. I get that it comes down to the players more than the PCs, but still...they don't seem to ask much about who each other is/why they are/anything more that 'what can you do to fight'.
Maybe it's just me, but the backstories and such of most of them are pretty cool and subtly being weaved into the story, but there just doesn't seem to be triggering any interaction into their pasts.
Any ideas on how to get them to talk to each other more? Offering up all the times to do so and having it not be taken is kinda discouraging.
They are a Cleric of Torm, an Eldrich Knight Fighter, a Monk wanting to be in an Order of Kord, and a Sorcerer who used to be part of the Thieves Guild of the continent they are on (only one from there in the party).
I've had to use many techniques to pull my players into talking but they boil down to 2 basic methods:
NPCs who ask questions
Situations that pit a backstory against the players
NPCs asking questions can be things like, "Mommy, why does that lady have a tail?", "We don't like heathens around these parts, what reason do you have to travel with a Half-Orc?", "I've seen that mark on your arm before, the people who wore it vanished without a trace. How did you come by it?", and so on.
Situations that pit a backstory against the players can be things like the Thieves guild sending a member to find one of your players. A member of the order of Kord in the city the players are headed to. The Cleric's runs into someone who knew someone who once dated their sister's best friend and starts talking about it.
If you want the players to do something you do it yourself and hope they catch on (lead by example), you tell them to do it (talk it out with your players), or you put them in a situation where they have no choice but to do it.
The unfortunate other side to that coin is that you can't really force players to interact. Some players go all in with backstory and motivation: their character sheets are bibliographies, and their characters have been flushed out in exquisite details. Others, however, just want to kill things, and have put no thought into their characters beyond that.
If you have a player of the former category, you can try and leverage that player's character. Most groups I've ever played with seem to think that a D&D session has to have NPCs. This is not true. Every campaign I've ever run has a camp-out session. Where the entire session is designed and dedicated to PCs getting to know each other. A player of the former category is a great icebreaker here, since they're just bursting to tell everyone everything about their character, and typically, in having their character share a bit of themselves, the human element comes into play. Social pressure is applied, even in-character. "I told you my story, so what's yours" kind of a thing.
If players ask why you're doing a session like that, remind them that while as players they may know things about the other characters, their character will not and cannot know that information until it's revealed to them. Who's been trained in medicine? Who has experience fighting the undead? Who knows how to drive a hard bargain and will get the best prices in shops? The only way to find out is to talk.
But, going back to my first point, ultimately, however, you can't actually force them to do so.
The unfortunate other side to that coin is that you can't really force players to interact. Some players go all in with backstory and motivation: their character sheets are bibliographies, and their characters have been flushed out in exquisite details. Others, however, just want to kill things, and have put no thought into their characters beyond that.
Very true! That's why it is always a good idea to describe to the players what type of game you want to be running. Is it more hack-n-slash or is it more role-playing or so on. I will add though, that even with the caveat you'll likely get varying degrees of player types and the key is to make something interesting and appealing to each. DMThac0's idea about pitting the backstory on the players is golden for trying to steer the characters together like you want.
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It's more what you'd call "guidelines" than actual rules
Thank you guys for the help so far. I'm meeting with our newbie (The Sorcerer) later this week to discuss more about what his character would know, as he is the one guy who is even from the continent they are on. He also is sadly the least knowledgeable about anything with D&D, so I'm hoping not to overwhelm him too much. He's gotten a good grasp on most of the fighting mechanics, so the social side seemed like where he'd need some talk through in understanding.
The worst part of this is that the PC who has the highest CHA besides our Sorcerer is the Cleric, who as a player doesn't talk that much. But our Eldrich Knight player is a natural talker, but his CHA is a 7 (we rolled for stats) so he is worried about talking too much and getting them in trouble. Our Monk is both low CHA and not much of a talker irl, so thats the bit of an 'issue' I'm facing.
They don't have much of a problem in wanting to talk to most NPCs, just not so much to each other in the party.
What kind of game are the players actually want to play? Are they interested in a combat-heavy game, or do they actually want some more of the social game as well? If you try and impose a game style they're really not interested in, it can lead to some deeper conflicts.
Thank you guys for the help so far. I'm meeting with our newbie (The Sorcerer) later this week to discuss more about what his character would know, as he is the one guy who is even from the continent they are on. He also is sadly the least knowledgeable about anything with D&D, so I'm hoping not to overwhelm him too much. He's gotten a good grasp on most of the fighting mechanics, so the social side seemed like where he'd need some talk through in understanding.
The worst part of this is that the PC who has the highest CHA besides our Sorcerer is the Cleric, who as a player doesn't talk that much. But our Eldrich Knight player is a natural talker, but his CHA is a 7 (we rolled for stats) so he is worried about talking too much and getting them in trouble. Our Monk is both low CHA and not much of a talker irl, so thats the bit of an 'issue' I'm facing.
They don't have much of a problem in wanting to talk to most NPCs, just not so much to each other in the party.
The Charisma barrier only presents a problem if the character is trying to influence someone, requiring a roll. But just talking should pose no issue. There are awkward people in the world that don't recognize that they're awkward (like the stereotype for all of us D&D players in the minds of all the non-D&D players of the world :P ) and their lack of hesitance in talking to people only adds to their awkwardness.
You could also consider leveraging the Inspiration mechanic to incentivize and encourage behaviors you want to see in your campaign, or creative ways around the player's self-imposed barrier.
Sometimes it can be hard to get people to interact and be more social and that's not necessarily anything that you can control from your side of the screen. Try and make use of the NPCs and integration. If that Rogue used to be a member of a high profile thieves guild have another former member bump into them, maybe refer to them as their former code name or alias and in theory that will get the rest of the party wanting to know answers. Try to put them in the social environments where people are inquisitive, so that they're asked questions and brought in play around those elements. Hope to get them involved that way, it may not be perfect in the session I was playing in last night the parties Aasimar showed her true form and flew into rescue one of the party flame blade swinging, angelic form and all sorts of carnage. This being the first time the person had seen this you'd think there'd be some sort of reaction and discussion to be had. Instead we waited for about a minute after the combat before one of the other players piped up with "well I'm doing this" and we played on.
Also, use the fact that the most confident talker in the group is playing the character with low charisma. Not only, do they not NEED to roll all the time when talking to someone but if they do then the negative outcomes can provide more opportunity and encouragement for the others to start speaking up more. To go back to last nights session, I was originally bought in by the DM as the seasoned hand to help out with a group of new players (ironically the Aasimar blanking guy was the other one who had played before) and essentially my character is there to encourage more participation via low intelligence and low charisma, oh yes and he's a goblin. It's meant that the party quickly had to formulate plans around getting him into and around places and become more talkative before he indirectly blurts out something he shouldn't do and then digs a deeper hole when he tries to bluff his way out of it. "How do you solve a problem like Puuva?" has allowed the newer players to become more involved and think about things to the extent that probably the shyest person in the real world has become pretty much the face of the party.
Don't be afraid of the low stats and perhaps bring the Eldritch Knight in more but of course, you are reliant on the others picking up on it and it does seem like that's the only player at the table who is comfortable talking as the two other seasoned players don't talk much (from what I read in your posts) and at the present the sorcerer is fairly new to the game. Perhaps you could try suggesting the sorcerer ask any questions (not mechanics wise) in character to an NPC or the party and try and generate more conversation. Perhaps when trying to sell stuff give the party criminally low offers so that they feel the need to haggle. You can't guarantee that you'll get the players to engage with each other more but if they start encouraging more conversation with the world then you're half way there. A couple of memorable and interesting NPCs and conversations can start to bring them into conversation more.
Last note and it's already been said but can be key, you don't need to be rolling dice when doing social things. Asking questions and talking to people doesn't mean that for every question you need to roll persuasion to get them to answer or insight to see if they're telling the truth. Just have natural conversations with the players and engage in each other. Hopefully your newbie will get a feel for the social side of the game and you'll be able to get a bit more role playing into your campaign.
Not only, do they not NEED to roll all the time when talking to someone but if they do then the negative outcomes can provide more opportunity and encouragement for the others to start speaking up more.
You can also encourage more spoken interactions by "rewarding" terrible interaction rolls with creative outcomes. Such as:
Player: "I'm want to hit on the tavern wench." (makes an exceedingly low roll)
You: You saunter up the maid, swaggering and with a sly grin. She eyes you, noticing she's become the center of your attention, causing her to blush. You lean against the wall, and unleash the most seductive pick up line you can think of at that moment... "YOU SURE HAS A PURTY MOUTH!"
To go back to last nights session, I was originally bought in by the DM as the seasoned hand to help out with a group of new players (ironically the Aasimar blanking guy was the other one who had played before) and essentially my character is there to encourage more participation via low intelligence and low charisma, oh yes and he's a goblin.
I see you too have been called upon to play a grease-the-wheels character. Though, mine was a 6-inch tall pixie barbarian who was convinced he was a paladin of Kord.
Hello, basically the problem I seem to have is that the party does not seem to want to talk to each other a lot. I get that it comes down to the players more than the PCs, but still...they don't seem to ask much about who each other is/why they are/anything more that 'what can you do to fight'.
Maybe it's just me, but the backstories and such of most of them are pretty cool and subtly being weaved into the story, but there just doesn't seem to be triggering any interaction into their pasts.
Any ideas on how to get them to talk to each other more? Offering up all the times to do so and having it not be taken is kinda discouraging.
They are a Cleric of Torm, an Eldrich Knight Fighter, a Monk wanting to be in an Order of Kord, and a Sorcerer who used to be part of the Thieves Guild of the continent they are on (only one from there in the party).
I've had to use many techniques to pull my players into talking but they boil down to 2 basic methods:
NPCs asking questions can be things like, "Mommy, why does that lady have a tail?", "We don't like heathens around these parts, what reason do you have to travel with a Half-Orc?", "I've seen that mark on your arm before, the people who wore it vanished without a trace. How did you come by it?", and so on.
Situations that pit a backstory against the players can be things like the Thieves guild sending a member to find one of your players. A member of the order of Kord in the city the players are headed to. The Cleric's runs into someone who knew someone who once dated their sister's best friend and starts talking about it.
If you want the players to do something you do it yourself and hope they catch on (lead by example), you tell them to do it (talk it out with your players), or you put them in a situation where they have no choice but to do it.
The unfortunate other side to that coin is that you can't really force players to interact. Some players go all in with backstory and motivation: their character sheets are bibliographies, and their characters have been flushed out in exquisite details. Others, however, just want to kill things, and have put no thought into their characters beyond that.
If you have a player of the former category, you can try and leverage that player's character. Most groups I've ever played with seem to think that a D&D session has to have NPCs. This is not true. Every campaign I've ever run has a camp-out session. Where the entire session is designed and dedicated to PCs getting to know each other. A player of the former category is a great icebreaker here, since they're just bursting to tell everyone everything about their character, and typically, in having their character share a bit of themselves, the human element comes into play. Social pressure is applied, even in-character. "I told you my story, so what's yours" kind of a thing.
If players ask why you're doing a session like that, remind them that while as players they may know things about the other characters, their character will not and cannot know that information until it's revealed to them. Who's been trained in medicine? Who has experience fighting the undead? Who knows how to drive a hard bargain and will get the best prices in shops? The only way to find out is to talk.
But, going back to my first point, ultimately, however, you can't actually force them to do so.
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It's more what you'd call "guidelines" than actual rules
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Thank you guys for the help so far. I'm meeting with our newbie (The Sorcerer) later this week to discuss more about what his character would know, as he is the one guy who is even from the continent they are on. He also is sadly the least knowledgeable about anything with D&D, so I'm hoping not to overwhelm him too much. He's gotten a good grasp on most of the fighting mechanics, so the social side seemed like where he'd need some talk through in understanding.
The worst part of this is that the PC who has the highest CHA besides our Sorcerer is the Cleric, who as a player doesn't talk that much. But our Eldrich Knight player is a natural talker, but his CHA is a 7 (we rolled for stats) so he is worried about talking too much and getting them in trouble. Our Monk is both low CHA and not much of a talker irl, so thats the bit of an 'issue' I'm facing.
They don't have much of a problem in wanting to talk to most NPCs, just not so much to each other in the party.
What kind of game are the players actually want to play? Are they interested in a combat-heavy game, or do they actually want some more of the social game as well? If you try and impose a game style they're really not interested in, it can lead to some deeper conflicts.
Ongoing Projects: The Mimic Book of Mimics :: SHARK WEEK
Completed Projects: The Trick-or-Treat Table
My Homebrews: Races :: Classes :: Spells :: Items :: Monsters
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Sometimes it can be hard to get people to interact and be more social and that's not necessarily anything that you can control from your side of the screen. Try and make use of the NPCs and integration. If that Rogue used to be a member of a high profile thieves guild have another former member bump into them, maybe refer to them as their former code name or alias and in theory that will get the rest of the party wanting to know answers. Try to put them in the social environments where people are inquisitive, so that they're asked questions and brought in play around those elements. Hope to get them involved that way, it may not be perfect in the session I was playing in last night the parties Aasimar showed her true form and flew into rescue one of the party flame blade swinging, angelic form and all sorts of carnage. This being the first time the person had seen this you'd think there'd be some sort of reaction and discussion to be had. Instead we waited for about a minute after the combat before one of the other players piped up with "well I'm doing this" and we played on.
Also, use the fact that the most confident talker in the group is playing the character with low charisma. Not only, do they not NEED to roll all the time when talking to someone but if they do then the negative outcomes can provide more opportunity and encouragement for the others to start speaking up more. To go back to last nights session, I was originally bought in by the DM as the seasoned hand to help out with a group of new players (ironically the Aasimar blanking guy was the other one who had played before) and essentially my character is there to encourage more participation via low intelligence and low charisma, oh yes and he's a goblin. It's meant that the party quickly had to formulate plans around getting him into and around places and become more talkative before he indirectly blurts out something he shouldn't do and then digs a deeper hole when he tries to bluff his way out of it. "How do you solve a problem like Puuva?" has allowed the newer players to become more involved and think about things to the extent that probably the shyest person in the real world has become pretty much the face of the party.
Don't be afraid of the low stats and perhaps bring the Eldritch Knight in more but of course, you are reliant on the others picking up on it and it does seem like that's the only player at the table who is comfortable talking as the two other seasoned players don't talk much (from what I read in your posts) and at the present the sorcerer is fairly new to the game. Perhaps you could try suggesting the sorcerer ask any questions (not mechanics wise) in character to an NPC or the party and try and generate more conversation. Perhaps when trying to sell stuff give the party criminally low offers so that they feel the need to haggle. You can't guarantee that you'll get the players to engage with each other more but if they start encouraging more conversation with the world then you're half way there. A couple of memorable and interesting NPCs and conversations can start to bring them into conversation more.
Last note and it's already been said but can be key, you don't need to be rolling dice when doing social things. Asking questions and talking to people doesn't mean that for every question you need to roll persuasion to get them to answer or insight to see if they're telling the truth. Just have natural conversations with the players and engage in each other. Hopefully your newbie will get a feel for the social side of the game and you'll be able to get a bit more role playing into your campaign.
Player: "I'm want to hit on the tavern wench." (makes an exceedingly low roll)
I see you too have been called upon to play a grease-the-wheels character. Though, mine was a 6-inch tall pixie barbarian who was convinced he was a paladin of Kord.
Ongoing Projects: The Mimic Book of Mimics :: SHARK WEEK
Completed Projects: The Trick-or-Treat Table
My Homebrews: Races :: Classes :: Spells :: Items :: Monsters