I have been playing Dungeons and Dragons for a year and a half now, and just decided to start a campaign with some friends. They've never played DND before and I need advice on how to get them to roleplay their characters. How do you guys do it?
There needs to be some desire to actually do a roleplay game. The potential players need to have some internal reason to want to play, which requires an investment of their own time and money. Helping a friend out by playing something only to appease you is very difficult to overcome.
If everyone is excited to play, then everyone is more open to learning. If they are more open, it is easier to get them to prepare their own character and get invested in that character. If a player is not invested (e.g. you create it and they just show up and start playing) they will not have as much fun and are more likely to drop out.
As for the roleplaying, that is secondary when you actually start. Lead by example yourself as the DM. Start combat and let them do a round and say what they want. Once they are comfortable with how it works (dice choice and everything else) then suggest how they can change their wording to be more roleplaying. Your examples as teh DM hitting them will not start to pay off as they can see what you are looking for.
Realize, if you are the only experienced one, then there are no examples. If you have 1 or 2 new people added to a group of 4 experienced people, those new people can learn better by observing.
One tip I can offer is - right after you do some narration about an important event or to set the scene - to ask questions along the lines of "how does your character feel about that?" and "what is your character thinking about in this moment?"
I made use of this in a moment where my PC's were spending their first night aboard an utterly alien Tyrant Ship, smooth walls and floor, funky smell, cold and chilly, I built up how this environment was utterly foreign to anything they'd been in before, and asked them how they thought it made their PC's feel. I should have been doing that more often, but it's a good approach. (I stole it from how Brennan Lee Mulligan DM's.)
Thank you so much for the input! My friends did ask me to start the campaign and teach them how to play. Would playing a short DND improv game for the first few sessions to help them get into character be a good idea?
Hey there. That's a great question, and it's something a lot of DMs grapple with, especially when introducing new players to D&D. Getting folks to really lean into roleplaying can be a challenge, but it's super rewarding when it clicks.
One thing I've found really effective is positive reinforcement through XP rewards. I'm pretty generous with giving out experience points for good roleplaying throughout the game, even though it's not strictly "by the book" in the core rules. The more depth, creativity, or character-driven action my players put in, the more XP they get. It makes a real difference!
To make this easy on myself as the DM, I actually built a little web app. I'm just about to release it publicly for free, so you're getting a sneak peek! It's designed to be a super simple way to reward players for their roleplaying efforts without bogging down the game. Think of it like an XP cash register for roleplaying. Basically, it breaks down different levels of roleplaying into granular amounts, each with a set XP value. Each character gets their own column, and when someone does something awesome, you just tap a button in their column, and it assigns them the appropriate experience points. It tracks everything throughout your session or campaign, so they get a clear bonus for their excellent play. Oh, and you can also easily input bulk XP for combat or milestones, and it'll distribute that amongst whichever characters you select with another touch of a button.
It's super easy to use, just keep it open on a tablet or laptop next to you during sessions. You can check it out here: https://parliamentar.net/rpxp/ Let me know what you think and if it helps you encourage your players to dive deeper into their characters.
That being said, I totally agree with what others have said, players also need to be genuinely interested from the start. If they're excited to build their characters and craft their own backstories, they'll be far more invested in playing that persona. Anything that's just handed to them, whether they didn't have the time or the interest to do it themselves, will never mean as much as something they spent hours crafting themselves.
One tip I can offer is - right after you do some narration about an important event or to set the scene - to ask questions along the lines of "how does your character feel about that?" and "what is your character thinking about in this moment?"
I made use of this in a moment where my PC's were spending their first night aboard an utterly alien Tyrant Ship, smooth walls and floor, funky smell, cold and chilly, I built up how this environment was utterly foreign to anything they'd been in before, and asked them how they thought it made their PC's feel. I should have been doing that more often, but it's a good approach. (I stole it from how Brennan Lee Mulligan DM's.)
That is a very good idea. I'm definitely going to be doing this.
I have been playing Dungeons and Dragons for a year and a half now, and just decided to start a campaign with some friends. They've never played DND before and I need advice on how to get them to roleplay their characters. How do you guys do it?
You don't. New players should focus on learning the rules of the game first. The non-rule stuff like RP can come organically. And you will also learn that not all players enjoy that aspect of the game. You should be prepared for the fact that some may simply not do it.
Roleplaying varies ALOT depending on the group and the individual personalities in the game. It isn't something you can or should expect everyone to participate in - as DM you should encourage it without implying that they are playing it wrong if they don't roleplay. I know lots of people who love D&D, have been playing for years and still prefer to use 3rd person when referring to their character and what they decide to do in the game.
However, many people will respond in character, in first person when addressed in game, in character and in first person by either the DM as an NPC or by another player. As DM, this is how you tend to get players to engage with roleplaying ... you model it by running your NPCs, giving them reactions, opinions, attitudes ... have the NPCs talk and behave in "realistic" ways for the NPC in the particular scene.
As an example, as the party walks into an inn, you can describe the dwarf with a grin standing in the middle of the room wearing an apron and carrying a tray with cups of ale - then as DM have the NPC directly address the characters saying "Hi! I'm Bart, the innkeeper hereabouts if you can't tell from what I am wearing, pull up some seats at the table near the window and I'll be with you shortly to get your order" ... then have the PCs engage in a conversation with the NPC as they look for information/food/drink or whatever brought them to the inn. Have the NPC make observations about the party maybe, engage in small talk, but in particular, the NPCs should address specific characters in the party giving those players a chance to figure out how their character would respond.
Similarly, when events happen in the story, ideally have some NPCs available to interact with the characters to ask them how they are feeling, what does the character feel or think about the latest development. As DM, you can also ask the player to think about how their character feels about it but it directly breaks the third wall - it is better to try to encourage role playing from within the game context rather than by asking player questions outside the game context.
In terms of what to role play, you won't role play everything typically, it just isn't worth the time investment. Shopping is low hanging fruit but gets stale fast. However, it is useful early on for trying to encourage some initial role playing for new players. Interacting with plot related NPCs is better and works well if the NPCs have an investment in the story line (either friend/foe/neutral or someone with an interest that aligns at the moment but may change later). However, if you want role playing from the players, the DM has to always be demonstrating it through NPCs even when the players don't respond in kind. It takes time and patience to get folks to role play in response.
Individuals also vary. Some are shy, some bossy, some domineering, some quiet, some noisy - in part due to how the player might envisage the character and in part due to the characteristics of the player themselves. While encouraging role playing, you have to try to ensure that whoever starts to do it more often doesn't just come to dominate the interactions, the DM always needs to be gently working to make sure every player has a voice and gets a chance to interact whether they choose to do so in first person or third person - as role playing or simply describing what their character decides to do.
For D&D, it is important for new players to begin to understand the basics of the mechanics. After a few sessions, they should ideally not still be asking really basic questions - encourage the players to understand how the game works and how their character behaves mechanically - to hit rolls, damage, spells etc. However, learning the rules should never rule out role playing. A player can learn to play and learn to role play at the same time and in some ways that is better if it helps them be comfortable with role playing their characters. If folks just learn to play to the mechanics to start, it can sometimes be more difficult to learn to role play and feel comfortable with it later since it can feel like you are changing the way you play the game.
Finally, combat itself does not usually provide many good opportunities for role playing. The combat rules are among the most structured in D&D. Players can feel free to describe what their character is doing but most of the time it consists of running in with their sword, swinging it and then resolving the effect ... or casting a spell and resolving the effects. A player describing how they cast a fire ball or swing their sword every battle also gets old fast ... but if the player wants to do something unusual, dramatic or based on a social interaction ..whether in combat or not .. encourage them to describe what they are doing - ideally from a first person, rather than third person perspective.
In addition to the comments above, I'd like to add:
Create connections among the players' characters, and between the characters and the setting. Whatever grander designs you may or may not have for the game, start in a limited context -- a small town, for instance. The characters are from that town. Whatever your first adventure is, it will involve that town. Tell the players as much. (You don't need to tell them what it is yet.) Emphasize that they will need to have characters who want to work together. Spend some time discussing the tone of the game, and also if there are any particular topics that people want to avoid being on-screen. (There's a lot of advice out there on running a "session zero", which is what you're doing here.)
Now, have the players create their characters in broad strokes -- class, species, gender, name. They don't need to get the details sorted yet. Have everyone tell the others. Now, ask them a few questions:
Why would you be willing to leave town and take up a life of adventure?
Ask each of them to pick a player who hasn't been chosen yet, and have the two of them work out a connection between the two of their characters.
Ask them about their connections to the town: family, friends, whatever. If they're not from here originally, why are they here?
If you want to get fancy, ask each of them to tell you two facts about the town and its inhabitants, that don't contradict anything another player has said. You can veto, but you should try to avoid doing so. (Save it for things that would break the tone of the game.)
Now, you have a group of characters with personal connections to each other and the world. It won't force roleplay, but it'll help, because these are now not just a set of game stats, but personalities that exist in a rudimentary way. You have things to poke at that are likely to cause players to bite on plot threads.
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I have been playing Dungeons and Dragons for a year and a half now, and just decided to start a campaign with some friends. They've never played DND before and I need advice on how to get them to roleplay their characters. How do you guys do it?
There needs to be some desire to actually do a roleplay game. The potential players need to have some internal reason to want to play, which requires an investment of their own time and money. Helping a friend out by playing something only to appease you is very difficult to overcome.
If everyone is excited to play, then everyone is more open to learning. If they are more open, it is easier to get them to prepare their own character and get invested in that character. If a player is not invested (e.g. you create it and they just show up and start playing) they will not have as much fun and are more likely to drop out.
As for the roleplaying, that is secondary when you actually start. Lead by example yourself as the DM. Start combat and let them do a round and say what they want. Once they are comfortable with how it works (dice choice and everything else) then suggest how they can change their wording to be more roleplaying. Your examples as teh DM hitting them will not start to pay off as they can see what you are looking for.
Realize, if you are the only experienced one, then there are no examples. If you have 1 or 2 new people added to a group of 4 experienced people, those new people can learn better by observing.
One tip I can offer is - right after you do some narration about an important event or to set the scene - to ask questions along the lines of "how does your character feel about that?" and "what is your character thinking about in this moment?"
I made use of this in a moment where my PC's were spending their first night aboard an utterly alien Tyrant Ship, smooth walls and floor, funky smell, cold and chilly, I built up how this environment was utterly foreign to anything they'd been in before, and asked them how they thought it made their PC's feel. I should have been doing that more often, but it's a good approach. (I stole it from how Brennan Lee Mulligan DM's.)
Thank you so much for the input! My friends did ask me to start the campaign and teach them how to play. Would playing a short DND improv game for the first few sessions to help them get into character be a good idea?
Hey there. That's a great question, and it's something a lot of DMs grapple with, especially when introducing new players to D&D. Getting folks to really lean into roleplaying can be a challenge, but it's super rewarding when it clicks.
One thing I've found really effective is positive reinforcement through XP rewards. I'm pretty generous with giving out experience points for good roleplaying throughout the game, even though it's not strictly "by the book" in the core rules. The more depth, creativity, or character-driven action my players put in, the more XP they get. It makes a real difference!
To make this easy on myself as the DM, I actually built a little web app. I'm just about to release it publicly for free, so you're getting a sneak peek! It's designed to be a super simple way to reward players for their roleplaying efforts without bogging down the game. Think of it like an XP cash register for roleplaying. Basically, it breaks down different levels of roleplaying into granular amounts, each with a set XP value. Each character gets their own column, and when someone does something awesome, you just tap a button in their column, and it assigns them the appropriate experience points. It tracks everything throughout your session or campaign, so they get a clear bonus for their excellent play. Oh, and you can also easily input bulk XP for combat or milestones, and it'll distribute that amongst whichever characters you select with another touch of a button.
It's super easy to use, just keep it open on a tablet or laptop next to you during sessions. You can check it out here: https://parliamentar.net/rpxp/ Let me know what you think and if it helps you encourage your players to dive deeper into their characters.
That being said, I totally agree with what others have said, players also need to be genuinely interested from the start. If they're excited to build their characters and craft their own backstories, they'll be far more invested in playing that persona. Anything that's just handed to them, whether they didn't have the time or the interest to do it themselves, will never mean as much as something they spent hours crafting themselves.
Good luck with your campaign!
Thank you so much, Parliamentar! I have your website bookmarked and I'll definitely be using this great resource! Great idea and great execution too.
That is a very good idea. I'm definitely going to be doing this.
You don't. New players should focus on learning the rules of the game first. The non-rule stuff like RP can come organically. And you will also learn that not all players enjoy that aspect of the game. You should be prepared for the fact that some may simply not do it.
Roleplaying varies ALOT depending on the group and the individual personalities in the game. It isn't something you can or should expect everyone to participate in - as DM you should encourage it without implying that they are playing it wrong if they don't roleplay. I know lots of people who love D&D, have been playing for years and still prefer to use 3rd person when referring to their character and what they decide to do in the game.
However, many people will respond in character, in first person when addressed in game, in character and in first person by either the DM as an NPC or by another player. As DM, this is how you tend to get players to engage with roleplaying ... you model it by running your NPCs, giving them reactions, opinions, attitudes ... have the NPCs talk and behave in "realistic" ways for the NPC in the particular scene.
As an example, as the party walks into an inn, you can describe the dwarf with a grin standing in the middle of the room wearing an apron and carrying a tray with cups of ale - then as DM have the NPC directly address the characters saying "Hi! I'm Bart, the innkeeper hereabouts if you can't tell from what I am wearing, pull up some seats at the table near the window and I'll be with you shortly to get your order" ... then have the PCs engage in a conversation with the NPC as they look for information/food/drink or whatever brought them to the inn. Have the NPC make observations about the party maybe, engage in small talk, but in particular, the NPCs should address specific characters in the party giving those players a chance to figure out how their character would respond.
Similarly, when events happen in the story, ideally have some NPCs available to interact with the characters to ask them how they are feeling, what does the character feel or think about the latest development. As DM, you can also ask the player to think about how their character feels about it but it directly breaks the third wall - it is better to try to encourage role playing from within the game context rather than by asking player questions outside the game context.
In terms of what to role play, you won't role play everything typically, it just isn't worth the time investment. Shopping is low hanging fruit but gets stale fast. However, it is useful early on for trying to encourage some initial role playing for new players. Interacting with plot related NPCs is better and works well if the NPCs have an investment in the story line (either friend/foe/neutral or someone with an interest that aligns at the moment but may change later). However, if you want role playing from the players, the DM has to always be demonstrating it through NPCs even when the players don't respond in kind. It takes time and patience to get folks to role play in response.
Individuals also vary. Some are shy, some bossy, some domineering, some quiet, some noisy - in part due to how the player might envisage the character and in part due to the characteristics of the player themselves. While encouraging role playing, you have to try to ensure that whoever starts to do it more often doesn't just come to dominate the interactions, the DM always needs to be gently working to make sure every player has a voice and gets a chance to interact whether they choose to do so in first person or third person - as role playing or simply describing what their character decides to do.
For D&D, it is important for new players to begin to understand the basics of the mechanics. After a few sessions, they should ideally not still be asking really basic questions - encourage the players to understand how the game works and how their character behaves mechanically - to hit rolls, damage, spells etc. However, learning the rules should never rule out role playing. A player can learn to play and learn to role play at the same time and in some ways that is better if it helps them be comfortable with role playing their characters. If folks just learn to play to the mechanics to start, it can sometimes be more difficult to learn to role play and feel comfortable with it later since it can feel like you are changing the way you play the game.
Finally, combat itself does not usually provide many good opportunities for role playing. The combat rules are among the most structured in D&D. Players can feel free to describe what their character is doing but most of the time it consists of running in with their sword, swinging it and then resolving the effect ... or casting a spell and resolving the effects. A player describing how they cast a fire ball or swing their sword every battle also gets old fast ... but if the player wants to do something unusual, dramatic or based on a social interaction ..whether in combat or not .. encourage them to describe what they are doing - ideally from a first person, rather than third person perspective.
your welcome!
In addition to the comments above, I'd like to add:
Create connections among the players' characters, and between the characters and the setting. Whatever grander designs you may or may not have for the game, start in a limited context -- a small town, for instance. The characters are from that town. Whatever your first adventure is, it will involve that town. Tell the players as much. (You don't need to tell them what it is yet.) Emphasize that they will need to have characters who want to work together. Spend some time discussing the tone of the game, and also if there are any particular topics that people want to avoid being on-screen. (There's a lot of advice out there on running a "session zero", which is what you're doing here.)
Now, have the players create their characters in broad strokes -- class, species, gender, name. They don't need to get the details sorted yet. Have everyone tell the others. Now, ask them a few questions:
Now, you have a group of characters with personal connections to each other and the world. It won't force roleplay, but it'll help, because these are now not just a set of game stats, but personalities that exist in a rudimentary way. You have things to poke at that are likely to cause players to bite on plot threads.