Tag Archives: roleplaying

How To Lie And Get Caught At It

12. Sep, 2011 • Categories: GM Techniques • by

By Mark of the Pixie In most RPGs, if someone is lying, the GM wants them to get caught at it (eventually). Lying in RPGs is a bit complex because there is a layer of pretending between us and the NPC. Very little of the body language and tells of lying passes through from GM [...]

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Character Creation and Roleplaying Rewards

13. Jul, 2011 • Categories: Characters, Tools & GM Aides • by

From The B’omarr Punk When I started emphasizing in-depth roleplaying in my games, some players didn’t want to play along. So, I instituted an incentive program that granted bonus xp, items, or ability points for giving characters depth. The program has two phases: character creation and roleplaying rewards. Character Creation During character creation, players complete [...]

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Cunning Cohorts Build Character: Four GM Tips

11. May, 2011 • Categories: NPCs • by

An RPT reader asked me for tips about handling followers. This tricky territory is just now emerging in my Riddleport campaign. Following are three tips for getting more mileage out of followers, plus some advice on how to tie followers better into your plots and campaigns. Give Them Family, Friends, Contacts, And Enemies For gameplay, [...]

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Donkey Catapults and Leather Jackets

23. Mar, 2011 • Categories: Campaigns & Adventures, Players • by

Hannah Lipsky from Chaotic Shiny Productions hosts the Brief Word for RPT#515. Tabletop with the LARPers I recently got shanghaied into an unusual Mage: the Ascension game with friends. The thing that makes this group different is that, unlike most gamers I know, everyone in this group got their start LARPing (Live Action Roleplaying) before [...]

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Demonstrate Character Heights

21. Mar, 2011 • Categories: Characters • by

From Loren Lassiter Use a blank wall, preferably in sight of the table, to mark the characters’ relative heights. It’s a great way for everyone to truly picture how tall their characters are – and how they size up next to their co-adventurers. We use the wall behind the DM to affix signs that include [...]

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Use These Mechanics To Roleplay More

05. Mar, 2011 • Categories: Players • by

By Mark of the Pixie “How do you use ROLL-playing to add to the fun of the ROLE-playing aspect of your game?” Passions Biggest aid I have for this is Passions.  I let each player pick a single Passion, such as “protect the innocent.”  When that passion is in play, such as when the PCs [...]

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