Role-play amongst yourselves

The tentpole of any role-playing game is the interactions between the Storyteller and their players. The Storyteller creates the world, the story, the NPCs and almost all of the in-game events of an RPG campaign.

But those aren’t the only interactions in a role-playing game. Perhaps not as pivotal for the main plot, but just as important for the fun and bonding of any group are the interactions between player characters. It’s how characters get to know each other and hatch their own mad schemes.

And players just talking amongst themselves gives the Storyteller a moment to breathe. This is a rare present, where the Storyteller gets to be an audience to the interactions and antics of their players.

Art by Tithi Luadthong.

But at the beginning of a campaign, it can be difficult to generate these sorts of scenes. Players are just getting to know their characters, and there aren’t very many game events to prompt long or in-depth conversations yet. It’s too early to trot out long and potentially tragic backstories — you barely know these people, after all — so what do we have to talk about?

I guess you could ask about the weather, but unless the game is set in a world where it rains diamonds or meatballs, that’s not likely to provide much sparkling conversation. So what other kinds of small talk work well in an RPG?

• Ask where another character is from. This way, they can talk about their home — but only dip into backstory as much as they want to right then.
• Ask another character what they miss about home.
• Ask them about a class feature. Can the monk really catch arrows? What’s the wizard’s favorite spell?
• If other characters already know one another, ask how they met. You might not get the full story if they’re not ready to share it yet, but you can get the ball rolling.
• Ask for advice. If you want a serious scene, ask the person who knows the most about that subject at hand — they will (probably) be able to give you real advice.
• Or if you want a funny conversation, ask the person least likely to have a useful answer. Ask the bookish wizard how to flirt, not the charismatic bard. The result should be amusing for everyone.
• What will they do with all of the gold (or dollars or credits, whatever the in-game currency) they hope to earn on this adventure?
• What is another character’s guilty pleasure? Indulge in one of your character’s own and invite the rest of the party to participate!
• Do the other characters have any hobbies? Learn what your fellow adventurers like to do during downtime!
• Show off one of your hobbies and describe what your character is doing so that other PCs can ask you.
• Challenge the highest strength character to arm wrestle. Who cares if you lose, it’ll be a fun little scene. If you are the strongest character, challenge someone else to a dexterity-based game, like darts, or a wisdom/intelligence-based riddle contest.
• What are the other characters good at? This one works particularly well in the context of a team assessing one another for a job.
• Have the other characters ever been arrested? Thrown into a dungeon? Are they wanted for crimes?
• What god do they worship? How is that going for them?
• What place in the game world would another character most like to visit? Why?
• Get a detailed description of another character’s appearance, then ask them about a particular scar, interesting weapon, or article of clothing.
• What does another character think of the image they put forth? Does the big barbarian like that most people shy away? Or do they just want to make some friends?
• Ask another character — especially if you need to work together — if they’re an over-thinker or trust their gut. Or something else?
• When they were a kid, is this what they thought that they would be when they grew up?
• Will they let the party die to save their own skin? Again, a good thing to know before exploring a dangerous dungeon together!
• What were they doing right before this adventure? (Use a light touch in case this bumps up against backstory that’s too early to reveal.)
• Ask the other characters what drives them nuts and their biggest pet peeves. After all, you’re about to spend a lot of time together.
• How do they feel about taking orders? Maybe this will get you a story about another character’s time in the military, or just learn that they hate taking orders and trying to command them is a short road to player-versus-player combat.
• What languages do they speak? Useful in-game knowledge, as well as a chance to ask the elf how the heck they learned Orcish. There must be an interesting story there! (Plus it helps a party determine what languages they might be able to speak to communicate privately in front of NPCs.)
• Do the other characters consider themselves patriots of their home nations? Do they like the nation in which they find themselves now, if it’s not their home?

This is far from a comprehensive list of all the ways that you can get started role-playing with your new party, but hopefully it sparks a few ideas. If you have any questions of your own, leave them in the comments!

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