Ulv stumbled through the snow covered trees. He’d been stripped of his weapons and shirt and was given a pouch of herbs to crush and smoke when he felt the time was right. Apparently, they were supposed to give him some sort of vision about what  his test was. 

“This is the craziest thing I’ve ever done,” Ulv grumbled to himself amid strides through the knee deep snow. He needed to find shelter soon. There was no way he’d survive if he didn’t get out of the blowing wind and snow. 

As if in answer to his mental request, he spotted a cave up the slope of the hill he was climbing. The cave was almost covered with snow, but had an opening large enough for Ulv to enter. 

The interior was cold, but less so than the freezing forest outside. It was dark, but some light reflected in from the outside snow. Ulv made his way as deep in as he dared without a torch. The cave was much deeper than he’d anticipated. That meant more warmth but less light. 

So what would you like to do?

Intro

One important thing you’ll want to remember is that for the most part, these questions work when asked to specific individuals. Singling them out can help to get a better response from some of the more unresponsive players. Just make sure that the question is set up the right way. In fact, before we begin with the actual questions, let’s talk about a few requirements for a good NPC roleplaying-prompt question.

1. Purposeful

You can’t just ask random questions and expect that  every question results in better or more roleplaying. For each question, you need to have a specific purpose. Maybe you ask an open ended question to allow the player more freedom and creativity. Or maybe you ask a very specific question designed to get the player to actually respond.

1. Player directed

The best questions are focused on specific players. If you ask questions directed at the party, it is very likely that the person who is most used to roleplaying will respond. Getting a player to respond who rarely roleplays requires direct questions. That’s not to say that every single question needs to be focused on stimulating roleplaying. Some questions are just for the sake of the story.

Now with those two question requirements in mind, let’s get to the actual questions of today’s show.

What do You Think?

When directed at a specific player, “What do you think?” can be a very powerful tool to help re-engage a player who may have lost focus, or just help jumpstart the party into helping everything collaborate. I’ve used this with ally NPCs or even some NPCs that are slightly adversarial, though I haven’t ever used this question from the standpoint of a complete villain. I haven’t really found a scenario where that makes sense. Simply ask this question using the character’s name and voila! They have to respond with at least something. Even if they say, I have no idea, they’ve at least said something! That is a win in my book.

What’s Your Story?

I find this question works the best when it’s an NPC that is somewhat neutral to the party, like a shopkeeper or something. Naturally, the party will look different compared to the normal customers (usually), so a shopkeeper could take interest in the party, if only to hear a new story. You can also use this question from the point of view of an NPC traveling with the party. The only drawback with that is once the question has been answered, that’s it. If it didn’t lead to more roleplaying, you can’t really ask it again from the same NPC.

That’s a nice piece of equipment, where’d you get it?

This question is very similar to the previous question. From the point of view of NPCs, most of the equipment that our adventurers have is really nice and shiny. Normal folk rarely have opportunities to encounter the types of magical items that adventurers carry. I also like this question, because it has an obvious answer. Any roleplay shy character can give an easy answer as to how they acquired a particular item because rather than having to make up some answer on the spot, they can just respond by recounting the history of the game. Anyone can do that.

How’d you all meet?

Remembering that these questions work best when directed at a specific character, this question works well because like the previous question, it’s simply a matter of recounting history. It’s also a good question if the campaign has been going on for a long time. It’s nice to remind your players where you all began the adventure and how far you’ve come.

Why’d You Become Adventurers?

This question works best in one-on-one settings, like two people keeping watch, or a player walking the town alone during a shopping session of D&D. You might have to warm up the player to get the optimum roleplay experience. Thinking of a deep question from their backstory like this one might be too much right out of the gate. I would maybe warm it up by commenting on how difficult the road has been thus far and pointing out some of the foes that have been faced. Then the question can be breached about why the particular character became an adventurer in the first place.

What are Your Goals?

This question is hugely helpful for the Dungeon Master looking to add in story arcs that deal with a particular character’s backstory. Like the previous question, if the table is generally dominated by one or two roleplaying geniuses, then it’s better uses in a one-on-one scenario. This question will give you, the DM, a lot of ammo for preparing future twists and turns in the story. It can also help you fulfill on promises to each player. Each player will want a specific experience, even if they don’t know it. By asking what the characters want, you’ll be better able to fulfill on those promises. 

Become a Roleplaying Master

Using these questions can help, but the best thing to help your players roleplay more is to work on your own roleplaying. By leading them with the example of a Dungeon master who isn’t afraid to be the tavern keeper, the villain, or the strange drunk on the side of the road, your players will feel more comfortable themselves getting into character. So loosen up and start practicing. Take every session as an opportunity to improve. Your players might not react right away, but soon enough, they’ll realize just how much fun it is and they’ll join in the roleplaying.

If you think I missed any questions, let me know by going to Instagram at Betterdungeonmaster.

We’ll be back next week with another amazing episode. Until then, let’s go ahead and roll initiative.

Mentioned in this episode:

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yeah yeah m of stumbles through the snow covered trees been stripped of his weapons

and shirt and was given a pouch of herbs to crush and smoke he felt

the time was right apparently they were supposed to give him some sort of vision

about what his test was supposed to be is the craziest thing ever done of

grumbles to himself amid strides through the ne deep snow he needs to find shelter

soon there's no way he'll survive if he doesn't get out of the blowing wind

and snow as if in answer to his mental request he spots a cave up

the slope of the hill he's climbing cave is almost covered with snow but has

an opening large enough for of to enter the interior is cold but less so

than the freezing forest outside it's dark but some light reflex in from the outside

snow of makes his way as deep as he dares without a torch cave is

much much deeper than he'd expected meant more warmth but less that means more warmth

but less light so what would you like to do welcome back to how oh

yeah welcome back to how to be a better d m i'm your host justin

lewis here to help you create better stories while you d m sessions of dungeons

and dragons with your players and we are all about helping you create better stories

m h m often i find with every group there can be moments or even

specific players who just struggle to role play it's nothing m

through

whether these players are new or whether they are just chronically shy and unconfident or

in confident whether these players are new or chronically shy or lack confidence there are

a various number of reasons for why someone might not roll play as much as

they want but as a dungeon master getting your players to role play is one

of the true joys of creating these stories and shepherding your players through them so

today i wanted to share some questions that you can ask from the point of

the view

i wanted to share some questions that you can ask from the point of view

of an n p c that the party encounters to help stimulate role play for

you characters now one important thing you'll want to remember is that for the most

part these questions work when asked to a specific individual singling them out can help

get a better response from some of the more unresponsive players and actually just to

make sure that the question is set up right

and actually before we begin with the actual questions let's talk about a few requirements

for a good n p c role playing prompt question number one is they have

to be purposeful you can't just random questions and expect that every question results in

better or more role playing for each question you need to have a specific purpose

maybe you ask an open ended question to allow the player more freedom and creativity

or maybe you ask a very specific question designed the player to well actually just

respond and then the second requirement is like i said before it has to be

player directed the best questions are focused on specific players if you ask questions directed

at the party is very likely that the person who is most used to playing

if you ask questions directed at the whole party it's very likely that the person

who usually ro plays

will answer getting a player to respond who rarely role plays requires direct questions that's

not to say that every single question needs to be focused on stimulating reply some

questions are just for the sake of the story so with those two question requirements

in mind let's get to the actual questions that you should ask from the point

of view of an m p c to stimulate more role playing first one is

what do you think when directed at a specific player what do you think can

be a very powerful tool to help re engage a player who may have lost

focused or just helped jump start the party into helping everyone collaborate i've used this

with ally mpcs or even some mpcs that are slightly adversarial though i've never really

used this question from the standpoint of a complete villain like a big bad boss

or something like that i haven't really found scenario that makes sense in that case

but simply asking this question using the character's name and la have to respond with

at least something jenson what do you think even if they say i have no

idea they have at least said something from the point of view of their character

and that when in my book next question is what is your story i find

this question works best when it's an m p c

m oh yeah that is at least somewhat neutral towards the party

like a shopkeeper or something naturally the party will look different compared to their normal

customers usually so a shopkeeper could take an interest in the party if only to

hear a new story you can also use this question from the point of view

of an n p c travelling with the party the only drawback there is that

once the question has been answered that's it if it didn't lead to more role

playing you can't really ask it again from the same n p c but because

they often encounter many shopkeepers you can ask that question all the time and it

will still feel somewhat relevant you just kind of have to frame it a little

bit different the next question is that's a nice piece of equipment where do you

get it this question is very similar to the previous question from the point of

view of n p c is most of the equipment that are adverse from the

point of view of npcs most of the equipment that our adventurers have are really

nice and shiny and pretty expensive most people rarely have operate unities to encounter the

types of magical items that adventurers carry all the time i also like this question

because it has an obvious answer any role play she character can give an easy

answer as to how they acquire and a particular item because rather than having to

make up some bit about their you know back story or something they just respond

by recounting the history of the game anyone can do that anyone who has been

sitting at the table can say we went here we did that and that can

stimulate an entire role playing encounter next one is how did you all meet remembering

that these questions work best when directed at specific characters this question works well because

like the previous question oh it's simply a matter of recounting history oh

it's also a good question if the campaign has been going on for a long

time because it's nice to remind your players where you all began the adventure and

how far you've come next one is why did you become adventurers this question works

best in one on one settings like two people keeping watch or a player walking

the town alone during a shopping session of d and d you might have warm

up the player to get the optimal role play experience but thinking of a deep

question from the back story like this one might be too much you might have

to warm up the question right out of the gate though thinking of a deep

question from their back story like this might be too much for a shy player

or for a unengaged player i would maybe warm it up by commenting on how

difficult the road has been thus far and then pointing out some of the foes

that have been faced and then the question can be breached about why the particular

character became an adventurer in the first place next question is what are your goals

this question is hugely helpful for the dungeon master looking to add in story arcs

that deal with a particular characters back story like the previous question if the table

is generally dominated by one or two role playing geniuses then it's better used in

a one and one scenario this question will also give you the d m a

lot of ammo for prepare in for future twists and turns in the in the

story and it can also help you fulfill on promises to each player each player

will want a specific experience even if they don't know it by asking what the

characters want you'll be able to better fulfill on those promises so using questions can

help but the best thing to help your players role play more is to work

on your own role playing by leading them with the example of a dungeon master

who isn't afraid to be the tavern keeper the villain or the strange drum on

the side of the road your players will feel more comfortable themselves getting into character

so my biggest tip is loosen up and start practicing take every session as an

opportunity to improve in your play might not react right away but soon enough they

realize just how much fun it is and they'll join in the role playing if

you think i missed any questions let me know i'd love to hear your thoughts

go to instagram and look up better dungeon sor but we'll be back next week

with another amazing episode and until then let's go ahead and roll initiative