Convictions, Pre-gens, and Plot Hooks

Many players are bad at giving their PCs strong convictions and goals which leads to weak commitments to any particular adventure hook and a boring lack of drama. This is especially true in sandbox games where the PCs need to drive the plot and have the luxury of a GM willing to provide the opportunities to achieve those goals within the world. The solution to make your game more exciting is conviction and commitment. But where does that come from?

Motivated players that give their PCs convictions and commit to goals may be allowed the right to do so in a freeform, sandbox, or emergent story style of game.

Most players, especially novices need a little more guidance. The easiest is pre-generated characters. The GM can easily create these and by default they will fit the setting and being invested in the adventure because they were tailor made that way. You may find boundaries inspire player creativity. 

The middle ground is collaboration: GM and player both contribute to the creation of the character. The more freedom a player is given however, the stronger convictions they must have and the more the GM must be willing to customize the world to accommodate achieving those goals. If the adventure is decided, players are highly encouraged to tailor their character to that adventure. Otherwise the GM should prescribe the PC's goals for them. For best results, add drama.

The freedom to pursue absolutely anything at the macro level is considered the pinnacle of an RPG campaign. But for many tables this is not the goal, nor should it be. The goal is to get the PCs invested in the adventure being run and if that's already been decided, the game should start after they've taken the bait. Reduce the overwhelming nature of macro-decisions. Establish the stakes of the adventure and why the PCs are already invested. Then allow freedom in the micro: how they will attack the adventure itself given the established goals, and how they handle individual encounters within that context. Helpful players will lean into this whole-heartedly. Reluctant ones need to establish stronger convictions for their character, lose the freedom to decide, or simply don't go on the adventure because it's not something their character is interested in. They can have fun not playing the game.

No More +1 Swords

 or shields, armor, cloaks of protection or any other magic item that gives a flat bonus "because magic". These add little more than passive stat inflation to the game. They're lazy, and on a d20 they make little difference (5%).

Instead give your magic items rich descriptions evocative of their history. Give them interesting, flavorful, and specific abilities - be that extra damage or defense against a particular class of monster, a strange magical property, or the ability to cast one of the oft-overlooked utility spells.

And on the monster side - drop the immunities to non-magical attacks. If the PCs need a special weapon to harm a monster it should be specific and foreshadowed. By specific I mean made of silver or iron, blessed by a priest, or submerged in running water. I don't mean "magic" or a specific weapon unless it's the adventure McGuffin needed to defeat the villain. By telegraphed I mean the PCs should encounter (even if they're not looking for it) lore in an old library or rumors in a tavern. On the adventure it could be a silver dagger on another adventurer's corpse, an old prayer book, or a fountain with runes etched in the stonework. The first time the PCs are clued in about this resistance should not be when they meet the monster in a violent encounter.

If you choose to include a magic sword or the like in your game, make it artifact-level rare and powerful enough (+3, +5, etc.) to make any wielder truly dangerous. Make the requirements to wield it exacting as well - perhaps the sword is intelligent and must be subdued. Perhaps the wielder must swear an oath or be cursed. Perhaps the would-be wielder must fulfill some quest to earn the right to its power.

What is roleplaying?

Roleplaying is making fictional decisions in a fictional scenario.

In the context of roleplaying games, roleplaying is making fictional decisions in a fictional scenario for a fictional character based on what the player believes the character would do.

Why do we roleplay?

Improvising exciting or funny stories is fun.

Practicing responding to hypothetical situations is educational.

Who can you roleplay as?

You can roleplay as anyone in any situation. In roleplaying games, players often get to create the character they will play. This can be an idealized or exaggerated version of themselves, inspired by a real person or a fictional character that the player finds compelling, entirely random, or wholly opposite to the player in personality or values.

Types of Characters

The kind of character a player chooses indicates what the player is looking for in the game. Playing an ideal version of yourself, or a character you find compelling in a fictional world is a common fantasy. Playing an exaggerated version of yourself can be funny. These are easier because it’s not hard to imagine what you or that compelling character would do in a fictional scenario. Playing a character different from yourself is more challenging. A random character may have to be entirely improvised or “discovered” during play, making it likely to be a fictional extension of yourself. A character opposed to the players’ values forces the player to make decisions that feel strange but allows the player to experience a different perspective.

Making Decisions

The heart of roleplaying is making decisions. It’s a mixture of what the player thinks the character would do and what the player wants the character to do. Many hobby role-players make sub-optimal decisions for their character based on what they think the character would do and consider making strictly mechanically optimal decisions meta-gaming. In educational exercises or improvisational comedy, it’s better to make choices that are likely to succeed or be humorous. I would argue hobbyists should also make decisions for the character based on what the player (or the table) thinks would be fun. A good role-player sometimes makes sub-optimal mechanical choices for narrative reasons. It’s also fun to make sub-optimal narrative decisions to create more interesting and challenging situations for the character to be mechanically optimal.

A character that favors their family weapon in a personal fight, even if it’s mechanically inferior to the one they found last session is a good story. A group of ragtag misfits that pull off a heist even though some aren’t very stealthy and others are morally conflicted is a great story.

Allow your character into sub-optimal situations where they can shine. The greater the challenge, the greater the glory.