Other People
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Be Doing a Thing.
I think a lot of the reason people complain about non-action RP is that frequently people aren’t doing anything.
Fix a random household object. Be enthused about a piece of media. Lose something and rope other people into finding it. Make up a thing about a family NPC and talk about it. Gossip about A Thing That Happened IC. Don’t be purely passive, basically.
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I try to do a couple of different things, some of which have already been mentioned:
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Try to read up on available plot hooks and backgrounds on other characters to find out what other players are interested in working with. (Sometimes this backfires, because people don’t necessarily always want the RP they put in their plot hooks/backgrounds - especially things like police/detective backgrounds.)
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Seek people out. Don’t be afraid to say “Hey, I saw X on your RP Hooks, or that you’re involved in Y organization–my character is interested in that,” and see where it goes.
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Listen! Pay attention to what people are throwing out in scenes, and respond to it. Give them a chance to talk about the things that excite their characters, do things their characters are good at doing.
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Ask them for help in their characters’ areas of specialty. Sure, you can PROBABLY do whatever it is by yourself with a little prep, but it’s so much more fun to say, “Hey, I could use a face/muscle for this thing I want to do and I hear you’re good at that.”
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React. Don’t be determined to be “too cool for school” about other characters’ weirdnesses. They were built that way for a reason - be grossed out, scared, weirded out, whatever. Go ahead and show a little emotion about other characters’ schitcks.
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Reciprocity. If someone asks you for help IC, or gives you a bone–do the same in return. People notice, and in my experience, they’re so excited to have a real back and forth.
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I normally ask a lot of questions. If you’ve ever played with me, most of my chars ask endless questions. It’s the best way to engage with others and to have them flesh out their characters.
I rarely feel the need to win and OOCly cackle madly when the dice do NOT favor me. I try to be funny, but temper it to match the tone of the RP. I don’t mind failing.
I’m also a pure minion of chaos. This means, I’ll randomly decide things. No one can come up with an idea. I draw them to an area and decide surprise whatever. This normally is a what the actual eff. example I’ll swoon on a person to bring them into the scene. I try to keep an eye out for who doesn’t seem to be as engaged as others and ask them specific questions or include them. (Side note: I do this in life too).
When someone is excited to try to do a thing, instead of saying ‘my character wouldn’t do that’, I either come up with a reason WHY my char would do that. If I cannot for some reason, I direct them to a player/character I know WOULD do the thing.
I view all my RP as coming in to write a story that I don’t even know the ending of and I’m here to see how it flows. However, if people aren’t engaging and having fun, well then, I wouldn’t have anything to write.
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I’ve cycled out of mushing. The one thing I would do when running a scene was try to make sure everyone had a chance to shine. Let them show off or let them use the shiny toys. Did others do it better than me, yes. Did I get it right every time? No. I kept trying and hope it made people days.
( Also, I would read the upcoming events and try to come up with crazier and zanier events then the better GMs. Sure I was the ‘Direct to Video’ equivalent of a GM, but most of love direct to video even if we all admit it!)
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be tall
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I’m a sucker for systems and trying to use them in different ways, even if it means running something ‘fluffy’ in a combat-heavy setting (loose example: running a race with a system built for combat). Anything that can allow people to think about or play their character in a way they hadn’t before, it allows for a fun sort of character development exercise imo.
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@hellfrog be short
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the absolute worst thing you can be on a MU* is average height
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I wish I could answer this (OP) question.
I have come to realize I am very selfish about MU*ing, and I think that is one reason I am not playing any game right now, because I have not found a way to make it less about me.
I will be very interested in reading everything here when I get time.
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@Roz said in Other People:
the absolute worst thing you can be on a MU* is average height
I… actually like to be within the realm of average height on MU*s (most of the time, not always). Then again, I’m also the guy who likes playing by-the-book pilots, Stormtroopers, and other characters who could be “generic” if not for how they’re played.
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@Roadspike said in Other People:
@Roz said in Other People:
the absolute worst thing you can be on a MU* is average height
I… actually like to be within the realm of average height on MU*s (most of the time, not always). Then again, I’m also the guy who likes playing by-the-book pilots, Stormtroopers, and other characters who could be “generic” if not for how they’re played.
you are taking the joke too seriously
