Transcript of the video: Players: Drive RP with other players

One of the things I’ve learned is that to promote RP, as a player, you can and should ask for chats, also called scenes, between you and other players. You probably already engage with the world and the NPCs that your GM puts in front of you. And maybe, there are some times when the GM specifically allows time for player interaction and will ask if any conversations are being had. But outside of this, engagement between players is limited. If you do engage, awesome - you’re an exception. Players have a lot of meta banter with talking and laughing about the game but the in-game interaction tends to be a little lacking. I’m not talking about planning to do a thing, I’m talking about general RP out in the world that makes characters bond.

This doesn’t have to be some big thing - just pick up a thread that you’ve noticed the other person has shared about their character and ask your GM for a scene, and then follow that up with talking to the player. 

I’m not describing some abstract thing - literally:

Player 1: “Hey GM - before we move on, can I chat with Daksha for a second?”

GM: “Yeah absolutely! Privately?”

Player 1: “No, no, I’ll just catch up to her in the group and chat with her.”

GM: “Cool, go ahead”

Player 1: “Hey Daksha… What’s that gold pin in your hair?”

Player 2: “Oh, that .. that’s from this shop in Townsville.”

Player 1: “Oh. I’ve never been to Townsville”

Player 2: “I grew up there..”

And now you have a connection. It doesn’t have anything to do with getting from point A to point B, or the quest at hand, but you have single-handedly made the game even more fun for everyone around you.

You’ll have made another player feel amazing because they got to share a little bit about this character they love.

You’ve made the GM feel great because you are engaging with their game in ways they didn’t even plan.

You’ve made the other people at the table feel a little more comfortable with putting themselves out for RP.

And maybe they’ll engage each other - or you - or an NPC.

Hell, you don’t even need to ask for scenes, you can just engage with other people directly. If you watch Critical Role, you’ll see they do that all the time. The only reason I’m suggesting upi ask is if it’s a group of people you don’t know super well or if you’re new to tabletops as a group and figuring out your cadence - it is mostly because other players may not be used to that kind of play and it gives them a second to get ready.

So yeah - a pretty straightforward way i’ve learned to encourage more RP at the table, as a .