I'm not talking about literal ghosts.
In the theatrical sense, the term ghost can refer to an understudy or to a performer that does the singing portions of a play for an actor.
Then of course, in the literary sense, the term ghostwriter refers to a writer hired to author works officially credited to another person.
Some GM's and gaming groups can strict on the performative aspect of roleplaying. When the GM turns towards you and asks "What do you do?", you are expected to not only state what you do but commit to a delivery. "What exactly do you say?" "Tell us a story." "Make a funny voice!"
How do you feel about the matter of ghost-roleplaying? That is, how do you feel about players or GM's deferring some part of their performance to another player?
You might, for example, have a player that's good at roleplaying in most situations. However, there might be particular situations where the player just locks up and cannot for the life of them figure out what their character would actually do in the situation or how to placate the GM that keeps shouting "What exactly do you say?" at them. Would you, as a GM, let someone help them out?
You could also have a player that wants to participate in the game, but only in the roleplaying portion with no involvement in the game's mechanics. Would you, as a GM, hand them an NPC to roleplay?
What are your thoughts about ghost-roleplaying?
I personally would not let one player roleplay another player's character for him, nor would I have someone who shows up just to act and not play the game, which is what "no involvement in the game's mechanics" part seems to mean to me. For the first part, the player deferring to someone else will never learn to roleplay and if he just wants to play himself as the character instead, I have no problem with that at all; for the second part, I think that player would get some satisfaction out of community theater or something. Seems like an odd idea. But that's just me.
Like Dumarest said. It seems strange to me as well... Personally, I'd want the player to do their own roleplaying. Watering it down with another player would just add another layer of complication that is not needed.
But as a GM you should encourage (or guide) the player into acting out their part. That is to say, what they are comfortable doing. Some people tend to be a bit quiet at a table and don't feel too comfortable going all thespian. If they freeze, then just go soft with them. Usually, given time, people open up.
I've rarely had "ghost roleplaying".
Especially for acting and performance and speaking skills, I don't like to require players to have to try to perform more than they want to. Being forced to perform and be evaluated isn't my idea of fun, and I don't want to put people in that position if they don't want to. Summarizing what your character says is acceptable, especially if you concede your PC has a higher speaking skill than you do. Having another player do the performance instead seems a bit weird and isn't generally something I've done.
I have sometimes had players who want to play a PC who is competent in an area that requires rules mastery or tactics or something, where the player has no such skill (nor much interest), and to let a skilled player advise their specific actions for that purpose. I also sometimes intervene as GM when a PC has a skill, knowledge, wisdom, cunning, or common sense, which the player lacks or is being a space case about. e.g. "Your character realizes that the merchant is asking ten times what that's worth" or "by habit you check out the guards at the gate and notice that there is a large group of extra soldiers waiting in the shadows on both sides".
Not a big fan of amateur thespianism at all, much less amateur thespianism by proxy or "ghost."
I don't know that I've ever seen that exactly but I have seen GMs pass roleplaying NPCs over to non-involved players which can be kinda neat if everyone is good about separating player and non-player knowledge/interests.
There are many ways to play a "role" in an rpg and many techniques a GM can use to tell a story. I have no problem with "ghost play" or anything else as long I trust the Game Master.
Quote from: Piestrio;975777I don't know that I've ever seen that exactly but I have seen GMs pass roleplaying NPCs over to non-involved players which can be kinda neat if everyone is good about separating player and non-player knowledge/interests.
I once heard a story about Nathan Fillon joining in on a Firefly game at some convention. He picked up one of the NPC's (River Tam) and just roleplayed.
I forgot who I heard that story from though. Someone on some forum.
Quote from: Cave Bear;975842I once heard a story about Nathan Fillon joining in on a Firefly game at some convention. He picked up one of the NPC's (River Tam) and just roleplayed.
I forgot who I heard that story from though. Someone on some forum.
I seem to recall seeing photos taken there, although I can't vouch for what game it was. I guess he liked
Firefly better than I did! :p
I have had players role-play NPCs on several occasions. It was usually when a player's character dies sometime in the adventure.
Sometimes if it was early in a dungeon type adventure, I'd give control of another "competing" NPC party of adventurers to the player of the deceased character.
Sometimes they'd take over the roles of other players' hirelings. I don't think I've ever given control to the main villains of an adventure though.
Another example was from last year. We were playing TSR's Gangbusters (yes really) and I had nine players which was more than I can usually handle.
Anyway after a gang vs. gang shootout, I had a number of deceased player characters. Immediately following the shootout the Chicago police became involved and a
car chase developed. I gave the chasing NPC policeman to the players to run. It worked out great, both in terms of the player's fun and the less workload
for me in running the rest of the adventure.
Two of the players in one of our groups played in someone else's group, as guests. They took their own PCs from our campaign, but played each other's PCs, then halfway through the game, they swapped and played their own PCs. When the game finished, they asked whoch player normally played which PC and nobody could work it out, as they were as convincing playing the other PC as playing their own.
I've never seen anyone do this. I don't demand that all my players be top rank actors or anything, so really none of them would feel the kind of pressure that would require something like this.