I think “selling” in TTRPGs is such a powerful and simple way to have more fun. Does anyone have any thoughts, tips, or stories related to selling in TTRPGs?
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its my preferred way of GMing! I hope I do it well…
but yea, I don’t approach GMing as overseeing a physics simulation. the “selling” concept is a storytelling technique, so I suppose it just pushes the GM to a more narrative focus. its also a long the lines of “being a fan of of the PCs” advice. like, when they do great shit, make it greater. when they fuck up, lean into it. when things are stale, shake it up.
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Good advice and good examples. These moments are always highlights when they occur in sessions. A good reminder to be more intentional about it. Thanks for the read.
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A long time ago, I was in a group where one of the players was a girl who was much younger than us. She was an introvert, and it didn’t help that she was so singled out. Out of respect, we usually stopped talking when she spoke, which put even more focus on the introvert.
Anyways, she once played a charismatic leader, and we all went along with it. Her ideas were the right ideas because our leader said that. The same can be said with other attributes, like Intelligence. If the player’s idea is bad, it’s still a good idea if the character’s Intelligence is low. Others can say things like “That’s a great idea. It could work if…” and then “fix” the bad idea and make it good.
I guess I’m not talking about selling per se, but more about referring to the others by pointing out their shortcomings or other characteristics that make them stand out in the group.
This is how I try to GM, myself. One of the most important thing, in my mind, is to show the players how their actions impact the world; Chris McDowall defines it as Impact.
All the examples given in the blog post are great, but I would add that “selling it” does not have to be grandiose. In fact, I think the small stuff, if included sessions after session, is more important to create engagement. That’s why taking notes about what players do while GMing is so important: to be able to reincorporate it in the future. If the PC write something on a wall, break a door, steal a vase, leave a rope attached to a statue, convince some villager to fish using a net instead of a rod, etc. make sure to include it in your description the next time. Then, maybe some small reaction from the world can be incorporated.
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I do think that selling, buying and all that jazz has potential to be really fun.
However, it’s always an afterthought in games that are focused on other things, and the rules supporting it are always in service of these other things.
I remember recalling recently that 3.5E had an Appraise skill which I thought was fun as hell. I’m playing ton of Burning Wheel right now, and it’s wide breadth of skills is refreshing. I’ve had some unusual characters and campaigns that were focused on different things.
I remember when my PCs were at some kind of dinner party and the party paladin was introduced to an NPC whose comment was “I’m standing face to face with Aethelstan the Smiter? Truly, legends walk among us!”
The player responded “Aethelstan is going to politely take his leave and then go stand in the corner in utter confusion trying to figure out why all these important people have heard of him.” It sparked joy in most of the party (including Aethelstan’s player).
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