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Fleshing out a World Through Active Roleplaying

One mode of Active Roleplaying that involves only NPCs is what I call Conversation Topics. There is little description (of the scenery, at least) and there is almost no action (apart from "stood" or "sat"). If your world was Rome, there could be a Conversation Topic at the Forum or at the Senate. If you were following Aladdin in Agrabah, a good place for a Conversation Topic might be the local bazaar. In Alexandria, the Lighthouse Library would serve well. In the small town of Sleepy Grove a perfect Conversation Topic would be the Town Hall Meeting. In a college setting, an engaging discussion class would work. Given a corporation, a meeting of the Board of Directors. At a high school, the PTA meeting. In a Fraternity, a Regional or National Conference. Etc. For any setting except for the travels of a quest, there is likely some location where several NPCs are likely to meet.

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Asides

• Turning a small thought into a full-blown post can often be a difficult process. I stumbled into Joe Davis' demonstration of exactly that process today, so I'm publishing it under the "Asides" category for everyone to enjoy. Joe Davis presents "Telescopic Text" - an interactive demonstration of expanding upon content, word by word. #
• I really want to take a moment to give a shout-out to Johnn Four of Roleplaying Tips, which has over four-hundred guides and articles about roleplaying. If you're a regular feedreader, I recommend subscribing to the Roleplaying Tips feed. He's got some great posts, like his guide to How to host the perfect game and some awesome tips for roleplayers. Swing by and tell him we sent you! #