Character Depth - The Bloody Nipple Saga

Too often, players complain that the GM doesn't role-play the NPCs well, or that the story doesn't have the kind of depth to make it believable. Yet, the players end up being more guilty of it, and they only have to worry about a single character. I'm generalizing, of course.

I just read over the comments from the previous chapter, and I realized that these scene really drives the plot and background to most of the film. However, it's a stealth plot: all the plot puzzle pieces are there for the dedicated fan to assemble.

The image of Dr. Doom came from the Wikipedia article on the character. It is, of course, property of Marvel Comics, and, I believe, drawn by Jack Kerby. The article says it was "provided by John Byrne," but I just assume that it's a Jack Kerby drawing.

Transcript:

Scene: Valeria, Conan, and Subotai stand before King Osric, surrounded by guards.

King Osric (DM):Thulsa Doom; I've chaffed for years at this demi-god. Snakes! In my beautiful city!

Subotai:Wait. "Thulsa Doom"? That's the villain? Is that the best you can do?

DM:You'd rather have "Jack the Meanie"?

Conan:Does Doom have a Ph.D? { We see an image of Dr. Doom }

DM:He was the one who murdered Conan's family!

Subotai:What?

Valeria:You do realize just how cliché that is.

Conan:You can't just steal my story like that.

Subotai:I thought it was my story.

Conan:It's my character.

Valeria:It's not like any of that really matters.

Conan:What do you mean?

Valeria:You're acting like you actually role play.