PCs as Actors or Stand-Byes

Some roleplaying games have something for players to do right off the bat, like Basic D&D. Here is a dungeon entrance, now go. The game assumes you are actors, in that the PCs are the ones taking action, causing trouble, and getting out there and doing something. In the case of the dungeon, there's not much choice, you either go down the hall deeper in, or bug out back to town.

Some roleplaying games start the PCs off as stand-byes, where the PCs wait for something to happen. A lot of storytelling games are like this, as are some generic systems. If you create characters and the players are sitting around wondering 'what's next?' you are probably playing a game where players are stand-byes (unless the referee is horribly unprepared). In these games, the referee needs to provide more motivation to the players, or the players need to be incredible self-starters.

A good game to examine is Shadowrun, where players can create a wide variety of character types. If you stick to the premise, where you are all a group hired by a patron to complete a mission - the game is focused, and the PCs are actors. If no one wants to take the mission, or the referee lets the players find their own trouble, the GM needs to provide direction, and the PCs are stand-byes. If the PCs take an active role and motivate themselves, they are actors again.

Different games provide different reasons to play, and some are easier to motivate players than others. In an open Sci-Fi game, such as Traveller, there can be millions of motivations and missions across the galaxy. Putting a group of players that don't self-start well into a game like this will make them stand-byes, and the referee will need to work hard to get them interested and motivated.

A variant of this actor or stand-bye theory comes from fiction, and a third role is added, the ally. Players as allies are doing missions for a group with motivations, such as the Rebels in Star Wars, soldiers in a war-themed RPG, and secret agents working for an spy agency. The motivation is the motivation of the group they work for, and motivating the group is easier (provided the players want to play along).

Understand what motivates your players, and pick games better suited to your group's ability to self-start, get motivated, and become involved with the world.