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Arros Winhadren
2008-07-23, 05:03 PM
This is a long one, and you probably don't need to read most of it, so you can skip to the end if you want. If you have time, why not read my ramblings and see what you can do to help?

So this summer I've started playing DnD for the first time. I've played in several game sessions now (3 different campaigns, no one seems able to finish anything they've started!) with my more experienced friends, and I've been having a lot of fun. Good game you got here. So here's my problem - I don't really know how to roleplay well. My characters tend to just be reflections of whatever I'm feeling at the moment.

Let's take the campaign I started just last night - I'm playing a CN Fighter with Telekinesis as a spell-like ability. You may see my thread on that below this one a bit. Anyways, I've already sort of made roleplaying that difficult, so my backstory is lame and is thus: Warband killed my family, imprisoned me, I prayed to Aurifal (I live in the desert), fell into a coma, when I wake up I have TK and then I escaped and killed my captors. Now I'm looking for a way to forge a new life and forget the sorrows of my past. Like I said, rather lame.

I try to play my high Charisma score a bit - last night my party encountered 4 duergers, who, instead of attacking, asked us random trivia about all the different races of dwarves and their gods. Our DM just opened up his Races of Stone and started picking obscure stuff from out of there. We tried, but our Paladin's Knowledge: Religion only goes so far, and eventually it was my turn. They asked if gnomes and dwarves get along well, and I said yes. They asked why, and not knowing why and getting tired of this crap (30 minutes of trivia had passed) I said it was because they "see eye to eye". The duerger lowered his crossbow, and things got worse from there. We convinced the duerger to open a door that only they could open, and then we killed them because we all hated their guts. My problem with this is that I really just wanted them dead. I don't know what my character would want, or how he would approach the situation.

We have two guys in our group that are vets at D&D, but one of them always plays either a goody-goody paladin or a ranger. Always. The other is more versatile, but tends to try speaking in archaic terms and always describes his character by stating grandiosely "You see standing before you a ____ who stands ____ and is clad in ___ ". He tries the hardest, but just comes off sounding like a moron to me. My DM says that he wants us to RP more and be more in character, but my pals and I can't resist just joking around while we play (irl, not in game), because the point is to have fun, right? So my DM says that our next game session will have lots of RP and talking, which sounds horrible to me because generally when we talk to NPCs we end up getting demanded to do dumb stuff, we talk back because we're all smart alecs, and then there are always lots of awkward pauses while our DM waits for us to do something that he hasn't told us about and we probably don't want to do anyways.

So there it is, though I rambled way too much. I've tried to give you an idea of how a general game sessions goes for me. So how do I RP well? What am I doing wrong? Do you have tips for me on how I could handle situations better?

valadil
2008-07-23, 05:56 PM
Try to view your character from the first person instead of the third. Make sure that when your character speaks, you don't tell people your character is speaking. "My character says 'good morning,'" separates you from the character. Just say "good morning." None of that my character business. This is a good starting point but it isn't always enough.

I didn't get good at roleplaying till I started playing characters with well defined and attainable goals. It will give your character something to do. An obvious example is a cleric who wants to gain followers for his deity. Give other worshipers of your deity preferential treatment when it comes time to healing. Have religious debates. Donate GP to your church. What strong motivation does is it gives you an answer every time your GM says "what do you do?"

CarpeGuitarrem
2008-07-23, 06:06 PM
Goals are definitely a good thing to have. In fact...try and nail down something like this...

Temperament (social, introverted, aggressive, calculating, etc...) (Note, you can use your character's stats to help with this. CHA, INT, and WIS all play into a character's personality)

Goal
Minor Goal #1
Minor Goal #2

Plan to achieve Goal
Plan to achieve Minor Goal #1
Plan to achieve Minor Goal #2

(It's best if you can interwork the minor goals into the plan to achieve the major goal)

3 Personality Strengths
3 Personality Weaknesses

3 Likes
3 Dislikes


And then go from there. Maybe throw in a few random personality traits like "neat freak", "bird phobia", and "arrogant". Just pick random ones, and figure out how they figure into the main personality.

Then write the backstory, and figure out how a character would get to that point.

Most importantly, observe people. Learn why they do the things they do. That, above all, will help you roleplay.

arguskos
2008-07-23, 06:07 PM
I agree with valadil, esp. about the first-person thing (just be clear that you're talking in character when you are).

Also, perhaps making a backstory to your guy could help, you know, give him family, friends, stories about him, just to feel who your character is.

-argus

EDIT: Ninja'd. >_>

CarpeGuitarrem
2008-07-23, 06:13 PM
Hooray! I always knew I was a ninja! Although I think this might be my first ninja...lol.

Anyhow, yeah. Like argus mentioned, making old friends of your character helps. You best know someone through their friends. Make 3 or 4 people who the PC cares about.

KillianHawkeye
2008-07-23, 06:16 PM
I remember it being difficult for me to learn roleplaying when I first started D&D. It became a running joke in the first campaign I was in that my character was always invisible or unnoticable due to how I didn't say very much at the table.

My best advice is that you will simply get better with time, and the more characters you play. Most people who have never RPed before and who have no prior acting experience are in the same boat you are, so don't feel bad.

One little tip is that your character's personality traits are more important to establishing his "character" than his background story. I've seen tons of characters with little to no written background but still had enough personality to be interesting characters.

LoneStarNorth
2008-07-23, 06:29 PM
Sometimes a gaming group just ends up playing a certain way, and everyone involved needs to get used to it or play with a different group. Which is not to say you can't still play with the same guys, just that you have more than one group.

I'm running two games right now, Keep on the Shadowfell and a 3.5 game of my own devising. The 3.5 game has some joking around, but when I dust of my "DM Voice" the players pick up on it and start talking in character. They'll be happy or sad or scared or angry, in character and out, depending on what's happening. Meanwhile, in the KotS game (which includes my entire 3.5 group plus some others), we just mess around and casually chew our way through the adventure. The players meta-game and make jokes, but so do the NPCs. If one of the PCs died they'd just roll up another; in the 3.5 game the fallen PC's comrades would do everything in their power to bring their friend back, while his player is biting his fingernails in worry.

Different groups play differently, and that's that. But, everyone's given out good advice so far, so if you all make the effort, you'll all get "better".

Raum
2008-07-23, 06:47 PM
So there it is, though I rambled way too much. I've tried to give you an idea of how a general game sessions goes for me. So how do I RP well? What am I doing wrong? Do you have tips for me on how I could handle situations better?It sounds like your character exists only in one instant in time. His past is destroyed and vengeance has already been taken, his future a blank slate, his only existence is in the moment. To avoid changing your current background concentrate on two questions: How has his tragic past changed him? What are his goals for the future?

Starting with the past, did the death of his family cause him to hate or fear the race / tribe / reason responsible for their death? Perhaps he simply hates everyone. Has he possibly become paranoid? Alternatively, he may want to live each moment of life fully because he knows it may end at any moment. What about the god / goddess assisting him? Has he become devout? What character flaws may have resulted from his life experience? There are other questions you could ask, but all of these help answer how your character would act in a given situation.

The second question on goals deals more with the future, it helps answer what your character would do in a given situation. Does he want to slaughter anyone remotely involved with those who killed his family? Does he want to further the god's worship? Does he want to build a new life with a new family and friends? Does he simply want to get rich? Or famous? Or maybe he just wants to survive whatever is hunting his family. What ever goals you choose, they'll help give your character depth. He'll seem more real when he's planning for the future and not simply existing in a moment in time.

Have fun!

Arros Winhadren
2008-07-24, 01:33 AM
Thanks for all the tips everyone! I'm thinking my character would be interested in judgement/vengeance. This relates to Aurifal, my chosen deity. For example, I'm considering asking the duerger a bunch of random trivia about other races, and then Violently Thrusting his head into his crotch if he gets it wrong. :smallsmile:

Anyways, I'm curious as to how a dialogue-intensive session should go. My DM's NPCs are all fairly overbearing and demanding. They tend to exist only to cause problems or give quests. Is this typical? Are we supposed to like NPCs? There's also a lot of awkward pauses. Do you have any general tips for smoothing out long stretches of dialogue, or just tips for PC/NPC interaction beyond thinking about how my character reacts?

I really appreciate all the advice!

Shadowdweller
2008-07-24, 01:42 AM
So there it is, though I rambled way too much. I've tried to give you an idea of how a general game sessions goes for me. So how do I RP well? What am I doing wrong? Do you have tips for me on how I could handle situations better?
Much of the time, IMX, RPing poorly just means "failing to provide any distinguishing personality features". As a first step, try brainstorming a few things that your character likes and a few things that he or she dislikes. For instance: One character might favor martial skill over magic ability. Another might find banking/usury morally repugnant. Another might favor wine over other sorts of alcohol. One character might be obsessed with gold, another fascinated by history, yet another unimpressed by either. Try to include items or traits that commonly appear in game; a like or dislike of something that never shows up in your game world provides little basis for influencing your character's actions or portraying his/her personality to the other players.

Step 2: Let your character's likes and dislikes influence their actions. A character who favors martial skill might be more likely suggest a plan than involves plain fighting. A character who likes gold might favor the employment option that earns them the biggest payoff (even if the person doing the hiring is a bit questionable...); a person who likes axes might purchase a few of different styles (enchantments, materials, types) and try them each out in different battles.

A "like" might represent:
- An ethical or religious belief in X
- A belief that X is superior to something of similar type
- A fascination with X
- A desire to possess X
- A desire to be around X
- A tendency to view those who are X or possess X in a favorable light

A "dislike" might represent:
- The state of being uninterested by Y
- A belief that Y is morally wrong
- A fear, feeling of discomfort around, or utter phobia of Y
- A belief that Y is inferior to something of similar type
- A hatred of Y

Either can occur in varying degrees of intensity.

Shadowdweller
2008-07-24, 02:27 AM
Anyways, I'm curious as to how a dialogue-intensive session should go. My DM's NPCs are all fairly overbearing and demanding. They tend to exist only to cause problems or give quests. Is this typical? Are we supposed to like NPCs? There's also a lot of awkward pauses. Do you have any general tips for smoothing out long stretches of dialogue, or just tips for PC/NPC interaction beyond thinking about how my character reacts?

There's certainly plenty of people who like to DM so as to live out personal power fantasies. There are those who cannot wrap their minds around trying to RP their NPCs in a manner which isn't annoying. There are those who constantly subject their players to NPC unpleasantness so as to provide some sort of non-combat challenge. Typical or not, if you find it boring or unpleasant then try discussing the subject out of game with your play group and DM. One is, after all, playing to have fun.

There are some DMs who expect the players to take the initiative occasionally. That's when it helps to have a character with personal goals, and opinions on how to accomplish them. When nobody is capable of or willing to take the initiative...well that's one source of awkward pauses.

As for smoothing out dialogue: The best advice I can give you is to try and figure out what aspects of it, if any, you find fun. I personally enjoy characters who are a little zany/exaggerated and who get themselves into slightly silly conflicts on occasion. For instance: I once played a sorcerer who had been a shaman from a "savage" tribe. The character in question thought the etiquette of city-dwellers to be a bit ridiculous and had great fun prancing about in a conical hat, starry robe, fake beard and generally trying to thumb his nose at elitist sensibilities one time when the rest of the party were trying to extract information at a party of the upper classes. (Trick was to do this without annoying the other players).

Raum
2008-07-24, 07:55 AM
Anyways, I'm curious as to how a dialogue-intensive session should go. My DM's NPCs are all fairly overbearing and demanding. They tend to exist only to cause problems or give quests. Is this typical?Not in my experience.


Are we supposed to like NPCs?Hopefully some are likable! Using likable NPCs to initiate some common action is a staple in many games. Everywhere from the NPC hiring the PCs or begging for help to the NPC mysteriously disappearing / dying and leaving the PCs to pick up the pieces.


There's also a lot of awkward pauses. Do you have any general tips for smoothing out long stretches of dialogue, or just tips for PC/NPC interaction beyond thinking about how my character reacts?The GM usually has more control over pace than the players but remember you don't have to participate in the verbal exchange to be involved. Stated feelings (Raum looks anguished by the news.) or trivial actions (Raum turns the book over and flips through the pages while waiting for a response.) can break up long pauses and often help start discussion. Just be wary of overusing it and becoming a scene hog!

valadil
2008-07-24, 09:01 AM
Anyways, I'm curious as to how a dialogue-intensive session should go. My DM's NPCs are all fairly overbearing and demanding. They tend to exist only to cause problems or give quests. Is this typical? Are we supposed to like NPCs? There's also a lot of awkward pauses. Do you have any general tips for smoothing out long stretches of dialogue, or just tips for PC/NPC interaction beyond thinking about how my character reacts?


NPCs can be used however your DM wants. It sounds like his are fairly limited if all they do is hand out plot. NPCs can be likable and loathable. Mine are often both.

If the NPCs suck to talk with, strike up a conversation with the PCs. Or find new NPCs to talk to. Bartenders aren't just beer dispensers after all.

Thrawn183
2008-07-24, 09:10 AM
I'd say its spontaneity in making decisions regarding your character.

The DM introduces a child playing in her yard with a doll. You can play with the child, ignore the child or steal her doll. Decide NOW!

Granted, these decisions should be based on your idea of your character's personality, but sometimes doing something a little crazy can be fun too. I mean, people do weird stuff all the time. Sometimes they can't even give you an explanation for why.

Tormsskull
2008-07-24, 09:11 AM
I've found that a good way of getting to know your character is to write a short story about him. A lot of times you have some ideas about your character that are locked away in the back of your head. If you start to put these ideas into play, by writing a short story, then you solidify what your character is about.

That, or run through a few "What if" scenarios. f/x:

What would your character do if he caught someone stealing from him? What if that person was incredibly poor and stealing to feed himself/family? What if the thief was a child?

What would your character do if he noticed someone drop a gem and not realize it?

Etc, etc.

These are the sort of questions you think about, and then think of how your character would respond. The more questions you ask yourself, the more 'real' or detailed your character becomes.

Good luck.