Do you roleplay in 1st or 3rd person - why?

msd · Dec 1, 2004

I have always tended to roleplay in 3rd person...meaning, I say "Bozo tugs at his beard for a moment, and then says...Ay, you may have it for 10 gold..." I guess, because the groups I were in tended to do things that way and because the DMs I played with roleplayed NPCs that way, I came to think of that as normal.

I recently played with a group that was full on first person...literally, unless there is a clearly defined break in the action for pizza, a "can I attempt this using this mechanic" discussion, or restroom break, everything is in character.

Personally and IMHO, I found this more difficult and a little more tedious. For me, the tension and the fun of the game is also about environment and setting and in my limited experience with that group, it seemed hard to switch back and forth between the third person narrative where the DM can set the setting, the PCs can describe their actions, etc. and the players can play in the 1st person.

Anyhoo, I was just interested in hearing how other groups do this and what other people's experience has been...

Anabstercorian · Dec 1, 2004

Well, I have two games, one online, and the other in person.

The online game is done largely in first person, because "You can just enclose the words of your character in quotes, and basically make him in to something very literary with a lot of ease, because you have some time to think out his words." The in person game is generally done in 3rd person just because it's easier for everyone to keep track of. Conversations are 1st person, tho.

Desdichado · Dec 1, 2004

A mix. I tend to slip into 3rd person when I want to speed the game up a bit.

Of course even in "first person" you have to describe things, so it's not truly first person the way the term is used in literature.

diaglo · Dec 1, 2004

Joshua Dyal said:
Of course even in "first person" you have to describe things, so it's not truly first person the way the term is used in literature.

right.

i talk, act, prance, hum, sing, etc... as my character.

i become my character for the session.

but still there are times when you have to describe things in context instead of just pantomiming

Li Shenron · Dec 1, 2004

At the gaming table it's always quite a mix. Some players are often embarassed to roleplay in 1st person and we don't force each other, but others like doing it all the time.

In PbP it's much easier to speak in character. But there's also much more space to write a 3rd-person descriptions of your character's actions and mannerism

Scribble · Dec 1, 2004

I'm a part of the mixed group, where we keep in 1st person for most things, but sometimes either to speed the game along, or because it's not a very important event, we'll swicth up to 3rd.

Philip · Dec 1, 2004

Conversations: always in 1st person unless it would bog down the game. Example: after the party scout has overheard a conversation, the player says "Character X tells the rest what he heard" when he returns to the other PCS instead of doing everything all over in 1st person.

Actions: always in 3rd person, for obvious reasons. We can't have people charging up and down the game room, after all.

First person seems difficult for many people I game with, especially when they have little experience. They often seem scared. But when I play my NPCs consistently in 1st person, and react to the players behaviour, most will get into it after initial hesistation. Directly adressing the player through an NPC often helps: "Heh you, I am talking to you, why don't you look me in the eye, are you hiding something!" When the player turns away and tells what his character says in third person when he is in the middle of a conversation.

I think 1st person makes for much more in-depth play, more of a feeling of being there, than 3rd person does.

Mercule · Dec 1, 2004

A mix, but mostly first person for players -- DM has too many roles to do other than 3rd. Why? Dunno, I've never played in a 3rd person group, for one. We talk about games like Diablo 2 in the first person ("I did..." rather than "my assassin did..."), so I can't see where we'd distance ourselves more from something with more personal investment.

Ultimately, the best reason I can think of for me to talk in first person is because I'm trying to roleplay the character. I'm the actor adlibbing my lines. I need to be able to act/react appropriately for my character. You can't hold the character at arms length and do that.

Laurel · Dec 1, 2004

Joshua Dyal said:
A mix. I tend to slip into 3rd person when I want to speed the game up a bit.

Of course even in "first person" you have to describe things, so it's not truly first person the way the term is used in literature.

I tend to use the first person for PC's in this way, but foucln't say always do it this way.

During game time we sometimes have issues with what's IC and what's OOC, so we've started IC time discussions and making sure we start with -character's name- does this, or -character's name- says this.

Algolei · Dec 1, 2004

Hmmmmm! I think next time I play, I'm gonna try doing it in the second person. Thought oughta confuse the DM!

Do you roleplay in 1st or 3rd person - why?

msd

First Post

Anabstercorian

First Post

Desdichado

Hero

diaglo

Adventurer

Li Shenron

Legend

Scribble

First Post

Philip

Explorer

Mercule

Adventurer

Laurel

First Post

Algolei

Explorer

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