Easing into TT RPGing from PbP

[Altair]

Hello gents, I've got a small problem that I'd like to ask for your advice on.

I'm very used to playing DnD over message boards, so when I got together a group of people IRL to DM, I quickly found that I was almost completely incapable of roleplaying in person.

My four main problems are this:

1) I am incapable of roleplaying as a female NPC. Whenever I put on my best falsetto and try to roleplay her (even if her dialogue is only a few sentences long), my players all crack up laughing, and I feel like a gigantic dork.

2) Whenever I try to hold conversation between 2 different NPCs (putting on different voices for each participant in the conversation), it feels like I'm talking to myself, and once again, I feel like a gigantic dork.

3) I find myself in the habit of simply avoiding these situations more and more by simply saying "the girl tells you that..." or "you overhear a conversation about...", which just seems to betray the whole idea of roleplaying.

4) My players rarely roleplay unless I actually drag them into a conversation with an NPC and I have a feeling they are just as embarrassed as I am. They usually just state "my character chats up the locals" (for example) rather than actually roleplaying him chatting up the locals.

How do you DMs deal with these problems in your games?

 

[jdrakeh]

How do you DMs deal with these problems in your games?

I play on message boards

 

[Rallek]

Welcome to the table, Altair.

I never did the play by post thing, so I’m not sure that I can be as helpful as anyone who has gone that route, but I think that I can contribute a few pieces of advice.


First of all, I am also less than stellar at playing female NPCs. If the NPC in question is not recurring, I find that like you I tend to relate the information in the third person, “she tells you…”, and stuff like that. If she is an important/recurring NPC, then I “roleplay” her in my normal voice. I haven’t ever tried a falsetto, but that would seem (in my opinion) to top the list of things that would not work, as my group would certainly break out in uncontrollable laughter. After all, if they’re going to accept me as suitable proxy for the comely maiden (beard and all), then they can damn well imagine her dulcet tones as well. It seems to work for us.


As far as being “uncomfortably” role-playing face-to-face, that’s understandable too. You’re doing a fairly silly thing, after all, but it is also a lot of fun. Like any new thing, you’ll get more comfortable with it as you go along, and as your group gets used to playing together. Being silly with your friends is a lot easier than being silly in front of relative strangers.


My group e-mails me over down time to take care of things that may take up a lot of screen time during the gaming session, but very little time in-game. The wizard wants to track down some rare components while he’s in the city, The fighter wants to see a man about what he needs to get together to forge custom weapon, the priest needs to discuss some things with the archbishop at the temple. These things may take an hour of time in-game, and up to half an hour of “screen time” during the session. Since they are only of interest to one character, we take care of it via e-mail over down time so we get more game for everyone at our actual sessions. I’ve found that this tends to give players and increased sense of connectivity between their characters and the game world in general. It also seems to encourage them to role-play more deeply when they encounter those NPCs during the session. It might give your players from a play-by-post background a familiar place to start their RPing, and give them a bit of a primer for when they encounter that NPC during the actual session.


Keep us posted on how your sessions go, and good luck.

 

[Tequila Sunrise]

Hello gents, I've got a small problem that I'd like to ask for your advice on.

I'm very used to playing DnD over message boards, so when I got together a group of people IRL to DM, I quickly found that I was almost completely incapable of roleplaying in person.

My four main problems are this:

1) I am incapable of roleplaying as a female NPC. Whenever I put on my best falsetto and try to roleplay her (even if her dialogue is only a few sentences long), my players all crack up laughing, and I feel like a gigantic dork.

2) Whenever I try to hold conversation between 2 different NPCs (putting on different voices for each participant in the conversation), it feels like I'm talking to myself, and once again, I feel like a gigantic dork.

3) I find myself in the habit of simply avoiding these situations more and more by simply saying "the girl tells you that..." or "you overhear a conversation about...", which just seems to betray the whole idea of roleplaying.

4) My players rarely roleplay unless I actually drag them into a conversation with an NPC and I have a feeling they are just as embarrassed as I am. They usually just state "my character chats up the locals" (for example) rather than actually roleplaying him chatting up the locals.

How do you DMs deal with these problems in your games?

These are problems that most new players of any kind encounter. My advice is that if you feel embarrased with RL roleplay and your players feel the same way, just continue with the "the girl says..." "the priest says..." It's not as in-depth as actually using voices and all, but you shouldn't feel like you're somehow not living up to the ideal roleplaying standard. Chances are, you and your players will eventually grow into the more in-depth voices and whatnot in your own time.

The only issue I'd like to point out is your comment about roleplaying two NPCs. As a rule of thumb, avoid two NPCs having actual conversations with each other. If two NPCs have to talk with each other in the presence of the PCs, it's better to make it short and sweet: "the farmer and his wife seem to bicker in a corner for several minutes before returning their attention to you..." Not that it's necessarily bad to have a conversation with yourself , but if the PCs aren't involved with the interaction chances are the players are bored.

 

[Jeysie]

I play on message boards

Even better, play in IM or IRC. You get the easier, in-depth RP of message boards but with the real-time nature of table-top.

Seriously, the problems the OP is having are some the reasons I'm reluctant to move to offline RP myself.

Peace & Luv, Liz