Getting into character...

[wayne62682]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'll see what I can do.. although theater classes and LARPing would probably get me kicked out of the group for going "too far". My intent isn't to think of it as a play, but rather bring out enough of the quirks and background I've developed for my character so it seems like I'm playing a character, not myself.

For example, to use the Hamlet analogy, what I mean is that in my view, D&D is the scenario AFTER Hamlet finds out his father was murdered. That's my backstory; father died, his ghost appeared to me blah blah blah your uncle murdered me, blah blah blah avenge my death. That's my "plot hook". The roleplaying aspect comes after that.. do I poison him? Do I raise an army and try to win back my kingdom? Do I say that hey, my father was a wuss anyways, I love you uncle! That sort of thing.

The issue is more that I don't know how to roleplay what I need to do in order to portray my character as I envision him, namely the morbid curiosity and having a dominant personality. I have the cold cunning down, but the rest of it is as likely to make my character look like a joke than have him be taken seriously, because nobody at the table believes that "he" can be dominant because I'm not.

The issue is not helped by the fact that I'm a bounty hunter and the first time I met the party the DM (accidently?) had the creatures I was hunting (two minotaurs) suddenly appear BEHIND me so it looked like I lost sight of them and they doubled back to ambush me. Not a good start to what was supposed to be a serious character... to me that made him out to be a joke from the get-go. That and the other PCs don't trust him because he's a bounty hunter, but they (the players) don't give the opportunity to warm up to them in-character either.

 

[Quickleaf]

The issue is more that I don't know how to roleplay what I need to do in order to portray my character as I envision him, namely the morbid curiosity and having a dominant personality. I have the cold cunning down, but the rest of it is as likely to make my character look like a joke than have him be taken seriously, because nobody at the table believes that "he" can be dominant because I'm not.

Hmm...I'm sensing a little rivalry between you and the other players. You say they don't believe you can portray a dominant player, and it bothers you. Why not bring the issue up in game?
You might say something like "Hey DM, I really want my PC to have a forceful personality, but I'm concerned after incident X that no one in the party takes my PC seriously. Also, I'm concerned this isn't helped by my shyness. I'd like to ask the group to help me portray this forceful character."
If you don't have any specific requests (e.g. Try reacting to my character as if he was dangerous), you might simply ask for suggestions about what you/the DM/the other players could do to help you out. You might be surprised by the response.

 

[fusangite]

Hmm...I'm sensing a little rivalry between you and the other players.

I've been picking up on this a bit too. Normally when people want to alter their play style, they do it to harmonize their character with the others; in wayne's case, it seems like you are trying to increase the disparity between how you play and how the rest of the group does.

 

[wayne62682]

Right... I'm trying to make the games more fun because as it stands we do a lot of OOC conversation and not much in the way of roleplaying (and most of the night is taken up by combat, so that does not help either), but I feel foolish when I'm the only one doing it, and they (the other players) are not apt to take notice or think of it as a serious attempt. The group's play style is pretty laid back; not to say that I don't like that, but I like a distinction between OOC comments and in-character ones.. sometimes it's hard to tell.

I have a game later tonight and I'm going to try and see what I can do.. probably will not result in much but you never know... thanks again for the advice, all.

 

[smootrk]

I do not do 'voices' or even really try to act out in strange ways... as I am not Robin Williams or Rich Little. It does not come naturally to me (or un-naturally with practice). I am a monotone speaker.

Yet, I create very memorable characters with decent backgrounds and consistent motivations... even if I do it in 'third-person' much of the time.

Not everyone is a thespian, or even remotely desires to play the game as one. All the 'real' acting is done within my mind - as my ability to perform for the group is not my motivation to play. I do hope that you can find a good balance in play, and realize that the majority of players are likely somewhere less than your 'act is play' style of gaming.