D&D General Acting and DMing -- is acting an impediment to fun?

[iserith]

I was trying to be nice, but yeah, that's basically my reaction as well.

I mean, that's more on me than them to be fair.

I've watched games where the DM was going all-out on the acting, and the players just sat there and watched. They weren't really engaged in the game. They seemed to forget that they were even playing characters. It was like the DM was putting on a show for them and they were just along for the ride. Whereas at other times, like with the successful DM I mentioned in my original post, I've seen DMs fumble their way through interactions, obviously struggling to come up with something for an NPC to say, and yet the players were completely engaged and into their characters. The conclusion I draw is that acting stifles players and their engagement in the game.

Like anything else it depends, but I have been running for a lot of new players lately and observing other people's games and there is something to this in my experience.

 

[Charlaquin]

I think there's a couple things being conflated here. When interacting with NPCs, I prefer that the DM act out the NPCs to the best of their ability. That said, I think D&D 5e is at its best when the players are exploring dangerous locations, fighting hostile creatures, and generally adventuring, rather than simply interacting with NPCs. Now, interacting with NPCs can certainly be a key component of adventuring. 5e does prop interaction up as one of the three pillars of play, after all. But, there is a tendency in heavily social campaigns for the actual adventure to fall by the wayside in favor of these quirky NPC interactions.

I think what you may have observed is a correlation between DMs who like to ham it up and games where interacting with NPCs ends up dominating the focus rather than making interesting decisions. But the correlation is certainly not 1:1, and while I prefer games that focus more on adventure, I find that such games are better with a DM who gets into the acting.

 

[Retreater]

I perform in community theatre, and I work with children every day, doing professional reading and storytelling. I also like to throw in some memorable voices for my NPCs. But I think it can be way overdone... especially by DMs who like to hear themselves talk to the detriment of the Player Characters. So use it sparingly, and not at the expense of the game.

 

[Tony Vargas]

Storytelling is a skill/talent all it's own, distinct from acting or writing or whatever. And, no, not just in the white-wolf 'storyteller' sense of an artsy GM*, but in the sense of, y'know, for eons humans sat around the fire and told stories...

The non-acting DM who still runs an engrossing game? Could be a talented storyteller.









* though I did that rather a long time, m'self.

 

[Burnside]

I am a professional actor and always try to inhabit the NPCs as much as possible when I DM. That said, I also think that D&D is at its best when the players are talking more than the DM. I also prefer to have no more than one NPC "on stage" at a time, and my games are at most 1/3rd about RP interaction with NPCs (often less). Because I am a professional, I'm reasonably confident that my performances aren't cringe-y. If I see a DM acting who maybe isn't the greatest at it, personally I find it mostly charming. It takes some guts to put yourself out there in front of people, and I think that's commendable even if the result is unpolished.

However, I think there is a problem when any DM is monologing and has lost sight of whether the players are actually engaged. D&D should be a dialogue or feedback loop between players and DM. I have seen both "acting" and "non-acting" DMs make the mistake of sucking all the air out of the room. What's most important is that the players are playing. When I DM, I try to make sure than within 30 seconds of the start of the session, the players are talking and doing things rather than just listening to me.

 

[jgsugden]

Every group is different. Adapt to the group.

A good DM will work to help the players express themselves in the game in the way they're comfortable expressing themselves, and with a goal towards helping them evolve as they're comfortable evolving.

A DM that is playing with a bunch of new players needs to read the room. If he does voices and the playrs seem uncomfortable, he needs to try altering his approach to make them more cofortable. If he is dry and the players are nt being immersed in the experience he may need to step up his acting to try to pull them into the story more.

 

[Oofta]

I think there has to be give and take, but RP is a central part of my games. So yes I do accents, change posture, use my hands and body language when acting out an NPC.

But the focus is always going to be on the players, it's their story and I'm just setting the stage.

But it's not for everyone.

 

[toucanbuzz]

@Fenris-77 does what I do. I've been DMing for many years now and on the fly I'll go with a high/low/nasal + a tic (spits at the end of a sentence, sniffs a lot because of a cold) + standing up and using nonverbals (crossed arms, pointed finger). I'm not sure it's acting and my accents stink. Sometimes, I'll simply visualize a similar movie or book character and imitate them.

I think podcasts have given some misguided perception that accents = roleplaying when in reality, it's just one more way to show you're involved and invested in your game. So for that, I say for weal or woe, go forth and do your best Scottish dwarf if that's what gets you involved.

 

[Beleriphon]

I'll act. For gnomes, especially the crazy explosion inclined ones, I tend to pitch my voice up, talk much faster, and do my best to be nasally.

For a particular bombastic bad guy I'll try my best to emulate the Cage Demonwolf from Empowered. I can manage a seven word alliteration combo at least one per scene with such a character I'll call that a win.

Otherwise, pitch and cadence, are the two best tools I can use voice wise to be a different character. Accents are hard, I can affect a reasonably fake Russian accent that sounds like it belongs a terrible spy movie from the 80s, but I can keep it consistent and I think that's keep. Nobody cares if your British accent isn't right, as long as it is consistently not right. Pulling a Costner is bad.

As for my personal preference, funny voices can be fun. A bit of acting can be fun. I say go for it DM, you're all there to have fun.

 

[jayoungr]

I think D&D 5e is at its best when the players are exploring dangerous locations, fighting hostile creatures, and generally adventuring, rather than simply interacting with NPCs. Now, interacting with NPCs can certainly be a key component of adventuring. 5e does prop interaction up as one of the three pillars of play, after all. But, there is a tendency in heavily social campaigns for the actual adventure to fall by the wayside in favor of these quirky NPC interactions.

By specifying 5E, are you implying that other editions of D&D do not suffer from "too much" NPC interaction?