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

[Charlaquin]

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

Not specifically, no. I do think there has been something of a proliferation of games with a heavy focus on social interaction of late, but I don’t have any actual data to back that up, and even if it is the case, I very much doubt it’s anything particular to 5e driving it.

 

[Prakriti]

Another question: Has anyone ever asked their own players what they happen to prefer? It's probably worth asking, but I'm not sure you'd get an honest answer...

 

[Oofta]

Another question: Has anyone ever asked their own players what they happen to prefer? It's probably worth asking, but I'm not sure you'd get an honest answer...

Doesn't that tend to be a bit self-sorting? I mean, when getting together a new group people tend to fall off at first because of differences of expectations, style, life, a number of reasons.

I get plenty of positive feedback, but I've also learned over the years that you can't please everyone. I'm not even sure how hard you should try ... but that's a whole other topic.

 

[Wulffolk]

I approach my role as the Dungeon-Master / Story-Teller from the perspective that I am a narrator of the story that the players are creating. As such, I prefer to describe voices, mannerisms, quirks, etc. rather than attempt to act them out. I was never in the drama club, and I am not an attention seeker, so trying to act and do voices would really come across awkwardly if I were to attempt it in a game. I would rather play to my strengths. Also, I enjoy portraying both male and females characters, and it would be truly cringe-worthy for me to attempt to act and speak femininely.

 

[Iry]

I prefer acting and run my games with acting. But you have to keep your pacing under control, it really helps to have charisma, and you need to know your strengths and weaknesses (don't do accents if you can't do accents). Also, you have to keep your pacing under control.

Pacing.

 

[Doug McCrae]

Something else I've noticed after countless hours of live-play viewing: players seem to enjoy a dryer DM. It's almost as if acting smothers the players -- after a certain point, the DM becomes the star of his own show, and the players are just along for the ride. Whereas a DM who steps back and leaves the roleplay to the players tends to have happier players who are more invested in the world.

To me that sounds more like a GM who simply talks too much rather than one who inhabits their NPCs. I'll accept that GMs who do acting/voices are more likely to talk too much though it's not necessarily the case.

As a GM I like to get into character and it's also what I prefer from a GM when I'm a player.

 

[jayoungr]

I feel like this doesn't even need to be said, but surely this varies from table to table? D&D players aren't a monolith, so painting them all with a single brush ("players seem to enjoy a dryer DM") seems impossible and counterproductive.

 

[Charlaquin]

Another question: Has anyone ever asked their own players what they happen to prefer? It's probably worth asking, but I'm not sure you'd get an honest answer...

I haven’t, but like... I act out the NPCs in my games because it’s fun for me. If it bothered any of my players, I would hope they would say something, but otherwise I’m gonna keep DMing the way I like. As @Oofta says, it’s kinda self-sorting, isn’t it?

 

[Blue]

Watching a livestream isn't playing in a game; if you're not intgeracting it's almost an unrelated experience. At best it's a distant cousin when it comes to style you like to interact with.

I play and run in RP heavy groups. I enjoy when DMs make the world come alive through acting the parts of the NPCs, and it absolutely adds to my RP with them. As a DM I have been complemented by different long term groups and when running at Cons for how I do it, which is very acting heavy.

Now, it's all subjective - everyone has what they like or dislike. But I can say that among the players I know it's seen as a sign of a better DM.

 

[Blue]

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.

The number of audiobooks I've had recommended because the reader does great voices for the characters says to me that acting out the NPCs can and often is part of being a great storyteller.