Last weekend, I spent some time hanging out with a friend from my D&D group. We had other things on the agenda, but we also realized that it was a perfect opportunity to have an in-character conversation we had been trying to have in-game for nearly two months. Our sessions have been eventful, and there wasn’t a good time to pause for it. We thought it might be a longish discussion, and wouldn't include the other characters, so we kept putting it off.
I have done some geeky things in my day -- opening a comic and game shop, visiting filming locations for favorite movies and TV shows, writing a column about D&D -- but I think I just leveled up. We started sharing some big backstory secrets while sitting at the kitchen table, then continued as we walked down the wine aisle at the grocery store. We weren’t in costume, but maybe it still counts as my first LARP experience. Regardless, that’s some next-level geekery, and it was delightful. Don’t worry, moms from 1982, I still know the difference between the game and reality.
This wasn’t the first time I shared some information with only one or two other characters in a larger party or had someone else do the same. I know my experience is not necessarily universal, but I imagine it’s common to share a few backstory details with one or two people as necessary. Still, I never had a first-person, in-character experience of that kind before. This was an hour or more of free-flowing conversation, although admittedly, we slipped into third person on occasion.
Our DM knew about most of what we discussed and was fine with this approach. (Though now that I think of it, a thing or two came up that I probably should tell him about. If you do this, don’t forget to circle back with new info!) It works well for this particular style of play. It doesn’t feel like we’re leaving other characters out of the good stuff, because it’s all going to come out eventually. In an RP-heavy game like this, it makes sense to allow some secrets and surprises build. It fits well because almost everyone started with a mysterious backstory -- except our barbarian, who is very well-adjusted, has a great relationship with his family, and doesn’t rage so much as he beats monsters to death with the force of his cheery enthusiasm. If it turns out he has dark secrets, that would be the greatest surprise of all.
While having this conversation in person was fun, it’s also possible to do it in text form. I’ve used both email and instant messaging to accomplish the same basic thing, though we didn’t technically do it in first person. Among the benefits: putting things in writing makes it easier to bring your DM into the loop on everything that was discussed. We discuss character information privately with our DM over email, so it works as an extension of that.
I realize this might be a controversial approach. I would use it sparingly, and I wouldn’t recommend it for everybody’s game. But I’m wondering how this has worked for other people’s games. Have your campaigns included private, in-character side conversations? Or does everything stay strictly at the table?
contributed by Annie Bulloch
I have done some geeky things in my day -- opening a comic and game shop, visiting filming locations for favorite movies and TV shows, writing a column about D&D -- but I think I just leveled up. We started sharing some big backstory secrets while sitting at the kitchen table, then continued as we walked down the wine aisle at the grocery store. We weren’t in costume, but maybe it still counts as my first LARP experience. Regardless, that’s some next-level geekery, and it was delightful. Don’t worry, moms from 1982, I still know the difference between the game and reality.
This wasn’t the first time I shared some information with only one or two other characters in a larger party or had someone else do the same. I know my experience is not necessarily universal, but I imagine it’s common to share a few backstory details with one or two people as necessary. Still, I never had a first-person, in-character experience of that kind before. This was an hour or more of free-flowing conversation, although admittedly, we slipped into third person on occasion.
Our DM knew about most of what we discussed and was fine with this approach. (Though now that I think of it, a thing or two came up that I probably should tell him about. If you do this, don’t forget to circle back with new info!) It works well for this particular style of play. It doesn’t feel like we’re leaving other characters out of the good stuff, because it’s all going to come out eventually. In an RP-heavy game like this, it makes sense to allow some secrets and surprises build. It fits well because almost everyone started with a mysterious backstory -- except our barbarian, who is very well-adjusted, has a great relationship with his family, and doesn’t rage so much as he beats monsters to death with the force of his cheery enthusiasm. If it turns out he has dark secrets, that would be the greatest surprise of all.
While having this conversation in person was fun, it’s also possible to do it in text form. I’ve used both email and instant messaging to accomplish the same basic thing, though we didn’t technically do it in first person. Among the benefits: putting things in writing makes it easier to bring your DM into the loop on everything that was discussed. We discuss character information privately with our DM over email, so it works as an extension of that.
I realize this might be a controversial approach. I would use it sparingly, and I wouldn’t recommend it for everybody’s game. But I’m wondering how this has worked for other people’s games. Have your campaigns included private, in-character side conversations? Or does everything stay strictly at the table?
contributed by Annie Bulloch
