GMing without an inner monologue.

[Jahydin]

I just got done watching The Killer (2023) which features a character that is constantly thinking to himself. Once it was over, I hopped online to read other's reviews of it and became puzzled at a few responses that didn't understand the "inner monologuing" that was happening. That led me down a rabbit hole of discovering that only around 50% of people do this?

I've talked about my inability to imagine pictures, like in this thread here, but the inability "to talk" inside one's head is new to me. Personally, my brain doesn't... shut... up... ever, and I kind of just assumed that was how everyone's brain worked.

Anyway, this got me thinking about TTRPGs (like everything does) and how it was possible to DM without verbal dialogue in your head. For instance, how do you decide what an NPC might say? When creating maps, encounters, etc., are you really mentally silent the entire time?

I'm always blown away by how unique we all are and curious to hear other's thoughts and experiences.

 

[payn]

"It is inconceivable that any species could exist in such a manner. You are deceiving us."

 

[DragonLancer]

Personally, my brain doesn't... shut... up... ever, and I kind of just assumed that was how everyone's brain worked.

Same here. Pretty much every day is my head running adventure or campaign thoughts and even play throughs (in advance of a session) in my head. Even at work this is what I'm doing. At night I've taken to falling asleep listening to a game session playing on youtube otherwise my brain keeps running game scenarios and conversations in my head which keeps me awake.

 

[soviet]

Wait, your position is that people who don't hear a constant voice in their head aren't thinking? Thoughts can only exist as spoken words?

 

[Umbran]

Anyway, this got me thinking about TTRPGs (like everything does) and how it was possible to DM without verbal dialogue in your head. For instance, how do you decide what an NPC might say? When creating maps, encounters, etc., are you really mentally silent the entire time?

The entire time?

You seem to be stepping to conflating being able to have an inner monologue with having that monologue be constant.

Sometimes I have an inner monologue, and sometimes I don't. I can process information and make decisions without having such a monologue running.

I'm always blown away by how unique we all are and curious to hear other's thoughts and experiences.

Well, consider - an inner monologue requires language. Most animals don't have language. Humans don't have language until they are taught language. But they all can go about their days processing information without language, per se.

 

[TheAlkaizer]

I'm a bit confused. Is this like a philosophical question? Or a practical one?

I'm just there's a matter of semantics here that will clear your question.

On philosophical note, my mind is also very active at all time of the day. It's natural mode is to hop from idea to question forever. But that's not really how I'd describe it when I'm DMing or prepping something. In that situation it feels a bit more like being led on, or just letting the next thing lead me on. Like a trail of crumbs. My brain or my memory surely is the one to put the crumbs in front of my consciousness, the when I am in the moment, I feels like I'm just following the crumbs and they were there. I never ask myself questions, I just have an answer. It just comes up.

On a practical note, isn't that inner monologue GM bias? Couldn't you say that random tables and spark tables are tools used to rely more on the dice and less on your inner monologue?

 

[Committed Hero]

The trick is getting the brain to shut up. I usually envision what a NPC might say outside of play time.

 

[Duke_]

I would pay real money to be able to shut off my internal monologue at will. It just keeps going, and going, and going...

 

[bloodtide]

This is why the games that tell the DM what to do with rolls, rules and tables are popular. The 'quiet' DM just needs to roll on the Daily Event Table and get a result of Combat Encounter and then roll and get "orc Bandits". Then say to the players "Orc Bandits attack!"

 

[KYRON45]

This is why the games that tell the DM what to do with rolls, rules and tables are popular. The 'quiet' DM just needs to roll on the Daily Event Table and get a result of Combat Encounter and then roll and get "orc Bandits". Then say to the players "Orc Bandits attack!"

Any time i've ever used a random table....i picked what i wanted from that table anyway.