In-Character versus Out-Of-Character

[Mark CMG]

How much of the talking during your games that could be In-Character actually is In-Character?

What form does this In-Character talk take?

Do some players speak In-Character a lot more than others or is it fairly even among the players in your games?

If you're the DM, do you speak In-Character (when you can) at all?

If you're the DM, do you speak In-Character (when you can) a lot more than your players (or the reverse)?

If you're the DM, do you encourage your players to speak In-Character?

 

[Darmanicus]

How much of the talking during your games that could be In-Character actually is In-Character?

What form does this In-Character talk take?

Do some players speak In-Character a lot more than others or is it fairly even among the players in your games?

If you're the DM, do you speak In-Character (when you can) at all?

If you're the DM, do you speak In-Character (when you can) a lot more than your players (or the reverse)?

If you're the DM, do you encourage your players to speak In-Character?

I voted 30%. Back in the day though this was more 80-90% when there were a few of us who didn't mind acting it out.

 

[el-remmen]

As DM I insist that all talk that can be "in-character" is done in character - and my players are all really good about it and enjoy it - so it is not an issue.

As DM role-playing all the various NPCs is one of the things I enjoy most and I always have them directly address the PCs - instead of saying things like "the smith asks you where you have been" it would be more like, "Ach! Where ya been? You still owed me a hunn-ed parces of silver on that armor I wus makin' ya!"

 

[freebfrost]

How much of the talking during your games that could be In-Character actually is In-Character?

I chose 60%

What form does this In-Character talk take?

Conversations between characters and with NPCs.

Do some players speak In-Character a lot more than others or is it fairly even among the players in your games?

Some players do it significantly more than others. It really depends on the person and how they approach RPGs and their level of comfort with "acting" per se. I know some gamers who will *never* speak in anything other than third-person mode, even going so far as to explain what their character is saying to an NPC instead of just saying it. It doesn't make them any less a gamer, they just are not comfortable with face-to-face roleplay.

If you're the DM, do you speak In-Character (when you can) at all?

Most certainly.

If you're the DM, do you speak In-Character (when you can) a lot more than your players (or the reverse)?

I'm comfortable with that interaction, so I am right up their with those who stay in character the whole time.

If you're the DM, do you encourage your players to speak In-Character?

Yes. I think it adds to the experience. I even try to encourage those who aren't comfortable with that level of play to at least try it out occasionally.

 

[Crothian]

Its very low in my games and would be much lower if I was IC a lot as DM. I wish the players would be IC more often

 

[ThirdWizard]

It's around 50/50, but it can vary a lot from session to session just depending on our mood, so sometimes it might be as high as 70% and sometimes as low as 30%.

Do some players speak In-Character a lot more than others or is it fairly even among the players in your games?

I have one Player who talks more in character than the others. She's not very good at it, but she tries very hard, and it is encouraged. I tell the others to try to talk in character more like her! When I roleplay as a Player I'm in character a lot as well.

If you're the DM, do you speak In-Character (when you can) at all?

Almost all NPC interaction is handled in 1st person among all involved. The main OOC handling is done when there are no NPCs to interact with. For example, while the PCs are deciding where to go to research something, they tend to talk about it in character only about half the time, the other half they just outright debate what they think should be done. If they're interacting with an NPC, though, we fall into in-character roleplaying.

If you're the DM, do you speak In-Character (when you can) a lot more than your players (or the reverse)?

When I go in-character, the Players follow my lead.

If you're the DM, do you encourage your players to speak In-Character?

Yes, for the most part, I do encourage it. I don't push it too much, though, if they arn't feeling into it at the moment though. They're lazy and do a lot of planning and thinking about what they want to be doing next and such. Roleplaying this out would sometimes be more tedious than interesting, so they gloss over it. So, it depends on if I feel it would improve the game whether I encourage it for specific situations or not.

An example of glossing over:

Player1: I think we should go to the Mortuary.
Player2: No way, the Dustmen hate us.
Player1: You're right, how about the Foundry?
Player3: My character hates the Godsmen.
Player1: I bet we can convince him to go.
Player2: Yeah, its two against one.
Player3: Fine, but he's not happy about it.

 

[Edgewood]

Its always low in my gaming group. The problem is most of my players have egos that need to be validated so they do that by joking around all of the time. If one person makes a humerous comment on a situation, then another has to make a funnier comment, add nauseum. I too wish that they would stay IC but I know that's just not going to happen so I just roll with the laughs. If they're having a good time then who am I to stop them?

 

[Wombat]

How much of the talking during your games that could be In-Character actually is In-Character?

With my current group, I'd say about 80% of our in character talk is actually done in character. I have a lovely group of actors

What form does this In-Character talk take?

As GM, I speak in character as a NPC to them; the players then respond in kind. There are also in character talks between PCs (sometimes because I ask for it, more often simply because they enjoy the process). There are times when I am fairly strict about "you said that, so they heard it", especially for characters who have a real "voice" (as opposed to a person who uses his/her "street voice" for the character).

Do some players speak In-Character a lot more than others or is it fairly even among the players in your games?

I have one extreme ham in the group who never speaks out of character and one woman who speaks in character at best 50% of the time. The rest create that 80% balance point.

If you're the DM, do you speak In-Character (when you can) at all?

I do it as often as I can. Some minor characters have very neutral voices; all major NPCs have identifiable voices, accents, word choice, etc. Again, I think I hold to about 80% of the time. This is part of the game that I truly enjoy!

If you're the DM, do you speak In-Character (when you can) a lot more than your players (or the reverse)?

Nope. We're about on par at this point.

If you're the DM, do you encourage your players to speak In-Character?

Yes, I do. And they encourage me in return. When I first got the group together I gave minor XP bonuses for staying in character; now it is simply habit.

 

[was]

About 80%, it's a mutually agreed upon houserule.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

I put it at 40% - less than half, but it depends upon the players. I had some players who were great about it 75-80% at least of talk that could be done in character was. Others who were around 10% - and even getting that 10% could be like pulling teeth.

It is nice to have in-character talk, but not everyone is comfortable with it. I didn't want to insist it happened and make people uncomfortable when playing a game for fun.