Need Help With Roleplaying, I Seem to be in a D&D Rut

[BiggusGeekus]

I'll give the unpopular advice: quit.

I'd rather have someone walk away from the hobby with fond memories and some desire to give it a try again rather than someone get burned out and angry.

It's spring. The weather is beautiful. There's a million and five things to do that aren't D&D. Frisbee-golf , for instance. Who knows? Maybe you're like the new "Chosen One" for frisbee-golf that is born once every thousand years whose destiny it is to usher humanity into a new era with your Matrix-like frisbee-golf skills. Dude, you totally can't fight a destiny like that.

But back to D&D. If you aren't having fun, then it's not a game. Put it down for a bit and see what happens.

And good luck with that whole frisbee-golf destiny thing.

 

[Sargon the Kassadian]

I still love D&D and I don't want to quit. I seem to have the same trouble when it comes to DMing. I can't come up with good stuff on the spot, and scripting a roleplaying encounter won't work. I have a good imagination for coming up with other stuff, but i can't do it fast.
Another problem: I come to think a character concept is really cool, make my character, and then realize I can't roleplay the type well. By that time we already started the campaign. And if I switch characters during the campaign the same thing happens!

Also, any advice on good PBP groups around my age (or not) ?

Any more sage advice?

 

[Lu Wei Fong]

A while ago there was another thread up about how to improve Roleplaying, and one player whose name escapes me at the moment posted a very good idea that I have since yoinked and made my own. It's called Elf-stones. Elf-Stones are items rewarded (by the DM) out of the game to players for exemplary role-playing done within the game with their characters. The purpose of Elf-Stones is to both encourage and reward good role-playing within the game. This is not meant to imply that the players don’t role-play already; it is simply a tangible benefit to reward the players for their efforts. As time passes and players get more comfortable role-playing, award the stones less often. Here's a list of ways the stones can be redeemed (which you can alter and tweak as you please)
-1) Stones can be traded in to add a +2 modifier to an upcoming roll, such as To Hit, Skill Check, Saving Throw, etc. Stones can be saved and redeemed in bulk to add a cumulative bonus.
-2) Two stones redeemed simultaneously permit a re-roll of any result, but this option can only be brought into play once per situation.
-3) Two stones redeemed simultaneously may grant a bonus rank in any skill (even a cross-class skill) that the player desires. However, this does not increase your maximum number of ranks/level. For example, a 5th level Rogue could not turn in two stones to gain an extra rank in Move Silently if they already have 8 ranks in the skill.
-4) Eight stones turned in simultaneously grant a bonus feat to the character. The character must still meet all the normal prerequisites for the desired feat in order to gain it.

 

[Janx]

There's been a lot said about role playing. Here's more.

Consider that role-playing means playing a role. Thus when you play the role of the fighter, you are roleplaying. You don't need an academy award performance.

Most people start RPing by playing a Chaotic Neutral so "they can do whatever they want" It sounds like you're getting past that point. So more advanced role-playing tends to involve making a character that CAN'T do whatever he wants. A wizard who never lies. A warrior who hates killing. A rogue who never says what he means. Mostly this gets down to what you say and how you say it.

The rogue may never actually commit to anything (I usually answer with "Perhaps...." to various proposals from NPCs).

The wizard may be undiplomatically blunt and say whatever is on his mind.

The warrior may always try to take prisoners, rather than slay.

In each of the above examples, they're all pretty playable. The fighter can kill, but he always gives the enemy a chance to surrender.

Try not to pick an annoying trait, but pick one, and play with it. Odds are good you'll come into conflict where your trait won't let you make the "smart" move. Such as accepting the surrender of the BBEG instead of just lopping his head off. But in the long run, those traits usually make things more interesting, whereas the "smart" way makes for a short campaign.

As someone else said, by controlling the words you use, you'll portray a different character. Having your barbarian say, "I'm gonna kill that mofo" breaks the setting. Versus, "We shall show them no mercy, Die!" Which borders on the melodramatic, but gets the point across.

Talking fast, versus talking slow. Speaking politely, versus bluntly. Talking a lot versus very little. All these things can quickly portray a character. These are the tricks DMs use for portraying a lot of NPCs, and they also work for a player.

Good luck,
Janx

 

[kirinke]

Roleplaying is acting. So.... My suggestion is maybe take an drama class or two. Or just drop into the rehersals at your school to see how its done. Couldn't hurt. And when i took it in highschool, i found that all sorts of people signed up, ranging from jocks and cheerleaders to nerds and freaks like me.... and it's pretty fun, not to mention, it will help you later in life, cuz it teaches you how to deal with people.

 

[Sargon the Kassadian]

Thanks again. Does anyone use (or know) any sort of technique (or rough guide) for improvisation?

 

[Zoatebix]

Janx's suggestions are really really good. It's all about keeping things simple in your head. Make maybe three 'rules' in your head - and things that your character would *never* do are easier to remember than nebulous personality traits - and stick to them.

Focusing on the negative (things you won't do) is usually a *bad* idea for an improv performance (how often do you see an actor on Whose Line is it Anyway say no to another actor's suggestion in a skit?), but it works really well for keeping a cohesive character for a game.

Anyways, once you're comforable with the limitations, you'll start trying to make sense out of them, and positive and descriptive traits will come eventually.

At least, that makes sense to me...
-z

 

[Drakmar]

One of the things I have found important is Culture. When I am playing or DMing, if you have a Culture that both you and the players understand, it makes it easier to roleplay. Currently I am playing in an Oriental Adventures group. It has a Japanese Honour system. Now two of the five players understand how an Honour system that works. The other three don't. Unfortunately for them, the DM understands too. This means that they are constantly trying to use modern ideals and morals in a world with a different set.

In another game, I am playing Hrothgar. He is a barbarian from a Viking like culture. My DM supplied the players with some details about our culture. For example, in his culture all arcane spellcasters except for Bards are considered dishonourable. He will not let them cast their spells on him. This is hard on the wizard in the party (also from the culture).

Hrothgar is a Paladin. He has the spell Endure Elements. for him to offer to cast it on a weaker person from his culture is wrong. It would dishonour them. But he could on another from a different country without dishonour.

So, what I am basically saying is, find a set of social rules that applies to your character, and follow them. They will actually assist you in roleplaying your character and also assist you in improvisation in given situations.

 

[jerichothebard]

Focusing on the negative (things you won't do) is usually a *bad* idea for an improv performance (how often do you see an actor on Whose Line is it Anyway say no to another actor's suggestion in a skit?),

Never - it's the cardinal rule of improv. Always say yes. Even better, ask a question - even in response to another question. (This can become an improv game in its own right). Really, that is one of the only guides to improv at all.






Much of the stuff said here is really good advice.

Here are my thoughts, some of which might be redundant or repetitive or redundant. They also range from really simple to very deeply philosophical. Your milage may vary.

1) Find a drama club/improv comedy group/acting class. ComedySportz and Theatresports are both nationwide groups of improv comedy; they both give workshops and seminars, as do many other improv groups. I worked with comedysports for a while back in college, and it was great. Really honed my comedic instincts and taught me to think on my feet. I also did some acting, and some of the stuff you learn there never goes away - some of it will be in my advice below.

2) Take a mime class. Yes, you read that right. I took one, and it has really cemented the way I visualize my character's physicality. I find this to be one of my keys to capturing a character. For example, I've never had a left-handed character (although a couple have been ambidextrous, not that there's anything wrong with that...) because I can't visualize it. I'm extremely right-handed, and just can't imagine myself approaching life from the other side, so to speak.

3) realize that all characters - even the most outlandish - are facets of your personality. If you don't identify with the character, you won't be able to play him (or her). This has led to some initially uncomfortable realizations about myself - which I am much more at peace with now. The primary example was when I realized that I am an extremly aggresive, angry person with a very short temper. I realized this because I was playing an extremly aggresive, angry barbarian-character... and I was relating to him very well... then, thinking about it, all my characters were extensions of myself, or facets of myself, or wish-fulfillment... Playing the character became sort of theraputic, for me.

4) do a voice. Two of my three favorite characters of all time had voices - the wolfen barbarian mentioned above was a really gravelly growl at the bottom of my vocal range, while a (pretty psychotic LN) fire mage had a burned whisper.

5) tying in with #2, try and adopt the character's manner of moving/holding themselves/expression. Even though I haven't played him in about five years, I can adopt the fire mage's character in a couple of seconds just by hunching over and glaring at everything with an arrogant and angst-filled sneer. Even his manner of breathing is distinctive. Gods, I miss that character...

6) Write a back-story. Make it tragic or melodramatic or totally overblown. Remember that adventurers are bigger-than-life characters taking all kinds of lunatic risks and confronting Horrid Dangers From Beyond Space And Time (tm). Normal people, people with happy childhoods and families to go home to, don't do that sort of thing.

7) Don't be afraid. Don't fear offending your friends, or playing a character no one likes but you. Everybody hated my mage at first, because he was somewhat hard to get along with... but I enjoyed him so much that everyone else came to like him, just because I had such a good time making them miserable.

It's like that Vegas commercial - what happens here (in game) stays here (in game).

Note that this is an ideal that is often hard to keep. There was a lot of intra-party combat for a while in my group, particularly when I was playing the wolf barbarian. The extension of rule #3 is that, as your character is an reflection of yourself, the party relationship is a reflection of your gaming group's relationship. There was a LOT of tension in my group for a while, on totally personal non-game stuff. The two were very related.

8 ) Finally, let me leave you with this thought - something I try to keep in mind. I have played RPGs for 17+ years. I have made, tried, and discarded scores of characters, covering most of the classes, most of the races, and at least four different genres.





I have kept and enjoyed and played and remember about ten of them.


And I count myself lucky to have found each and every one.





(From memory, in chronologimical order: Robin (fighter/wannabe ranger), Chuck (ninja/chosen of the rune nunchaku), Silver Arrow (ranger/wild mage), Jonathan (smuggler/nancy boy), Darius (monk/merchant), Marc (thief [no, not rogue]/abject coward), The Groob (fighter pilot), Col. Frostbyte (the barbarian mentioned earlier, sadly deceased, my only fatality), Caliban (the mage mentioned above), and Elijah Copperpot (wizard/tinker))

 

[orchid blossom]

I'd like to second the idea of picking two or three personality traits and playing them up. I have a character whose background is that she ran away from home after having a fight with her father. From this very basic, and somewhat cliched background I pulled a few traits.

One, that she's a bit selfish. Not in any way that would be a detriment to the party, but in things like having the biggest room.

I decided that since she and her father fought most of her life that she's very wary of people. This manifests in a rather formal way of speaking. Anyone she trusts gets a very different speech pattern.

Lastly, she's intent on proving she's more than she seems. I play this by having her be extremely loyal to the group to the point where she feels personally responsible for all of them.

As an amateur writer, have you ever had the experience where you write such a strong character that you can no longer write the story as planned? Whatever plot you had planned no longer works because the character has become an entity in it's own right. Let your D&D character do the same thing. If you get the urge to have the character do something you don't totally understand, go for it! When you have a minute or two to think about it, you'll realize why the character reacted that way.

Example. You're playing a ranger, and the party meets and NPC ranger that everyone seems to be getting along with. You have the urge to play that something about the NPC is bugging you. So you're a little standoffish with him, keep an eye on him, or just stare at him a lot. Who knows? When you have a chance to wonder why, you might discover you feel the NPC is horning in on your territory within the group. Then you have the fun of playing your character dealing with that.

Also, if you want to spend some time roleplaying a scene, don't be afraid to. We all want to feel we make progress during a game session, and most of us measure that by how much we get accomplished. That can leave us feeling if we want to really get into a roleplaying scene that we're holding everyone up. I have to remind myself now and then that those scenes are part of the game too. It's what we're here to do. Take the time to look down your nose at a begger or put a coin in his cup. Argue philosophical points with the party Paladin. It all adds up to a character and a group you'll remember.