On Presentation, Performance, and Style- Players and DMs

[pogre]

As a DM and a player, I tend to focus a lot on voices. To me, how a character speaks is the key to cracking their personality.

At my home games, I always have music going. Generally it’s some sort of dark ambient, symphonic metal, or soundtrack (videogame and movie).

I’ve really been keying into improvisation more and more of late. My two biggest tools are a fantasy-themed card deck (either Pathfinder’s Harrow or D&D’s Tarokka Decks) and a d20 campaign coin. When I need to come up with something on the fly, pulling a card really helps inspire me. And when a player has an idea, like “hey, is there a wine merchant on this street?” I like to then flip the coin – 1, there is not, 20, there is!

One of the players at my table is an amazing doodler while we play. After a session is done, his character sheet has miraculously sprouted all sorts of awesome drawings of his character or stuff from the session. Me, I can’t draw to save my life! I do paint minis for use when I’m a player and that DM uses minis. When I DM, I do not.

I’ve never done any sort of cosplay at a session, but have occasionally thought of having a dress-up session, with extra rewards for people that do so.

Your game style is so different from mine, but sounds really cool and a lot of fun.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Mort]

Characters have battle tunes?

Hmmm..... tell me more!

Pretty sure that was [MENTION=177]Umbran[/MENTION] but it does sound cool.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Umbran]

I dig the idea of letting each PC pick their theme song. That could get quite fun!

There's also an aspect of this where you get your portrayal of your character validated.

For example, for a Mage: The Ascension game back in the day, I had actually chosen some music in my own mind - the character was very much the kind of person to put himself between danger and anyone vulnerable, and not leaving until the danger was handled. So, one of my character's theme songs, in my own head, was Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down". I didn't discuss this with anyone else.

We played several sessions, and then someone suggested we do the mixtape thing. And, what song gets suggested for my character by two different people? Petty's, "I Won't Back Down." I figure I was getting the point across

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Thanks! I try to focus on people having fun (including myself). But it's also a continual work in progress, and I'm always trying to learn new tricks.

Your game style is so different from mine, but sounds really cool and a lot of fun.

 

[Umbran]

Sorry- @<i><b><u><a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/member.php?u=177" target="_blank">Umbran</a></u></b></i> care to expand on the battle tunes? It makes me think of-

Sure. I'll do by way of example....

Some time back, I was playing a LN half-orc cleric/fighter, a follower of a god we called the King of Stones - a god who was the guardian of the border between life and death. The character felt he had two jobs in the world: To put undead back in the ground where they belonged, and to deal with anyone who, "just needs killin'" - typically those who were so violent or cruel in life that the pain they left in their wake gave rise to unquiet spirits.

Imagine the half orc, in a matte grey suit of half-plate armor, with a bighonkin' battle axe. The GM says, "roll initiative" and this starts to play:

[video=youtube_share;a3Jv-d80H1g]https://youtu.be/a3Jv-d80H1g[/video]

 

[Satyrn]

2. Wrestlers entering an arena.

My favorite wrestling (entry) moment was Kurt Angle returning after an injury, with a giant smile played to his face while the crowd sang "You Suck!" . . . and then asking for his song to be played again so they could keep singing "You Suck!"

 

[Lanefan]

We've recently been thinking of theme songs for our characters - sure a vast array of options out there.

I once had a player roll up a character based on a metal song ("Knock Them Down" by Thor - character was a hell-bent fighter).

As for presentation, I try to use different voices (and facial expressions when I'm not too busy laughing) for different characters and usually seem to get it right. Sometimes a motion or gesture can also become a memorable character schtick - one character in my game right now is a part-orc with a bit of elf in it that gives it high cheekbones, and the player points out the high cheekbones at every opportunity via a gesture at the table. Ditto the legendary hair-flip for a long-past cavalier, or the mug-to-mouth gesture that accompanied every sentence spoken by a particular dwarf fro long ago.

For background music, I either use a synthwave mix or stream turned up loud enough to hear but nowhere near loud enough to disrupt conversation.

Some time back, I was playing a LN half-orc cleric/fighter, a follower of a god we called the King of Stones - a god who was the guardian of the border between life and death. The character felt he had two jobs in the world: To put undead back in the ground where they belonged, and to deal with anyone who, "just needs killin'" - typically those who were so violent or cruel in life that the pain they left in their wake gave rise to unquiet spirits.

Imagine the half orc, in a matte grey suit of half-plate armor, with a bighonkin' battle axe. The GM says, "roll initiative" and this starts to play:

[video=youtube_share;a3Jv-d80H1g]https://youtu.be/a3Jv-d80H1g[/video]

Nice song, but if any of our crew used this for a character's theme the boos would rain down. I mean, come on - bagpipes?

 

[jasper]

Characters have battle tunes?

Hmmm..... tell me more!

Grease the musical cast.
Dungeon lovin' had me a blast
Dungeon lovin' happened so fast
I met a magel crazy for me
Met a zombie cute as can be
Adventuring days driftin' away
To ah, oh, those adventuring nights