Poll (sort of): Playing in character vs not

[clvrmonkey]

I've played in several very different groups, playing different games, and in none of them did any of the players really play "in character". For clarification what I mean by that is nobody acted out there character in any way, no voices/accents, etc. Most of the groups did a half-way decent job of taking on the role of their character insofar as following alignments and personality traits when making decisions or interacting with NPC's, but no actors.

My question is how many of you out there do really get into character? What about DM's playing NPC's?

 

[Dravin]

I'm afraid acting would be beyond my skills.

 

[The Cardinal]

as a GM (my usual job): I'm there - accents, funny voices, the works.

as a player (rare): in character 75% of the time

my players: the majority (about 80-90 %) is no fan of in-character talk, so I let them get away with it

 

[Wild Karrde]

I fall into the "my character does this camp" or "well then I say" type roleplaying. I'm much more comfortable with this and most of the people I game with are the same way.

 

[Zaebos]

I find that goofy and poor accents take away from the game. They add no real value to the play. This is not to say that I don't appreciate people playing in character, but leave the accents out of it.

Playing in character means to me that people take on that role of the character for the 4-5 hours of play time, leave most of the idle player talk out of the game and speak as if it were the character, not the player, speaking. To emerse yourself into the game and not let go until its over.

 

[cildarith]

None of that 'in-character' nonsense in any group I've ever played in. Had one person try it once...he just about got laughed out the door.

 

[clvrmonkey]

so i'm not doing it wrong

Thanks for the response.

I've always had this uneasy feeling when going to meet a new group. What if they really got into it? I don't do that stuff and would feel weird faking it. Seems like most agree with me. Cool.

I think one thing that might scare some away from roleplaying is the whole acting thing. I've converted a couple of people who have mentioned not wanting to dress up or make voices, etc.

Anyway, thanks again,

 

[eXodus]

in the game i am dming i try my best to give notable npcs a voice that the players will remember.

as a player i too try to give my character a voice that fits him or her.

in my game i have a couple players who are simply great about in character vocalizations. there is a rashemi barbarian who has a great accent.

 

[Claude Raines]

As a player, I might do some linguistics or a little bit of acting, but it's generally fairly rare and only when the situation (or the DM) absolutely demands it.

 

[Rubeus Hagrid]

With us, its on again, off again. Sometimes, mid-action. My wife is fond of describing her character's actions, then shouting insults in voice while making Spellcasting motions, then saying something like "...and if I hit, I'll ready my Staff for the next round."

In general, we mix it up, and that includes everything. We game with accents on some PCs and NPCs, abbreviate or just narrate others, and sometimes stop to watch TV for an hour, sometimes break into chat and goofiness.

But we're not the usual group, we're two and a half married couples and their kids who manage a solid four hour gaming session from noon til 2AM once a week.

When I'm not GMing, though, I do Taran Frostweyr's best lines in his accent and voice, and don't bother with it the rest of the time.