Questions for Actor-type role-players

[Wendell_Burke]

I am also not sure exactly what you mean by actor-stance. Or as contrasted with what other playstyles .........

Player Types has been a thing for like 40+ years? It's behind 99.9% of all arguments about tabletop rpgs BECAUSE most in the hobby don't understand how impactful "how you play" is. Or, in the immortal words of Ron Edwards, "Play-style isn't everything but it is the only thing".

I've noticed that it's not uncommon for some discussions to get derailed by tangents. I was trying to be as concise as possible in my description of playstyle to avoid this, and to encourage participation, but it looks like maybe I should elaborate a bit. 'The Method Actor' description provided in 'Theory of Games'' link works well enough for me, though I shied away from using it in my post because method acting is so often misunderstood in gaming discussions. Basically I was thinking of gamers who are most inspired and entertained by approaching rpgs as an actor and who like to focus on the psychology and emotions of the characters and npcs. It doesn't matter to me if you're a professional actor or total amateur, just that you enjoy asking and answering questions in this direction and are positively interested in this perspective.

Some consider going for the perspective of the character, but the character is you in a lot of ways, to not be true roleplaying or acting. Every Jack Nicholson character is identifiably Jack Nicholson in characterization, for example.

This reminded me of a quote I like a lot by Meryl Streep about getting into character.
“Acting is not about being someone different. It’s about finding the similarity in what is apparently different and then finding myself in there.”

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Player Types has been a thing for like 40+ years?

With respect, not everyone reads everything.

I’ve been in the hobby since 1977, and have heard of Robin’s work, but have not been interested in reading any of it. Even with the link you provided. I’m simply not interested in games theorycrafting.

So, like the posters you were responding to, I’m not sure what the OP meant.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Basically I was thinking of gamers who are most inspired and entertained by approaching rpgs as an actor and who like to focus on the psychology and emotions of the characters and npcs.

How I roleplay a PC varies greatly, depending on how engaged I am in the campaign, the group I’m in, and how I feel about the character I’m playing. That last element is usually the biggest single factor. As such, that variation can even apply to campaigns within a group or even characters within a campaign.

But one certainty is that the longer I participate in the hobby, the more I strive to get into my characters’ heads.

When I’m engaged with a PC on the level you’re suggesting:

I’d like to hear about your processes for developing your characters. How much you invest in them? How much, and what kind of prep do you do before the start of the game? Do you use any tools to develop your characters? If so, what are they?

I don’t have a process. I’ll be creating a PC and I’ll have a certain insight or idea that I think would be cool, and I run with it.

But that spark could originate from a piece of gear, an in-game power or mechanic, a song I heard, a piece of art, a book I read, a performance I saw or something else.

Once I’m grappling with a PC concept at that level, I will spend RIDICULOUS amounts of time and effort to try to realize it. Even if- as is sadly too often an occurrence- there’s no actual game in which the PC is slated to be part of. I’ll dig through books, comparing different ways to model a given shtick; evaluating what options are thematically appropriate; examining if the concept is actually playable.

And to be clear, if the PC proves to be realizable in the system in question, I also try to ensure the character can make reasonable contributions to gameplay. After all, RPGs are group games, not exercises in ego stroking.

How many people are in your current gaming groups, and how many of them share your preference for this playstyle?

Since 1982, I’ve been in groups as small as 3 and as big as a dozen. I have rarely encountered more than 1-2 other players in a given group operating with that mindset. The one exception was a group of 8 (quickly shrinking to 7) where pretty much everyone was character driven.

Unfortunately, RW issues blew that group apart.

• Has this preference been problematic for you in gaming groups? If so, how?

Yes. Because sometimes the character will act in an suboptimal fashion in a given situation. If this happens, and the other players realize you (the player) have deliberately chosen to have your PC act in a way that may make things more difficult, they may get annoyed. Or worse.

• Has this preference been beneficial to you in gaming groups? If so, how?

Sure.

It’s occasionally prompted other players in my group to adopt similar play styles, which some have found “liberating” or “refreshing”.

It’s also led to many moments of very memorable gameplay and unforgettable characters.