"All the world’s a stage,And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances" - William Shakespeare
Today's post applies to both players and Dungeon masters more than any other, I feel like roleplaying is something that a lot of people struggle with, whether it's because its something your not comfortable with or because of a lack of motivation for the character.
A lot of people think that when the term "Roleplaying" is used it refers to putting on a voice or accent, and while that can be part of it, it's not the full extent of what it means to roleplay your character.
A little disclaimer, all the views I will write about are just what I think about roleplaying and how I like to roleplay as both a DM and a player, if you have different techniques than myself that make you neither right or wrong and honestly I would like to hear about your ways of getting into character and how you do it , so please leave them in the comment section down below .
How do you roleplay your NPC's/ how can I improve my roleplaying?
Descriptions
The first information of about any character that both you the Dungeon master and you the player will receive about a new PC or NPC will be a verbal description of not only how they look but even a possible description of how they move or stand, do they walk firm and straight will a military efficiency? do they favor one leg over the other? do they use a walking stick? Answering any one of the questions give you and your players some information about the character that helps both the players and DM imagine this character in their mind's eye better. For those of you who are fans of people watching use that time to use people youve seen as the basis of a discription, for those of you who dont people watch, maybe give it a go , just spend half and hour of your day at a local coffee shop with some music and watch the world go by, imagining backstories to all the people that you see, but the main thing you gain from this is how real people both act and look, do they walk with hunchs, do they never fully stand up straight, do they smile, always frown, look exhausted. Using these descriptions help you characters become more real not just because of the elaborate backstories you may have created for them but because of the person they are portrayed as. For example, in my game, I had this NPC who was a high up member of the thieves guild, he was an elf in full black studded leather armor who spoke with a high smarmy British accent. Fairly common traits for an elf who is part of a thieves guild, but one of the aspects of the characters I wanted to portray to my players was how manipulative this individual was, how greasy and whiley he was trying to be with the group. So on top of descriptions of his visuals, I would take time to describe the way in which he always got way to close the characters, invading their personal space, making them feel like this person was trying, way too hard to be friends, almost in a threatening way, I took alot of inspiration form the film adaptations of "Oliver Twist" and especially the character of "Feagan" who always seems friendly on the surface but always seemed to have an underlying note of aggression to his actions that makes the children and audience feel off balence.
Another tip for this is if you cant find the words to describe something that you think is important, that you need to say but can't find the right verbal description, then there is nothing wrong with getting up from the table and acting it out. Asking your players to stand with you so you can make a point, so they get the full immersive feel and actions of the situation that you wish to convey. This has work wonders for me on multiple time, so don't be afraid to do it.
Body Language
Whether you do this through verbal descriptions, through the use of your own body to implement this or a mixture of the two, Body language is one of the most important aspects to a person that we in the real world take into account. We make an impression of someone within the first 5 seconds of meeting that person, while this does take into account there physical appearance and clothing we also look at the way they stand, what their hands are doing, how they walk, do they look you in the eye, do they look at their feet as they talk, do they stand confident and straight, do smile , do they frown, do they have resting bitch face?
So many different things to consider when thinking of a character, these are all things we subconsciously take into account, when I'm at home and look in my bathroom mirror, I sometimes practice different facial expressions or ways to stand and appear to use later (yes I am aware this seems a little crazy) but practicing is the only way I'll ever get better . As for the art of describing body language, reading is the best solution. In the written format the only way body language can be conveyed is through the use of words, so read more books to discover ways of describing body language, or if you don't have time to read, audiobooks are a great way to get this information, you can listen to them in the car, at the gym or at work and is a far more time efficient way to intake this information. Audiobooks also segway's very nicely in the next subject which is ...
Voices
Audiobooks and podcasts are to me are some of the most useful tools you can have for practicing voices and accents. I mainly listen to audiobooks/podcasts in the car, usually to take away the boredom of long drives, however, I will pause what I'm listening to and repeat phrases I find audibly interesting so I can use them at a later date. Having accents and different voices may realistically only be a small thing, it's not the be all and end all, but it can add spice to your game, add depth to your world because it gives the impression of a larger, more complicated setting were mother tongues have influenced a certain a common language. Don't feel pressured at all to do different voices and accents for characters, if you don't feel that its part of your style of DMing then there is no reason to do it, but if its something that you'd like to get to grips with or get better at then podcasts and audiobooks are some useful tools you can use . I'd also recommend the TV series "Inside the actor's studio" which is an interview program hosted by James Lipton at the Centre for arts at Pace University on the New York Campus , in which Mr. Lipton interviews famous Actor, Actresses and directors about their carrier in the film and television industry, with over 270 episodes its a wonderful resource to use to see how actors and directors at the top of their game establish characters, analyse roles and get to grips with the story they are trying to tell, you can find some of the series on youtube if you wish to watch some of the show.
Motivation
So far we have talked about ways to outwardly express a character wants and desires, however, all the decisions we make as those characters cant be achieved if we don't know what that character wants at all. For example, when your players talk to an old woman on the streets of a city or a town, her wants and desires could be quite simple "to live as long as she can" "to find food that night " " not to die on the street". If the old women witness's your group of adventures attacking someone on the streets who provoked a fight with your party and the group need to gather information about who just attack them, even if she does know anything she might be apprehensive at best to give them any information due to the fact that she doesn't want to get caught up in something that could lead to her death . She would be elusive, defensive, flippant, she could want to try and get away as quickly as possible giving the party no time to get information out of her, right there we have a list of information on which to base everything else we have talked about, what her voice and vocal tone would be like, what her body language would be like and how to describe what she would be doing. For every major adversary and Allie in my game, I have a list of one or two points which are that characters main motivation, they don't have to be long and they can change as time goes on , but its a good idea to have them for when the moment arises so you can base your performance on it .
while I understand that the term "roleplaying" is a scary word to some people, I'm here to say it doesn't have to be. I understand that you are nervous about making a fool of yourself by trying to do voices and act , let me tell you as someone who does voices, a lot of voices and acts, some would say way over the top acting to the point of it being ham, you will look a fool, and it will be nerve-racking and it will be amazing, you'll love it and next you won't be able to remeber what DMing without these tools was like, so go out there and look like a fool because its amazing fun.
Thanks so much for reading this weeks issue guys , if you like what you've just read dont forget to go to the blogs home page and sign up for our email mailing list so you'll be alerted when a new blog comes out , dont forget to go back and read any of the other Dungeon Masters Workshop Articles we have on the blog and if your a fan of video games as well, go and check out the Cardboard Arcade youtube channel and watch us make fools of ourself on the internet, its great fun , the link is on the home page of the blog.
If you have anything you'd like me to write about or any questions you want to send my way, please do leave them in the comment section down below and don't forget to share this on your social media it really helps us out.
Thanks again peeps and until next time.
BYE!
Comments
Post a Comment