To the OP, I believe you are in the wrong group. We don't agree on some aspects of playing and enjoying D&D, but I would not enjoy playing in the group you describe. I also favor milestone or some other advancement system that advances the party together. Anything else seems like it would pit the players against one another to attempt to get the XP that will be distributed. And the idea that a DM would exclusively award XP for roleplay just doesn't work for me.
DMs can do what they think best, but that table wouldn't work for me. I'm sure there is a table out there for you.
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Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
Believe me, I've played D&D for several years and overall have had positive experiences with the game. And as I stated the best, longest-lasting tables I've been in never put heavy emphasis on RP, much less Method-Acting RP. It was much more about going along with the plot. I'm just stuck in a runt since I got into a new group after a year off of D&D because of the pandemic, only this table was full of the kinds of players who get completely lost in character and would actually grind the DM's homebrew to a screeching hault. So please don't assume that D&D would be a poor fit for me
(Also, yes, you VERY MUCH sound like a gatekeeper)
The DnD Beyond community is a bit of a unique sub-culture in the D&D community at large in regards to what appears to be consensus about their prefered style of play, but heavy emphasis on RP has never really been nor is it now a major factor in your typical D&D table game despite efforts to re-write D&D history by so many people. While you can kind of view the D&D Beyond community as a sort of vocal minority this style and approach to D&D is definitely growing at an astonishing pace and I to be honest even I can understand the appeal of deep role-playing experience, it can be really fun. Naturally, it's not for everyone but, I do think going forward you can expect more and more groups to adopt this style of play, it is kind of the thing now.
The OSR has generally been a sort of reaction to this, where many D&D players are realizing that not only is the modern D&D community really not all that welcoming of their style of play, but the systems themselves have been developing into directions away from the sort of more traditional style of play D&D has always been based on. It started with 3e with 4e being kind of the height of that sort of design, but with 5e it has reverted and many consider the 5e system to be part of the OSR (myself included) as it really does deliver on that old school style of play assuming you aren't listening to the way the OSR movement often re-writes D&D history (yes they are guilty of it too). In terms of system, I believe you are using the right one for what you want out of the game.
There are a couple of extremes here, but I think most people who play and have been playing D&D for years aren't necessarily excited to roll up AD&D characters with THAC0 and other nonsense just to get a good fantasy adventure going, but at the same time they don't exactly want to see a guy using a Scottish accent and crying at the table because his character's story is so deep. I think it's fair to assume and say that most D&D players are looking for some middle ground between the extremes of the OSR and the modern D&D movement illustrated by shows like Critical Role.
I think the simple answer generally is that it's just about finding the right group which sucks because you would think all D&D groups would welcome all players, but as you can see from the many responses and attitudes here, that really isn't the case. The suggestion that you might consider looking at other systems because your style of play is not really covered by 5e is terrible advice and untrue, but I do think you might look to the OSR community for players. Most OSR players contrary to popular belief aren't THAC0 die-hards at all, 5e remains one of the central systems in the OSR to either base games on (like Five Torches Deep) or use directly sometimes with variant rules like 5e Hardcore Mode or just as is with some of the optional rules in the DMG. Now this can be tougher to do if you are not into online play and want to do it in person.
It's a bummer, I feel for you, finding a good D&D group that welcomes you and lets you play D&D however you like is unfortunately not as easy these days, the divisions in the community about playstyles and expectations have become quite rigid but finding a new group I still think it's the best advice you have gotten so far.
With all due respect, how does this imply anything other than the suggestion Davyd made that you subsequently shot down?
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With all due respect, how does this imply anything other than the suggestion Davyd made that you subsequently shot down?
Maybe look into another, less roleplay focused system like Dungeon Crawl Classic or similar. Or perhaps dungeon crawling board games? - Davyd
His suggestion.
finding a new group I still think it's the best advice you have gotten so far.
My suggestion.
I hope you see the difference here, in particular given the OP's opening remarks. His issue is clearly an issue with his gaming group and not the game.
Seriously, he suggested, hey how about you quit D&D and go find yourself a board game to play. Now I understand and acknowledge that it was not Davyd's intention to come of rude or insulting, but I think even within the context of the conversation, that was pretty harsh. I'm 100% certain had I made a remark like that on the forum, I would have gotten dinged by the moderators for breaking the forum rules, even if my intentions were good.
He also (and first) suggested DCC, which is literally old school adventure implementations of D&D. Far as I can tell, his suggestion had more to with chances of finding a likeminded group outside "mainstream" D&D than outside D&D period.
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He also (and first) suggested DCC, which is literally old school adventure implementations of D&D. Far as I can tell, his suggestion had more to with chances of finding a likeminded group outside "mainstream" D&D than outside D&D period.
M8 come, I know Davyd is a good guy and he meant well and wasn't trying to insult, insinuate anything or be rude in anyway. I see no reason to dispute that but you can't seriously defend the idea that a D&D 5e fan who is having trouble with a gaming group over a style of play that is definitively a D&D 5e style of play, literally what the game is designed to be, who comes to a 5e fan forum for advice to hear one of the moderators suggesting that perhaps he should go play some other game or perhaps quit altogether and try a board game.
Sounded more like "could" than "should" to me and, as you have pointed out many times, older editions and OSR and the like are, very much, D&D. Looking into that is not quitting D&D. To bring it back to Sedge's words, it's not about the merits of roleplaying or how to play D&D, it's about OP getting to play with likeminded people - and likeminded people are possibly easier to find with groups that play versions of D&D that emphasize the same things OP likes to emphasize. That's all, I don't think anyone wanted to make more of it than that.
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That Actually defeats the purpose of asking what I should do since I explicitly stated I do not like roleplay and never will. I'm not writing a novel or screenplay, I'm just here to play a game, which is what D&D is at its core. And I'm never going to waste my time writing backstories and personalities to an avatar that in the end won't make a difference and affect nothing. Your description of what roleplay is actually makes me LESS inclined to do so.
“And I'm never going to waste my time writing backstories and personalities to an avatar that in the end won't make a difference and affect nothing.”
Are you saying that your avatar doesn’t make a difference and affects nothing or the backstory and personality you create for your avatar don’t make a difference and affect nothing?
Re-reading the discussion, pretty sure I know the answer though I still am curious. I think you have been given the best advice there is already: find a group that is better suited to your playstyle.
”Are you saying that your avatar doesn’t make a difference and affects nothing or the backstory and personality you create for your avatar don’t make a difference and affect nothing?”
It doesn’t affect anything. I couldn’t care less about creating a backstory for a character, because it doesn’t matter. Nor do I understand or comprehend why some players would waste their time creating long, detailed descriptions about their characters, only for said descriptions to NEVER impact the campaign in any meaningful way. My avatar is an avatar, not an actual person. It’s just a pawn in a game, nothing less & nothing more. If I was writing a novel or creating a script/screenplay, then I would actually put in the effort to flesh out a character & give them a personality. But that is not the point of D&D. D&D is meant to be a game where players work together & go on an adventure, NOT an acting competition where characters create 3-page backstories for their characters & hog the spotlight away from everyone else who just want to explore dungeons and fight enemies (believe me, that’s happened to me from other players too many times). It’s just an absurd waste of time if you play it that way.
D&D is meant to be a game where players work together & go on an adventure, NOT an acting competition where characters create 3-page backstories for their characters & hog the spotlight away from everyone else who just want to explore dungeons and fight enemies (believe me, that’s happened to me from other players too many times). It’s just an absurd waste of time if you play it that way.
I would refrain from proclaiming what D&D is and what D&D is not.
It is a very different thing to different people and users should not exhibit themselves as an expert (or in some instances, gatekeeper) in certain respects. If groups or DMs want to incorporate backstories and tailer their games to such role-play, they can (and certainly do).
D&D is meant to be a game where players work together & go on an adventure, NOT an acting competition where characters create 3-page backstories for their characters & hog the spotlight away from everyone else who just want to explore dungeons and fight enemies (believe me, that’s happened to me from other players too many times).
I mean, D&D was created by adding roleplaying aspects to Chainmail, a tactical wargame. What's the point of all these racial identities and backgrounds (the ones you pick during character creation, not backstories)? Why is there such a thing as alignment, and why does the PHB include bonds and flaws, if not because roleplaying is expected to be part of D&D? Suggesting you should maybe try something other than D&D is apparently bad form, but I can't help but think something like Gloomhaven is exactly what you seem to want from D&D - exploring dungeons and fighting enemies - without all the pesky roleplaying you don't want from D&D.
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Any DMs that award inspiration for a player doing excellent strategic decisions in combat? It seems that roleplay is held at a higher regard in general compared to game skill.
Any DMs that award inspiration for a player doing excellent strategic decisions in combat? It seems that roleplay is held at a higher regard in general compared to game skill.
”Are you saying that your avatar doesn’t make a difference and affects nothing or the backstory and personality you create for your avatar don’t make a difference and affect nothing?”
It doesn’t affect anything. I couldn’t care less about creating a backstory for a character, because it doesn’t matter. Nor do I understand or comprehend why some players would waste their time creating long, detailed descriptions about their characters, only for said descriptions to NEVER impact the campaign in any meaningful way. My avatar is an avatar, not an actual person. It’s just a pawn in a game, nothing less & nothing more. If I was writing a novel or creating a script/screenplay, then I would actually put in the effort to flesh out a character & give them a personality. But that is not the point of D&D. D&D is meant to be a game where players work together & go on an adventure, NOT an acting competition where characters create 3-page backstories for their characters & hog the spotlight away from everyone else who just want to explore dungeons and fight enemies (believe me, that’s happened to me from other players too many times). It’s just an absurd waste of time if you play it that way.
Well, to be frank, “absurd” is coming to a site dedicated to a role playing game and complaining that your role playing game involves role playing. It’s literally the name of the game: “Dungeons and Dragons Role Playing Game”. That said, there are other players similar to you; ones who want to role play less or not at all in favour of the mechanical side of things. You just have to find them. Instead of complaining about the people you don’t enjoy playing with, move on and find some that you do :)
BTW, I totally disagree that character backgrounds and details are meaningless and have no impact on the game but I don’t need to agree. I have a group of people who agree with me that I play with. You need to find people that agree with you and play with them.
D&D is collaborative story telling. There are a million dungeon crawling board games out there, and it sounds like that's what you want - a collaborative fantasy adventure board game focused on combat. That's not D&D (typically), and insisting others conform to your board game version of it seems really short-sighted. No one has ever needed elaborate back story. No one has ever needed to be a great actor (ever). You do have to carry your story telling weight, though. That goes beyond optimization and tactical game play.
D&D is collaborative story telling. There are a million dungeon crawling board games out there, and it sounds like that's what you want - a collaborative fantasy adventure board game focused on combat. That's not D&D (typically), and insisting others conform to your board game version of it seems really short-sighted. No one has ever needed elaborate back story. No one has ever needed to be a great actor (ever). You do have to carry your story telling weight, though. That goes beyond optimization and tactical game play.
As sedge said a few posts back, it’s not useful to say what D&D is or is not. You can play a dungeon crawl with little character development, and that’s still D&D. Indeed, it’s how lots of people have played for decades. You can play with heavy role play and stay in character for hours, and that’s D&D. The only “correct” version is where everyone is having fun.
Sure, but there's a clear sense of entitlement at play here, with this one person insisting that the game *not* ask anything of him in terms of character or storytelling. That's fine if you find that sort of table, but they're very rare.
Sure, but there's a clear sense of entitlement at play here, with this one person insisting that the game *not* ask anything of him in terms of character or storytelling. That's fine if you find that sort of table, but they're very rare.
I don’t think that any of us have a large enough sample group to declare what is or is not rare.
Sure, but there's a clear sense of entitlement at play here, with this one person insisting that the game *not* ask anything of him in terms of character or storytelling. That's fine if you find that sort of table, but they're very rare.
I don’t think that any of us have a large enough sample group to declare what is or is not rare.
Agreed, though I can assure you that a group that just wants to do dungeon crawl hack & slash is anything but rare, if anything it is the default way D&D has been played for nearly 50 years by the undisputed majority, this playstyle is why D&D is still the most popular and simultaneously unique RPG in the hobby. The storyteller mode that has become cosmopolitan in modern D&D has not even established any permanence in the hobby at this point, it might become "the way" to play going forward or it may turn out to be another temporary fad like larping, 2e railroading or white wolf theatre of the mind playstyles all of which faded into the background of something that was briefly popular once for a while but at its peek the community for these playstyles was both large and cocky as is the case today with this community.
I know people like to re-write RPG history on this forum, but the term "good role-player" until very recently was a depiction of your skill at the game of D&D, your actual player abilities, not your theatrical charisma and acting ability in a theatre show.
Gonna go ahead and disagree here. At least for 5e. Older editions sure I can’t comment on but 5e the focus is on a balance between story and combat. Saying the undisputed majority play it as a hack and slash is a pretty baseless claim for 5e. It’s expressed multiple times that story is important in the various rule books. And no one is saying be an actor or a voice actor or any of that. Anyone who imposes those requirements is going to be disappointed.
do some people enjoy hack and slash, less story? Absolutely. Nothing wrong with it and there are tables that run with that style. It’s perfectly valid and if that’s a preferred style you will find a place for it, whether in dnd or another game, both have excellent options. AL tables tend to be more hack and slash by their nature and with their restrictions. That might be more what you are looking for OP.
but I absolutely dispute that the vast majority play it has a hack and slash. I’d say a reasonably large majority prefer an element of roleplay. And that is NOT the crazy levels that are seen in shows, that isn’t acting, or voice acting, or theatre productions. It’s having an idea of a story for your character and linking it to the main story in some way. Does this mean this is the “right way” to play? No. It’s a valid way and a fun one to many. But there is no right way. If a style doesn’t work for someone, try other styles. Try new tables.
and you keep referencing critical role like they are a curse of something. They show a particular style of play taken to an extreme. They do it VERY well and people need to temper expectations that it is very much an exception not a rule. Nothing wrong with it, and even they say their way isn’t the correct way to play.
I really feel like you keep trying to say the roleplay way to play is wrong. You keep saying that dnd is hack and slash and has been like this way of playing Is wrong in some way. And maybe old editions were different. But as of 5e there isn’t a wrong way to play unless people are not having fun
Roleplaying is, literally, the act of playing out a role. In this case, it’s you as a player determining how your character thinks, acts, and talks.
Roleplaying is a part of every aspect of the game, and it comes to the fore during social interactions. Your character’s quirks, mannerisms, and personality influence how interactions resolve.
There are two styles you can use when roleplaying your character: the descriptive approach and the active approach. Most players use a combination of the two styles. Use whichever mix of the two works best for you.
Descriptive Approach to Roleplaying
With this approach, you describe your character’s words and actions to the DM and the other players. Drawing on your mental image of your character, you tell everyone what your character does and how he or she does it.
For instance, Chris plays Tordek the dwarf. Tordek has a quick temper and blames the elves of the Cloakwood for his family’s misfortune. At a tavern, an obnoxious elf minstrel sits at Tordek’s table and tries to strike up a conversation with the dwarf.
Chris says, “Tordek spits on the floor, growls an insult at the bard, and stomps over to the bar. He sits on a stool and glares at the minstrel before ordering another drink.”
In this example, Chris has conveyed Tordek’s mood and given the DM a clear idea of his character’s attitude and actions.
When using descriptive roleplaying, keep the following things in mind:
Describe your character’s emotions and attitude.
Focus on your character’s intent and how others might perceive it.
Provide as much embellishment as you feel comfortable with.
Don’t worry about getting things exactly right. Just focus on thinking about what your character would do and describing what you see in your mind.
Active Approach to Roleplaying
If descriptive roleplaying tells your DM and your fellow players what your character thinks and does, active roleplaying shows them.
When you use active roleplaying, you speak with your character’s voice, like an actor taking on a role. You might even echo your character’s movements and body language. This approach is more immersive than descriptive roleplaying, though you still need to describe things that can’t be reasonably acted out.
Going back to the example of Chris roleplaying Tordek above, here’s how the scene might play out if Chris used active roleplaying:
Speaking as Tordek, Chris says in a gruff, deep voice, “I was wondering why it suddenly smelled awful in here. If I wanted to hear anything out of you, I’d snap your arm and enjoy your screams.” In his normal voice, Chris then adds, “I get up, glare at the elf, and head to the bar.”
Results of Roleplaying
The DM uses your character’s actions and attitudes to determine how an NPC reacts. A cowardly NPC buckles under threats of violence. A stubborn dwarf refuses to let anyone badger her. A vain dragon laps up flattery.
When interacting with an NPC, pay close attention to the DM’s portrayal of the NPC’s mood, dialogue, and personality. You might be able to determine an NPC’s personality traits, ideals, flaws, and bonds, then play on them to influence the NPC’s attitude.
Interactions in D&D are much like interactions in real life. If you can offer NPCs something they want, threaten them with something they fear, or play on their sympathies and goals, you can use words to get almost anything you want. On the other hand, if you insult a proud warrior or speak ill of a noble’s allies, your efforts to convince or deceive will fall short.
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Looks like someone beat me to it - and did a better job, thanks BigLizard.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
To the OP, I believe you are in the wrong group. We don't agree on some aspects of playing and enjoying D&D, but I would not enjoy playing in the group you describe. I also favor milestone or some other advancement system that advances the party together. Anything else seems like it would pit the players against one another to attempt to get the XP that will be distributed. And the idea that a DM would exclusively award XP for roleplay just doesn't work for me.
DMs can do what they think best, but that table wouldn't work for me. I'm sure there is a table out there for you.
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
With all due respect, how does this imply anything other than the suggestion Davyd made that you subsequently shot down?
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
He also (and first) suggested DCC, which is literally old school adventure implementations of D&D. Far as I can tell, his suggestion had more to with chances of finding a likeminded group outside "mainstream" D&D than outside D&D period.
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
Sounded more like "could" than "should" to me and, as you have pointed out many times, older editions and OSR and the like are, very much, D&D. Looking into that is not quitting D&D. To bring it back to Sedge's words, it's not about the merits of roleplaying or how to play D&D, it's about OP getting to play with likeminded people - and likeminded people are possibly easier to find with groups that play versions of D&D that emphasize the same things OP likes to emphasize. That's all, I don't think anyone wanted to make more of it than that.
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
That Actually defeats the purpose of asking what I should do since I explicitly stated I do not like roleplay and never will. I'm not writing a novel or screenplay, I'm just here to play a game, which is what D&D is at its core. And I'm never going to waste my time writing backstories and personalities to an avatar that in the end won't make a difference and affect nothing. Your description of what roleplay is actually makes me LESS inclined to do so.
Are you saying that your avatar doesn’t make a difference and affects nothing or the backstory and personality you create for your avatar don’t make a difference and affect nothing?
Re-reading the discussion, pretty sure I know the answer though I still am curious. I think you have been given the best advice there is already: find a group that is better suited to your playstyle.
”Are you saying that your avatar doesn’t make a difference and affects nothing or the backstory and personality you create for your avatar don’t make a difference and affect nothing?”
It doesn’t affect anything. I couldn’t care less about creating a backstory for a character, because it doesn’t matter. Nor do I understand or comprehend why some players would waste their time creating long, detailed descriptions about their characters, only for said descriptions to NEVER impact the campaign in any meaningful way. My avatar is an avatar, not an actual person. It’s just a pawn in a game, nothing less & nothing more. If I was writing a novel or creating a script/screenplay, then I would actually put in the effort to flesh out a character & give them a personality. But that is not the point of D&D. D&D is meant to be a game where players work together & go on an adventure, NOT an acting competition where characters create 3-page backstories for their characters & hog the spotlight away from everyone else who just want to explore dungeons and fight enemies (believe me, that’s happened to me from other players too many times). It’s just an absurd waste of time if you play it that way.
I would refrain from proclaiming what D&D is and what D&D is not.
It is a very different thing to different people and users should not exhibit themselves as an expert (or in some instances, gatekeeper) in certain respects. If groups or DMs want to incorporate backstories and tailer their games to such role-play, they can (and certainly do).
I mean, D&D was created by adding roleplaying aspects to Chainmail, a tactical wargame. What's the point of all these racial identities and backgrounds (the ones you pick during character creation, not backstories)? Why is there such a thing as alignment, and why does the PHB include bonds and flaws, if not because roleplaying is expected to be part of D&D? Suggesting you should maybe try something other than D&D is apparently bad form, but I can't help but think something like Gloomhaven is exactly what you seem to want from D&D - exploring dungeons and fighting enemies - without all the pesky roleplaying you don't want from D&D.
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
Any DMs that award inspiration for a player doing excellent strategic decisions in combat? It seems that roleplay is held at a higher regard in general compared to game skill.
Altrazin Aghanes - Wizard/Fighter
Varpulis Windhowl - Fighter
Skolson Demjon - Cleric/Fighter
It’s a roleplaying game. Roleplay is game skill.
Well, to be frank, “absurd” is coming to a site dedicated to a role playing game and complaining that your role playing game involves role playing. It’s literally the name of the game: “Dungeons and Dragons Role Playing Game”. That said, there are other players similar to you; ones who want to role play less or not at all in favour of the mechanical side of things. You just have to find them. Instead of complaining about the people you don’t enjoy playing with, move on and find some that you do :)
BTW, I totally disagree that character backgrounds and details are meaningless and have no impact on the game but I don’t need to agree. I have a group of people who agree with me that I play with. You need to find people that agree with you and play with them.
Play at whatever table works for you, but like...
D&D is collaborative story telling. There are a million dungeon crawling board games out there, and it sounds like that's what you want - a collaborative fantasy adventure board game focused on combat. That's not D&D (typically), and insisting others conform to your board game version of it seems really short-sighted. No one has ever needed elaborate back story. No one has ever needed to be a great actor (ever). You do have to carry your story telling weight, though. That goes beyond optimization and tactical game play.
As sedge said a few posts back, it’s not useful to say what D&D is or is not. You can play a dungeon crawl with little character development, and that’s still D&D. Indeed, it’s how lots of people have played for decades. You can play with heavy role play and stay in character for hours, and that’s D&D. The only “correct” version is where everyone is having fun.
Sure, but there's a clear sense of entitlement at play here, with this one person insisting that the game *not* ask anything of him in terms of character or storytelling. That's fine if you find that sort of table, but they're very rare.
I don’t think that any of us have a large enough sample group to declare what is or is not rare.
Gonna go ahead and disagree here. At least for 5e. Older editions sure I can’t comment on but 5e the focus is on a balance between story and combat. Saying the undisputed majority play it as a hack and slash is a pretty baseless claim for 5e. It’s expressed multiple times that story is important in the various rule books. And no one is saying be an actor or a voice actor or any of that. Anyone who imposes those requirements is going to be disappointed.
do some people enjoy hack and slash, less story? Absolutely. Nothing wrong with it and there are tables that run with that style. It’s perfectly valid and if that’s a preferred style you will find a place for it, whether in dnd or another game, both have excellent options. AL tables tend to be more hack and slash by their nature and with their restrictions. That might be more what you are looking for OP.
but I absolutely dispute that the vast majority play it has a hack and slash. I’d say a reasonably large majority prefer an element of roleplay. And that is NOT the crazy levels that are seen in shows, that isn’t acting, or voice acting, or theatre productions. It’s having an idea of a story for your character and linking it to the main story in some way. Does this mean this is the “right way” to play? No. It’s a valid way and a fun one to many. But there is no right way. If a style doesn’t work for someone, try other styles. Try new tables.
and you keep referencing critical role like they are a curse of something. They show a particular style of play taken to an extreme. They do it VERY well and people need to temper expectations that it is very much an exception not a rule. Nothing wrong with it, and even they say their way isn’t the correct way to play.
I really feel like you keep trying to say the roleplay way to play is wrong. You keep saying that dnd is hack and slash and has been like this way of playing Is wrong in some way. And maybe old editions were different. But as of 5e there isn’t a wrong way to play unless people are not having fun
From the PHB:
Roleplaying
Roleplaying is, literally, the act of playing out a role. In this case, it’s you as a player determining how your character thinks, acts, and talks.
Roleplaying is a part of every aspect of the game, and it comes to the fore during social interactions. Your character’s quirks, mannerisms, and personality influence how interactions resolve.
There are two styles you can use when roleplaying your character: the descriptive approach and the active approach. Most players use a combination of the two styles. Use whichever mix of the two works best for you.
Descriptive Approach to Roleplaying
With this approach, you describe your character’s words and actions to the DM and the other players. Drawing on your mental image of your character, you tell everyone what your character does and how he or she does it.
For instance, Chris plays Tordek the dwarf. Tordek has a quick temper and blames the elves of the Cloakwood for his family’s misfortune. At a tavern, an obnoxious elf minstrel sits at Tordek’s table and tries to strike up a conversation with the dwarf.
Chris says, “Tordek spits on the floor, growls an insult at the bard, and stomps over to the bar. He sits on a stool and glares at the minstrel before ordering another drink.”
In this example, Chris has conveyed Tordek’s mood and given the DM a clear idea of his character’s attitude and actions.
When using descriptive roleplaying, keep the following things in mind:
Don’t worry about getting things exactly right. Just focus on thinking about what your character would do and describing what you see in your mind.
Active Approach to Roleplaying
If descriptive roleplaying tells your DM and your fellow players what your character thinks and does, active roleplaying shows them.
When you use active roleplaying, you speak with your character’s voice, like an actor taking on a role. You might even echo your character’s movements and body language. This approach is more immersive than descriptive roleplaying, though you still need to describe things that can’t be reasonably acted out.
Going back to the example of Chris roleplaying Tordek above, here’s how the scene might play out if Chris used active roleplaying:
Speaking as Tordek, Chris says in a gruff, deep voice, “I was wondering why it suddenly smelled awful in here. If I wanted to hear anything out of you, I’d snap your arm and enjoy your screams.” In his normal voice, Chris then adds, “I get up, glare at the elf, and head to the bar.”
Results of Roleplaying
The DM uses your character’s actions and attitudes to determine how an NPC reacts. A cowardly NPC buckles under threats of violence. A stubborn dwarf refuses to let anyone badger her. A vain dragon laps up flattery.
When interacting with an NPC, pay close attention to the DM’s portrayal of the NPC’s mood, dialogue, and personality. You might be able to determine an NPC’s personality traits, ideals, flaws, and bonds, then play on them to influence the NPC’s attitude.
Interactions in D&D are much like interactions in real life. If you can offer NPCs something they want, threaten them with something they fear, or play on their sympathies and goals, you can use words to get almost anything you want. On the other hand, if you insult a proud warrior or speak ill of a noble’s allies, your efforts to convince or deceive will fall short.
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