New to DM'ing and it's going well so far, but one of the areas I struggle with, as a player and DM, is roleplaying emotional characters. I am a cold and rational person when I am a PC, and that trait somewhat shines through when I am DMing as well. I have trouble reconciling when a PC/NPC that I am playing would not make an optimal or smart choice, especially in a situation where the character would absolutely make an emotionally-charged decision, especially when it would not benefit the party. Any tips?
(1) Try playing some online one-shots without doing any character prep. Download a random pre-gen and go into it cold with just a vague personality in mind. The less familiar you are with the specific details of a character's backstory and abilities, the easier it is to improvise behavior. The "correct" character path ceases to be practical due to willful ignorance, so there is less pressure to micro-manage.
(2) Allow yourself to make mistakes confidently. Have the character do or say something stupid, and let the party debate their behavior. If a character does something inexplicable, like walk into an obvious trap, then maybe the party later discovers that they were under the effect of a charm spell. Or perhaps they had been discretely sipping from a flask when no-one was looking. Nearly any behavior can be explained away in retrospect.
(3) Think back to when you've simply had an off day. Maybe you were tired, hungry, dehydrated, or had a stressful test weighing on you that caused you to be unreasonably irritable and lash out at someone who may or may not have deserved it. Emotions are ultimately chemical, and even the most rational and level headed person will eventually do something inappropriate due to a confluence of circumstances. Sometimes "out-of-character" is the result of "in-character" subtext (that you may or may not have originally had in mind).
All valid points, and the third one specifically is a good way to address the problem. The problem has actually come up more often as I have been doing the first point a couple times recently. The main problem is that I have a high level of emotional control, I suppose it would be called? Emotional responses really don't come naturally tbh.
I'm in a similar boat, however, an inability to access and utilize emotion is not control, it's repression. Likely a fear response to the thought of losing control. You can't lose what is locked away in a vault. Or so we like to think. (If the pressure swells, the emotional consequences can be explosive.)
The first step is cracking that safe while the stakes are low. (Accepting mistakes)
The second step is learning how to direct the flow in a productive way. (Seeing mistakes as opportunities)
The third step is then creating sustainable habits. (Develop emotional instincts that cyclically reinforce desired behavior.)
I'm not there yet. I'm still working on step one, but having a strong, supportive group helps a whole lot. Once the pandemic subsides, I hope to find an improv group to push myself further.
maybe have a look at your PC/NPC and decide beforehand what their emotional triggers are and what their typical responses to them are ie
Small furry creature - "Oh ain't you the cutest ickle one Ever!" overly fawning over the creature and asking if anyone has a snack for it Spider - "OH MY GOD A GIANT DEATH MAIDEN! KILL IT KILL KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!"
basically ask yourself what emotional triggers and responses would have you thinking this is a emotional character and then build that in
“It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt, It lies behind stars and under hills, And empty holes it fills, It comes first and follows after, Ends life, kills laughter.” J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
Just as one more approach, it might help to think about how a small child might react to the situation. They are often great examples of what it's like to be easily overwhelmed by emotion.
WhAT you trying to make fun of me! everyone! else Get a +1 like but me! Don'T think I didn#T Notice!!!.... ;)
But Seriously super glad you found the tip useful... you can make the Trigger Response quite complex ie Character gets complimented - Reacts with total disbelief looks for slightest indication that would prove incenserity
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“It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt, It lies behind stars and under hills, And empty holes it fills, It comes first and follows after, Ends life, kills laughter.” J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
I have this with my current character. He is emotionally volatile, and often just reacts instead of thinking about his actions.
My approach was to let the dice decide. If somebody insulted him in the bar, for instance, I would roll a D6: 4-6 he would laugh and slap the guy across the back, possibly while making an insulting joke back. 2-3 he'd be upset, but would try to hide it and pretend to ignore them. On a 1 he would fly into a rage and attack them. It works pretty well, I adjust the die size and values based on how I think my character may react, but then play into whatever the dice tell me.
This does seem a good starting point worth building from. Piggybacking off the earlier idea, of making a list of reactions the character would have in response to certain events and creatures, in addition to a table to roll for, seems to be a solid plan for how to address this.
I considered making a table beforehand. However, I like making it up on the spot. It feels like it gives me more agency, and it lets me adjust it for the situation.
As a DM doing this for an NPC, it may be easier to just make a list of reactions and reroll of you get one which doesn't make sense.
Be careful not to get too granular with NPC triggers. The party can be difficult to predict, and you may find that you write up a dozen complex triggers/reactions just for the players to either take the conversation in a totally different direction, or ignore the NPC entirely.
The worst mistake I've made as a DM is over-preparing. Each time you check your notes slows the game and breaks the flow. Try to write just enough that you only need a brief glance to understand who the NPC is.
For an entire town, I'll usually give each major NPC (or NPC category: guards, merchants, etc...) a couple of "positive" and/or "negative" associations, and then have a common pool of information and hooks that any NPC might reveal through interaction. Lesser NPCs are then derived from their representative major NPC.
Be careful not to get too granular with NPC triggers. The party can be difficult to predict, and you may find that you write up a dozen complex triggers/reactions just for the players to either take the conversation in a totally different direction, or ignore the NPC entirely.
The worst mistake I've made as a DM is over-preparing. Each time you check your notes slows the game and breaks the flow. Try to write just enough that you only need a brief glance to understand who the NPC is.
For an entire town, I'll usually give each major NPC (or NPC category: guards, merchants, etc...) a couple of "positive" and/or "negative" associations, and then have a common pool of information and hooks that any NPC might reveal through interaction. Lesser NPCs are then derived from their representative major NPC.
This is basically how I do it, with one difference: for the most important NPCs (the ones necessary for the story), I add a surname connecting that individual to a nebulous, undefined “family”, which has a certain amount of impact on their behavior. For example, one character might be related to a noble family; their emotional triggers will be different from a character related to a barbarian clan. Each surname corresponds to a social/economic/geographic concept, making it easier for me to choose emotional reactions on the fly, without having to look at my notes.
And incidentally, @Memnosyne, I love your name! What made you choose the muse of remembrance?
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I live with several severe autoimmune conditions. If I don’t get back to you right away, it’s probably because I’m not feeling well.
Be careful not to get too granular with NPC triggers. The party can be difficult to predict, and you may find that you write up a dozen complex triggers/reactions just for the players to either take the conversation in a totally different direction, or ignore the NPC entirely.
The worst mistake I've made as a DM is over-preparing. Each time you check your notes slows the game and breaks the flow. Try to write just enough that you only need a brief glance to understand who the NPC is.
For an entire town, I'll usually give each major NPC (or NPC category: guards, merchants, etc...) a couple of "positive" and/or "negative" associations, and then have a common pool of information and hooks that any NPC might reveal through interaction. Lesser NPCs are then derived from their representative major NPC.
I will completely agree with this. I find the roughest outline of the story and trivial NPCs, with a little more detail about the more important NPCs, is the most effective strategy.
However, in this case we were discussing specifically how to play an emotional character when that doesn't come naturally. In this case, a little planning about how to make that character work is a good idea, whether PC or NPC. I wouldn't make "granular NPC triggers", like you said, but having a way to determine their behaviour in a manner consistent to their character is important (at least for the NPCs who are important to the story... If it's just a shop keeper who may have info you need or stuff to buy but you'll never meet again it probably doesn't matter)
Yeah, as an example of my problem, my default for roleplaying both the naive villlage dame being asked out on a date is the same reaction that the gruff old village blacksmith would have, emotionally speaking. The words may be entirely different but I struggle to get into the emotions, as I tend to be emotionally distant IRL. Not to say I don't understand or so not get emotional, it's just that I do a very good job of keeping cool, to the detriment of my characters. I can guarantee the blacksmith and the dame would have very, very different emotional reactions to being asked out for the evening, and I struggle with that as a DM.
not quite sure what you call it but there is a difference between first person narration and third person narration.... you know one where you try and act the part the lines mannerisms even and the other were you describe the emotions... I tend to mainly do the latter ie 3rd person narration for most of the peeps the characters meet interact with and save first person narration for npc hirelings important characters that I can actually get a handle on over time... think I'd find anything else totally exhausting
“It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt, It lies behind stars and under hills, And empty holes it fills, It comes first and follows after, Ends life, kills laughter.” J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
I find it quite useful to model NPC’s on someone I know well or can imagine well and then simply act and react how I think they would. Draw from literature and movies: Rocky, The Godfather, Yoda, Ash, Third Rock from the Sun aliens, Mork, Gandalf, the lawyers from suits, Seinfeld, Putin, Jesus, Chris Hadfield, Cartman, whoever. With one word noted you have a consistent character personality and maybe even mannerisms to draw on.
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New to DM'ing and it's going well so far, but one of the areas I struggle with, as a player and DM, is roleplaying emotional characters. I am a cold and rational person when I am a PC, and that trait somewhat shines through when I am DMing as well. I have trouble reconciling when a PC/NPC that I am playing would not make an optimal or smart choice, especially in a situation where the character would absolutely make an emotionally-charged decision, especially when it would not benefit the party. Any tips?
(1) Try playing some online one-shots without doing any character prep. Download a random pre-gen and go into it cold with just a vague personality in mind. The less familiar you are with the specific details of a character's backstory and abilities, the easier it is to improvise behavior. The "correct" character path ceases to be practical due to willful ignorance, so there is less pressure to micro-manage.
(2) Allow yourself to make mistakes confidently. Have the character do or say something stupid, and let the party debate their behavior. If a character does something inexplicable, like walk into an obvious trap, then maybe the party later discovers that they were under the effect of a charm spell. Or perhaps they had been discretely sipping from a flask when no-one was looking. Nearly any behavior can be explained away in retrospect.
(3) Think back to when you've simply had an off day. Maybe you were tired, hungry, dehydrated, or had a stressful test weighing on you that caused you to be unreasonably irritable and lash out at someone who may or may not have deserved it. Emotions are ultimately chemical, and even the most rational and level headed person will eventually do something inappropriate due to a confluence of circumstances. Sometimes "out-of-character" is the result of "in-character" subtext (that you may or may not have originally had in mind).
All valid points, and the third one specifically is a good way to address the problem. The problem has actually come up more often as I have been doing the first point a couple times recently. The main problem is that I have a high level of emotional control, I suppose it would be called? Emotional responses really don't come naturally tbh.
I'm in a similar boat, however, an inability to access and utilize emotion is not control, it's repression. Likely a fear response to the thought of losing control. You can't lose what is locked away in a vault. Or so we like to think. (If the pressure swells, the emotional consequences can be explosive.)
The first step is cracking that safe while the stakes are low. (Accepting mistakes)
The second step is learning how to direct the flow in a productive way. (Seeing mistakes as opportunities)
The third step is then creating sustainable habits. (Develop emotional instincts that cyclically reinforce desired behavior.)
I'm not there yet. I'm still working on step one, but having a strong, supportive group helps a whole lot. Once the pandemic subsides, I hope to find an improv group to push myself further.
maybe have a look at your PC/NPC and decide beforehand what their emotional triggers are and what their typical responses to them are ie
Small furry creature - "Oh ain't you the cutest ickle one Ever!" overly fawning over the creature and asking if anyone has a snack for it
Spider - "OH MY GOD A GIANT DEATH MAIDEN! KILL IT KILL KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!"
basically ask yourself what emotional triggers and responses would have you thinking this is a emotional character and then build that in
“It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt, It lies behind stars and under hills, And empty holes it fills, It comes first and follows after, Ends life, kills laughter.” J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
Ooh I like this, good tip. I haven't considered that angle, its definitely worth something to take note of!
Just as one more approach, it might help to think about how a small child might react to the situation. They are often great examples of what it's like to be easily overwhelmed by emotion.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
WhAT you trying to make fun of me! everyone! else Get a +1 like but me! Don'T think I didn#T Notice!!!.... ;)
But Seriously super glad you found the tip useful... you can make the Trigger Response quite complex
ie Character gets complimented - Reacts with total disbelief looks for slightest indication that would prove incenserity
“It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt, It lies behind stars and under hills, And empty holes it fills, It comes first and follows after, Ends life, kills laughter.” J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
I have this with my current character. He is emotionally volatile, and often just reacts instead of thinking about his actions.
My approach was to let the dice decide. If somebody insulted him in the bar, for instance, I would roll a D6: 4-6 he would laugh and slap the guy across the back, possibly while making an insulting joke back. 2-3 he'd be upset, but would try to hide it and pretend to ignore them. On a 1 he would fly into a rage and attack them. It works pretty well, I adjust the die size and values based on how I think my character may react, but then play into whatever the dice tell me.
I hadn't thought of this one, definitely an avenue worth exploring.
This does seem a good starting point worth building from. Piggybacking off the earlier idea, of making a list of reactions the character would have in response to certain events and creatures, in addition to a table to roll for, seems to be a solid plan for how to address this.
I considered making a table beforehand. However, I like making it up on the spot. It feels like it gives me more agency, and it lets me adjust it for the situation.
As a DM doing this for an NPC, it may be easier to just make a list of reactions and reroll of you get one which doesn't make sense.
Be careful not to get too granular with NPC triggers. The party can be difficult to predict, and you may find that you write up a dozen complex triggers/reactions just for the players to either take the conversation in a totally different direction, or ignore the NPC entirely.
The worst mistake I've made as a DM is over-preparing. Each time you check your notes slows the game and breaks the flow. Try to write just enough that you only need a brief glance to understand who the NPC is.
For an entire town, I'll usually give each major NPC (or NPC category: guards, merchants, etc...) a couple of "positive" and/or "negative" associations, and then have a common pool of information and hooks that any NPC might reveal through interaction. Lesser NPCs are then derived from their representative major NPC.
This is basically how I do it, with one difference: for the most important NPCs (the ones necessary for the story), I add a surname connecting that individual to a nebulous, undefined “family”, which has a certain amount of impact on their behavior. For example, one character might be related to a noble family; their emotional triggers will be different from a character related to a barbarian clan. Each surname corresponds to a social/economic/geographic concept, making it easier for me to choose emotional reactions on the fly, without having to look at my notes.
And incidentally, @Memnosyne, I love your name! What made you choose the muse of remembrance?
I live with several severe autoimmune conditions. If I don’t get back to you right away, it’s probably because I’m not feeling well.
She and I have always shared a strange dance. Her name keeps me grounded.
I will completely agree with this. I find the roughest outline of the story and trivial NPCs, with a little more detail about the more important NPCs, is the most effective strategy.
However, in this case we were discussing specifically how to play an emotional character when that doesn't come naturally. In this case, a little planning about how to make that character work is a good idea, whether PC or NPC. I wouldn't make "granular NPC triggers", like you said, but having a way to determine their behaviour in a manner consistent to their character is important (at least for the NPCs who are important to the story... If it's just a shop keeper who may have info you need or stuff to buy but you'll never meet again it probably doesn't matter)
Yeah, as an example of my problem, my default for roleplaying both the naive villlage dame being asked out on a date is the same reaction that the gruff old village blacksmith would have, emotionally speaking. The words may be entirely different but I struggle to get into the emotions, as I tend to be emotionally distant IRL. Not to say I don't understand or so not get emotional, it's just that I do a very good job of keeping cool, to the detriment of my characters. I can guarantee the blacksmith and the dame would have very, very different emotional reactions to being asked out for the evening, and I struggle with that as a DM.
not quite sure what you call it but there is a difference between first person narration and third person narration.... you know one where you try and act the part the lines mannerisms even and the other were you describe the emotions... I tend to mainly do the latter ie 3rd person narration for most of the peeps the characters meet interact with and save first person narration for npc hirelings important characters that I can actually get a handle on over time... think I'd find anything else totally exhausting
“It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt, It lies behind stars and under hills, And empty holes it fills, It comes first and follows after, Ends life, kills laughter.” J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
I find it quite useful to model NPC’s on someone I know well or can imagine well and then simply act and react how I think they would. Draw from literature and movies: Rocky, The Godfather, Yoda, Ash, Third Rock from the Sun aliens, Mork, Gandalf, the lawyers from suits, Seinfeld, Putin, Jesus, Chris Hadfield, Cartman, whoever. With one word noted you have a consistent character personality and maybe even mannerisms to draw on.