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Bringing Your Character to Life

The Art of Roleplaying

By Destiny SmithPublished 7 years ago 5 min read
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Perhaps the most intimidating part of any D&D session is getting into character and actually roleplaying. This is especially true for beginners. There's no cheat sheet or instruction manual for how to feel comfortable interacting in character, and this uncertainty can lead to the closest group of friends awkwardly moving from fight to fight, while the DM pulls their hair out trying to get you to engage with the world they've made.

Here are a few tips that will hopefully make the whole experience a little less intimidating, and a lot more fun.

Know Your Character

This probably seems obvious. Clearly you know your character. In most cases, you made them, but investing time into figuring out details outside of backstory will go a long way.

What kind of sense of humor do they have? What order were they born? What's their favorite food? What kind of food can they not stand? Who do they look up to? What's their moral alignment? What situations would make them stray from it? How do they act around kids? When things go crazy, who in the room do they look to for instructions? A friend? The oldest person in the room? The most experienced? Themselves? What gods do they worship? And if they don't worship any, why not?

No matter how small a detail it is, if you find a way to bring it up, it will make your character feel more natural to you, and believe it or not, but your group will probably remember.

That being said, don't hesitate to make spur of the moment decisions for your character. Some of the most memorable moments I've had in games were when people pulled something from left field and committed to it.

Whether it was our druid breaking down and spilling their whole life story in tears when someone's about to kill them, to the person who was about to kill them, the two wizards constantly seeking "wing man" side quests, or the entire party deciding to abandon their current campaign and running away with the circus.

(Please do not abandon your campaign without talking to your DM afterwards to make sure they're not upset. We only got away with the last one because she loved the NPCs.)

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Throw in getting a haircut or buying new pajamas when you're asked what you were doing during the time skip. Heck, say that your character comes down for breakfast at the inn, IN their pajamas, or with bedhead, if it feels true to who they are. Have your character always show up a few minutes late, or early to meetings.

If you're going somewhere (to a party, swimming, etc), really think about what your character would wear and describe it.

It's fun to describe how to deal the finishing blow, but you know what's also fun? Throwing ideas at the DM when it comes to nat 20s and critical failures. The failure can be especially fun, and take some of the negativity out of the whole thing.

Trip on your cloak. Catch your hair on fire. Have a leg cramp. Remember that, that jerk John owes you 20 gold right when you're about to fire an arrow at the enemy standing next to him.

Ask Your DM For Friends

Having friends is probably one of the best ways to keep the time between missions from turning into shopping simulator (not that there's anything wrong with a good shopping trip.) Talk to your DM about NPCs that your character would spend time with outside of work. Most DMs, if you bring this up early in the game, won't mind making you a custom friend, to get drinks with while you listen for rumors, or work with to learn new skills/spells.

Also, don't hesitate to try and build a relationship with NPCs that you run into along the way. Chances are, if the NPC is named, your DM has put a lot of effort into them, and would love to play with them.

Remember That It's Not Weird to Talk About Your Characters Outside of the Game

Do you think that you and your friend's characters would make good drinking buddies? Or that they'd go out treasure hunting during time skips? Does your character feel protective of theirs? Do you think it would be neat if they had a mutual acquaintance from their backstories? Don't hesitate to talk to your friends about this stuff outside of the game. It's a fun way to expand both your characters and make in game interactions more fluid.

Don't Be Afraid to Ask for BS Stats/Features

Is your character an awkward third wheel when people are doing charisma/flirting rolls? Ask to have a wing-man feat that grants people around you a bonus. Is your character especially petty or stubborn? Ask about a spite roll, that gives you advantage when people mock you or your character has something to prove to someone they really dislike.

Don't be afraid to be creative and just ask. The worst that can happen is that your DM says no, and even then, this proves that the character has that trait. (And you'll probably make a couple people laugh.)

And Finally, Don't Let Your Stat Sheet Rule You

The truth of the matter is, people don't have handy pieces of paper that tell us what we're good at in real life, and chances are, even if we did, we'd ignore them a good half of the time.

This isn't to say that you should ignore them entirely, or not use them to make the base of your character. They are certain levels for a reason, but they shouldn't have complete control, especially not when you're roleplaying.

Does your character want to try and comfort an NPC despite being the strong silent type with a low charisma? Does your tiny, peace-loving cleric want to intimidate someone who threatened their family? Does your armor clad warrior want to try and impress everyone by doing a flip over something despite having a much better chance of clearing it with a strength roll than a dexterity? Do it! Don't be afraid to be silly, or fail. Since when has making your friends laugh been a bad thing?

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About the Creator

Destiny Smith

Writing is one of the few constants I've had throughout my life, and Vocal seemed like the perfect opportunity to put it all somewhere.

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