Okay, so you’ve gone through the million steps to make your own, unique, Dungeons & Dragons character and now it’s time to start getting into the game and actually role-playing. On one hand, roleplay is a fundamental part of DnD – it creates depth, complexity, and realism and enhances the immersion for players. But, on the other hand, roleplay is also the aspect of DnD that players can feel the most self-conscious about and intimidated by, especially if they’re unfamiliar with RPGs in general. For some players, it’s easy to learn the rules and game mechanics, but really getting into the mindset of their characters and creating distinct personalities for them might seem impossible.
Luckily, DnD actually gives you a few tools to aid in your role-playing efforts so this task doesn’t seem as daunting, and in this blog post, we’ll go through them all. Also, I’ll give you some role-playing tips and tricks that helped me personally at the beginning of my RPG journey. When you combine the two, you’ll become a lean, mean, role-playing machine, so, let’s get down to business!
Roleplaying Tips for Players
Take Advantage of Your Character’s Background
You can start improving your role-playing even before you get to the table. The first step is to create a very compelling backstory for your character. To do this, go through the Backgrounds section of the Player’s Handbook and pick one that really stands out to you. Your character’s background will give you an idea of who they were before your current campaign started, where they came from, and what is important to them.
This will be a great starting point for you to think of a creative backstory for your character. Expand on the background description available to you and use it more as inspiration. Let me give you an example.
You chose the Acolyte background which means that your character has basically spent their entire life in a temple. Yawn doesn’t sound really adventurous, if you told this story to someone, they would probably be snoozing already. Let’s fix that and add some flavor. Maybe over time, your character started noticing that the religious group’s intent is not that godly at all. They’ve become greedy and corrupted so the PC ran away in the middle of the night. Now they don’t know who to trust and are suspicious of strangers.
A few other tools at your disposal that will help you get into your character’s mindset are the personality traits, ideals, bonds, and flaws that come with every background. Let’s go through each of them separately.
Personality traits typically show quirks in characters’ behaviors or how they would act in a situation.
Ideals show what’s most important to them e.g. tradition, charity, power, faith, aspiration, etc.
A bond is something a character has vowed to accomplish like getting revenge for a murdered loved one or helping the common people – it’s what drives their actions.
And, lastly, the flaws are exactly what you would expect them to be – negative aspects of a character’s personality. Maybe they’re greedy and would double cross anyone, no matter how important they were to them, inflexible, suspicious of other people or they’re too proud for their own good. In my opinion, this may be the most important addition to your character because it will make them feel more real and nuanced. Nobody in real life is perfect, so to add realism, the characters shouldn’t be either.
Taking a little bit of time to go through all your choices will help you a lot in the long run since making use of these tools will prove invaluable when it comes to role-playing in a 5e campaign.
Choose an Alignment
The second thing I suggest you make use of is the alignment system. If you’re not familiar with it, your character’s alignment shows their perspective on moral issues. So when you make your choice, you’ll have some guidelines on how to handle situations that pop up during the campaign. Choosing an alignment and sticking to it will also help you portray a character’s flaws more realistically too – it would make sense for a Lawful character to be more of a stick in the mud, and for a Chaotic one to be too free-spirited.
If you want to learn more about all of the alignments available in DnD 5e and how they can help you roleplay better, we have a guide on each of them.
Find Inspiration
If all else fails, I suggest you take some inspiration from fictional characters. You know what they say – imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
If you’re a total newbie, the web show Critical Role is a great place to start since you can watch how professional voice actors play DnD. You can take some inspiration from the ways they approach their characters and the way they role-play too.
You can also be inspired by characters from your favorite books, movies, or TV shows too. If you’re just starting out, find a fictional character you like and just emulate their behavior.
Work with Other Players, Not Against Them
Since DnD is such a collaborative experience, the players and the DM all need to work together to have a good time. This means you should play off each other and not “hog the spotlight” all the time. You’re not the main character, everyone at the table is! So, give everyone a chance to do their own thing.
Don’t Become a Voice Actor Overnight
I’m saying this with the best intentions – don’t make the mistake of doing a voice that’s very different from your own e.g. super deep, squeaky or shrill. You’re going to have to do it for a long time since campaigns can take multiple months or even years to end. Over time, it can become strenuous for your vocal cords or annoying to the other players at the table.
Also, I’m all for overly exaggerated accents and, if executed well, they can totally work! Just don’t make them too annoying, so everyone is comfortable and has fun. But know that you’re also committing to the gag unless you create an elaborate backstory of your character pretending to be someone else for a while. Then you could maybe stop talking in a fake Russian accent you’ve been using since the beginning of the campaign.
Don’t Take Yourself Too Seriously
Lastly, but maybe most importantly, you shouldn’t be afraid to let loose and just try to have fun at the table. Yes, you might seem silly at some point, but you’re playing a little goblin that runs around in full armor swinging his sword at fantastical creatures, and that’s all happening in your mind too. So I think we’re way past the point of silly, and I mean that in the best way possible. So just embrace it!
How to Get Your Players to Roleplay – Advice for DMs
There’s nothing worse in DnD than DM-ing for a group that is uninterested or refusing to engage with you. So, if you’re dealing with those kinds of players, it’s your job, as a DM, to encourage them to role-play. I’ve got some advice that will, hopefully, make that job easier.
Set an Example for Your Players. If you put in the effort to role-play the NPCs and other creatures your players meet along the way, they may feel inclined to do some acting themselves.
Create an Immersive Experience. Making an interesting story with engaging NPCs, and really going ham on describing everything that’s going down in the fantasy world is going to go a long way in increasing your group’s immersion. If they feel like they’re in a fantasy world, it might lower their inhibitions.
Help Them Create Nuanced Characters. As I’ve already explained, creating a solid backstory will help your players’ roleplay efforts a ton. So, be ready to help them if they ask for it, or if you see them struggling.
Reward Their Efforts. Lastly – we all know the benefits of positive reinforcement, so if your players make an effort – acknowledge it and reward them properly. Luckily, DnD has a nifty little reward system for players aka inspiration, so feel free to dole it out whenever you feel like it.
Another cool, but totally optional thing you could do, is to reward thinking out of the box and creative solutions by offering players an advantage on those skill checks. This might make them get into their characters’ mindset way more often.
Whether you’re a rookie or a seasoned veteran, I hope this guide was helpful to you and that you will use the provided tips and tricks to better your roleplay. You don’t have to apply all of them at once – start small with one or two that seem manageable and then expand when you feel comfortable.
Finally, DnD is all about having fun with your friends so just try to let loose and not take yourself too seriously!
