Understanding your character and finding a good way to role-play him is one of the more essential things in tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs). For some, it might come naturally, but for most of us, it takes practice and a deeper understanding of the game before we can give and take the best from our DnD character, and you know what – sometimes it’s okay to ask for advice.
How can you think like your character? How can you navigate the world around you using their personality traits instead of your own?
In this article, I will give my thought process on DnD personality development that will help you and everybody around you have a great time. Because, in the end, an inadequate understanding of role-playing can ruin not only your own but the game of others as well.
Basics for role-playing beginners
DnD character advice can usually boil down to looking for clues, achieving objectives, and making the most intelligent decisions for everyone. In that process, your individuality will come to light and influence many of those decisions.
But what if I told you that you could go further and make choices based on your character’s personal background and motivations instead of your own?
I know this may sound unnatural to some since I am the one who always played the same person because I couldn’t let go and start role-playing the character I have in the game.
However, as time passed, I started focusing on playing my characters according to their in-game story, and now my games are much more fun — both for me and everybody else.
So, for example, if you are naturally a quiet and down-to-earth person and just starting your DnD adventures, it might be best to arrange with your DM that you play a character similar to yourself. Similar, but not the same.
Your DM should give your character at least a few traits or backstory elements (like growing up in a small village or learning a foreign language as a kid) that differ from your own. This way, most of the time, you can rely on your own traits while easing into the TTRPG world by acting out a couple of those new ones.
Once you feel comfortable, you can wander into the DnD realm of all kinds of weird, heroic, and unusual characters.
Become one with the character
The first thing you should remember while role-playing is that you need to empathize with your character’s worldview. If your character is a balanced and sensible older man, don’t go out and pick fights with every other NPC and vice versa.
One thing that will help you here partially is the backstory. Suppose you know that your character was an only child from a wealthy family whose parents got murdered one night during a mugging (any similarities with masked winged superheroes are purely coincidental). Now he is all grown up with a wish to rid the world of evil. In that case, you will have a fair chunk of information to work with.
But, what will take you even further and help you to really understand your character is recognizing how all those circumstances will affect his reasoning and decision-making.
Our imaginary character with a rich background will have an advantage when negotiating and persuading NPCs of higher class since he has been around those people and knows how to please them.
On the other hand, he will have difficulty finding common ground when talking to poor in-game NPCs, even when he wishes to help them.
The way your character thinks will influence everything, from dungeon searching to initiating battles and sneaking.
Character motivation
If you and your party play a game where a DnD character’s personality is decided with a dice roll, you are more likely to end up with a character totally different from yourself.
Now, having a character that doesn’t resemble any of your traits and motivations will be a more demanding challenge but certainly not one that is impossible to achieve.
Before everything, it’s vital to remember your character’s goals and weaknesses. Considering those, you can answer many questions and situations where you have to improvise quickly.
For example, if your character likes shiny and expensive things, his dialogue will reflect that. That doesn’t mean you have to talk about money all the time, but when the topic of “should we go into that desert and search for the lost wizard” comes up, it would be natural for you to say, “what’s in it for me?”.
Develop your voice and practice
One great thing I’ve discovered that helped me immerse myself into the DnD storyline is using a specific voice for my character.
Let’s say your character is an introvert that doesn’t say much. Even a quieter tone when speaking on his behalf will help you differentiate between your beliefs and theirs. Speaking softly and peacefully will unlock the possibilities for role-playing and help you think and behave like your character.
Imagine that an unknown NPC starts being aggressive toward you. Your natural calm tone will remind you that you aren’t a conflicting personality, and you will automatically try and resolve the misunderstanding peacefully.
Once you decide it’s the right time to implement some of the tactics I’ve mentioned, start practicing! If your party is already role-playing during your DnD sessions, they will probably welcome your decision to join them.
On the other hand, if they aren’t getting into their characters much, you can talk to them openly about your wish to start that.
Deeper understanding for more fun
Understanding your character and engaging more and more in the whole DnD experience will only bring advantages to your future sessions.
It will be like you are all casting in your own imaginary show and deciding everything – where you should go, what you should explore, and who you should take with you.
And in the end, who knows, maybe your own encouragement to start living the life of your character will help others in your party let loose and have them role-play more!
