Staying in Character

[Lord.Sorasen]

To bog down the forums with questions, I have returned!


I wish there was more to say here, but I'm afraid it's really pretty elementary:

I'm DMing a campaign right now, and naturally I am very often being an NPC, talking to the party, etc.

Here's the thing, though: I have a character in mind. I've been thinking about them for quite a while. But once I begin to actually talk I do it terribly. I guess the best way to explain it is that I can't take it seriously for whatever reason. In planning I get very into the things I write, emotional and all that, but... For instance, when explaining the great first peoples, great clerics who created from the abyss a world of light," I for whatever reason said something like "great clerics, devotion, you know, all that stuff, pretty awesome."

This ruins everything. Every time. I'm getting so tired of it. I rehearse my own character before hand and everything, and I try to just sort of wing it before the actual game and record myself to see if I'm able to be more convincing... And I feel like I am. It's within the game that I get so bad at it.

[Remmirath]

Rehearsing something with just yourself is often very different than doing it in front of people, in my experience. It's one thing to know that you can do your character, and another thing to know that you can make yourself do it in front of other people. Do you have anybody you could practice in front of, and see if you could get it right in front of them?

Also, do you perhaps have fears that your players won't care or take it seriously, or are you embarrassed about it for some reason? That might give you a tendency to skip over and make light of things. (I had that problem with embarrassment for a while, thinking everything I had written was awful. I got over it mostly by gritting my teeth and going through with it anyhow and seeing that, in fact, what I wrote wasn't as bad as I thought; but that might not work for you, I don't know.)

It could also have something to do with the general atmosphere of your group. If most people don't get very into roleplaying, it's harder to take things seriously. I'm not real sure what you'd do about it if that were the problem, though.

One thing that could help, is that if you have a complete written out dialogue force yourself to stick to the script for a few sessions, looking down at the paper the whole time if necessary. Even if it makes things sound a little odd, it probably won't be worse than reducing everything you write to generalisations, and you might feel better about having got the whole thing out at least.

[Xiander]

Something that helps me stay in character, is to have a basic idea how the character in question would talk and stay close to that. I will actually go as far as altering my voice completely in order to make the experience better for my players, but you don't have to.

The trick is to alter your speech-patterns slightly in a way the fits the charcter in question. If the NPC is a tough soldier, work in some f-words and S-words and make sure you never back down if someone challenges you in the conversation. If its the priest of the sun god try to speak a little more like a priest. Small changes matter a lot both to the one performing and to the "audience".

Personally I have four or five different types of person which each has a certain way of speaking, any NPC i play i slot into one of the types and then make small variations. So NPC a is a tough guy and gets the tough guy voice, Npc be is also a tough guy but is older, so i make my voice a little different in order to make him sound old, a third NPC is a tought guy but is a woman, and so on. This way you go through a lot of NPCs before you run out of options, and even then most players don't mind to CPCs sounding alike as long as they arent both in the same schene.

I hope this helps. I find it works wonders for me, but your millage may wary.

[Eldan]

How are you rehearsing? I'd guess it's similar to how it is with presentations. Stand up. Talk out loud. Say the same words you would say in character. First, read them from your notes, then learn them by heart. Or rather, don't learn them by heart. Remember what you want to get across, then say that. Never use what my teacher used to call the "Mental Teleprompter". Go a bit over the top when training first. Do a bit of acting.

You'll look incredibly silly, but it actually helps.

[Nachtritter]

How are you rehearsing? I'd guess it's similar to how it is with presentations. Stand up. Talk out loud. Say the same words you would say in character. First, read them from your notes, then learn them by heart. Or rather, don't learn them by heart. Remember what you want to get across, then say that. Never use what my teacher used to call the "Mental Teleprompter". Go a bit over the top when training first. Do a bit of acting.

You'll look incredibly silly, but it actually helps.


This. You can't do enough of this. Overact, if necessary. Yeah, you'll look a little silly, but you'll make an impression. For example.

DM: Okay, as you enter the Temple of Pelor, you see an ancient bearded man in golden robes tending to the altar. He seems bent with age, but possesses a vitality few youths have.
Player 1: Uh, is this the guy? The one we need to talk to?
DM: He might be. You haven't talked to him yet.
Player 2: Alright, I go up and talk to him.
Player 3: I look around for anything to steal.
DM: Player 3, you don't find anything. Stop being a douche. Player 2, you go up to talk to him. What do you say?
Player 2: Uh, hello?
DM: The old man turns and smiles, then raises his arms in exaltation.
DM: (stands up, hunches back, and spreads arms wide) GREETINGS, BROTHERS OF THE LIGHT! I AM ZANDOR, THE HIGH PRIEST OF PELOR AND A HUMBLE SERVANT OF THE MOST BELOVED SUN GOD! WHAT BRINGS THEE TO THIS HOLY HOUSE OF THE MOST RADIANT ON THIS FINE DAY? HAST THOU SINS YOU WISH TO CONFESS, OR DO YOU MERELY WISH TO HEAR THE WORD OF PELOR AND THUS GROW CLOSER TO THE LORD OF THE DAYSKY!?

[DabblerWizard]

Lord.Sorasen - I'm taking a guess here, so feel free to correct me if I'm off.

When you start talking about certain things in front of your players, you feel really uncomfortable. Sometimes when "public speaking" anxiousness grips someone, people can try to (1) rush over things, or (2) skip material entirely; these behaviors try to help them decrease their face time in front of the group.

Alternately, you may feel comfortable talking in front of your players, but you don't trust yourself in terms of how "good" your material is. Sharing thoughts with people can be a vulnerable experience, especially when we're concerned about them judging us. So you may (1) rush through or (2) skip material entirely, to save face, decrease the time you make yourself vulnerable... etc.

It's possible that both of these things are concerning you. Assuming you want to keep DMing, and want to work on improving your talking ability, you could try a few things.

It might help to remember that your players are on your side (and if they're REALLY out to get you and make you upset, then they're not good players).

Sharing your concerns with your players could be helpful. By being honest and upfront, they can be more understanding about why you're stalling, why you're rushing through... and cut you some slack. You might also experience their accepting you anyway.

Finally, don't feel bad about stopping, taking a breath, waiting for your anxiety to cool off a bit, and then starting up again. Your players won't mind you taking time out if it means that their gaming experience is enhanced.

You'll also be happier about your story telling. Good luck!

[Jay R]

This is stage fright, and it's very common.

You're lucky. You are learning how to deal with it in a game, which costs nothing.

The straightforward answer is to keep trying. Eventually speaking in front of others will be a common experience, and no longer frightening or distracting. Like every other skill in the world, it takes a lot of practice to get good at public speaking.

And be very glad you are getting this experience in front of friends, instead of in job interviews or other places where it can cause long-term trouble.

[valadil]

I noticed that I'm a lot better at speaking when I recycle an old PC than when I use a new NPC. I think it's because I've been able to keep enough of the character in my head that they're more than just a mouth piece.

What I've tried to do lately is get into one NPC's head per game session. When I know the players will spend time with a particular NPC, I spend the week leading up to game thinking as though that NPC is my character. I won't rehearse things (as that ruins my spontaneity) but I'll do some back and forth dialog in my head. By game time I've got a chunk of that NPC in my head and I'm excited to roleplay him.

I've had mixed success with this. But mixed success is better than the no success whatsoever I had with other methods.

To back up a moment, I want to emphasize that it's important that you're excited to play the character. If you're ambivalent about it, that will show and the players will share your ambivalence about the scene. If the scene doesn't excite you, don't bother playing it. It's okay to summarize if you have to. Just don't have the NPC summarize. Play the NPC in all his glory, or fast forward while pointing out the highlights.

[LansXero]

But if you are already recording yourself, you could play that. See how the players react to it: do they listen, or do they ignore it / rush it/ look over to the side, etc? Sometimes, with some groups, its not really worth it to bother with the acting and roleplaying, as it cuts into their choppy time.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Here's another tip. Use keywords to "anchor" your character. Those keywords provide crucial details about the character's essential bits. Whenever you're at a loss for words, just think back to the character's keywords, and go from there in your mind. For instance...

"Dimunitive", "Sadistic", "Wealthy": a psychotic dwarf who can pull all the strings he wants, because he has lots of money. You can flesh out his personality from here, but as long as you have those three anchors, you know what he's about at his core.

"Just", "Cowardly", "Uneducated": a warrior who probably sees himself as an utter failure, but who still wants with all his heart to do the "right thing", and to see justice done. At the same time, he keeps failing at it.

"Brilliant", "Fugitive", "Apprentice": a warlord in training, who is on the run from his political enemies, trying to get back to his mentor.

The other thing is, don't overdo the epic. Cool, legendary stuff is rooted in living, breathing people. Do it the Marvel way: ordinary people thrust into extraordinary situations. I find that it makes things far more serious and believable. It's also a good bit easier.

[Human Paragon 3]

Here's a tip that I've never used, but I always thought was cool.

Pick a muppet and think about him/her when you roleplay the character. Is he Kermit? Rolph the Dog? Statler/Waldorf? Floyd Pepper? Ms. Piggy?

The muppets are all so encapsulated and extatic characters that it makes it easy to stick with an emotional tone as you roleplay.

For the above example with the high priest of Pelor, given by Natchtritter, picture that dialogue coming from Dr. Bunsen Honeydew.

Whatever your problem, he's positve that Muppet Labs, I mean the Church of Pelor, will have an innovative and useful solution!

[Poison_Fish]

Most of the advice I would have offered has been suggested. But as an extra tip, if you aren't certain you can always grey text them. That is to say, have something written ahead of time when you wish to info dump or convey some deeper meaning. Not necessarily something you need to do every time, but it can help to write a script for yourself to, at the very least, reference. The challenge of course will be staying character off the text you've prepared.

[Pisha]

One thing I do in larps that helps me get and stay in character is to focus on a physical aspect of the character. Is my character twitchy, or does she move gracefully? Does she meet your eyes or drop her gaze? Does she sit straight, or slouch? Is she easily distracted, glancing away even while talking? If I find something to do with my body that's specific to the character, and always use it when I play that character, I'll subconsciously associate it. Sometimes just changing my posture or moving in a certain way will drop me into the mindset where I can be IC and not feel awkward about it.

As far as stage fright in general is concerned, my father actually wrote a book about ways to manage it. (http://www.lulu.com/product/item/stage-fright-a-student-friendly-guide-to-managing-the-jitters/3987645) In my completely and totally unbiased opinion, it's pretty good. :) (Plus it has a cute picture of my husband looking terrified on the cover.) The concept is a practical guide to (quite a few different) techniques that really can help lessen anxiety, whether it's about speaking in public or acting on a stage or even just assuming a role for a game! (And no, I'm not trying to sell you on the book, but if people are interested in managing stage fright, I honestly do think it's a good resource.)

[cattoy]

Here's a schtick that may or may not help.

Have you ever watched a show called PTI/Pardon the Interruption on ESPN?

There are two hosts and for one sequence, they do a role-play bit where they get little masks of sports personalities and they go: Who am I? and the other guy says you're so-and-so and poses a situation and asks for how they should act.

Well, perhaps if you printed up some masks for important NPCs and put them on a stick (printed on both sides) then you could literally hide behind the mask as you deliver the lines, and since you're looking at the picture of the NPC, too, perhaps that will help you focus on the person you're supposed to be portraying.

Maybe it's goofy, maybe it'll work. You'll never know if you never try...

[Silus]

Not sure if it'll help you with your problem....

Recently, I've been playing a oWoD game, and my character happens to be Russian. So, to differentiate between when I am talking and when the character is talking, I switch to a Russian accent. Doing so helps not only with the IC/OOC differentiation, but helps me stay in character.

So, I suppose, try accents and/or different voices for the characters? I dunno...

[El Dorado]

Write out your monologue. Memorize it if possible. If memorizing isn't feasible, have the script on hand and read it verbatim. Emotions are easier to convey when you working from a script.

As others have mentioned, figure out one or two details about the character and emphasize them. Does he avoid eye contact? Is she loud and boisterous? Is he verbose?

Something else that's helpful: Figure out how you want the PCs to react to the character. Do you want them to be suspicious? If so, be twitchy and avoid eye contact. Do you want them to groan in annoyance whenever you show up? Pick a loud and annoying voice and run with it.

Most important tip: Don't stress.