PDA

View Full Version : Shy DM....?!?



Dragor
2007-06-12, 03:55 PM
Seriously, this is my condition. I'm like this as a player too. Although I love roleplay, and fluff, and getting my point through of what I envisaged to the players, I'm shy. :smallredface: Yes, shy like that. I actually start to breathe heavily, and 'erm' quite a lot when I'm trying to be in character, or be an NPC. It's really quite annoying.

Why's this happening? What's wrong with me? :smalltongue: Did it ever happen to you...?

It DOES sound silly, doesn't it? Posting about having trouble roleplaying in a D&D forum. Tsch. :smallwink:

criticalstriker
2007-06-12, 04:21 PM
Being shy isn't that big of a deal. When I'm in a group thats new to me, I pretty much only speak when spoken to, and tend to stumble.

How well do you know your group? That might be the problem, the more time you spend around them the less likely you are to be timid around them(at least from my experiences).

Tobrian
2007-06-12, 05:26 PM
My advice:

When acting as gamemaster, take a few minutes prior to the game night and try to think about what all major NPCs in your game would have to say when quizzed about their job, the latest monster incursion in town, or whatever the players might find interesting. That way you won't haw and hem around looking for words when the players actually do bring those points up.

Try to imagine you're that NPC, and write down down a few manierisms or stock phrases beforehand. Practice giving speeches in your head to those impertinent heroes. :smallwink: You can even do that in the shower or while driving/bicycling to work.

Write down longer speeches and read them to the players. It's not perfect but better than stumbling in thew middle of the big villain speech.

Remember that even NPCs are people and can be at a lack for words from time to time. Just take your time. Make a great show out of pondering the players' questions. Make a pause, formulate the next sentence in your head, and then talk, instead of pausing ten times in the middle of the sentence, and poeple will have the impression that you've thought really long and hard about the topic. No-one rushes you.

Or take a page out of the Shatner school of acting :smallwink: and actually make the bug a feature: the NPC in question never talks in complete sentences because his mind is already on other things.

do this only once: Have the players meet a race of creatures (or a group of monks sworn to silence, or a secret crazy cult of The Silent God) who never talk but only use interpretive dance, changing colours or hand gestures. Assuming you don't actually know real Sign Language, invent something, write down some cue cards for yourself, and let the players figure out what the NPCs are "saying".

The alternative would be only having monsters who never talk but only grunt before they attack. But I think you don't want that.

If you can't immediately think of a good reply to some weird question the player directed at your NPC, just fire back some questions in return! Then it'll be his turn to stumble, and you've won a few more moments to come up with something.

When you're playing, immerse yourself in your character. You don't have to go all the way to method acting. Just imagine that you're not yourself but the swashbuckling pirate Roberto Sable, and Roberto bows to no man!

Alternatively, play a lot of absentminded professors/wizards. Or a stuttering bard. Playing a mute character is not much help because you still have to communicate his actions to the gamemaster and the rest of the group... you may end up having to talk more than before.

Last but not least, take an acting or public speaking course if it really annoys you. Downside of it is, it costs money.

Icewalker
2007-06-12, 05:32 PM
Nothin wrong with it. I have the exact same issue, it's really annoying. (This should be in the general gaming section btw. A mod will probably move it.)

I also learned that just thinking about it before-hand doesn't solve the problem. You still lose everything with the phrasing of it, and it just goes downhill from there :smallfrown: . I am no longer going to use story-defining monologues unless I actually write them down in advance.

I'd say thats the best way to do it. Write them down before, then just read em off.

Tobrian
2007-06-12, 05:40 PM
If you have a friend with a really cool voice, and need your villain to make a big speech, write it down and ask said friend to record the whole thing on tape, complete with sound effects! Takes some work, but your players will be impressed when you run the tape.

Don't have the NPCs use first-person speech.

Icewalker
2007-06-12, 05:41 PM
Depends on the NPC I'd say. If they are important, not just throwaway "that blacksmith dude" then yeah, I'd say you should talk for them. Least if you can get good at roleplaying. I suck at it myself, so I don't think I'm gonna do great with conversations with NPCs...

nooblade
2007-06-12, 06:27 PM
Practice makes better!

Thinking of things to say ahead of time might help, but actually saying them, even if nobody's around, or even more so if people who know what you're doing are around, gives another extra edge. And remember that a whole load of people (like me) have similar problems and its perfectly fine.

Don't try accents or anything until you're satisfied with your own speech.

Consider some kind of speech class, but don't take something if you hear really bad things about the instructor or the work for it. Most colleges require an Oral Communications-type of class so speech will help prepare for it if you're really worried.

Morgan_Scott82
2007-06-12, 06:32 PM
Hmm one possiblity is to try play by post gaming. You have the shield of internet annonymity, since no one knows who you really are, and you have the time to think about and compose your comments at your leisure rather than the pressure to think up something great right there in the moment.

I know this really only circumvents the problem rather than offering a solution, but its one thing you might try.

My other piece of advice is just to say, who cares! I know this can be hard but I honestly believe the first step towards outgoing behavior is to say "to the devil with what anyone else thinks, I'm doing it"

When I made that little realization for my self I stopped putting myself under the microscope and didn't really think about the issue for several years, by the time I remembered my earlier difficuties they were a thing of the past. By not focusing on my troubles and forging ahead anyways I somehow overcame them.

DracoDei
2007-06-12, 07:38 PM
I have a similar problem with pauses, but it isn't shyness. Just wanted to say that my players found my campaign pretty good despite it. Having something worth saying can be more important than the ability to speak smoothly.
BTW does it happen when you are narrating events, describing places, etc, or only when you are giving voice to NPCs?