Today’s blog is about Roleplaying, some love it, some are uncomfortable with it, some a bit of both. I will give you some simple Tips on how to be a better roleplayer, this small introduction has gone on long enough so without further ado, hear are the tips.

Keeping Track of Your Items

Remember the items your character is holding. I remember I was playing the game and some of my group would scribble down items on their character sheet and those items would never be seen again. They could have used those items in cool and creative ways, but instead they were lost the moment they were written down. If you know what your items are, keep them in mind, they will come in handy, you may even think of a clever use for some item you would never have thought of, if you hadn’t had it in mind. For example, you could use a length of rope as a lasso or throw an empty potion bottle in the distance to distract a guard or, furl up a scroll, stick it in a flask of oil and light the scroll, creating a timed explosive, none of this would be possible without keeping track of the items your Character has on them. If you actually were the character, you would know what you had on you, so you, as the roleplayer, should know as well.

Speaking In Character

Come up with a voice, it doesn’t have to be amazing, it could be as easy as speaking slower than you would in real life, or slightly quicker, as long as it is clearly your characters voice. Speaking as your character will put you in your characters shoes and will force you to think about what they would say in the scenario they are in. This is essentially what roleplaying is, it’s doing and saying hings as a character. Another positive benefit of putting on a voice is that, other players at the table will always know when you are speaking in character and when you are chatting as yourself.

Creating a Backstory

If you are going to roleplay, you need to know who you are roleplaying as, for this reason when you are creating your character, start with a backstory. Come up with a backstory that is interesting to you, and think, how would this character act today, based on the events of their past.

If you are struggling to think of a backstory, you can try a different route, ask yourself the question, what class would I like to play, would I like to be a raging barbarian or would I like to be a wizard who casts spells. Once you know what class you want to play, the next step is to figure out how your character came to develop their combat or magic abilities, this is one piece of the puzzle that makes up your characters backstory. Then, you could think, what was my character doing before they acquired their abilities, thinking about this, adds another piece to the puzzle, try and think about more events that could have happened in your characters life, keep doing this until the characters history is fleshed out in your mind .

You don’t have to know everything about your characters backstory, but creating key events in their life will help you to understand what drives that character and therefore, how they would react in the world your GM describes.

Focus on One Thing at a Time

If you are new to d&D roleplaying may still feel alien to you. Roleplaying as a character may seem overwhelming. I would suggest that you find a word or an action that your character would perform or say on a regular basis. For example a raging barbarian with a big warhammer could pound his chest before combat, a wizard could shout a specific word when he conjures a fireball or a righteous paladin could say a prayer shortly after waking. Focus on saying or doing that thing during the game, doing this small thing once or multiple times in the game, will help to build your confidence as a roleplayer and get you roleplaying as the character you envisioned.