In this post I touched on the roles of the gamemaster (also known as the DM) in a roleplaying game (RPG). That only scratched the surface, so in this post and this post we dug a little deeper. Today we’re going to grab our shovels again and pick up where we left off. This time we’re going to look at the role of actor.

If you’d like to see all the posts in this series, simply click on the “GM Roles” tag at the bottom of the page.

At some point I need to talk about the screen itself.

So many roles to play!

All of the inhabitants of the fictional world where the game is set can be placed into one of two groups. They’re either characters controlled by the players (PC’s), or they’re not (NPC’s). Generally there’s about six players, and usually each player controls one PC. That leaves the entire remaining population of the world, from kings to beggars to slavering monsters. Would you like to guess who plays the roles of all those creatures? If you guessed “the DM” you win!**

Picture from commons.wikimedia.org. No attribution information available.

Evening (or afternoon, or morning) at the Improv

You won’t have any information about how to play most of these characters, of course. Published adventures and the game rules about monsters typically have plenty of information about a creature’s combat capabilities, and perhaps some information about their motivations, but not much on their style of speech, or whether they talk with their hands/claws/tentacles.

Often, there’s a lot of creatures that don’t even get that much attention. The adventure may say that the local stable has two stableboys, but that’s all it says.

The DM gets to make up all the missing details. In fact, they have to. Right now. It’s very similar to improvisational theater. You have a character. You know what kind of creature it is, so you might know some general proclivities. You know what they are generally (king, beggar, etc.). Sometimes you know their name, but sometimes you have to make that up too. From there, you quickly choose some traits and dive into the role.

It’s a variety show!

The trick here is to make each character a little different from the last. You can mix things up a lot vocally. If the DM is good at accents that can be fun, but anyone can vary their speech patterns in some way. One character may pause. between. every. word. like. William. Shatner. Another might jest sound a leetle lahk a hillbilly.

You can vary vocabulary choices based on profession. A wizard and a dock worker might well use different words to describe the same event. Some characters have a greater proclivity for cursing than others. If you can think of one, adding a catchphrase like “oh, my stars!” makes the character noticeably different from the other characters, and makes them more memorable.

How do you come up with all that?

Practice certainly helps. But there’s a couple ways to jump start your progress.

Start with someone you know

You don’t have to invent a whole personality from scratch. Pick someone you know pretty well, and imitate them. Say things in the same way they would. Use the same expressions (or a reasonable adaptation for the setting) that they would. It’s kind of fun when some of the players know the person you’re imitating, and figure it out. But try not to pick anyone who’s actually present.

Going with a famous personality works too. It doesn’t matter if any of the other people at the table even know who the person is, as long as the DM has a clear idea of how the person acts and talks.

Characters from books or movies could be another source of inspiration. Again, it doesn’t matter if anyone else can figure out who you’re trying to mimic. The point is to give the DM a clear guidepost on how to approach the role.

Leave it to Fate

A lot of games come with some charts to randomly determine personality traits, patterns of speech, and so forth. These are a fantastic resource when you’re coming up with a bit player on the spur of the moment. Even if you don’t want to roll dice to determine their traits, the chart makes a nice menu to choose from.

Not every game system includes such a chart. Luckily, you could use just about any chart from any game in just about any other game. Settings, technology, and magic may vary wildly from game to game, but humans remain pretty much the same.

Why is acting important?

The point of playing an RPG is to transport your imagination to another place, just as you would when you read a book. The story is of your own group’s making, you have a direct role in determining its direction, and the medium is verbal rather than written, but the point remains the same: immersing yourself in a setting and its inhabitants, and finding out what has happened, and what happens next.

It’s possible to play without acting. I’ve heard exchanges like this:

Player: "We go into the bar and ask the bartender for rumors about the old mansion."

DM: "OK.  He seems reluctant.  Give me a Diplomacy check."

Player: "Rolled fifteen, twenty-two with modifiers"

DM: OK. here's a list of the rumors <hands list to player>

But contrast it to this.

Player: I say, barkeep, ales for my companions and I, and a moment of your time, if you will.

DM (as barkeep): What can I do for ye, gov'ner?

Player: Have you heard any stories about the old mansion?

DM (as barkeep): I've heard plenty.  And I'm keeping them to myself.  A month ago three lads went up there, and never came back.  I'm not sending more folk off to their deaths.

Player: I understand.  But as you can see, my company numbers seven of the stoutest adventurers in the county.  We have two wizards, and a priestess of Osiris among our number.  We are not prone to rash actions, but someone must investigate what's happening up there, and hopefully bring some closure to the families of those lads.  Come, tell us what you know.

DM (to player): Give me a diplomacy check

Player (to DM): Rolled a 15, 22 with modifiers.  

DM (to player): I gave you a bonus from the speech too.  You make it easily.

DM (as barkeep): <runs hands through hair> Mebbe you're right.  Somebody's gotta do something.  Alright.  The first thing you gotta know is...

Which story do you want to hear?

See you next week!

That’s all for today. Next week we’ll examine the role of narrator. See you then!

**Actually winnings consist of a warm feeling of satisfaction deep in your soul. Not redeemable for monetary value. Void where prohibited, licensed or taxed.