Taking 20 Podcast - Ep 167 - Immersive Roleplaying

Episode Date: March 19, 2023

This week's topic comes courtesy of listener Daniel Mehefko who wanted me to discuss immersive roleplaying.  What is immersive roleplaying?  How can players and DMs encourage their fellow players to engage in more immersive roleplay?  Tune in and find out.   #dnd #pathfinder #opendnd #roleplay #roleplaying   Resources: Venture Forth - 10 Rules to Improve Immersion - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cw3aJz5lGO0 Grog and Scanlan go hat shopping https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvSGvbEf1HI

This week on the Taking 20 Podcast. You don't have to have a theater background or have taken an improv class or have a podcast, a funny voice. You don't have to dress the part or anything else. Want to immerse yourself and get into character? Make the choice to do so and do it. Whoever you are, wherever you are, however you're listening, thank you for downloading the Taking 20 podcast, episode 167, all about immersive role-playing.

I want to thank this week's sponsor, lawyers. You know, lawyers get a bad rap. Others may not like those who practice law, but I think they're always appealing. If you like this podcast, please like, rate, and subscribe to it wherever you found it. Those actions don't take a long time, but they do help increase the visibility of the podcast, so if you would take a few minutes, I would greatly appreciate it. Let's start with the empty air at the beginning of last week's episode. Honestly, it was supposed to be a fairly bad joke, but it kind of fell flat. These things happen. I mean, I've put out about 65 hours of content at this point, I've put out about 65 hours of

content at this point, and I throw out a whole bunch of jokes, and sometimes something lands, and sometimes it doesn't. It sounds better in my head than the actual execution was. So, please accept my apology for last week's 15 seconds of dead air at the beginning of the episode. I have a lot to be thankful for today. Before I get started with the episode proper, I want to thank three very generous sponsors, Tim McKenzie, Michael Mills, and Brenton Galbraith. They each made three of the largest donations to the podcast I have ever had, $100, $50, and $25 respectively. Thank you all so very much. Your generous donations have allowed me to pay for my costs throughout the year,

as well as possibly improve my audio processing software with a new plugin. Hopefully over the next few weeks, the sound will improve even more compared to what you're hearing now. I would also like to thank Daniel Mahefko, who reached out to me on social media and asked about immersive role-playing. Thank you so much for the topic idea, Daniel, and I hope this episode lives up to your expectations. If, like Daniel, you have a topic idea for an episode or a question for me, please feel free to reach out to me on social

media or via email, feedback at taking20podcast.com. I would love to hear from you. To answer Daniel's questions about immersive role-playing, we have to define what immersive role-playing is. Terminology reminder. Player versus character. The player is the person sitting at your gaming table, whereas the character is the creature in your world who has stats on a piece of paper or within your character builder used by the player at the table. Or as I've said it before, if you hit a character with a hammer, it does 1d6 points of bludgeoning damage. If you hit a player with a hammer, you go to jail for assault with a deadly weapon. It's important you keep these terms separate in your mind when we're talking about player immersion. Immersive role playing is when the player is able to empathize and respond to the events of your game world and

story while thinking like the character would instead of a player at the table. The player responds from the perspective of Griffith the elf, who's deciding whether or not to steal that loaf of bread to feed his family, not as Carson, your co-worker who really needs to not eat so much garlic before coming to gaming night. When the players immerse themselves in the game, they really get into their characters and their story. They want to stop the big bad's plans in order to make the world a better place, save innocents who would otherwise come to harm, succeed in spite of their characters' humble beginnings. They don't look at story beats as more XP, but as opportunities for their characters to

survive or even thrive in spite of all the odds stacked against them. Players immersed in the game buy into the world their characters occupy. They treat the joys, the pains, the successes, and failures as if they were real. They receive information as their character would, and they react to them as their character would, and they plan their next actions as their character, not as the player. There are a ton of examples of immersive role-playing, to a greater or lesser extent, in the various live play, YouTube channels, Twitch streams, and podcasts that are out there, but I want to highlight just three popular media examples of immersive role-playing that I want to call your attention to.

Of course, one of the earliest best examples of immersive role-playing in storytelling? Critical Role. Matt Mercer and crew do a great job of staying in character for the dramatic moments and thinking and reacting like their characters would, even if the players would know differently. I know the episodes of Critical Role are very long, but if you haven't watched or listened to them yet, go check out a highlights episode at least. There's a damn good reason they are as popular as they are. The next great example of immersive role-playing is the podcast Ventureforth. I was fortunate enough to interview Shana Lachlan from the Ventureforth podcast back in episode 113, which was... damn, a year ago. I need to talk to them again.

They do a superb job of staying in the narrative and committing to role-playing their characters. I will unabashedly admit that I am jealous of their talent and the great team that they've put together. By the way, they made a video with tips on improving immersion and roleplay about a month ago. I'll include a link in the resources section for the episode and on a card if you're watching on YouTube. If you're at all interested in this topic, please go give that video a watch. It expands on some points that I include, and the entire cast—Ethan, Shane, Rebecca, Russell, and Cameron—are amazingly talented and masters of immersive roleplaying. That podcast does not get the love it deserves, and I would encourage you to add it to your weekly rotation.

Finally, the Glass Cannon podcast. you to add it to your weekly rotation. Finally, the Glass Cannon podcast. They roleplay to a lesser extent than the other two, but I'm big on humor at the table and Glass Cannon has that in spades. They play in character sometimes, but those in-character moments, especially by Skid Marr, who I'm going to call out as one of the best roleplayers I've ever heard, their commitment to the moment, commitment to a joke, and their periodic role playing truly are A-level moments of the show. But suppose you're a player or you're a GM and you want to foster more immersion around your table. How do you do it? Let's start with the beginning. Do you have to run a game that rewards immersive gameplay and has players speaking as their characters a lot. No. Hell no.

I've played in a few roleplay-heavy campaigns, and they are fun, but they're definitely not for everybody. I've played some kick-ass fun games where actions are declared like, I leap the overturned chair and bring my glass stein down on the half-orc's head, followed by the DM saying, ooh, good one. You make a solid connection and he recoils from the blow. But I've also played games that sound like, I rolled a hit the half-orc with my Stein as an improvised weapon. 21. That's a hit. Okay, roll me d6 plus your strength mod for damage. Five, five points of damage. Bilby, it's your turn. Truth be told, I've played in more games that sound like the latter than the former,

with role-playing only coming out every now and then. If you're not concerned about sprinkling in more immersive role-playing and want to stay out of character at your table, go with the gods, my friends. No judgment here. Play the game that you enjoy and run the game that you want to run. But if you do want to sprinkle just a little role-play in your game, what skills do you need? Honestly, just a willingness to do so.

You don't have to have a theater background or have taken an improv class or have a podcast, a funny voice. You don't have to dress the part or anything else. Want to immerse yourself and get into character? Make the choice to do so and do it. That's all you really need. Can the other things help? Sure. Improvisation helps in the moment. Having acted before helps players get into the heads of characters,

and not worry if they're doing things right, just be able to react as the character. Voices and dressing as the character can help players get into that character's headspace, but none of that is absolutely necessary. In order to roleplay your characters easier, the one piece of advice I would say is know your character. That means knowing your character's abilities and choices made to build the character. Knowing your character will make it easier for you to roleplay as that character. Being familiar with the character's backstory will ground you in roleplaying choices. Without knowing your character

and knowing your backstory, your character is a tree without root and you'll fall over when the wind blows. Importantly, immersive role-playing doesn't have to mean 100% of the time in character. You don't need to jump in with both feet and go 100% role-play all the time immediately, otherwise it's a complete failure. You can introduce yourself to it slowly, to the occasional scene, maybe just to the level where you feel comfortable, and then ease into it, grow into it, flex it like a muscle and get stronger. If you do want to immerse yourself more in the games, there are some things that players in the GM can do to facilitate that. So, let's start with my beloved players out there. Players, be open to role-playing. Be willing to speak in character, even if you're not comfortable doing it.

You don't have to develop an accent. You don't have to develop a complex pattern of speech vastly different from your own. Just speak in your voice as your character would in the moment. I know it's scary. It is scary to act like someone else, and I'm sure there are some of my friends who are theater and improv veterans who don't feel this way, but for the vast majority of players around a table, it feels like a risk when you respond in character as someone else besides you with a different perspective. You are taking a chance when you do it, and it can be scary. Way back in episodes 27, 139, 161, and probably a dozen other times, there's a phrase that I have used about being scared to act. Fuck your fear. That doesn't mean that you don't have the fear. It means you do it anyway and make it your own and use the adrenaline created by that fear to inject energy

into a character that you want to role play. Could it fall flat? Absolutely. Your acting may not be very good, but you know what? Who gives a shit? The first step in being good at something is sucking at it. Chances are you're among friends. Start small. Throw out an in-character sentence or two every now and then. Encourage the others to do the same. Which brings me to my second tip. Support everyone role-playing by giving them a safe place to play in character. Let's say you have very little interest in speaking in character, but the person sitting next to you wants to try it more. Okay, don't roll your eyes or make fun of them for doing it. This is how they want to have fun playing the game. And their speaking in character is, to use the local vernacular,

no skin off your nose. So let them do it. Three, if you're going to get into character, get into it and stay in it as long as you're comfortable. Try to imagine yourself as the character you're playing and make decisions based on what they would do in that situation, based on what they know to be true, not necessarily the way you would react or what you know to be true. This does bring us to two key facets of role-playing that I'd want to discuss.

Chances are, your character would decide to do different things in a situation than you would. Don't think in that moment, what would I do in this situation? Instead, what would Leona Kelly, impulsive sorceress prodigy, do right now? How would Darcy Sanchez, rogue, horribly maimed by an acid trap, react to these gouts of caustic goo shooting out at irregular intervals in the hallway? Think about how your character would react in that situation and roleplay it accordingly. For example, I'm currently roleplaying a character who is a mummy. In game terms, he has a weakness to fire and takes additional damage when he is on fire.

I'm roleplaying him as being completely phobic of fire in nearly any form and will hide if creatures or spellcasters we're fighting use fire against us. Oh, they got fire? You bring your non-flammable ass to me if you want healing. Now, fuck that. This desiccated husk is not burning to death to save you. The other players know I'm roleplaying him that way, and I think they're having fun with it, because I know I am. Another facet of getting into character is to do everything in your power to separate what you know as a player from what your character knows. I know it's difficult.

You as a player have fought hundreds of trolls in your playing lifetime and you know the way you stop their regeneration is by using fire or acid. You know it. It's imprinted on your player brain. But does that fighter that you're roleplaying know that? Does your arrow-slinging ranger know that? If they fail their role to know before a fight starts, and suddenly, with no explanation, the ranger starts lighting arrows on fire,

as a DM, I'm going to ask you from behind the screen, why are you doing that? And if we're roleplaying, you better have a damn good reason for it. Failure to separate this knowledge is called metagaming, and I generally discourage metagaming at my table at all times. In roleplay moments or roleplay-heavy campaigns, I absolutely forbid metagame knowledge and will back the scene up to correct you on it. Fourth tip.

For more immersive roleplaying, use descriptive language and describe the things as your character would Paint a picture with your words to help the other players see the scene as you do I toss the rune for valuables and bang on the walls for hollow spots is much better than I roll perception on the room What do I see? By being verbose in your descriptions of your actions in the room itself, it helps other players buy into role-playing moments as well. Fifth tip. Try interacting with NPCs completely in character. Staying in character during these interactions encourages other players to do the same.

You're leading by example. For a great example of this, in episode 57 of the first season of Critical Role, Grog the Barbarian, with an intelligence of 6, by the way, and Scanlan the Charming Bard go hat shopping. Matt Mercer easily could have said, yeah, you find a couple of hats to keep the game moving. But in another display of Matt Mercer's genius, he gave the shopkeeper a name, Deidre, and a voice and a personality, encouraging Travis Willingham, who played Grog, and Sam Regal, who played Scanlan, to remain in character during the exchange, and it is a beautiful scene. It includes asking the players to describe the hats that their characters are looking for. Grog finds a hat with a sharpened singular horn on it and pays an exorbitant sum for that hat

that he wants. The other party members react in character when he returns with his shiny new hat. Interacting with NPCs in character helps keep others in character as well and can help keep everyone immersed in the roleplay. Sixth tip. When you are roleplaying, take risks. Make bold decisions even if they aren't optimal, quote unquote. This can create memorable moments and add to the immersion of the game. One of my favorite gaming shirts sums this up nicely. Bad roles make for great games. Seventh tip. Pay attention to detail.

The details of the game world and details of the actions of your fellow players will help you react in a more immersive and realistic way. Eighth tip. Keep player interactions separate from character interactions. Don't tell us what your character is feeling in the third person. Tell us in the first person. I really miss Scruffles the cat. Goes a lot further in role-playing than Michaela feels sad that her bounded animal has died.

Now, DMs, you've got a lot of work to do too if you really want to encourage roleplaying. Talk to your players about roleplaying. God, the way that's phrased, it sounds like a medical advertisement or a public service announcement ad. Do you or someone you know sometimes talk in a strange voice, toss polyhedral

plastic and metal pieces on the table, and cuss at them for coming up with the wrong number? Roleplaying may be right for you. Talk to your doctor about roleplay. Sorry, um, I went somewhere there. DMs, if you want to encourage roleplaying, one, ask your players if that would be something that they would enjoy. The last thing you want to do is drag players into a roleplay heavy game when they just wanted to roll dice, eat pizza, and make bad jokes. If they're interested, mention that's what you'd like and that you're going to encourage roleplaying in the future, but only to the level that they're comfortable.

Two, DMs. You yourself have to buy into roleplaying as well. It's time to drag out voices for that notable NPC. Change your posture, your mannerisms, your face. See what kind of character emerges with your chin up, or right shoulder hanging useless by your side, or talking like you have gravel in your throat. It doesn't have to be every NPC, but the ones that might come back often, yeah, flex those roleplaying muscles a bit, even if they're not defined that well yet. off and, yeah, flex those role-playing muscles a bit, even if they're not defined that well yet. 3. Encourage and praise your players who role-play, even if it's just for a short time.

Reward the actions and attitude that you want to see around your table. 4. When describing a scene, remember the characters have at least five senses. Speak to more than just one of them to paint a vivid picture of the game world. There's a world of roleplay difference between you open the mausoleum door and it takes some effort but the cold mausoleum door swings open to the sound of stone scraping on stone and a wave of mold and rot assaults your nostrils. The second will do a better job of encouraging buy-in from the players and make it easier for them to immerse themselves in the moment. Five, last tip for DMs, use props. There are a lot of different ones that you can use. Maps,

miniatures, music and sound effects, setting the sound right in a scene can really help your players get into the moment to immerse themselves in your world. It helps bring the game world to life no matter what kind of props that you use. If you have a very special sword that you want to lay out on the table and say, this is Lightbringer,

the sword that you just found in the Dragon Horde. Watch the players light up as they buy into the world. They now have a visual reference for what Lightbringer looks like. I'm huge on music and props to help set the mood. If you have the time ahead of time, create playlists for like, I've got ones for big battles and scary dungeons and jovial taverns and wandering in the forest. Play them at a low level in the background, and I bet you'd be surprised how easily players buy into the game world and maybe,

just maybe, start roleplaying their characters just a little more. Tables don't have to roleplay at all to have a good time. Sure, Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, Blades in the Dark are called roleplaying games, but playing the role of your character is not required. A lot of DMs and players aren't comfortable with it. But if you do want to try it, if you do want to introduce a little role-playing to your table, be open to role-playing for yourself and others. Be supportive and forgiving of the role-playing performance by yourself and the people around the table. Start slowly and in small doses, maybe interacting with NPCs or between characters and in-character vignettes. Base your role-play on the character's capabilities, personality, and backstory,

and maybe use a range of sound or props when needed to set the mood, and I bet you, your players, and your DMs will have fun doing it. Thank you again, Daniel, for the topic idea. Getting into roleplaying really is a marathon, not a sprint, and hopefully this gave you some ideas on how to increase immersion in your game. If you do like the podcast, please consider liking, rating, and reviewing it wherever you found it. Tune in next week, by the way, when I'm going to talk about a topic suggested by Tim, again, one of the generous donors recently to the podcast. I'm going to go back to the monster series, which I have left idle for too long,

and I'm going to talk about one of my favorite creatures, hags. Before I go, though, I want to thank our sponsor, Lawyers. Lawyers tend not to buy beer by the keg. They generally prefer cases. This has been episode 167, all about immersive role-playing. My name is Jeremy Shelley, and I hope that your next game is your best game. The Taking 20 Podcast is a Publishing Cube Media Production. Copyright 2023. References to game system content are copyrighted by their respective publishers.