Don't Be Afraid To Roleplay

Roleplaying at the table is my favorite part of the game, hands down. But it wasn’t always that way. When I first started out, I was a bumbling mess when it came to my turn to speak. I froze constantly, I wouldn’t know what my character would say, and when I did speak it was from my own mind and not my character’s. It was rough. I was rough.

But I got better, because I didn’t let the knowledge that I sucked keep me from continuing. I knew, as with everything, I would develop this skill with practice and time. Now, after a few years of playing in various games and as different characters, I absolutely love roleplaying. And if I can get over my fear of roleplaying, so can you.

I want to start off by saying I understand. I understand that you think you’re going to mess something up, or the people at your table are going to laugh at you for being ridiculous. I mean, who in their right mind would act out a scene pretending to be someone completely separate from who they really are? Sit on that question for a brief moment, and you come to realize that everyone does that. Just not in the context of a game, but in almost every aspect of their lives. At work, they pretend to be professional and orderly. At home, they pretend to be compassionate and loving. The only difference between the real world and the tabletop, you’re doing it for fun at the table.

Of course, the fact we all know we’re playing at the tabletop may not be enough for you to get over that anxiety welling in the pit of your stomach. I have some tips for you that may help, and some mindset adjustments you can make. Both of these combined will help you come to love roleplaying just as much as I do. That’s the hope, anyway.

The first thing to remember is that starting off, you’re going to be bad at it. Just like with anything else, it takes time and practice to get good at roleplaying. I know I was absolutely awful at it when I first started playing Dungeons and Dragons in High School. I didn’t understand the acting part, I didn’t realize characters needed backstories and personalities of their own (If I only had Beyond The Statblock all those years ago) and I couldn’t get out of my own head over it. But, over the years and after finding a group of players who also love roleplaying, I was able to break out of my bad habits and mental prison, and really enjoy the game tremendously more. All it takes is time, and you have nothing but that with TTRPGs. Just let your party know you’re new, and not quite comfortable roleplaying yet.

There’s also a concept in roleplay that may be more your speed if you’re just starting out. It’s the difference between first-person and third-person. The difference is easy, and you can probably already intuit it yourself. First person, you are your character. You speak like the character, you emote like the character, you say “I do” and “I say”. You act. Third-person, on the other hand, you are the narrator. You are not your character, so you use third-person pronouns like “He does” or “She says”. This creates a barrier between you and your character’s antics, so if you happen to get into a ridiculous situation you don’t get nearly so embarrassed by it. It’s a good toe-dip into roleplaying without cannonballing straight into the deep end and getting stuck well out of your comfort zone.

The last bit of advice I’ll share is actually a complete 180 on the concepts I touched on above. To get over your fear of roleplaying, try being as ridiculous and invested as possible. Play that grandiose Paladin who never shuts up about his Oaths. Play the bard who wants to sleep with everything that has a heartbeat. Be silly, don’t take yourself seriously at all, and have fun. You’ll find that being so out-there and unlike your real self, that it is actually easy to distance your self-consciousness from your roleplaying. Which is the purpose of this newsletter. Just don’t be so overbearing that you take away the spotlight from the other players at the table. It’s a collaborative effort, after all.

In conclusion, just have fun. That sounds like a cop-out answer to the question of not being anxious to roleplay, but it really is the best way to not be anxious. Remember that this is a game, and you’re surrounded by friends. Who may or may not be equally as anxious as you if they are also new. Go out there and let your inner adventurer out, friend.

Kozi