There are a lot of different ways to approach roleplaying inDungeons & Dragons, but I have found the best method tokeep my players immersed in their characters, and it isnot the same approach to keeping players immersed in the game world. For new players and Dungeon Masters, simply wrapping your head around what a tabletop RPG is can be enough of a challenge. As groups advance their skills in the hobby, they run into the choice of how character dialogue and actions are best presented. Players may grasp the fundamentals ofDnDbut may not understand roleplaying.
The2024Dungeons & Dragons Player’s Handbookincludes more examples than its 2014 predecessor, illustrating how the game’s mechanics translate into the experience of a tabletop RPG session. Some of these examples show players speaking as their characters, delivering their dialogue verbatim as the character does.This is far preferrable over an approach where players simply summarize the character’s intent in a conversationand roll a check. Speaking in-character is apivotal part of the tabletop RPG experience, and roleplay-focused groups broadly agree on this. Thebest way to describe character actions is a contested topic, however, among RP fans.
D&D Is A Role-Playing Game, So RP Matters
A DM Should Always Push Players To Improve Their Roleplaying
There arecliches newDnDplayers should avoid, but one of the common “new player mistakes” isfailing to make a character that is distinct from themselves. Some DMs are fine with this, or even tolerate players who do not engage with roleplaying at all, and simply approach the game as a tactical miniatures game. Tactical combat is absolutely the central pillar ofDnD, but it is still a roleplaying game, and it is roleplay that sets it apart from truly dedicated miniatures games, likeWarhammer, or many video games. AllDMs should push their players to improve as role-players.
Even at a purely functional level, third-person action descriptions are far more pragmatic for the gaming table.
There are ways toavoid common newDnDplayer mistakes, and pushing players to speak in-character helpsavoid the formation of bad habits where players avoid in-character dialogue. Even if someone is uncomfortable with taking on that role, or lacks skill with extemporaneous dialogue, that is a core part of the tabletop RPG experience. Certain approaches can help newer players overcome their reservations, like havingNPCs ask player characters opinion questionsdealing with societal problems and controversies. The player needs to consider how their character answers, but alsowhat their character really thinks about a particular social issue, compelling roleplay.
This makes in-character dialogue an obvious choice, butI struggled with the best way to approach player descriptions of character actionsin the past. The2024DnD PHBhas ambiguous rules, exhibiting flawed game design, but it alsomade the wrong call on its depiction of character action descriptionsin its examples. In the combat section, thePHBexamples show players using first-person descriptions of character actions, such as, “I drop my sword and pull out my warhammer.” For players developing roleplay skills, first-person descriptions may feel like the right approach, but they arecounterproductive if roleplaying is the goal.
D&D Players Aren’t The Heroes, Their Characters Are
Being Immersed In The World Is A Stepping Stone To Character Immersion
For new players and developing DMs, theymay feel the goal is for the players to become immersed in the game world, but for true roleplaying, theplayers should instead be immersed in their characters. The characters exist in the game world, so world immersion is certainly part of the equation, but unless the game involves a strange Isekai premise, players should not feel that they are literally in the game’s fantasy world. They are not portraying themselves; they areembodying a fictional character. The players are not the heroes inDnD, the player characters are - a noteworthy distinction.
One Key Change In D&D 2024 Might Change Magic Items
2014 D&D’s Dungeon Master’s Guide made mistakes with magic items. The 2024 revision needs to return to the notion that players freely buy magic items.
There aretabletop RPGs ideal for new players, with simpler systems and tighter premises. Players still may not grasp the fundamental distinction thatthey are portraying a different person, and that they are to view the worldthrough that character’s perspective, not their own. Using first-person action descriptions, such as, “I search for traps,” may feel natural, or evensuperficially appear to reflect good roleplaying, but it is quite the opposite. If Gary is playing a rogue named Gord, Gord is searching for traps, and Gary is roleplaying as Gord.Saying a character’s name oftenhelps reinforce that separate identity.
Many players switch between first-person and third-person with action descriptions, which is largely fine, but dialogue should always be spoken in-character, verbatim, when possible.
A fully first-person approach is excellent if the goal is simply to get the players immersed in the game world. That is afine exercise for developing players and DMs, but players being immersed in the world is not the goal. Immersion is enjoyable, certainly, butroleplaying is about the player being immersed in a fictional characterthat exists within a fictional world, not for the player themselves to be immersed in that world. Characters have different outlooks, morals, and priorities than the players who portray them. I do not want my players to become lost in my fictional world.
Third Person D&D Character Actions Offer Ideal Benefits
Verbatim Extemporaneous Dialogue & Third-Person Action Descriptions Are Best
Instead, I preferplayers to become lost in a character that exists within my fictional world. TheFallouttabletop RPG offers players freedombeyond any video game, but if players approach it simply as they would a video game, theymiss the chance to roleplay a character who has lived in that post-apocalyptic landscapetheir entire life. Even at a purely functional level, third-person action descriptions arefar more pragmatic for the gaming table. It offers clearer distinctions of when a player is speaking with in-character dialogue, describing an in-character action, and when they are simply asking a question out-of-character.
The third-person descriptions let skilled roleplayers highlight their role as the “author” of a character.
If Gary says “Gord picks someone’s pocket,” it is clear that the player is describing a character action. “I pick someone’s pocket” could be mistaken for spoken dialogue by the character Gord. A fully first-person approachcan make these distinctions less clear at the table, and it certainly makes it harder to clarify out-of-character questions asdistinct from those being asked from the character’s perspective. Once groups transition to more advanced roleplaying, they recognize the common thread that well-developed characters in fiction often have “blind spots.” They have many areas where theauthor knows them better than they know themselves.
D&D Ditching Multiple Encounters Per Day Is A Terrible Idea (& I Can Prove It)
The new Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master’s Guide no longer mandates six or more battles per adventuring day. This is a huge mistake, harming balance.
The third-person descriptions let skilled roleplayers highlight their role as the “author” of a character. They can describe things like, “Gord thinks he despises the thieves’ guild for preying on the weak, but this is just a rationalization. Truthfully, he is just envious of the respect they hold while others look down on him, so he says, ‘We have to put a stop to these scum,’ and unsheathes his dagger.”Dungeons & Dragonscan offer as much immersive roleplaying as any tabletop RPG, butbeginners may be seeking world immersion, whileadvanced players are ready to graduate to character immersion.
