Despite the concept being in the name itself, I have somehow neglected to discuss the idea of role-playing in tabletop role-playing games up until this point.  It is the fundamental aspect of what makes tabletop RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons, Pathfinder, or Call of Cthulhu the games they are today.  All the way back in my first blog post, I set the scene with the stereotypical idea of what D&D players are like.  But, as I said several months ago, a group of nerds in costume isn’t what all players are like, and for those that are the kind to dress up, all the more power to them.  The game is what you want it to be and you should make it fun in whatever way you see fit.  But, back to the role-playing.

The whole point of role-playing games is that they give you the freedom to be whomever you like.  A badass orc barbarian? D&D has you covered.  Morally grey detective investigating Lovecraftian horrors?  Call of Cthulhu.  Or maybe you want to play the role of a character similar to Han Solo?  Star Wars: Edge of the Empire.  There are games for every type of genre, meaning that the options for characters you can role-play are endless.  Who they want to be is entirely up to the players.

Vin Diesel playing D&D with the cast of Critical Role. Picture from Geek and Sundry.

For those unfamiliar with role-playing games, the concept can be a bit unusual or confusing.  But, players are essentially taking the role of actor for the character they design.  Different game masters may do things differently, but from my experience, a majority of people follow a similar method of facilitating role-playing in a session.  For the most part, players will talk primarily as their character when the session is in a “scene.”  Example: my group was one time looking for a ship captain in a new town and role-played asking around town for her and talking amongst each other.  The entire time during this scene, talked in character, while I played the roles of all of the non-player characters they interacted with.  This feature of play is what extends the “acting” aspect of role-playing games to not just the players, but also the game master.

While the game master ends up role-playing more than the players, this does not necessarily make them better at it, as there is more to role-playing than just speaking for the character.  Much like actors do with their roles, players become better at role-playing through thinking about what their character would do in a situation and what their motives, values, and experiences are.  All of this is made easier by the portion of character creation that deals specifically with fleshing out backgrounds and the “traits, values, and bonds” section presented in D&D 5e, which gives personality to the characters.  The effort put into creating a character is what gives players an edge over game masters in terms of role-playing.  While a GM may have a couple of reoccurring NPCs, they will generally play as countless people who the group never interacts with again.  Players, on the other hand, are role-playing as the same character, giving them the time to really develop their quirks and traits, making the characters feel more alive and vibrant.  But at the end of the day, both the GM and the players can role-play good characters.

One of the most important things required of the GM and the players is the ability to improvise.  The stories are dynamic.  GMs can plan everything down to even the smallest of details, but players will always find a way to do the unexpected.  As such, everyone will constantly be role-playing situations in which anything can happen.  Unlike acting, there are no scripts.  It’s up to the group to try and guide the situation to fit their goals.

Players and GMs alike are both equally important to role-playing in games like Dungeons and Dragons.  They fulfill different roles, but combine to form the essence of what makes role-playing games so fun: having the chance to act as someone else.

Mike, Will, Lucas, and Dustin playing D&D, from the Netflix Original Stranger Things.