Roleplaying Guidelines

Show your players this list of tips they can follow to get the most out of your games and help everyone have a great experience.

It helped me to make our games much more fun, and it will help you and your players as well!

Roleplaying Guidelines

Follow these guidelines to get the most out of our games. If you’re new - don’t get too overwhelmed by all these tips. Practice them one at a time - pick one principle you’d like to get better at, and focus on that one thing for the duration of the game.

Play to find out what happens

Do things that result in a good story, optimize for fun instead of “winning”.

Yes, and

Embrace other players’ ideas and build on top of them. Don’t shut down ideas. Actively help others to have cool moments and achieve their goals, create opportunities for the other characters to shine.

Avoid talking over other players and dominating the conversation. Help the quieter players to feel included - ask their opinion or what they would like to do next. If you notice someone being interrupted - ask them what they were about to say.

Actively contribute ideas to the story

Don’t be afraid to add information to the story. Try to describe things vividly, point out interesting details in the world around you. Answer unsolved questions, come up with explanations for things that seems inconsistent, fill in the the missing information, help to create a story that makes sense.

Advance the Plot

Help the GM to move the story along. If you notice that players are stuck talking to each other and going nowhere - make a decision, conclude this scene, and move on to the next one.

Be an active player

Don't wait for others to entertain you, assume the responsibility for making the story more fun for yourself and others.

Positive energy and enthusiasm are always welcome.

Engage Quiet Players

If you notice that someone hasn't spoken up in awhile - start an in-character conversation with them, for example ask them what they think about the current situation.

Stay in character

Try to immerse yourself in playing your character, like an actor. Try playing characters with real feelings and believable motivations. Try to make other people love and care about your character. Think about your character’s distinctive features, quirks, unique speech patterns. Don’t be shy to act it out, do a silly voice.

Develop your Character

What are their values and ideals? What do they fear? What flaws/weaknesses do they need to overcome? What is their backstory, significant events that shaped them? What is their deep dark secret? Do they have a strong opinion about what’s going on? What’s going through their head at this moment?

Goals and Motivations

Figure out what your character wants, form your own goals, pursue them, creatively overcome obstacles on your way. What does your character want from life? What is their current goal? What do they want from this quest?

Explore the Relationships

How does your character feel about the other party members? Establish a connection. How do you know each other? What do you think about them?

Create interesting tension, conflict dynamics between the characters in the party (while still collaborating as players). What does your character need from another PC? Why do they refuse to give it to you? Could your goals be at odds with each other? As the story goes on, how can your characters resolve the conflict?

Allow yourself to feel

This game can get really amazing when you allow yourself to really feel what your character feels in the moment. When you feel safe to express emotions around your friends, and really care about your character and theirs, you will have some amazing and unforgettable moments.