There are a lot of different ways to approach roleplaying in Dungeons & Dragons, but I have found the best method to keep my players immersed in their characters, and it is not 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 of DnDbut may not understand roleplaying.
The 2024 Dungeons & Dragons Player’s Handbook includes 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 conversation and roll a check. Speaking in-character is a pivotal part of the tabletop RPG experience, and roleplay-focused groups broadly agree on this. The best 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 are cliches new DnD players should avoid, but one of the common “new player mistakes” is failing 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 of DnD, but it is still a roleplaying game, and it is roleplay that sets it apart from truly dedicated miniatures games, like Warhammer, or many video games. All DMs 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 to avoid common new DnD player mistakes, and pushing players to speak in-character helps avoid 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 having NPCs ask player characters opinion questions dealing with societal problems and controversies. The player needs to consider how their character answers, but also what their character really thinks about a particular social issue, compelling roleplay.
This makes in-character dialogue an obvious choice, but I struggled with the best way to approach player descriptions of character actions in the past. The 2024 DnD PHB has ambiguous rules, exhibiting flawed game design, but it also made the wrong call on its depiction of character action descriptions in its examples. In the combat section, the PHB examples 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 are counterproductive 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, they may feel the goal is for the players to become immersed in the game world, but for true roleplaying, the players 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 are embodying a fictional character. The players are not the heroes in DnD, the player characters are – a noteworthy distinction.
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There are tabletop RPGs ideal for new players, with simpler systems and tighter premises. Players still may not grasp the fundamental distinction that they are portraying a different person, and that they are to view the world through that character’s perspective, not their own. Using first-person action descriptions, such as, “I search for traps,” may feel natural, or even superficially 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 often helps 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 a fine exercise for developing players and DMs, but players being immersed in the world is not the goal. Immersion is enjoyable, certainly, but roleplaying is about the player being immersed in a fictional character that 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 prefer players to become lost in a character that exists within my fictional world. The Fallout tabletop RPG offers players freedom beyond any video game, but if players approach it simply as they would a video game, they miss the chance to roleplay a character who has lived in that post-apocalyptic landscape their entire life. Even at a purely functional level, third-person action descriptions are far 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 approach can make these distinctions less clear at the table, and it certainly makes it harder to clarify out-of-character questions as distinct 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 the author knows them better than they know themselves.
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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 & Dragons can offer as much immersive roleplaying as any tabletop RPG, but beginners may be seeking world immersion, while advanced players are ready to graduate to character immersion.
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Dungeons & Dragons
- Created by
- E. Gary Gygax , Dave Arneson , Jonathan Goldstein , John Francis Daley
Summary
The Dungeons & Dragons franchise is a fantasy adventure series based on the iconic tabletop role-playing game. The franchise includes both live-action and animated adaptations, with the most notable being the recent film Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023), which brought the fantasy world of D&D to a broader audience with its blend of humor, action, and classic D&D elements. The franchise explores themes of heroism, friendship, and the unpredictable nature of adventuring in a magical world filled with dragons, wizards, and mythical creatures.
