Dungeons & Dragons: Tips for Roleplay

General RP Tips:

-Be vocal! If your DM is anything like mine, if you don't speak up, you'll be ignored and lose out on valuable play time and even loot! Granted, you won't always have an opportunity to jump in, but if your character is boisterous and doesn't mind interjecting, go for it! You might be surprised with the results. Even if you're not sure or are new and don't feel comfortable jumping in right away, it'll come with time. Just keep taking those opportunities to act.

-Know your character! In most cases, when a campaign is first starting out, the only thing you'll know is about your character. Sometimes a DM will give extensive information about the setting with history, geography, and anything else they may think would help getting started in the campaign. Knowing how your character acts with people and situations will help you get into a game where you don't know much else.

-Don't be afraid to improvise! This is a huge one! D&D is a game about going where your gut takes you. There's a good story with this one. One of my group's members had a friend in another campaign. The situation was the party was at a fancy party that didn't allow weapons to be carried into the main hall. Of course, the baddie shows up to crash the party. So the friend grabs some plates and starts throwing them at the enemy. Surprisingly, he rolled extremely well on his attack rolls and defeated the guy just by throwing plates. He even got a free feat: "Weapon Proficiency: Plate-Throwing", as a trophy for his amazing display. Of course that's not an actual rule-bound feat from the books, but that's just another reason why D&D is great. You can improvise and have a lot of fun!

-Explore! Don't neglect that Search skill! If you find a closed door, open it! Take caution though, because it might trigger a trap that will spray acid in your face. Don't be afraid to ask the DM to describe the area you're in. You might find some great items and even plot devices you'd otherwise miss. In a recent session I was involved in, our Rogue explored a bunch of rooms in an abandoned underground temple and found a talking cursed dagger that has proven to be pretty hilarious. If he hadn't looked in that room, he wouldn't have found that dagger.

-Act it Out! Don't be afraid to pantomime your actions. We're not asking you to LARP here of course, but showing what you're doing can help the others in your party understand what you're trying to explain. You certainly don't have to make a production out of it (unless you want to and it's something your character would do), but anything you can add can help round out your roleplaying and even get a few laughs.

Playing As Your Character:

Internally:

You ARE your character. Think how your character thinks. Make a list of traits, flaws, fears, likes, mannerisms, etc that your character would display. You don't have to display all of them openly, however it'll be helpful to keep in mind to aid your roleplay.

Interactions with other characters:
Your character might have a bias towards or against different races, classes, characters of different alignment or religion. Your character might hate Dwarves and spit on them whenever they see one. Your character might be a monotheistic holy Paladin that looks down on and degrades those who worship gods other than their own.

Interactions in different situations:
Your character may be a rich-born aristocrat that's never been outside their estate before, but when you're called to aid in a great endeavor, reluctantly you agree. You hate being dirty, and they expect you to go into this dusty, cobwebbed, corpse-ridden dungeon! How dare they! Then again, your character may be a Druid who loves being in the wild and rolling around in the dirt. Think of how your character would react walking through a swamp, digging through a dungeon, or being at a fancy party. Are they claustrophobic? Hydrophobic? Have a fear of the dark or loud noises? Think about it while you play.

Check out my other articles for more tips and information about playing Dungeons and Dragons.