Getting Players to Roleplay (GM Tips w/ Matt Mercer)

Matthew Mercer teaches us how to get your group to roleplay, because sometimes it doesn't come naturally. Character background stories, engaging conversation comfortably, and leaving your comfort zone are just a few ways to get started.
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[@tiberseptim8434]

Matt: „I’m very lazy“ Also Matt *creates entire worlds and novel worthy stories in his free time“

[@g0oberdm417]

Lazy in the moment, hard working overall. DM'ing is like a fine wine, it can be good at any stage, but is best when it's given as much time as is needed. This is my excuse to say Matt is fine like a wine.

[@jacobhansen8015]

Not to mention a show coming out next (2022?) year entitled "The Legend of Vox Machina" encompassing at least the Briarwood and Conclave arcs

[@PlayerZeroStart]

In my experience, an important part of DMing is pretending you have more planned out and written than you really do. It wouldn't surprise me if Matt hadn't actually come up with much of the world in Critical Role until it was actually relevant within the campaign.

[@mctadn]

@@PlayerZeroStart been DMing for like 15 years myself, you are correct this is how it goes

[@ForTheEraOfLove]

Ah, the masonic with their lies and their dark bargains kzbin.info/www/bejne/j6HSeaSJnM-HoMk (not a corporate symbol✉)

[@Zatsumaster]

What helps me, a shy player, the most is simple: The GM adresses me with the characters name and a "you". "Hilbert, what are you doing now?"

[@clunkclink9484]

Käsefleisch I am a DM and I have found that this is a simple but great way to get my players to RP. My party is new and this works

[@davidmacko6309]

I was scared to roleplay at frist but i gave my character all they love the voice but make fun of it for sounding like yogi XD

[@CartoonyPirate]

I'd rather if my DM mentions me by my character's name I want to be _in_ the game, not make it seem like it ( just my taste )

[@Zatsumaster]

@@CartoonyPirate exactly what im saying

[@aeris5142]

Oh yeah my dm does that too. It does help a good deal

[@emewyn]

In my game, the bard has taught and gotten the rest of the party to play Truth or Dare to fill in the time during long stretches of travel. It's amazing for roleplay and the PCs getting to know one another (the Paladin thinks of it as "team-building exercises"), and as a DM I don't even have to do anything.

[@NoActuallyGo-KCUF-Yourself]

Brilliant.

[@keithroy7884]

I love it!

[@MennoSchotten]

This sounds like it comes straight from "The Gamers: Dorkness Rising". ;-)

[@johnharrison2086]

Gold!

[@JoelFeila]

do that would go so horribly right in my groups

[@wafflethesnek2877]

In my dnd group I have one player who wrote a 12pt font, single spaced, font and back printed, 12 page backstory. The rest just said, oh I’m Hilgore, I’m a dwarf, and I worship a god?

[@jonaswollenweber2042]

Yeah, that happened

[@HenriqueErzinger]

I find it worse to have to much backstory than too little. What I like to do is leave some stuff out on purpose the dm can pick up and fill with anything they want, if they want. i.e: my current character is a half-elf orphan (no idea who are the real parents), raised by a crime lord that went missing years ago (where? don't know. Still alive? no idea).

[@augustinebels]

Henrique Erzinger My character is similar! Half-elf druid orphan, raised by an old couple on the island she crashed on when she was a baby. When she finally went to the mainland she soon found that her father was a crime boss and that her mom was dead. Her father is soon to be gone too....

[@thatangryginger]

Henrique Erzinger I’m new to DnD, but my character’s backstory is similar. I play a Half-Elf Ranger who was exiled from a village of High-Elves that was racist against humans. His very existence disgusted the people of his village, and his mother was executed.

[@oz2037]

I play a not very smart wizard barber who had been exiled from both his kingdom and his barber shop because he got replaced by robots

[@piabernardino]

Matt seems like such a fun and cool person

[@kiwi.fruit.twitch.sensation]

matt here. thanks.

[@lamborghinicentenario2497]

@@kiwi.fruit.twitch.sensation damn, so fun, he eats ass according to this guy

[@foxtrotmetal01]

He is.

[@ashhaynes5619]

And slightly weird. No offence

[@mystrangebrain9240]

That is because is is and he seems really chill

[@lordlemmingman]

I think I've been in college way too long. The second he said a "One page backstory" my first thought was "Single space or double?"

[@t-max2227]

lordlemmingman depends on how much your professor wants to read lol or how much you want to write.

[@juschru9130]

As someone studying to be an English teacher and gearing up to GM for the first time in my life I must say, the line is only that you can tell your players honestly what you think about the nonsensical gibberish they handed in ;)

[@IvarrtheSpineless]

We've all been there.

[@rayanderson5797]

Well then, let's answer that in the same way a college professor likely would: "As much as it takes to answer the question."

[@marcusmahring4342]

lordlemmingman XD

[@AndroxineVortex]

Friend: That's not what I meant by role play Me: *walks into room dressed as a French maid

[@marlinazul7786]

Oh no

[@budgroeng5115]

@@marlinazul7786 *oh yes*

[@leonmayne797]

Scanlon would start getting out his whip.

[@davechapl]

You know what...maybe it is haha

[@sticklicious9048]

"and why arnt you in uniform?!"

[@wingy200]

More like, Matt the Immerser, am I right?

[@NoActuallyGo-KCUF-Yourself]

Yes, you are right. ;)

[@AksentNethariaFilm]

Genius

[@KanadetheGravekeeper]

Somebody make a wood plaque and send it to Crit Role.

[@magicalawnmower4764]

I read it as his name, help

[@Zerlot]

Well, his name is M. Mercer.

[@MrFForger]

I need a gif and/or sound bite of that "Kill shit, take loot" experience :p

[@MrFForger]

Thank you!

[@narcissusfullofhimselfsius5768]

youre a fucking god, thank you

[@KoiBoiRoi]

2nd one much better :)

[@hiroakihanyu]

@@AzureIV any chance to reupload? :D

[@AzureIV]

@@hiroakihanyu I wonder why it killed the link. i.imgur.com/f9UJPTK.gifv

[@RaishaDelos]

The group I DM is weird, the usually socially awkward people are great RPers, which is awesome! But the usually bold personalities point blank refuse to do more than 2 lines in character in a 4 hour session, its so disheartening and i swear it destabilizes the shy peoples confidence in their performance :/

[@amedeus40k]

RaishaDelos I understand you’re situation. I’ve been DMing off/on for 30 years, and it’s almost impossible to get a group where every player is willing participant in RP. Like Matt says, some people feel too uncomfortable. The reasons for this are varied but, often it’s because the player does not want to have the spotlight on them, and they may feel foolish. As a DM, you absolutely MUST be patient, and when possible, encouraging. I recommend you reward the RPs, not just with EXP or something, but with big compliments during the game. Make it a big deal so those that are not RPing as much as you’d like will feel encouraged to at least try, and when they do try, make sure that you recognize their attempt and provide encouragement saying something like “Way to go! That was good! You’re getting the hang of it. Keep it up!” No matter how they sounded to you or anyone else in the group, ALWAYS try to compliment them for it. Matt also stated that the player may never be willing or be able to RP as much as you’d like, and in my experience he’s right. Some players just can’t, and that’s ok. Sometimes, as a DM, you just have to let it go, and just have fun. Just my 2 cents.

[@connordarvall8482]

Personally, my GM runs pretty grim campaigns, so my characters quickly become similar in personalities, because that way I can stay alive long enough to start experimenting with things. Also, I'm no good at thinking on the fly, so it's usually just the occasional one-liner that may not even be in character just so the game doesn't grind to a halt while I stutter out the mildly in-character line that was relevant 5 minutes ago.

[@AtomicGT55]

Enoch Greensock no, you get ostracized for being a weird dick head who unironically uses words like “normie”

[@thisstatementisfalsenothin5312]

RaishaDelos as a player I’m the first way As a dm I’ve had a very similar experience where only two of my players role play most of the time one never role plays one sort of does but he’s never free anymore One of them is a good role player who is always in the mindset of what would my character do in this situation and never metagames if there’s information she doesn’t have or an idea told to her by a member of the party that isn’t there she won’t do it The only issue with her is that she doesn’t role play much she just needs to speak up a bit and be in character some One of them straight up doesn’t role play ever but she’s not a bad player actually she’s just quiet which is fine it’s better than her being disruptive

[@Uminar]

I reward my players with a Special Card, we call them "Aces". Whenever someone does something that fits his character perfectly, I'll award him the Ace. Every player can only have one Ace at a time and they can use it to bend the rules of the game and come up with movie-like sequences. e.g.: Once the party was trapped. They have been fighting on a City fortification wall and enemies were pouring in from left and right. When suddenly the Rogue picks up his Ace and says "In desperation I look about and there I see it. A cartwagon is approaching the wall. I take Ledania by the hand and pull her to me and together we jump down to land the cartwagons haystack." Another time my players tracked an informant, but he was getting away. While his body guards block the way and keep the party enganged he runs off. Our Ranger picks up his Ace and says "With my eagle eye precision I fire a shot between the body guards and pierce the informants left knee." For the use of such an Ace there is no skill roll required, and that's the beauty of it. After they have used their Ace, the players have to return it to the GM, but through good and memorable roleplay they can get it back and use a second time, or a third, or ... :D

[@smakyakproductions4466]

Reudig they..... already exist, they’re called “Inspiration”

[@tylernorton3217]

@@smakyakproductions4466 inspiration just lets u roll again but this aces system is guaranteed

[@Galf506]

@@tylernorton3217 it also seems like a really bad idea... you have this get out of jail free card that means roleplaying is just an accessory, duh.

[@Kxevineth]

@@Galf506 I think it depends on the players. Sure, it's a powerful tool, both in how it requires no rolls and just basically lets players DM for a second, but also in the way that if DM decides that the move a player is trying to pull is too much and has to tell them that their "card that can be used to do anything" can't be used to do this thing can kinda ruin the magic of the moment and leave people feel somewhat disappointed and wondering what else can't they do. However, I think it can work great if you trust your players and they're the kind of people who try to help you make the game enjoyable for everyone involved instead of just trying to get as much as they can for themselves out of every situation.

[@SorryBones]

Smakyak Productions Nah, inspiration is just a reroll or bonus die. What he’s doing is basically allowing them one free success, with borderline DM levels of control, for one moment. Not something to try outside of trusted groups, but a cool idea if it works out.

[@ltericdavis2237]

Props to the editor on this one. Really makes it pop.

[@peem]

Really? I found it extremely annoying that Matt ended each paragraph by looking sideways into another camera for "dramatc/comedic effect."

[@ltericdavis2237]

peem 1.) Trying to give attention to the normally unnoticed position of editor and give thanks for their work 2.) You're complaint is more about Mercer's acting than the editing 3.) opinion, which I can respect, but personal nonetheless

[@kingc8531]

peem i love that about these videos lol

[@Siansonea]

Man, I wish I could play at your table. I love the RP aspect the best. My characters always have their own voice and point of view. It's my favorite thing to come up with a fun accent and backstory and set of "triggers" for their traits that play off of the crunchy bits on the character sheet. How does my high Intelligence and average Wisdom actually play out? Overthinking every decision, obviously. How does the high Charisma but low Intelligence and Wisdom play out? Needlessly lying and people pleasing behavior, obviously. So fun to come up with this stuff.

[@binkw123]

I know what you mean!

[@guilhermeferrao5968]

I agree. As a noob DM, I'm always on the lookout for ways to get my layers to role-play. It's the best part of the game.

[@stefanwalicord2512]

High charisma low wisdom and intelligence = comedy protagonist

[@Gladissims]

@@stefanwalicord2512 That’s what I’m playing. 20 charisma and 8 intelligence. XD She does have 16 wisdom, though

[@Ceracio]

@@stefanwalicord2512 I am planning on playing a leader/face of the party type character with high Charisma and low Int, and the way I'm going to be playing him is as an overly confident, friendly and mildly naive bloke who seems to know a lot about everything (and who THINKS that he does know alot) and whose charisma and confidence tend to make people around him believe whatever he says despite the fact that he's generally completely wrong about everything, and when he is right it's often pure fluke.

[@Cptjackjacky]

"Not everyone has to write a multi-page back story" *Looks down at the fourteen page back story for my character, the world he's from, the history of the world and the lives and works of all major characters related to him*

[@1simo93521]

Brad Lawrence Dude I love players like you, it makes it easier to gm when your all invested that much.

[@Cptjackjacky]

Our DM asked us for back story, and he got it. I gave him so much, that our next adventure after our current one will be resolving the civil war going on in my homeland. I'm still sending more info to him as I write. I'm pretty invested. I think I'm the only person who is only called by their character name during sessions from start to finish. It's fun.

[@jesterericv2]

Oh man,...... you wanna come play in my game? :P All my players play them selves..... like everytime.... :(

[@Cptjackjacky]

Jester Eric Dude, if I could, I would bring my whole party. We're all totally in character when we play. I mean we do break when we talk normally, like the cast of Critical Role do, but we definitely play characters. If I could I'd totally play in your party, show those other amateurs how it's done haha.

[@Gio98art]

For one game that'd be interesting. But all I can imagine is a session of them roleplaying shopping for groceries

[@bigmansmallboy]

If someone has social anxiety, and are really tight in their shell, that’s fine. I used to be like that as a player. If they know their character, and want to play, but are scared, maybe make an NPC talk to them.

[@g0oberdm417]

I find when a player is involved often(by DM), interested(in whatever is happening/the game) and active(responds to the provocation/tries their best) then it's a sure fire way for them to progress with RP, slowly but surely. It's a case of tailoring the RP to whatever part of the game they prefer (social, exploration, combat) and slowly involving them more and more RP wise as the game progresses (heavier dialogue, maybe being the centre of a scene or something).

[@pokemonmusiclover5]

I have social anxiety and I stutter so talking isnt...my strongest suit. I wanna try this star wars themed one shot my brother is working on rn as a star wars-sequel version of a wizard, and since it'll be just me playing I have to do all the negotiations with npcs. I'm so nervous but so excited cuz I've never played dnd before

[@VanNessy97]

Designing a comfort NPC is usually a good move for someone who struggles both in and out of character to feel accepted at the table

[@MCBunkerwelt]

Exactly Layla!

[@Face6099]

Got me on my knees

[@Kopa_Malphas]

Darling wont you ease my worried mind

[@chetmcgovern9985]

I see what you did there.

[@Dimitris_A.]

i'm begging darling, please..

[@Arcticx369]

I find it funny when he’s like “as a gm, it’s ok if your player doesn’t like being rp, be supportive.” *when you’re the gm and you’re the one with the problem with rp*

[@justafaniv1097]

So this is coming from someone relatively new to D&D, but I found it really helpful to ease into the RPing aspect in a one-shot. During the main campaign with my group, I rolled really well with my character creation, so I was really trying to keep them alive, and ignoring the RP aspect for the pragmatic response. However, we then did a little one-shot just for fun. I wasn't so attached to the new character so I figured I would have fun with the RPing aspect this time, and even try out an accent. I ended up creating a half-orc barbarian with what I intended to be a Russian accent and since Intelligence was my worst skill, I decided to play him as a jock stereotype. It took a little while to find my footing, I was definitely doing an Italian accent at first instead of the intended Russian, but eventually I really got into the character and had a blast. Eventually I got the accent going, I got to be a little bombastic, and I had my character try to flirt with the resident Queen with terribly corny pick-up lines that I would never try in the main campaign for fear of reprisal. However, even after the one-shot was done, I brought some of those developments back to the main campaign. I started to develop my character's personality more, and I try harder to have him act in a reasonable and consistent manner, rather than trying to meta-game the best response. It has definitely added to my experience. So I guess the moral of the story is that it might be a good idea to let players try out new things in a relatively risk-free environment like a one-shot. Let them know that they can be a little carefree and encourage them to try new things in an environment where their actions won't affect the character they may have grown attached to and don't want to risk things on. Just maybe they will experiment with something they really like and bring it back over to their main character.

[@sirmeatshield]

Due to a full table I once sat down at a one shot at the last minute, and because I didnt have a character prepared they allowed me to play my regular character, just without getting rewards at the end. That one shot actually helped me discover how to roleplay that character, and ive had so much more fun with him than before.

[@bearahdon]

One of my favorite moments as a DM, is when I get to see my players discuss what they are going to do in a certain situation. An example is when they are in a dungeon and they enter a open stone chamber, and they then start to discuss amongst themselves to plan for their next move.

[@CaptainJellyBS]

Friedrich Mehr I agree

[@sunloon]

I love that kind of stuff too...when its in character. When they are talking out of character about it the whole thing kind of breaks down because you have a bunch of people acting like a hive mind intelligence rather than actual characters.

[@NightSwift271]

Agreed, and its also really good when they're about to do something they really shouldn't but you can't say anything

[@MegaTech81]

DM my first game last week. None of us have ever played. Gotta admit that moment felt incredible

[@coloursmash7841]

Friedrich Mehr oh god the feels

[@IamGilgamesh666]

These tips are really good. Another one that I have found works for me is that in certain NPC conversations, anything the players say at the table, I act as if their characters said it. So if the party needs important info from a short tempered old man npc and one player comments to another, "I want to hurt this guy", or something like that, I will make the old man react as if the dwarven barabian said it, rather than the player. This means that everything the players do and say are neceasarily roleplaying, even if they don't do voices.

[@MennoSchotten]

"Another one that I have found works for me is that in certain NPC conversations, anything the players say at the table, I act as if their characters said it." Our D&D GM did the same thing, makes you get into character really fast.

[@pentopage7572]

Yes I do the same! Also makes for some interesting interactions between NPCs and the players (a young boy in one of my campaigns overheard the cleric dwarf saying he seemed to foolish to know anything and he then was throwing shade at the dwarf in a comical way, whole group found it funny!)

[@RediChalyn]

Yeah in my group we have a special way of saying we're speaking as players not characters. But if you don't remember to put your finger on your nose, Rowena the bard just asked the bartender if she thought he was lying haha makes for interesting moments

[@rafaelmoraespereira1]

1. Talk to your group in advance. Discuss the use of RP early on with your group. 2. Write background stories. This will help players engage more witch their characters. 3. Engage with your players. Speak to your players in a way that you would want them to RP in return. 4. Players: Try to engage. Leave your comfort zone in order to engage with your GM and fellow players. 5. Be patient. Allow your players to reach their comfort level in RP-ing naturally. 6. Be supportive. Engage with your fellow players and back up their statements.

[@shardahartley4328]

You are the GM we all strive to be dear mercer! One day i may have half your skill.

[@minihali]

If you really set your mind to it, you'll surpass him. DMing, roleplaying, and such are skills that can be learned and improved given enough time and effort

[@g0oberdm417]

I like the motivation you've got is cool (yes, 3-4 yrs ago), hope you've improved and gone on your way. I myself took a similar challenge and I feel I've reached a good standard (still looking to improve), with people super eager to get back to playing in my campaign!

[@shardahartley4328]

@@g0oberdm417 I have indeed improved! I feel I am close to mercer for most things, but his acting chops and endless supply of mini's are outside my grasp. My players actually noted that campaign 2 has so far hit all of their campaigns story beats, which I find hillarious. Thanks for your confidence though! Hope you are having a nice day

[@g0oberdm417]

@@shardahartley4328 Awesome to hear, you too!!!

[@tweehoek1]

Had this with my students. I'm playing D&D with students as an after school activity. I'm pretty good with voices and characters and one of my students followed allong and gave his character a "Grog" kind of voice and he now is talking in character most of the time. This has encouraged the other members of the group to start to join in as well. It's been great so far!

[@FapperDan]

“Be patient”. Literally best GM tip ever.

[@xbuttonsx]

I recently joined a game where the players were all freshly into level 2 so I wrote up a 5K word back story for my character. It got me bumped up to level two alongside them. Red, the Dragonborn Barbarian that forgoes material weaponry to rely on his claws and teeth. Also a female playing a male character is interesting for the other players to engage with. "And she's here ... He is here." "Do you want me to change the gender, would that help?" "No, no, I'll get it straight eventually." Also, just wanted to say, thanks Mercer and others for CritRole. It's gotten me back into DnD after a year without due to some bad experiences. But now I'm in a good game with a good crew and am assisting the DM by writing up some encounters that will later be put up on the DMG. Thank you so much for sharing your enjoyment with the world. :)

[@annikathewitch3950]

I had a player decide she wanted to play a sentient egg with legs. I said she could, on the condition that we could work together to come up with a sensible explanation that fit with the campaign setting. After a brief discussion, she sent me a very detailed google doc of her entire backstory. Long story short, out party’s tank is a two and a half foot tall sentient egg with legs.

[@NicDude583]

I had a blast with my first character Carlos the Dwarf. It was kind of awesome watching my fellow playersget annoyed or inspired by the simultaneous fish-malk snowflake character I had unwittingly created. You see, Carlos was sort of your classic D&D fighter character, an impulsive, mildly inebriated bearded dwarf with a thick Scottish accent and a heart of gold whose answer to every problem was usually either some kind of explosive confrontation or an all out brawl, which would've been fine, but this was a Pokemon game. Set in a high school. I think you can see where the problems sprouted. I was a creative problem the GM somehow managed to make into what is still my favorite character I've played (a close second being Soldada, or the answer to the question " what if Harriet Tubman was a fifteen-foot tall, six-armed, hot pink bug monster that loved to punch things and dig tunnels?"). I still don't think she's forgiven me for somehow managing to shift the focus of the campaign away from the young man who shakes the earth when people touch him to an underwear heist to get my Oddish a pair of mechanical arms. It might go without saying, but my manners have aged like fine wine since then.

[@emilysmith2965]

Putting the underground in your railroad.

[@blackeva1]

I've been GMing for years now, and it's so nice to see someone explain in such a simple way how much goes into what we do and how hard we work to make the PC's world come alive. Thanks Matt. I look forward to watching all your other and future vids :)

[@KoiBoiRoi]

I once was a paladin who polymorphed into a cat. Interesting RP, needless to say. One encounter was completely ignored because I hopped into an NPC's lap and provided the necessary information to defuse the situation. At another time I calmed an important NPC by kneading them (the GM) with my paws.

[@OpalMist_]

Did you actually have to do those things to the GM in real life? If so never play a bard with that GM. Or do play a very charismatic bard if you want ;)

[@KoiBoiRoi]

@@OpalMist_ nope. It was completely voluntary! Did it as a bit. That said, I definitely wouldn't go that far into the RP if I were a bard. I prefer a "fade to black" for more intimate situations.

[@Goombalove3000]

God damn I love you Matthew Mercer.

[@luketfer]

One thing I found interesting was that I didn't tend to do the whole 'embodying' the character thing since I RP on Roll20. Apart from one character, Maximus the Impregnable, a high strength Wizard focused more on using his spells to enhance himself in fist fights than your traditional Wizardy robes type (yes he was a 'muscle wizard'). He had his own distinct voice (which apparently was basically Brian Blessed as Prince Vultan), he was loud, boistrous and I even found myself doing the grand gestures...despite the fact nobody could see them...and then having to describe what I was doing.

[@nathancook8987]

Shout out to the camera crew and director for making this video seem very casually informal, and as always Ser Mercer, thanks for the advice!

[@codybeaird2918]

I really enjoy the rp part of the game, but I do unfortunately get nervous when it's my time to shine moment lol. it works sometimes, but other times I feel like I'm not engaging in the same way as everyone else.

[@Rowgue51]

That's just about your comfort level. The more you play with the same people that are playing the same characters it will feel more natural and comfortable. I find it also helps newer people that get nervous about rp to try to make their initial characters something that feels really natural to them. It's really difficult for most people when they're first starting to try to rp really off the wall characters with really eclectic personalities or something that requires them to use some kind of extreme accent or speaking style, etc.

[@l3adbullet]

The nice thing about dnd is it's a game! You dont need to do anything you dont want to, and you certainly dont need to compare yourself to others. If it's fun, keep trying and it will come easier to the point that you don't really need to think about it any more :)

[@rekindledphoenix]

When I'm the DM for new players, I ask them to think about three things: Their character's biggest fear, loneliest moment, and favorite thing they own. It helps encourage the newbies to engage in roleplay during a session, and allows me to spontaneously bring those fears or driven emotions to life with ease!

[@kerimaltuncu8152]

I'm loving this new improved GM Tips series! Thank you Matt and Geek and Sundry!

[@damselsdice1490]

Roleplaying is my personal favorite part of playing D&D! It was difficult to get everyone into it at first but now we have so many great moments in character! Love it!

[@KingKevin108]

Loving the second season of GM tips!

[@Matti_Mattsen]

Please please please, could you give some tips on making voices for characters? maybe even some simple voice acting tips to enhance the experience? I'm having a really hard time to give my players believable voices for the NPCs i made.

[@PilotFlo]

Check the various con panels that can be found at the Critical Scope Channel or the Q&A epsisodes of Critical Role. There are a lot of tips in them.

[@amdreallyfast]

YT Gen0 you may be surprised at how many permutations can stack up with just a few personality and voice variations. Loud/quiet, introverted/extroverted, proper/crass, fearful/confident, what their profession is, then take a few regional accents (Scottish, English, Russian, Texan, Hispanic or Italian, German, Indian). The number of possibilities stack up fast. When in doubt, throw caution into the wind, select a few from the list, and see what happens. If you come up with near duplicates, make the NPCs related. Does that help or just muddy the issue further?

[@johnharrison2086]

It's tradition that all dwarves sound Glaswegian...

[@briannaschmid4112]

Cadence can help a lot. Slowing the tempo of your voice or talking really fast can also help. Certain phrases help you get into a character better and you'll find the voices kinda just come to you.

[@kainuipenaloza9395]

Pick a variaty of voices you can do, choose 2 for standard man/woman NPCs that aren't important, chose the rest for your other NPCs, pitch is good to change, voice cracks can help a crazy person sound more crazy. Boldness can make a person sound older or wizer. Acents can change up normal voices if you can't do another one.

[@reececapps6721]

This is one of the best videos I have seen to help new players (and new GMs!) learn how to roleplay.

[@taylorcampbell4204]

Good tips! As a DM, I often have players who feel like writing a backstory is time-consuming: they want to dive in and start playing! This makes it crucial to thoughtfully create role-playing opportunities during the game. Recently I introduced the party to an NPC who can read thoughts; occasionally, I have the NPC read the mind of a PC, and ask the player to fill in the memories and thoughts that come up. It's a fun improv moment, and I feel like the players engage without stealing time from the adventure.

[@ShadowNinjaMaster93]

Wish I watched this sooner. Had my first session as a DM and afterwards one of my 7 (total mad lad of me, I know) messaged me that I did a great job, but role playing was a hard part of it and he didn't want to drag down the other players and wanted to step out of the game.

[@normalone0884]

I just got a TAZ advertisement and I'm pumped! Also, I wish I could meet Matthew Mercer

[@Vilis_Farthuk]

These are all solid tips. They're all things I've either tried or tried to remember to try in my own sessions and I have had the most success with engaging players in a conversation that feels like only their character would get this particular reaction from the NPC. If it's just a standard bit of dialogue, then they know they're talking to that shopkeeper npc that's in every town, but if they say something specific like "And what does an Elf know of such things?" or "Oh, I should just trust a Tiefling because they say so?" reflects to them that the world is recognizing them as their character not as themselves and they need to keep that in mind. Also the trinkets table in the item section of the 5th edition base book is invaluable for character building.

[@ToxicNeon]

Our DM is so fun - he’s so thoughtful on his npcs and how he rps them, and it’s so easy for me to just go along with it. Me and the bard of our group just go crazy in rping and idk how many times we’ve made the whole group almost die from laughing at our antics.

[@Shinimawastaken]

Before I die I want Matt Mercer to DM a my game

[@shewolfblacklink1062]

same, dude, same...

[@seanmichel3401]

Same

[@louchene1]

Roll a persuasion check

[@tonio6043]

This is a problem i’ve learned to overcome in multiple campaigns, I mostly DM for beginners, so i like to think its good to help them getting into RPing for if they get into more developed campaigns. With my current 2 year campaign, my players started off with only talking ooc and asking questions like that, then i started getting them int describing their replies, then that flowed into actually playing the characters. I’ve found that almost absolutely n o n e w p l a y e r s will start off as roleplayers. Ive found my way of beating this is to roleplay the npcs as much as possible, even with very small movements and comments. If the DM is acting as a character, people tend to catch on and join in, from there it should be your goal to make sure that they’re enjoying playing this character, from then on in develops. My absolute favourite parts about being a DM is when my players can have conversation and interaction as their characters without even needing me to direct or control anything.

[@xtcfucker]

Love the effects on this guys. Really adds to the series.

[@jokerzyo]

Great video. My group uses a few rules as possible. Our group is very inconsistent so adding random friends who have never played was so much easier with such relaxed rules

[@extremities8]

This was my biggest hurdle getting into D&D and still is. The first time was the worst because I had no idea I had to. I didn't get into it until the 3rd session and even then I still struggled like hell. The only saving grace was that I was one of TWO people that session that was just as clueless when it came to the role-playing part. Thank god for that other player or else it would've been even worse that first session.

[@thegreatskinkpriest8104]

I’m gonna run some Call of Cthulhu home brew for Halloween, all with friends who’ve never played a pen and paper rpg. I really want them to WANT to role play, because there’s so little combat in CoC. If they aren’t willing, I’ve got other stuff for the night planned but I really hope they’re able to enjoy it.

[@mathewmarrs2107]

I will be a DM for the first time in a couple weeks, only played 3 times but my group thinks I will excel and watching Matt in the tips and in critical role has helped me build my campaign as well as understanding how to adjust to the slow decay of destroying my plan haha

[@motherfaerie]

thanks matt and commenters for all the inspiration! have taken notes and will definitely implement them into encouraging my players~

[@sportsnut1473]

Ugh critical role and critical role adjacent things make me want to play dnd so bad but I don't have a group and or time to find one on roll20 or things like that

[@fluxshaman8251]

Sportsnut14 I have a group that started only recently, it's very loose and it's just me and my brothers and one of my friends from basic training... our next session is 11-4 central time on Saturday.

[@sportsnut1473]

Christian Thorn I would love to play but don't have any consistent availability with an ever changing work schedule I definitely can't this week I might be available next week if you were offering to let me jump in on a game

[@fluxshaman8251]

If you're up for it, sure. You wouldn't have to be there all the time

[@explosionbunny]

You'd be surprised how many random friends might be willing to play! I got my group together by making a facebook group and just inviting a few of my friends to come play as a way for us to hang out more regularly!!

[@EverJ13]

check out the Tabletop RPG One Shot group on facebook. There's a ton of great players and DM's over there that could fit your needs. while your at it join up with the RPG Brigade 😁

[@chronorebel_greatgryffon1312]

Since I learned that Matt voiced Chrom from Fire Emblem, now I can only hear him

[@sphinx2k210]

Loved Matt in the latest Titanfall 2 single player campaign. The banter with BT was great.

[@Rohnon]

I love this series. I'm a relatively new GW, so I still encounter alot of problems and this series helps me out alot

[@MarcioLiao]

Nice tips. The sound was a little off. Matt's voices was too quiet, or the music too loud

[@phantomapprentice6749]

turn off your 3d sound when not gaming

[@LordofNazgul95]

No, it was extremely quiet in general. I'm on a 2.1 speaker setup and had to crank my volume to hear him, but then the outro music blasted my ears out. Great video as always, but the editor needed to put a few seconds of the (massive and impressive) time spent doing visual editing into sound balance.

[@KC-dx3cy]

DM: Describes a necromancer holding a book Me: “Could I look at the book?” DM: “In character.” Me: “That was in character.” DM: “Oh.”

[@steveandjanemessianics]

I used to run TMNT back in the 90s and early 2000s. I'm planning to run a campaign with my 3 kids, after not having played in two decades. Loved this video. Thank you for this excellent, clear advice.

[@bighalo2]

Thank you geek & sundry for introducing me to Matthew Mercer who I absolutely love after Critical Role. I truly want to see him, and the other players succeed. I need to keep up on what he does on a weekly basis so i don't end up missing anything.

[@DrMaiXiang]

I follow the crit juice way, if players rp well, I give them drinks. Drunk D&D is hillarious.

[@gaytar1]

Crit juice is awesome.

[@NoActuallyGo-KCUF-Yourself]

Multi-class dungeonmaster/bartender

[@lucasb2971]

When helping my players write their backstories, I like having three paragraphs. One for early life, another for mid life, and a last one for right before adventuring.

[@samantics4366]

Thank you again Matt! Keep up these videos, us DMs always appreciate the tips and reminders. I wish I could play with your crew just once for the experience of it. I'm happy that I've had my current team for over a year now (new record!). We're running Rise of the Runelords, and it's been fantastic.

[@Ultimus31]

Ah, more quality content from everyone's favourite possibly half elf voice actor! Great stuff as always!

[@RyokoYoichi]

Damn, he speaks so perfect that even youtube substitles work almost perfect

[@AViewToAKill.]

"Kill Shit, Take Loot" Will now me my mantra all in things. This is now my life's quest!

[@diabolicaldebacle]

Honestly? This was extremely informative and well done. I'm quite impressed.

[@matthewdixon8665]

You delivered that message flawlessly 👍

[@donnellebarfield3964]

I don't know who he is but I bet he is the best dungeon master ever

[@Nemenian]

I love the side comments

[@eskurian8565]

I found that it really helped to give your players a few structural tips for their background. Like always include where you came from, who you are now and where you want to go. This generates the most essential parts of a backstory to hook onto as a GM and for the player to flesh out more later.

[@TeaPea102938]

This is one of the best informative video series every made

[@stupidhead_2812]

0:29 should be a gif.

[@AzureIV]

Here you go: i.imgur.com/f9UJPTK.gifv

[@Indigo_404]

I’ve been the dungeon master for the same group for a few years, there’s one player who only makes sarcastic and bored characters, and whenever they go to a place that’s obviously haunted and there’s revealed to be a ghost, they’re like “I KNEW IT.... UUGH” and the only role playing they do is that super salty behavior

[@kodabug5926]

I’m a theater major in college studying to be a drama therapist and teacher and I really want to bring D&D into my work - this is really helpful stuff!!

[@boiboh2954]

Man, I just got into CR and while I enjoy their sessions what I love is that they all seem like such a kind lovable wholesome hugabunch. I just like hanging out with them

[@EdwardHowton]

My players know I'm not heavily combat-driven. More storytelling and characters. I used to have a severely drug-addled joiner early on who would essentially fall into a coma until we called his name, at which point he would simply say "Eldritch blast" thinking fighting time had come again. We could've replaced him with one of those novelty drinking bird toys hitting a button that would roll 1d20+1d8 for his attack. And it would've been less stupid than he was. I'm not kidding. We spent five minutes once explaining why the action he was taking would end with him dead, he didn't care, and then was shocked and uncomprehending when he died. Until he went back to listening to loud videos on his phone. Anywho, in large part because of him, I've promised myself that if I ever come across a player who's all about, quote, diablo-style-kill-everything-get-loot-raar, that I would hand them my Monster Manual, a box of tissues, and tell them to go have fun. Pick a page and roll dice, buddy, we'll be over here having fun while you roll meaningless numbers against other meaningless numbers until one set of numbers counts down to zero to signal your victory or defeat. Woo, exciting.

[@1simo93521]

EdwardHowton Yes powergamers are the worst players of all. I had one we let GM for a one shot and he sat pleased with him self after killing the whole party with overpowered monsters. He seemed to think he had 'won' d&d by killing all the pcs at once!

[@EdwardHowton]

Eh, the junkie wasn't so much a powergamer as much as he was... severely brain damaged by years of drug abuse and also had other issues that were made worse. But yeah, anyone who thinks the fun of D&D lies in combat needs to take a step back, and any DM who tries to kill his players as a goal instead of a plot device needs to step away from the DM screen. D&D's about telling each other a story. "And then, Hero McProtagonist did slay the guard most vigorously, stepping into the next room where another guard did wait for him, and battle did commence for the 47th time that afternoon ROLL INITIATIVE" isn't interesting story. The last fight my players had was for a lamia. Not _with_ a lamia. They needed something from it, and the lamia demanded the party's fighter and monk put on a fight for her. They went at it with gusto, too! Ki points were flying all over the place, crazy moves being described, they were in their own little world. I had trouble playing the lamia, even, because watching them fight _each other_ was so much fun. Nobody died, nobody got any XP, even the lamia made it through alive when they went home. Compare that to Kobold Fight #654...

[@sunloon]

So wait, if you all knew he was severely disabled from drug abuse to the point where he is unable to complete complex tasks, why did you let him into the game? and furthermore, why was he something as complex as a sorcerer?

[@EdwardHowton]

sunloon It's a long story and it involves me not knowing the guy who invited him to round out the party and me not giving people pre-generated characters. And he wasn't "disabled" from drug abuse... Being born with no legs is a disability. Shoving a variety of powders up your nose is self-inflicted stupidity. I mean, if you were to try to punch yourself in the head until you can't work, I doubt you'd get a doctor to sign off on that. Maybe in practice the word applies to all three cases, but I don't see it that way in theory.

[@sunloon]

Well if you can't function as a member of society due to a physical or mental retardation, it is still a disability weather if natural or self inflicted. So if he couldn't function as a human being playing a game with some people then he seems pretty 'disabled' by the definition of the word, not necessarily the 'this man is on disability' sense. But I feel ya man, sometimes people bring in the worst players, hope he didn't stay very long.

[@DamonFyrian]

As someone who has roleplayed outside of D&D/Pathfinder before, it's not really hard for me, but I can see why it would be for some people.

[@thisscreensucks]

"as someone who's played more than babby RPGs, im super awesome at RPing! but i can see why everyone isnt as great as me...."

[@DamonFyrian]

thisscreensucks I wasn't talking about RPGs. I was talking about legit, straight up RPing.

[@thisscreensucks]

Damon Fyrian lol.... but when you're role-playing, you're doing it in a game, right?....making that a role-playing game? otherwise known as an RPG

[@DamonFyrian]

thisscreensucks No, I wasn't. I was doing actual RPs. And that was before I played Shadowrun, my first RPG ever.

[@evangregory14]

+Damon Fyrian so you were playing make believe? for no point? just for shits?

[@deFunkt29]

Such a great video, love the editing and camera work. And great info too!

[@iPhantasm]

This was a video I was hoping to see since I am going to DM my first game soon. Thanks for the tips!

[@superiorbeing8805]

congrats man you were the first comment.

[@wilgarrett322]

I want to see Ben from Puffin Forest play with Mercer and others like Travis Willingham. That would be great. Ben is only like 20 though so he's a lot younger than them.

[@gigacooler]

Is that a Gilmore's Glorious Chalice?!

[@oxx676]

Matthew Mercer is one of my heroes!

[@logansmith1247]

Thank you so much for these videos, I'm making a campaign for my friends and I'm trying to be a good first time GM

[@CelticFireGaming]

3:03 As you realise that the dragon on the left is probably going to be Thordak :O

[@dubbingsync]

I believe you see the "mini" in one of the periscopes on Critical Scopes channel. I can't remember if that dragon is Thordak or not.

[@NothingKingKN]

you can see him unboxing it in one of the episodes of cr during critmas, where he said "I present you... Thordak the Cinder King"

[@CelticFireGaming]

I must've missed that bit. Pretty intimidating miniature though compared to everyone's actual miniatures

[@NothingKingKN]

it's around the same size of Umbracil one

[@petestandley2690]

It is Thordak, he used it in the Sack of Emon....

[@nes819]

Something that works for me quite well to get the players more engaged in their backstorry is to give smal sets of homework like "write down a place your charakter feels at home with two NPC's". The basic can be done with a single paragraph, and when they doo it, i reward them with godly inspiration, wich they can interchange by inspiering each other.

[@Borrill117]

these videos are helping my group so much thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@ratmasterpacklord8961]

Who's just rewatching these for fun and or tips. I love these videos

[@gabrielmachado6229]

My druid write a back story, it was literally: my character have amnesia

[@traceymuy1942]

I have a hard time roleplaying like I want to and know what I want but it doesn’t come out. Lol

[@taylornickell5855]

Love looking through these videos a bunch of friends and I are starting to get more and more into dungeons and dragons after finding a good amount of 2nd edition books and of course by watching critical role.

[@SkyLordPanglot]

Oh boy and year latter watching this Im just thinking how much fun it is when you are actually an actor. Kudos to mr. Mercer!

[@jpowers84]

Congrats on the engagement Matt!!! Would D&D or Pathfinder be best for starting brand new players? My friends and I are total noobs at this so I would be DMing it.

[@phyrath5]

Jason Powers I would guess Fifth Edition D&D. The rules are a bit more simplified and there is the DM Inspiration mechanic to encourage role playing. I'm in a similar boat myself. I'm not DMing but our DM hasn't DMed for about 20 years and all the players haven't played any Tabletop RPGs before.

[@litefoot25]

D&D 5e is great! I come from 3.5 and struggled to involve people completely unfamiliar. 5e is far easier for beginners to grasp and also more forgiving. The last thing you want is to spend 10mins+ on a single player's turn in a group of 5 or more.

[@1simo93521]

litefoot25 yep 5e is best for beginners.

[@1simo93521]

litefoot25 yep 5e is best for beginners.

[@magicrainbowkitties1023]

Pathfinder is way easier to get your hands on but 5e DnD is easier to play. And D/GM for. GOOD GOD PATHFINDER, WE DON'T NEED THAT MANY FREAKING NUMBERS!

[@velvet3496]

While GMing I always have one or two Swords on me and when the Paladin says "Nice, natural 20" and rolls damage, I take my sword and narrate while fighting. It looks like this: "Geraldyn takes his great bastard sword that he owned from his uncle and avanges him with a mighty slash with the sword. You scream while you lift your weapon above your head and you decapitate the Archmage with the strongest hit you could have ever done." And now imagine this with me holding a LARP Longsword and screaming in the living room.

[@bryanwilmarth1435]

Great episode, Matt. Role playing for some, especially new players, can be difficult. I DO award extra xp for role playing. I've been playing/DMing (mostly DMing) since I was 12...which was in 1982 DR! Shyness is a big factor. I don't push my players to role play but I do it in hopes they will emulate me. They may not adopt and accent but more often than not, once they have a "feel" for their character, they'll learn the difference between what Steve said and what his Bard Elorik said. That's key. Role play does add an extra layer of fun to any campaign/session. Backstories? Yes!!!!

[@greybushchronicles7774]

Awesome tips! I'm working on increasing role-playing progressively throughout my campaign which I'll be posting on my channel. Should be good times!

[@comradedyatlov4143]

Oh I can hear Levi Ackerman in his voice, I'm dead

[@risw.3821]

Me a nerd: Me a theatre kid: Also me: Dungeons and Dragons it is.

[@Badmanpuntbaxter]

favorite series, so useful

[@daytonpannell]

I just DM'd my first session ever and it was for all new players. Nobody has played before, and after tonight's session, they started buying things for me and the campaign to make it better. They are hooked. One at the beginning even said "I don't like roleplaying." And by the end she was doing more rp than the group. Group is still lvl 2, but I ended them with a sick cliffhanger. They investigated an abandoned manor, she (our elf druid) noticed the rug was of elven make unlike the rest and looked under it. As she lifted it, a banshee rose partly through and let out a Wail practically nose to nose. She dropped to zero HP (failed save) and the rest took a heavy chunk of dmg. Ended the session there. Turns out I love being a DM and watching the players interact.