Get Your Friends to Play Roleplaying Games:
Depending on the circle you run with, it might be relatively difficult to get your friends to play roleplaying games. This has never been a difficult task with my group of friends, but I do know friends of friends who have had issues getting their other buddies to join them for a good RPG. To a lesser extent, I understand why it can be so difficult for some people to get into games of this style. I’ll start by addressing the elephant in the room; I speak of the long-perpetuated stigma against roleplaying games. For many years, it has been assumed that any style of roleplaying game is to be relegated to the nerdier portion of society. None of the cool kids would ever think about playing a roleplaying game, right? I, luckily, have never been one of the “cool kids” and have never had this problem. I’ve always had the joy of some form of roleplaying game in my life. Ever since I was five or six years old, I would take turns with friends crafting little five-minute murder mystery games in my basement. These would always involve a cop, a murder, and a slew of random characters we would make up on the spot. I’ve been enjoying some form of roleplaying game ever since. It is refreshing that over the last decade the stigma based around this style of game has all but vanished. I would go so far as to say that some are even starting to think of roleplaying games as being cool. As to what I can credit for this paradigm shift, I’m not entirely certain. I’m extremely excited about the result, though. This, however, doesn’t mean that all people are ready to dive headfirst into a roleplaying game from Dastardly Deeds Murder Mysteries.
Anyone can have fun playing RPGs!
Roleplaying:
There is no required universal level of roleplaying skill or minimum amount of enthusiasm correlated to participating in a roleplaying game. Certain people will inherently get more into their parts than others, which is fine. There are no limits on anyone’s freedom to express their character in any proper style of roleplaying game. Likewise, there should be no pressure to portray their character to a level that may be outside their comfort zone. The first and perhaps most important part of trying to get your friends to play roleplaying games with you is understanding the potential limitations that they might have as a player. Not everyone is going to be as comfortable being a boisterous and outgoing character as others. Some people prefer to sit back and understand the role of their character properly in context with the other players before they can tactfully make their move and begin to roleplay themselves. Dastardly Deeds Murder Mysteries games bridge the complexities of a tabletop RPG in combination with the easy accessibility of a generic party game. Since the scripting in all of our games is kept to a minimum, there will be a need for players to roleplay and improvise. That being said, there are almost always certain characters that will be easier for noobs to play. These characters are usually noted in the host document of whichever game you are playing. If you’d like to get one of your friends into playing roleplaying games, a Dastardly Deeds game is an excellent user-friendly way to pique their interest. What is even better about most of our games is that true roleplaying isn’t even required to partake. If players have simply reviewed their character’s goals and have a proper understanding of the gameplay for their specific murder mystery, they can easily succeed at their role without needing to act anything out. While players can easily avoid the need to truly act out their character, there are a few unavoidable scenarios they will face. The most unavoidable factor is going to be the need to lie and fabricate certain aspects of their character’s background. For example, if they are the murderer, it will be very ineffective if they outright admit that they are the killer. If you’re trying to coax a friend or family member into playing a Dastardly Deeds game with you, you can tell them that lying and fabricating background information are the only real skills that they will need to play. Everything beyond that is simply nuance and ambiance. The more flavor you rub on a character, the more likely you are to make other individuals unintentionally reveal their secrets and knowledge.
The more you get into your part, the more fun you can have!
Roleplay Ideas:
As someone who went to college for acting, I absolutely abhor method acting. Screw Stanislavski! Why am I talking about method acting? That’s a good question. I hate it, and if you’re trying to feel the emotions of someone who just had their spouse murdered for the context of a murder mystery game, that’s not healthy (and it’s stupid). Sorry, had to get that out of the way. Now let’s go into some actual acting concepts that can get RPG noobs more into playing their part. A very basic start for getting comfortable with your character may be as simple as crafting a basic list of facts about them. These should be facts that aren’t necessarily part of your character’s pre-written backstory but are components that make the character real for you. The silly things like what’s their favorite food? When did they have their first kiss? Do they like swimming? Do they prefer winter or fall? While these questions may seem silly and superficial, you might be surprised how helpful they can be when you’re playing your character. If you have an extremely nervous friend, this can be an interesting exercise they can perform ahead of time on their own. This may help them feel the ambiance and understand the setting for their character before going into the actual game. It also gives them something to talk about with other characters that might throw them off from direct suspicion about that player.
Getting into your part can be as simple as finding the perfect costume.
One technique that can help a lot of people get into their character is donning a costume. This is a technique that I can personally connect with. When you wear something that is outside of your daily norm, it will inherently make you feel a different attitude and potentially help you portray your character better. One of my favorite acting professors in college said that he never could get into a part until he was wearing the shoes for that character during the dress rehearsals. He would frequently site the old “walk a mile in their shoes” allegory. In a silly way, I agree with him. There is something about wearing a costume that can help you feel like a different person. For people who have never roleplayed before and may be nervous, wearing a costume is potentially one of the best steps they can take towards getting into character. Even if they tell you, “it makes me feel silly,” you can tell them that’s one of the goals of a good RPG game – getting together with your friends and feeling silly! On a final and more methodical note, I do know that some people who are new to roleplaying games like to write themselves pre-scripted lines before a game start. For players who are nervous to act out their role inside a murder mystery, this is a great way for them to rationalize their character beforehand from a logical standpoint. For example, if a player is portraying the character that murdered the wealthy estate owner, they could potentially create themselves a pre-scripted line that contextually denies the murder and potentially implicates another person or even provides them with a fake alibi. For more methodical players who rely heavily on game rules and mechanics, this can be one of the easiest ways for them to get into the mood of portraying their character. Be warned though, individuals who are extremely rule-based may sometimes be disappointed with the outcomes of games from Dastardly Deeds Murder Mysteries. Open-ended roleplaying games like this are predisposed to creating bizarre situations and scenarios that can be nebulous for players that like things cut and dry. Goals may only be half accomplished by the end of the game, and it is likely that in many cases there isn’t always a clear winner. Take note that highly rule-based individuals may need some extra hand-holding from you as the host.
Keep It in the Comfort Zone:
One of the best things about new online games from Dastardly Deeds Murder Mysteries is that you can cater your playthrough to almost any comfort level. If no one wants to dress up, that’s fine! If no one wants to put on silly fake accents, fake attributes, or fake mustaches, that’s okay too. While some of the unique flavors will certainly be lost in a playthrough of this style, there is absolutely nothing stopping your crew from sitting down at a table and playing a game more as a collaborative riddle. While you will still need to rely on the basic ability to bluff other players and fabricate background knowledge, this can make a game like this much easier to get into. It is at your discretion to conform Dastardly Deeds Murder Mysteries games into a format that is comfortable for all your players. Again, I will note, our murder mystery games are specifically written to be rules-light and heavy on characterization and gameplay. Sitting down for a table-style version of any of our games may potentially accelerate gameplay and collectively diminish the difficulty of the game overall since everyone will be learning things about others at the same time and lying outright becomes more difficult. If you or your friends are not comfortable roleplaying though, this might be a great way to dip your toes in, so to speak. At the end of the day, when it comes to keeping it in the comfort zone for all of your players, there are no right or wrong answers. It will simply be up to the host to determine how the gameplay and the mood is set throughout the event.
Dressing up as Liberace may not be within everyone’s comfort zone.
On a final note, don’t be overly pushy if you want to get one of your friends to play roleplaying games with you. While I have personally coaxed friends (who now love RPGs) into playing roleplaying games with me, they aren’t for everyone. If you, as the host, are simply mindful of the constraints of your players and have a solid understanding of the rules and the game you are playing, you can bring together people of all skill levels into an event that is going to be fun for everyone. This, hands-down, is one of my favorite things that has happened since we started making Dastardly Deeds Murder Mysteries. I’ve gotten to see people who normally never roleplay truly get into their characters. I’ve seen people who are seasoned professionals flummoxed by the most basic questions posed by newbies. I’ve seen things that still make me laugh today when I think back to them. If you’ve been trying to get your friend to play roleplaying games with you for the first time, check out some games from Dastardly Deeds Murder Mysteries. This may be the perfect gateway drug!
