5/22/2001
by Rebecca Goings

I’ve been playing D&D for eight years now, and for those eight years, I was clueless on how to roleplay. Munchkins were my characters of choice, thinking if I couldn’t contribute by roleplaying, I would at least contribute to the game in battle. Of course newcomers to the game aren’t going to know exactly how to roleplay their characters, but here I was, playing for several years, with almost no skills at bringing my character to life.

I uttered all the excuses: "But I’m not an actor!" "I feel silly talking with an accent!" "So-in-so has done a good job of leading the players around so far; why should I jump in?" "Maybe they’ll think my idea is stupid." "I’m just comfortable rolling my dice." "I’m just going to go with the flow, even though I know that is something my character wouldn’t do." You name it I’ve said it. If not out loud, then to myself.

Recently, I began playing D&D again after a hiatus of about a year and a few months. The reason I never played when my husband did was I just had two children. They ate up a lot of my time, and thus I felt I couldn’t play because there would be too many distractions for me and for the rest of the players to have fun. Now, my children are a little older and are able to entertain themselves somewhat, so I decided to crack open the 3rd Edition rules books and have a gander.

I was excited to play again, if only for rolling the dice! But the character I wanted to play was different than any other that I played in the past. I wanted to be a cleric. I chose my deity, skills, and feats, and away I went. What I learned about the game of D&D and my character has truly brought me out of my roleplaying shell as it were.

I learned four things that have helped me move from the backburner to the front line of role-playing. Those things are: group size, using my imagination with spells, being needed by the party, and really liking my character. Group size is important to the shy roleplayer. My current group is a relatively small group consisting of the DM and four players. I believe that to be the perfect party size for me. The more people involved in the game, the more opportunity there is to sit tight, not saying a word, and only coming to life when there are enemies to defeat. With a small group, you are forced to make more decisions and speak up more often. Even the addition of one more player could be disastrous for the shy roleplayer.

Never before had I played a cleric, and I found that I really like casting spells. Whether we are in combat, or just exploring a dungeon, I try to find inventive ways to use my spells. Perhaps summoning two eagles to feed a very tough, very hungry enemy was morally wrong in the eyes of my god, however it saved our party from dying, and we managed to make "friends" with the creature. I also cast a spell to preserve the head of our enemy so we could prove to the townspeople that we did indeed kill the dire lion that was terrorizing the forest. Using my spells in inventive ways was not only fun, but it gave me an opportunity to do something useful, and thus make me want to roleplay.

Being needed by my group because I was the only healer around was also a nice feeling. I found that it was in my power to either heal my comrades, or let them suffer. That is a very powerful position to be in! Of course, I’ve always healed them with no questions, but knowing that my party needed me was a morale booster that also helped to get me out of the closet.

Last but not least, I really liked my character. Sure, I liked my munchkins of old, but I was only interested in how many magical items I could get and how much ass I could kick. My cleric, on the other hand, had a personality! She wasn’t just a d20! I realized the things that I felt about the game I could apply to my character as well. No tolerance for liars, and a deep hatred for undead. With those two traits, I have built a personality that I really like. And with these quirks to build on, I believe I’m going to concentrate on taking a Prestige Class called "Radiant Servant of Pelor" found in the May issue of Dragon Magazine.

This will give me even more opportunity to roleplay, and I can’t wait! I only hope other shy roleplayers out there can find their voice and move to the front line. Have no fear, I say! It doesn’t take a funny accent, or acting skills to roleplay. It just takes a little courage to speak up. Liking your character is the key to having great fun.

So let the games begin!

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