Blog Archives
Creating NPC Dialogue
Say what now?
Me (Voicing an NPC) – “What is it that you want from me?”
Player – “Woah, is that (BBEG)?”
Me – “What? No, he’s just a guy. Just a friendly guy.”
Player – “He sounds a bit like (BBEG).”
Me – “… dammit.”
Voicing NPC’s have never been something I’ve been particularly strong at. It takes practice, a level of comfort with your players, and some tricks and tools to draw from. I myself try to practice voices when I’m commuting and stuck in traffic. Sure I may look like a crazy person, but we’re in the 21st century. Maybe people look at me talking to myself and assume I’m on the phone (hands-free of course) rather than voicing a psychotic henchman for my campaign’s BBEG.
DM Dave put up a great video discussing this very topic. Check it out, won’t you? Hopefully, it helps you as much as it will (probably) help me.
How to Improvise as a DM
Anyone who has ever run a tabletop RPG for a group of players knows that there always comes a time when one or more of those players will take your finely crafted encounter and flip the damn thing on its head by asking to do something you never thought of.
Of course. Let me just consult my notes.
When that situation arises, you have two options. Well, three if you go with the image listed above. Mostly you only have two options:
- Say No. Hey, you’re running the show. You’re totally within your purview as a Dungeon/Game Master to do so. Stomp out that player uprising!
- Say Yes. Sure you have nothing firmly planned, but with a little minor prep, you can be ready to tackle a situation that you weren’t completely ready for.
But how? How does one prepare for the unknown? Especially if one is terrible at improvising?
I could reinvent the wheel and tell you what others have told me. Or I can link a video from Icarus Gaming, discussing this very topic. Check out the video, and you too can be a bit more prepared for players who try to throw you a sucker punch – counter with a disaster that could kill millions.
Just… just watch the video.
Rokk Talk 