The Play's the Thing, Part I

Originally published May 28, 2014

Let's discuss how players can improve their characters and the game. I've done a lot of talking on systems and game master advice but not much for players. I'll be discussing The Play's the Thing, a player advice column by Robin D. Laws that ran in Dragon Magazine. The column provided advice to players for improving their characters and making their gaming experience better.

Most advice I've seen for players has not been terrible helpful. It's often confrontational and directed at the sort of uninterested or attention hogging players who probably would not seek out advice. In other words it focuses too much on what not to do. If you are reading this you are probably not part of that group. You don't need that advice. You need things that can actually help you.

In this series I'll be examining Robin's column and adding my own thoughts and experiences on how you can become a better player. Unlike the original column, I will focus on system free advice useful for all games.

Who Plays You in the Movie?

Issue 282, April 2001

As a tool for quickly defining a character, cast an actor to represent them in the game. This then gives you a shorthand for what your character looks and acts like. You might choose an actor with a distinctive persona: a worn down yet resilient police officer in the mold of Bruce Willis or a big lug like Sylvester Stallone. Or you can focused on a specific role: Sigourney Weaver in Alien, Stallone as the underdog in Rocky or the gun and bow toting super warrior from Rambo (or the wise cracking super cop from Demolition Man).

Ideally you want an actor/role that you know well. Try not to make the source material too obvious. You want the game master and the other players to see your character first and not the actor. It is fine, at least initially, to describe the character in terms of the actor you've cast for him or her but you should focus on the descriptive elements and not just say "she looks like Anne Hathaway."

A major advantage of casting an actor for your character comes from the ability for you to keep a consistent and detailed vision for how the character acts and looks. It is a source for you to draw on. Try to keep the mannerisms low-key so as not to distract your fellow players with the actor. Eventually, as you play, your character should deviate from the traditional role or inspiration, becoming their own person. This tool is a starting point, eventually your character should be able to stand alone.

In Play

While I've not personally used this method, I have had players use specific actors or roles as a shorthand for their character's initially and I think it works well. In my Mage: the Awakening game one of my players had her naive and genuinely nice neophyte represented by Anne Hathaway, adding to the character's generally cheerful and sympathetic character. As things developed the character deviated from that, emphasizing more of her eerie calm and comfort level with death and the supernatural.

I myself often start with a specific image for the character: a boastful young sorcerer, an educated explorer and spinner of tales, or an old scarred convict obsessed with his lost past. Some have had roles and people that they are based on (the explorer drew much from John Neville's Baron Munchausen while the convict physically resembled my father to some extent). I don't tend to do impressions so I haven't gone much further than that but I do find it a handy technique to get started with a character.