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So, you want to
try role-playing, but think you don’t know how? You do; you have
role-played all your life. When you wore that Dracula costume on
Halloween, lurking around and speaking in a terrible Transylvanian accent, you
were role-playing. When you furrow your brow, stare menacingly at your
friends and promise them in your best Terminator voice, “I’ll be back…” you are
role-playing.
Role-playing is
just that: playing a role--whether it is Dracula, the Terminator or the
Dreadlord of Targoth. Some roles, like Dracula, just about everybody knows
how to play. Some roles, like King Henry VIII, many have heard of but
wouldn’t really know how to play. Some roles you are completely free to
make up and play any way you want to.
A helpful way to
understand role-playing in a scenario game is to think of the game as a story
and the role players as the main characters. The author of the story is
the game producer who provides a setting, a sketch of a plot and the backgrounds
of the main characters. After that, he turns the characters loose at the
game’s start and they complete the story through their actions. As you can
imagine, the main characters acting on their own often change the story in
unexpected ways. This is what makes role-playing scenario games so fun;
you never know what’s going to happen or how it’s going to end!
Role-playing is
much easier than most people think, and you should not be afraid to try it.
After all, there is no real “right way” to play any character, and games are not
usually won or lost even upon the action of the major role-players.
Role-playing adds an entirely new dimension to the game beyond the battles and
bunkers that makes it an absolute blast.
Every player in a
scenario game has a role to play. Every player has a character card, and
if you look at it you will see a name, a rank or position, and a short
description of that character’s motivations and/or feelings. These “grunt”
roles make great jumping off points for you to make and role-play a character of
your own. You can develop your character any way you want and play him/her
to the hilt without even telling anybody. If you are normally a shy, quiet
person you may choose to be commanding and bold as you play the character of
“John T. McLean” seeking revenge against the Time Troopers who killed his
family.
Begin with the
information on the card and put yourself in the character’s shoes. Is he
angry with the government/infidels/alien invaders? Why? Is he/she
motivated by grief, evil, anger, revenge, self-sacrifice or love? What
kind of feelings would somebody like this character have in the situation (game
setting) you find yourself in? How would they feel about the role player
standing before you asking for a meeting or offering a deal? Would you
even listen to this person, or are you so full of rage that you would kill them
on the spot? Are you so afraid of them that you will blindly obey their
orders, or will you find the courage to stand up to them at last? The key
is to put yourself into that character’s head and then act and react as if you
are that character as the game progresses.
If you are really
interested in taking a major part in the story’s outcome, it is best to start
off with one of the less prominent roles where you can work on your role-playing
skills without the pressure of too much spotlight. Read the open role
descriptions carefully and consider how you would play each one. You
should be able to get a feeling for how you might like to play each character
and then pick the one that you find most appealing. For some, this means
the character most like themselves, for others, it is the character that is
least like their normal lives. Whichever role catches your interest and
provides possibilities is the one you should choose.
Role-playing Tips
The following are
some tips to aid you in being a successful role-player:
Do
Some Research
Many scenario games and their characters are to some
degree based on historical events, popular books and movies or other sources
that can be researched. Read the book. Rent the movie. Take
some notes about the character you are going to play as well as on those with
whom he is most likely to role-play (arch-enemies, allies, etc.) Make note
of any quirks, catch phrases, special equipment or tactics you would want to
incorporate into your playing of the character. If you come to a game to
play “Neo” from “The Matrix”, you probably don’t want to don a ghillie suit and
take up a sniper’s position in the hills. Come to the field in black and
be prepared to take on “Agent Smith” who wants nothing more than to destroy you.
Pay particular
attention to your character’s enemies and allies. Knowing what they want
as characters will be invaluable in dealing with them on the field. Are
they motivated by greed, hatred or hope? Think of ways BEFORE the game
that you can use their motivations to your advantage. Doing research about
your character, the other characters and the game setting can make all the
difference in making your role successful on the field.
Immerse Yourself in the Role
While you are on the field, call yourself by your
character name, not your real name or call sign. If your character is a
leader, lead. If it is a cowardly backstabbing wretch, then find ways to
gain and then betray the trust of others. If you are a greedy pig, then
try to amass as much game wealth as possible. This is why it is important
that you choose a role you feel comfortable playing, so that later you can
immerse yourself in it without conflict.
Play the Role
Too often role players do what is most profitable
for their team without regard for the role they are supposed to be playing.
As a role-player, you absolutely should help your team whenever possible, but if
you find yourself doing something against your character’s moral code or
motivations, you may be helping your team, but you are not role-playing well.
For example, your character, the High Priest of the
Forces of Light, has thrown himself into a desperate fight to save humanity from
the Darkness. An evil role-player contacts you and offers to trade you a
powerful defensive technology for a price in human souls. Even though your
team might benefit more from having the technology than the souls, it would be
evil of you to accept the bargain and as the High Priest of Light you should
decline on that basis.
Make
Props
Strictly speaking, player-made props are not worth
points in the game. However, they can be extremely valuable to your side
if played well. This happens in two ways:
If the prop looks
like it will add a dimension of fun, realism or interest to the game, the
scenario producer may in fact incorporate it into the game for points. Try
to make props that will enhance the game and you may end up holding a valuable
prop without having to capture it at all!
The other, much
more interesting way that player-made props can made valuable is through
role-playing. There is no rule that you cannot lie, misrepresent or
otherwise bamboozle a player on the field. If you can trick a role-player
into trading legitimate game props or resources for your own player-made prop,
then you just got something for nothing! Just remember, this cuts both
ways; you may be trading your worthless prop for their worthless prop, or a
valuable prop for a worthless prop. When trading props or information it
is a “let the buyer beware” proposition.
Props can also be
used to misdirect the other team. False information, bad advice or other
information you want the other team to believe can be planted in convincing
ways: through spies, items “lost” on the field, etc. If you can divert
their resources away from legitimate game goals and onto your wild goose chase
with a well-placed fake, you can help your side immensely.
Information = Life = Trust
As a role player, you are privy to information that
nobody else has. You are also positioned to meet and trade with other role
players who have information nobody else has. Many role-playing encounters
consist of information swaps or deals wherein each side tries to come out ahead
through better negotiation skills. Go into a meeting with the goal of
obtaining as much good information as possible while giving up the least amount
of your own. Don’t lay it all on the line; hold back, bargain hard, and if
it is within your character’s moral code, consider trading bogus information or
disinformation.
Disinformation is
the flip side of legitimate information. Disinformation is information
that appears legitimate, but is actually designed to confuse or confound the
recipient’s goals. If the other team desperately needs the Time Portal
Stone and you know it to be hidden safely in your base, you can frustrate their
efforts by selling the disinformation that you know the Time Portal Stone is in
the hands of a character named “Will Stark,” but you don’t know which team he is
on. If you can convince them of this, they will spend time and energy
trying to locate “Will Stark” while you use the information they traded for your
disinformation and run missions.
Keep in mind,
however, that once you are caught lying or trading disinformation then your
credibility goes down. Whether it is real or not, role players will no
longer trust the information you are trying to sell and its value will decrease.
You must strike a balance between the real information you have to sell, the
real information you need, the trust that you have in the other role player and
the trust that you need them to have in you.
Have
Fun
Most of all, remember that this is a game and that everybody should have a good
time. If you take a role and feel overwhelmed by it, just do your best.
The role is yours to interpret and there is no right or wrong way to do it.
If you come out on the losing side of a deal, figure out how you got rooked and
consider it a lesson provided to you by a better role player. Try to turn
the tables next time.
Do your best to advance the story
through the playing of your role, and win or lose HAVE FUN! |
