The Good DM's Guide to D&D: Acting in Character

In today's adventure, our heroes did nothing heroic. They weren't involved in daring mine escapes, rooftop chase scenes, horse carriage crashes with loads of fireballs and exploding horses, and no, they did not delve into any dungeons, nor did they kill any dragons.

Today, the crew took a well deserved break from the monotony of sitting around a cramped table at Po Mo Ishi Mura to stretch our legs and explore the area around Arab Street. We braved the perils of human traffic and blinking road signs, all to have a little fun at a Costume Shop, then we went to a bakery, where we bought snacks, the arcade at Marina Square, and then just chilled in general.

'What kind of significance lies behind such obviously banal acts?', the diehard dice roller might ask. 'What DM encourages his players to have fun'?, and Typo forbid, away from the gaming table? It's an affront to tradition! A taboo, I tell you! Oh the mockery!

Then again, I'm not exactly a traditional DM, and I'm a firm believer in the creation of a wholistic gaming experience. It's easy to teach a player how to interpret the rules - it's a simple matter of learning to play by rote.

Me, I prefer for my players to become comfortable, not just with the mechanics of the game, but also in other ways.

The very act of going to the Costume Shop is a rite of passage. When players don the robes and cloaks and props that define their character, they become that character. It helps players solidify their vision of their character in the game, which will improve the quality of their roleplaying.

When everyone's taken their turn, and the adventuring crew has had a good laugh together, it also creates a bond that extends beyond the fantasy world in D&D. The shared experience becomes a fun and interesting process and livens things up for all and sundry.

And it is that act of having fun and opening up to other players that makes it more than a staid tabletop adventure, where all you talk about is killing Goblin A or Ogre B, which direction an ambush comes from, or whether you'd trade your kingdom for a horseshoe.

Afterall, D&D is not just about dice and numbers. The players behind the game are important too. They are the ones that make a difference.

Fig 1. Yan Sin dressing up as her character Az the Necromancer.

Fig 2. Orson and Yan Sin playing the D&D arcade game.