17 Improv Tricks for Better D&D Roleplaying 🐉🎭 

This is great advice and basically exactly what I’m looking for. I want to learn to be a bit better at saying “yes and” when playing this game. I feel like I say no too much. Thanks 😊

This is exactly the video I was looking for! Most "how to improv roleplay" videos are specifying either how to improv as a DM when the players go off-the-rails, or the basic concepts of roleplaying (decide what your character would do in that situation and then do it). I wanted to find improv tips and tricks that dnd players (and DMs!) can use to take their RP interactions to the next level from 'basic' to 'entertaining others'. Liked and shared! Thanks again!

I feel like playing at a table and actually seeing people's faces make roleplay and improv easier. I play with people on Discord so I can't fully get invested in my characters and I get bored of them pretty quickly. I think this video will actually really help with that

Fail Big? Excellent advise! That creates some of the most memorable D&D you can play.

100%. The best thing I've done to better my skills as a DM and as a player was take an improv course. Of course that escalated to more advanced courses and now performing improv on tsgae but heck, two hobbies is better than one. :D

Some of the best advice I've ever seen to improve your game. Even 30-year veterans can relearn principles that they've let go. Amazing video!

I'm not currently a DM, but you gave a GREAT PACING TIP here about starting sessions with action, with a "bang". Gives me the idea to start as many sessions as possible immediately with action, combat, or "juicy stuff", stuff where initiative comes in. Then AFTER that, do the "celebration party", the shopping (I often think about things I COULD have used when I DON'T have them handy in combat), spell preps, RP. Then BEGIN the NEXT "action" requiring initiative right at the end, calling for initiative...then full-stop, end on a cliff hanger. You mentioned the "Matt Mercer Effect", and I hadn't really thought about it, but he often does this order in sessions. Now I see it! My party's sessions usually start with a LOT of planning & dickering around. Which I actually don't mind, I like all the RP & stuff (and what girl DOESN'T like shopping?🤣😆), but we don't get into initiative action until 2/3 or 3/4 after sessions begin. Our sessions start between 6:30 or 7 pm, and go on.....until 1-2:30 am. Because you CAN'T have "no action", start initiative and some "Boss Battle" a couple hours later, look at your watch & say "oops, gotta end, gotta run" without making the whole session a downer. But if action starts first, you can trim "downtime", "planning", as needed for a session running over. Some downtime or planning stuff could even be in group chat or email chain if there just wasn't sufficient time. The way my DM is currently running it, the "downtime activities", planning, etc., happen while we're fresh, not terribly hungry, etc. Trying to stuff pizza in your mouth because it's 11:30, you haven't eaten since breakfast, while juggling combat order, scanning notes, checking your spell lists, WHILE trying to pay close attention to what's going on during combat SUCKS. I'm going to discuss this with my DM (while not suggesting his planning sucks, lol!). But I bet we'd wrap our sessions up much faster and in a more exciting way, with more anticipation for the next session, if we did this. 1) Start with ACTION 2) Do the "non-initiative stuff"---which CAN be shortened if session runs long---but also gives players a chance to eat, relax without stressing too much about every detail on the table 3) End with an initiative roll for next time...if players arrive more than 20 minutes late, keep their spot kind of open in the background, I suppose. We always take 20 minutes to settle in anyway. I think an entire video on pacing might be worthwhile. Flutes Loot Rocks!!

Thanks so much-I got back into D&D recently after um a long time away, and I'm really appreciating the storytelling aspect of it, but I also get frustrated occasionally when I can tell the story isn't necessarily moving along and I don't know what to do as a player to change that-I'm really looking forward to trying some of these hints out.

I have no idea why this channel has so few subs and views, the content is great, and presented in a way that makes it easily digestable. Here's wishing you well in your growth. subbed.

I've been looking for help on improv as a DM for a long time. So glad I finally found this video. It's gold!

This is excellent and extremely valuable advice to have so neatly packaged in a video. Thanks for sharing your expertise like this! Great channel.

Glad to have come across your channel and have always thought that my improv skills were well enough. But after some frustration from a few sessions, I realized I needed some tuning up. The points you brought up were great new insights or greatly worded reminders! Edit: The points you pointed out that really stood out to me were making others look good, fail big, and prioritize preparation. As an aside point my character's name is Fleet! A Forest Gnome Chronurgy Wizard. Thought to mention with how similar of a name it is to Flutes! Ha. Cheers!

Awesome advice, thanks a lot ^^

Just found this video - sorry so late to the discussion. This is excellent advise on several levels. It’s going to be strongly suggested viewing for new players to my campaign. Thanks for gathering all these tips in one spot.

Awesome video man

Really great video, thank you.

Such a fantastic video, though I think it probably hits harder for those who have RP'd for years. I think you could do really well splitting this video up into a few. Some of these lessons are probably going to be better received by new players (e.g., Let Go and Play, Do Not Fear Silence). Some I only started to piece together a few years into my RPing (e.g., Make Others Look Good, Find Common Ground, Fail Big). It really helped me to hear "Make Statements Not Questions". I applied it in my RP and I could see the difference it makes. Such a little adjustment but such a big improvement! Two things I'd love to share back: (1) I often reference "Dan Harmon's Story Circle" when I am working on a personal question (as a PC or DM) or when I enter into a more meaningful roleplay moments. It really helps me move towards a satisfying resolution. It's such a simple structure that it can be applied to even small RP conversations. I apply it ALL the time. The big thing with this structure is you always end sort of in the same place you started (only having changed), so when I enter a scene, I note the set-up mentally so we can end in that same set-up. For example, imagine a scene starts with two NPCs chatting with each other and developing a romance, then my PC stumbles into them and interrupts them. That tells me this scene could end with my PC leaving them alone again and continuing my walk. It doesn't have to end there but it's my "go-to" if another resolution doesn't develop naturally. From there, I start to sort out all the bits in the middle of the Story Circle. What are everyone's needs (perhaps my PC needs information and the NPCs need privacy)? What's the price people have to pay to get what they want? Will they pay that price? How will this scene move from order to chaos and back to order? (2) One last thing that's helped me tremendously, that I picked up when playing a Kenku in an online game, is to keep a dialogue cheat sheet. For my Kenku this developed from writing down quotes but then having so many quotes that I had to find a way to better organize them so I could reference them very quickly. So I organized them by the type of scene. There are quotes that are generally very useful. There are quotes that are useful in very heavy moments. There are quotes that are useful during stealth missions. There are quotes that are useful for insulting people. There are quotes that are useful for complimenting people, etc. I started to apply this to other PCs that I was giving strong accents or personalities. So for my very adventure-addicted, Scouse-accented PC, I've a whole 3 page word document. The top of my document is a reminder of the features of a Scouse accent (crunchy "K" sounds, ts like ds, etc). Below that there 15 or so very general phrases for agreements, compliments, disagreements, nicknames, etc. After that there are some quotes for expressing negative emotions or insults. Then quotes/sayings for fight scenes. Then quotes/sayings for really heavy moments such as a PC death. I am not always looking at the sheet but... if I see a particular moment is coming, I might take a quick peek for inspiration. For my Kenku, I also keep a "bingo sheet" which are funny quotes I picked up but haven't found the right moment to use. This helps me insert fresh call backs instead of just relying on the same quotes over and over and over.

Love it! I tend to rewatch this video before a first session. You lay out an amazing foundation for new and veteran players alike. Keep it up!

This is gold! And so it your website. Thank you!

Good job and awesome tips! Tysm ❤

very useful for me, the new dm and my party thank you.

Amazing video. The ideas in it are really going to help. I especially liked your point about making others look good, playing into what others are doing, and failing big. I have always embraced failed rolls. It is a great way to add to the RP. There is a running joke in my group that my fighter can't hit anything with a bow. That has led to RP of him frustratedly drawing his sword and yelling for someone to hit the flying creature on the ground so he can hit something. I am hoping in the future it might lead to the ranger giving him some tips and help him practice so that getting the sharpshooter feat makes sense.

Love it, thanks for the video

This is amazing and I need to watch it every week.

This was some really great advice! I'm going to use a few of these! - The Innkeeper

Like number 300 👍 Great stuff as always. There are life lessons here, not just D&D.

Helpful thoughts to make the game more fun, thanks for sharing

Damn fine advice. Thank you Sir!

Helpful!!

Great overview

why'd you have me think of a bill cosby dm for 'get straight into the action'? - "ya' see, with the kids these days, and you got the hippin' and the hoppin' and the bippin' and the boppin'" his way of saying mission find his lost bottle in the woods

Loved this video

This is such an under-watched video! Clear, concise and informative! Consider me subbed! (I also got the be the 69th like so... nice...)

subscribed

Thanks. I'm TERRIBLE at improv. Last day i was hosting a campaign for friends and they met with their superior on-field during a mission. I had a player ask if he should refer to the superior in question as Captain. My dumbass couldn't think out an answer and just said "Do what you want, Soldier". Kinda cringed especially since it didn't quite fit in the context.

This is great help for a newbie like me. Any suggestions on how to jolt myself out of metagaming? I have a real hard time not applying things I know in real life that my character may not or probably doesn't know. In real life I'm a person that has a backup for the backup of a plan.