Forums » RP Discussion » Tabletop rp vs written rp

Now before anyone thinks this is a which one is better discussion, you can relax because it isn't.

With that out of the way, this discussion actually comes from some irritation with my boyfriend. We do tabletop rp using roll 20 and he is a good DM. However I have trouble actually roleplaying properly in the tabletop and have a hard time figuring out what my character should do. Basically I can't get nearly as in sync with the table top characters as I can with my written ones. This is made further difficult by the fact that I have admittedly made some poor decisions in the tabletop setting and gotten some shit for it. As a result I often ask my teammates what should I do in an attempt to avoid making more stupid decisions. As a result my normally lovable boyfriend says that I am shit at rp and when I say that I am good in the written format, he says that anyone can be good in written rp when they can have a day or more to think about it. I disagreed with him and he basically said I am wrong.

So rather then stew about it, I decided it would be a good idea to talk with my fellow rpers and hear what they think. Does it take a different skill set to excel at tabletop vs written? Can someone be good at one without being good at the other?

Yes. There are two parts to Tabletop RP. Improv, for the actual roleplaying, and system mastery, for playing the actual game. Writing utilizes a different skill set. Typically, it doesn't use a system at all, although it could.

Some people can write their asses off, but freeze up when it comes to improv in front of others. When you write, there's no immediate feedback. In the moment, you're only trying to satisfy yourself when you write. While roleplaying you can worry about sounding stupid.

Then, there's the system. You may think of something that you feel makes sense for your character to do, only to find out the system doesn't support it, or that's just not something your character is designed to be good at.

Good news. Tabletop roleplaying is a skill, one that becomes better with practice. I can't give you any specific advice for your situation without more info, but you've probably put countless hours into your writing. Don't beat yourself up that you aren't equally skilled at Tabletop. And don't let your boyfriend give you guff about it either. What little bit you describe about how it's going irritates me. He should be supporting, not trying to make you more self conscious.

I would say, from first hand experience, that roleplaying within a tabletop environment is different than a purely written one.

For instance, if you only experience the table top version, you are more likely to post in short bursts and expect a shorter response from everyone. Forums are often very slow when compared to the faster, instant reply of face-to-face communication at the table. This changes with exposure to a written story style, but one has to sit around long enough to /be/ exposed!

But it is much more than post length. While playing tabletop, a player is a character. It's difficult to explain! I would describe written roleplay as writing a play. Each character of yours has a part to play and a dance to do, but the director isn't directly involved. The characters and the director are separated by a thick wall. Tabletop, especially live tabletop, is different in the idea of the player /being/ the character. Mannerisms, voice, posture, are all important when in the moment in tabletop. But most importantly, there's usually not a script a player can refer to. It's all improv, I would say, which is part of acting. But it's not acting in a play, as there's no script, or cues, or asking for lines.

It's important to return to being the player, only, after sessions. Some tabletop players will write in first person if they're not use to written roleplay, because of their more intimate connection with their characters.

Tips on improv work wonders for live, tabletop games! Number 1 should always be to know of your characters' goals. Being goal orientated helps with making decisions that relate to your character. Writing the steps needed to complete these goals helps drive your character's story in the direction that it needs to go. I personally write a To-Do list on the back of my characters' sheets to remind myself of my character's goals. Most are small things, which are perfectly fine. Decisions made to further your character's goals are /never/ bad. They may lead to terrible things, but a decision made mindfully is a wonderful thing...despite what others may think.

Though if the bad decisions you are referring to are related to "casting the wrong spell" or "not moving to flank with the rogue" or "not dousing the troll in fire/acid to stop its regeneration" then that is trouble with system mastery rather than roleplaying potential. If your gaming group has a high system mastery and "play to win", they may have different expectations from its players. My gaming group is a mix between high and low levels of play and sometimes I have to remind the other knowledgeable players that not everyone is so accustomed and familiar with the mechanics of the game. If your problems stem from system mastery, these can be solved with time and shouldn't be fretted over.

{Edit: I was sniped!}

The bad decisions I am talking about are basically me coming up with an idea, thinking it's a good idea and then after doing it, quickly realize that it was a stupid idea. Basically the sort of thing that if I had thought about it a little more would have realized that it was a stupid idea. xD I did deserve a bit of shit for them I will admit, but am still a little gun shy as a result of them too.

For example the latest one was that my character was in a robot that had a rocket launcher attached. There is a big concentrated group of bad guys below me. So one of our fellow group mates says that I should blow up the bad guys with the rocket launcher. Now this sounds like a fine idea right? After all, big group of bad guys+rocket launcher=raining bad guy parts...except I kind of overlooked something. There was our other teammate not that far from the blast zone to be fair I thought he was far enough away...yeah I ended up blowing him and the animal carcass he took shelter in about 40 feet away. Oops my bad.

Then later I ended up unintentionally sending the same poor guy another 20 feet away when I was trying to rescue him by clearing the zombies around him. Well what happened was that I rolled for accuracy and got a nat 1. Well since I hadn't mentioned where I was aiming, the gm decided that I aimed for the zombie right next to my hiding friend. To be fair, had I not rolled that nat 1, I would have said that I was aiming in the complete opposite direction to try to clear a group of three enemies that were approaching. However since I didn't mention that before I rolled, he made me shoot next to friend so he got another all expenses paid trip another 20 feet away. So I got more shit for this one as well.

Dude suggests you blow up the enemies and when you do it you catch a buddy and they're giving /you/ a hard time. Shoot, girl. Stick to your guns. You've got a robot with missiles. Your allies should know better than get close to a tasty cluster of enemies. Sure, you try not to catch allies, but sometimes it's a tactically sound play.

And Rolling a One isn't a stupid move. It's luck. And the GM deciding to interpret it in the worst possible light isn't on you either.

Both of those examples aren't you being stupid. They're just part of the game and you learned from both.

First, mind your area of effects. Remember this question: How many can I catch without hitting any allies? Put it on the GM to answer that question for you.

Second, make sure the GM understands your intentions before you roll the dice. That way he can't second guess you into a bad situation. When I'm running I try to make sure I know what a character is trying to do, but that's largely because of the sort of games I run.

Oh, I see! Robots are much more difficult to roleplay in tabletop terms. I would personally shift the blame to poor inputs by the other characters. Those two ideas did not seem to be entirely yours and as a robot, you can get away with poor decisions if they are voiced by other characters!

For example:

Character 1: "Hey robot, you should shoot those minions!"
Character 2: "Woah, don't shoot, I'm down here!"
Robot: "Command accepted, acquiring targets, preparing to fire."
Roll dice, blow things up, and have fun.

Also, why is your boyfriend pressuring you about being able to roleplay a robot of all things?

I'm thinking she was piloting a robot. It sounds like it could be Rifts, but there are a number of games where you can pilot Robots/Mecha/Gundams/whatever.

Whether she is a pilot or the robot itself, the bad decisions are not truly her fault either way. Everyone can roll terribly and moving other characters is the least of bad things that could happen. But no one should punish others for something so imaginary and for entertainment purposes.

Well considering the circumstances of both written and table top. I would say that table top, agreeing some of it above, is improv but the difficulty may also come from the fact that you are not physically in the character's fit steps. I have a trouble getting into it because in written rp, each character has a sort of dialect, accent, their own personal way of moving, touching, acting. Some of which can not be reproduced in action due to the roleplayer, but only in words.

For example, I played as a young female of 21 who owns a monopoly at level 20. I, as male, don't exactly know what to do as a female. I can try doing in words. In fact, it's easier in words. Meeting up to a person, my character would take a bow and say words of courtesy. Introduce each other. Sometimes soft spoken. If I do this in real life, I would mess up 10/10. Why? Cause I, as a roleplayer, am not used to doing any of these above. Words written gives a sense of individuality to the character rather than ourselves. Separate us from them. It gives a flow of time. I have noticed some players in DnD/Pathfinder would print their personality onto their characters, being them, rather than giving them a life.

It was a star wars walker and we didn't roleplay it having voice commands. It was just something we used for all of one scene before having to abandon it to lure away the zombie hoard. I only ended up piloting it due to chance really. Also it's not my character getting the shit, it's me personally getting the shit. Just for clarification, my character is a human subspecies....it's someone else who is rping a murderous droid. xD