This post is inspired by the blogwagon summons on the Prismatic Wasteland blog. Since I’ve been reading and thinking about improvisation recently, I decided to write up some suggestions for being a good player in an improvisational tabletop role-playing game.
What do I mean by an “improvisational” tabletop role-playing game?
It’s one where there isn’t a pre-planned story or sequence of events. Instead, the game master (GM) may set up antagonists with goals and other challenges, but doesn’t decide in advance how these will be resolved or what will happen next. The GM will determine how the situation evolves based on what the player characters decide to do.
Games can vary in how improvisational they are. In some cases, the GM will have a loosely planned story but will improvise at a smaller scale. At the high end of the improvisation scale, the GM isn’t planning ahead at all.
For some players, improvisational games seem natural (perhaps more natural than other types of games). But other players find it difficult or even intimidating to decide what to do if the GM isn’t providing a clear path forwards. For players who’ve only experienced pre-written adventures, an improvisational game can be stressful and confusing.
Advice: communicate early and often
Hopefully your GM (if the game has a GM) has explained the style of game to you. Many groups are now holding a “Session Zero” to discuss the themes, tone, characters and other aspects of the game before it starts – this could be a good opportunity to ask how much improvisation the GM is planning.
If you’re confused about what choices are open to your character or what would make sense, feel free to ask questions out of character. (If your GM discourages questions or out-of-character discussion, this may be a warning sign – it’s probably better to play pre-written adventures with this type of GM, and probably even better not to play at all with them.)
If any aspects of the game are frustrating or confusing for you, raise the issue politely early on rather than letting it fester. And compliment your GM and the other players about in-game events that you think were fun, cool, interesting or dramatic.
Advice: make and accept “offers” that fit the genre and make sense given who your character is
The term “offer” is from theatrical improvisation – see my post on Impro for how Keith Johnstone defines the term. In a tabletop role-playing game, we can think of “offers” as anything the GM describes that your character would reasonably react to. A proactive character can also make offers by taking actions to pursue goals of their own.
Also, don’t forget that the other player characters are also making and accepting offers. A game is likely to seem more coherent if the player characters are responding to each other realistically and helping with each other’s goals.
If your character is being proactive, what actions should you take? This could be a daunting question for some players. I’d suggest thinking about what makes sense for your character, what fits with the genre of the game, and what could lead to dramatically interesting results if things don’t quite go to plan. A shared intuitive understanding of what makes sense and what’s dramatically interesting is useful here, but if you don’t think you have this, then the earlier advice about communication applies – you could ask the GM and the other players for their thoughts on possible actions for your character.
Advice: two games I recommend
Fiasco makes it transparently obvious that there is no pre-planned story, because there is no GM. I’d recommend this game to players who are used to being cautious and tactical – this is a single-session game likely to end in disaster for most if not all of the characters, and you’ll probably be playing a character you don’t actually want to be successful.
The Doctor Who Roleplaying Game (also known as Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space) has an ingenious Story Point system combined with so-called “Bad Traits” (which are actually very beneficial traits to have). An example of a Bad Trait is “Insatiable Curiosity” – if a character with this trait walks into a dangerous situation just to find out an answer, they’ll gain a Story Point which can later be used to help them get out of trouble. This is a system that explicitly rewards in-character risk-taking and actions that move events forwards dramatically. The rules are relatively flexible and can be adapted to different settings if you’re interested in the style of game but don’t want to play in the universe of Doctor Who. I’ve found that this is an excellent game for introducing players who’ve been playing lots of pre-written adventures to a more improvisational style.
Advice: a pitfall to avoid
When some players experience an improvisational game for the first time, they make their characters take extreme or nonsensical actions. This could be deliberate, to see how much the GM will let them get away with or to prove to the group how “creative” they are – this sort of selfish behaviour is likely to damage or even destroy the game. But some players may just get carried away with newfound freedom. If you think you’re likely to fall into this trap, consider requesting a shorter, sillier game (such as Fiasco, mentioned above) when it fits into the group’s schedule so that you can have fun with the freedom. And again, bear in mind the earlier advice on communication – if you’re worried that your character’s actions could become disruptive, you can always ask the group for their views.
Advice: try it out if you have a chance
Different people will have different tastes, and improvisational games aren’t for everyone – many people will prefer more structured stories. However, I believe that a well-run improvisational game can be remarkably compelling and satisfying, and I’d recommend exploring the possibilities if they sound at all appealing to you.