Thread by @Epidiah, I can't act, I don't do funny voices, I mispronounce every fifth [...]

I can& #39;t act, I don& #39;t do funny voices, I mispronounce every fifth or sexth word, & I& #39;m kind of a shit orator.

But I can still play the hell out of a #ttrpg. I even GM some!

Nobody: "How is that even possible, Eppy?"

Eppy, optimized for clickbait: "With this 1 simple trick…"

When it& #39;s my turn to narrate, I pause to think about what I& #39;m going to say. Then I start by narrating what I, Eppy, the player, am doing: "I think what happens is..." Because I am, literally, thinking that.

Then I share my thoughts. Occasionally I follow that up with, "Right?"

I& #39;m going to call this a technique which makes it sound honed & deliberate, but in the interest of honesty I should say that this is just a mess of habits I& #39;ve formed over the last thr—fuck I& #39;m old.

The technique is delightfully conspiratorial. It draws the other players in by sharing the wonder of discovery with them. This is not a performance that I& #39;m crafting & blessing them with. These are mysteries that we& #39;re uncovering together. Right?

Quick Aside: If you& #39;ve got acting or storytelling chops you can bring to bear at the table, I& #39;m all for it! But games that require I act back at you are just going to disappoint us both. This is a significant part of why I personally don& #39;t larp.

Here& #39;s why I think this technique works.

"When it& #39;s my turn to narrate, I pause to think about what I& #39;m going to say."

Pausing is great! It& #39;s dramatic. It provides breathing room. If your fellow players don& #39;t jump all over the silence, it& #39;ll draw the spotlight your way.

"Then I start by narrating what I, Eppy, the player, am doing: & #39;I think what happens is...& #39; Because I am, literally, thinking that."

It feels like I& #39;m workshopping something here. I& #39;m not. The rules of the game tell us that much. But I& #39;m inviting you in as if I were. …

… Even though I& #39;m crafting this bit of the tale, this let& #39;s us engage with the fiction from a place very different from performer & audience.

"Then I share my thoughts."

Now that we& #39;re in this place together, I am unburden from the shackles of performance. I can stumble over my words, change my mind half way through, and just describe a character& #39;s reactions without having to act it out. Just sharing thoughts.

"Occasionally I follow that up with, & #39;Right?& #39;"

Right?

You know, I was going to be cute & end it on that, but there& #39;s a nuanced communication thing going on there with that final "Right?" And maaaaaybe I have more to say about it.

Or rather something to say about a feature of the #ttrpg medium that the word reflects.

Imagine, if you will, a roomful of writers all vibing on compatible wavelengths, brainstorming a story—jumping on each other& #39;s ideas & sentences, but in a fruitful, creative way. Everyone feeding off of everyone else& #39;s inertia. It appears as chaos, but something is being created.

Now imagine reading a good book—a real page-turner. You& #39;re gobbling it up & when you set it down for the night, you lie in bed thinking about what happened or what might come next. However, you& #39;re only say in the matter is to keep reading or cast it aside. You choose the former.

A good roleplaying experience can lie somewhere between these two poles. We& #39;re all up in each other& #39;s fiction, but there are rules—written or otherwise—that govern & regulate this. It& #39;s my turn to talk, or you have the authority over this subject, or it& #39;s time to consult the

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In this mess, we can often slide around a bit. There& #39;s wiggle room. Room to play.

When I say, "I think this is what happens, right?" most of the time I& #39;m just out here looking for a little phatic confirmation.

But I& #39;m also leaving the door ajar.

I& #39;m reminding everyone that I& #39;m not reading from a text. We& #39;re not watching a movie. If it isn& #39;t right, we can change it immediately and at no cost.

That& #39;s one of the superpowers of this medium.

Anyway, there are other tricks out there, I& #39;m sure. You don& #39;t have to know them all. Just find one you& #39;re comfortable with, one you can rely on, lean on it when you need to, & if you& #39;re feeling brave, experiment with others.

#TTRPG is a medium where it& #39;s rather safe to fail.

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