by Mitchel Emley

Dungeons and Dragons thrives on roleplay - it is the heart of the game, the thing that brings people together at a table for months at a time. Roleplaying together generates amazing memories that you and your friends can talk about endlessly. Remembering times like these is predicated on being able to engage in meaningful roleplay. But what do you do if your players at the table aren’t interested? What happens if they just nod or shake their head to questions posed by NPCs or by you as the DM?

How do you get them to open up?

Use Their PC Names

It may be a bit of an odd idea to consider, but think about using just player names when at the table. Make it a rule so that people only refer to each other by those names, and when players are asking you a question have them ask the named NPC a question. It encourages players to think of themselves in the role of the character they’ve created and also builds credibility towards the identity they are roleplaying. People psychologically attach to names, so creating an association between player names and the players actions helps to reinforce the willingness for that player to participate. Keep in mind, however, that the in-character and out-of-character barrier needs to be reinforced to prevent a potential blow up in case a player has a bad role and takes it personally.

Have NPCs That Respond To Characters

Sometimes, players will choose to play a unique style of character; one who speaks in riddles, or in songs, or one who is mute. There can come times when the player gets bored of the character or they feel like they are a burden and thus shut down or shy away from interaction. To get them back in the game, consider building an ad-hoc NPC that will react positively to their character's specific quirks. If a player stutters a lot, and feels like this is embarrassing or affecting the character, having an NPC who is encouraging and helpful to them can go a long way towards building their confidence. Combined with praise post-roleplay (“Great job on that RP!”) you’ll quickly find the table behavior shifting and a more open environment taking root. If you have expert roleplayers mixed in with newbies, still consider using this tool as you don’t want to overburden the expert players by turning them into teachers (unless they want to be!).

The Descriptive Approach

Not everyone is comfortable making up a new voice for a new character ten minutes after their last one got squished by the bridge troll. It can be extremely intimidating too if you or some of your players are just skilled with voices or character building and roleplay in general. DND anticipated this to an extent with Player’s Handbook page 185; the descriptive approach. Instead of attempting to roleplay out every word and action, you can offer a summary of what was intended, how it was said (aggressively, happily, angrily etc.) plus any additional information they feel comfortable sharing. This is an excellent newbie technique that can help build player confidence and works best when in combination with a roleplay heavy DM, as the player can then learn at their own pace what character roleplay of that nature looks like.

Expand On Player Backgrounds

Another fun tool that you can use is to encourage players to add one or two additional bits of fluff to their backgrounds. This is best used for players who are not confident in their backgrounds or who are new to the game. A noble with a family heirloom, an orphan with a scrap from their long lost parents, a soldier with the dog tags of a fallen friend; all of these add unique character aspects that can be roleplay hooks for both you and the player. Player background is one of the most fertile zones to encourage more roleplay between players, because you as the DM have access to each of these and can plan accordingly. Soldiers with a fallen friend can have a more meaningful interaction with the noble with the family heirloom because they both have a sense of duty and potentially a sense of loss. Building rapport there helps encourage players to work together, which in turn encourages greater roleplay and better buy in with the campaign.

What Makes The Character Mad?

Ask your players this question. If they don’t have any ideas, brainstorm with them to figure out what would really make their character angry? What would drive that character into a rage and abandon all logic, caution, and reason? This adds emotional context for the player and the DM. If the player decides that seeing a Drow would make their character angry because the Drow enslaved them when they were young, the DM can choose to throw this into the game to draw the player in. Or perhaps another player is a Drow? Inter-group anger buttons are tricky, but can be really rewarding if the players are mature and able to handle these situations. For newbies, stick to having non-player related anger buttons since you want to encourage cooperation and greater confidence. Another great benefit here is that by adding a strong emotion like anger, it can encourage players to develop the other emotional states on their own (who would they love, fear, be friends with etc.).

Create Situations Players Can Use

Even if it isn’t super relevant to the campaign, suddenly veering off course to create a situation that players can use as a roleplay vehicle can prove highly beneficial in the long run. If your players aren’t really engaging with each other or if there is still that ice to break through, take a detour. Have them face a dilemma; a thief tries to rob them but is hilariously weak so now the players have to decide what to do with him. The party has an elf, so you have them go through the woods and encounter other elves, etc. There are a number of ways to approach this, all of them with great value to build comradery between the players and you. Be creative, be flexible, and above all listen closely to what the players are saying both in-character and out-of-character. A big part of being a DM is being sensitive to the needs of the players and making sure that the game is fun for everyone.

Final Thoughts

I hope that you enjoyed this little exploration of tips and tricks for DMs to encourage more roleplay at your tables. This is obviously not an exhaustive list, but should act as a great baseline to build from! As always, explore, expand, and experiment with things to see what fits your table best and have fun!

About the author:
Hello there! My name is Mitchel and I have been writing for over a decade. With a preference for the 'hard' side of science fiction and fantasy, I pride myself on complex and detailed worlds, characters, and stories. I'm a huge fan of books like Dune, The Culture series, Lord of the Rings, and the Dragonriders of Pern. Games that act as story generators, like Rimworld and Skyrim, are some of my favorites as well. I also have enjoyed roleplay in DnD, Star Wars, Final Fantasy, and Stellaris based settings. I'm located in Portland, Oregon, and have lived here for a decade now.

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