How do I learn to roleplay? Specifically...

If it's even still a thing go find some rp chat rooms. Make a character. Roleplay. Ask for tips. Most of them arent hard rules based so being able to actually roleplay is more important than worrying about dice rolls and the dm.

These are Little Witch Academia, right? Is it any good? Heard it was pretty Veeky Forums.

And how do I pretend to be someone else?

This. Let your character grow from how you behave and then reflect on that behavior.

>Most of them arent hard rules based
I like hard rules.
>worrying about dice rolls and the dm.
That's the part I DON'T worry about.

...

First, RP a character close to yourself. You can contribute a good character to a campaign without delving too far out of your own thoughts and actions.

As a DM I tell most people to pick an accent or an inflection to their average way of speaking. People have more fun using a silly bad british accent and it helps separate themselves from their character. it also helps with "in character" talk between players.

You're probably a smart guy and overthinking this. It doesnt always have to make sense, it's just fun to be a part of the moment.

I liked it, and so has everybody else I've recommended it to, including a guy who is very picky, and another guy who doesn't watch anime very much and watched the dub on Netflix.

"Would recommend to my grandparents."
"Lighthearted and fun."
"Made me smile."

It's about as Veeky Forums as Harry Potter is. Except LWA is better than Harry Potter.

Study psychology and learn to understand how certain character traits affect actions.

>Let your character grow
That's impossible in most games because I am required to write down some personality traits in advance on my character sheet.
I've played games that don't require that, but it led to inconsistent, borderline metagaming characters, who just wanted conversations to end. A coherent personality never formed. One session I'd try to be the voice of reason, the next session I'd be risking a TPK over pointless anger.

That just sounds like backstory. What does that have to do with PERSONALITY TRAITS and finding the words to speak in-character?
If I decide my character must be "independent, jealous and nurturing", how do I apply the method you described, in order to come up with lines of dialogue in a short time? Can you please go into a bit more detail?

>tfw you have problems using caps and roleplaying and angry person
This is probably autism but I don't have any problems roleplaying a character except when they are angry.

It's like lying but everyone knows.

This post is good advice. Acting classes at community college can be cheap and fun. But expect to put work in because if you don't you will always be sub par.

My professor had us write pages with on just one page of play. Why did they say that, what are they trying to do, what does that mean for this time / location/ culture?

If you have a detailed background, it will come easy. Draw on your experiences if you need to but when you speak you're someone else.

Another good bit of advice is intention. Everyone has an end game and social interactions are the obstacle. Choosing one verb is best. Too many words ruin it.

>My goal is to pursuade or
>to coarse,
>to swindle.

Another idea is to create those false memories through rehearsal or imagination. Even through narration on paper. That way you can draw on it.

you also may be autistic. Then I would look up how autistic people learn these things. Acting tips for autistic people

Same way game managers have to play NPCs. If you're looking for some mechanical ways of doing it:

Start with a character archetype. Go big and 2D. Think Indiana Jones, Joan of Arc, Optimus Prime.

Figure out their one driving motivation. Think tag line. "It belongs in a museum!" "God wills England out of France!" "Macbeth!" Exclamation point required because this consumes them. It makes them a larger than life monster.

Any action you can take that moves them closer to that goal, you must take. Any action that moves them farther away, you must avoid. Anything else should be setting up a future move that moves them closer to their hearts desire.

Initially, there just not that complicated. But as you play and get used to the setting and other players, maybe other little bits sneak through. Oh shit, you're terrified of snakes. Maybe you have vivid waking dreams of a smoking hot archangel that keeps telling you that you are chosen. You are slowly going insane from guilt.

Disregard the Macbeth, Optimus Prime fuckup. I thought I was being too pretentious with Shakespeare. Jesus, that came out weird.

Don't play on things like "be jealous" have a directive of what your character needs to accomplish though social interaction.

Let's say there's a farm wife with an abusive husband. You want to rescue her and take care of her (nurture her but jealous of him)

So your interactions should be more spiteful with him. Perhaps you talk shit or maybe you're more honor bound and decide that you must be polite but find it hard to do it. The complications limit you to the pool of interaction possibilities.

How would you approach that situation?
Would you yell?
Correct?
Rescue?

Practice being your character irl. Not to people but try employing that. Write it down and how it makes you feel. Feels unnatural? Why?

By adopting other mannerisms. Think it out ahead of time if you're that dense. Playing an idiot? Believe what people say, and write that shit down for later. Playing a religious character? Make up tenets for your god and quote them constantly. Playing a wizard, fuckin get in people's grills like Snape or some shit. ITS. NOT. THAT. HARD.

I already do all that, but when I have to make something up on the spot, it takes a very long time.

You need to start taking your autism meds again, Brad.

>it's been over a year since June, 2016 when OP asked for help with a similar situation
>thinks that surely this time will be the time that Veeky Forums will be able to help him

There is no think. There is no try
Only do

>That's impossible in most games because I am required to write down some personality traits in advance on my character sheet
I just picked mine from the tables in the background list. 5e, for reference. I tried to fit them together as well as I could, and then let my character's actions/reactions/way of comporting herself stem from there.

Really? You can't imagine what Marty from Back to the Future does on the fly?

>on the McFly
missed opportunity, there

I don't mean this to be harsh but people here are being dicks because it's normal to be able to pretend to be someone else. Unless you're severely autistic. In which case you learn by doing, or watching. Or, if that fails, just play a character with little personality, or like yourself, there's nothing wrong with that.

Not at all.

>there's nothing wrong with that
THEY. KICKED. ME. OUT. OF. THE. GAME. FOR. BEING. TOO. QUIET.

>people here are being dicks because it's Veeky Forums. Welcome to Veeky Forums, where the points are made up and your feelings don't matter
fix'd

>THEY. KICKED. ME. OUT. OF. THE. GAME. FOR. BEING. TOO. QUIET.
Surprise, surprise, people don't want to play with a silent sack of numbers. Git gud. Listen to that other guy and take an improv class. Also, smoke some pot and realize that none of this shit really matters. Do that, and I'd bet against Vegas odds that you'll lighten up and, once you lighten up, all this playing-pretend bullshit will start to come to you much more easily.

>Inconsistent borderline metagaming charactesr
Dude just play your fucking self. Write down character traits about yourself.

> Not at all

Okay, how's this? Can you do Arnold's mission obsessed character from Terminator?

>Take your own life
Great advice

Veeky Forums is not a therapist, or a magic wand.
Veeky Forums is not qualified to help someone with this mind numbing level of autism figure out how to interact with other people.
Veeky Forums cannot undo what God, or shitty parenting, has wrought.
This person is abnormal and needs professional help, the level of option paralysis he displays is beyond the pale of normal cognitive function.

Hey, it's you again.
Are you back to get more perfectly good and comprehensive advice to ignore?

>You never truly know a person, until you know what they want.
A basic statement of motive. This is the key to character behaviour. What does your character want, in the next five minutes, in the next few hours, by the end of the day, by the end of the week, by the end of the year, by the end of their life? Once you know what your character wants, at every level, their priorities and behaviour will come naturally.

Let's say your character wants information on a person, so they're going to meet a guy in a shady bar. But your character also wants to be a good person, by upholding certain standards of ethics and behaviour. And they also want to impress their superiors, which means solving a mystery by any means, even if that means associating with criminals.

Right away, your character is going to feel very strained - they need their informant to speak easy, to get the information to solve the mystery, to impress their superiors. But they feel dirty hanging around criminals, and would like to avoid getting involved in any illegal activity. But they also can't let on their feelings about criminals, or their informant might take offence. Your character is treading a fine line between what they need and what they want, and this will come through in their behaviour and speech.

In a more relaxed setting, your character might just be sitting in a tavern with the other PCs. Again, what does your character want right then and there? Do they want to share something they saw on the way over? Do they want to get to know one of the other PCs better? Do they just want to relax, and drink in silence? Again, what the character wants, and what they don't care about, will show in what they say and do.

Listen.

TTRPGs are not high art.

No-one is expecting you to make a masterpiece.

You are improvising. You are making shit up on the fly. No-one is going to blame you if you just throw out the first thing that comes into your head. That is how all improv works. You don't stop to think - you just roll with what you're given.

Broad strokes trump fine detail. You don't have to have a perfect grasp of your character's psychology - three or four personality traits written on index cards will serve you just as well.

>all this shit
shit nigga, just calm the fuck down

Oh come on, that one's not even human. The other players will think I'm not even trying to roleplay, and kick me out after one session.

This is pretty good, I'll keep it in mind and take notes next time.
See, I replied! No one can say I'm ignoring the helpful posts.

>three or four personality traits written on index cards will serve you just as well.
Clearly they don't, because I already write down three or four personality traits on my character sheet before the game starts.

> I'm not even trying to roleplay

Roll a physically strong character. Fail to grasp a single piece of symbolism, sarcasm, or wit, and let the other players see it every time. Assume the literal meaning of anything someone says.

Think Data from Star Trek or Drax from GotG.

Flow with it. Try to think beyond mere systems and the 'game' part of role playing game, then don't force it too much trying to go out of your way to do X that would suit the character nor be too lax by doing Y randomly and forgetting about your character. Find that balance thing that doesn't exist through, as said, flow.

Roleplay, you know. Feel it, going beyond it being 'embarrassing' and other normalfaggotry. No site nor space for normalshittery in the sacred discipline that is roleplaying. You will find that even then you will not be munchkining but going along with yourself, finding, again, another balance between properly using the systems to advantage and not going full retard powergaming not being uselessly uncapable either.

>Specifically, how do I get into a character's mind well enough to decide which exact words they say

You are the character. You define the character. Any words you say are the words the character would say. No one is going to "tone police" you. No one is going to say "What the fuck, Billy? Your character, Tingvald Yorgenson would never say 'furious' or 'incensed', he would only say 'mad' or 'angry'"

Additionally, no one is going to say "No, Billy. Tingvald wouldn't be willing to trade with the slavers; he would attack them on sight."

Here is an exercise: on a scale of 1-5, list things you like. 1 is you like it enough to say you like it; 3 is something you would definitely buy without hesitation if youhad the cash; 5 is something you would kill to own.

Use the same scale for things you dislike: 1 pass unless you need it; 3 actively avoid or wish to dispose of it; 5 You will do everything possible to be rid of it.

Make lots of these scales: anger, sadness, jealousy. Tie your feelings and experience to the scale.

Now fill out the same scale for your character.

So Tingvald meets a goblin merchant, and your character trait is "hates goblins". How much does he hate them on the scale? His hate is about a 2, which is about as much as you hate eggs with runny yolks. You would rather skip a meal than eat runny eggs, unless it's the only meal you will get that day, or someone gives you $500 to do it. How does Tingvald respond? He refuses to trade with the goblin merchant, willingly paying more to another non-goblin merchant instead. Does he call the goblin a nigger, or just glare angrily? That choice is yours, Tingvald is you. Would you say "FUCK THESE EGGS" or simply eat around them? There is no wrong answer here.

How do I know Timgvald's hate for goblins is a 2, and not a 5? I just pulled a number out of my ass. Or I referenced the backstory I wrote about him, where his first love left him for a Chad greenskin. Or I rolled a die and referenced my scale

I tries playing some solo-player campaigns via the interwebs, worked wonders. Since it's usually text only, you get a lot more time to think over the specifics of your characters actions.

Make a character that is basically Jesus. Then think what would Jesus do? On subsequent characters mix it around a bit with other historical or fictional characters that you know well. After a while you should be able to roll random personality traits and rock with it. Worked for me. Might work for you.

I get what you're sayng, but are you sure NO ONE WILL EVER scold me for playing an inconsistent character?
Like if my character sheet says "considerate, charming, devious" and I say something that's clearly the opposite of all those traits, it's not wrong?

No one is ever 100% consistent. If you're a pedantic autistic (as it seems to be, with your inability to parse language or empathize l), then yes. I'm sure there is at least one human on the face of this planet that is willing, able, and motivated to chronicle every word and nitpick every decision made by your pretend person.

That person is likely YOU, and that is why you are kicked from groups.

Honest people lie. Cowards stand their ground. Vegans eat meat.

Maybe Tingvald hates goblins at a 2. Then he's having a bad day and his stomach hurts and he doesn't want to tolerate any shit, and his hate is at a 4 that day. Maybe Tingvald got laid, and found a lucky penny, and he's a little drunk, and instead of hate, he tolerates, maybe even LIKES goblins, or a specific goblin.

>Clearly they don't, because I already write down three or four personality traits on my character sheet before the game starts.

What personality traits are you writing down?

Are you ever actually referring to them?

I listen to music they would like before we start.
I like to sit how they would sit and just hold myself as they would why we play.
Maybe try and use words like they would too.

>Oh come on, that one's not even human. The other players will think I'm not even trying to roleplay, and kick me out after one session.

Humans can be driven. The only difference between the T-100 and a human being is that the robot doesn't need to eat, drink, poop or sleep, and so can stay wholly focused on its goal. The basic psychology is the same: iIt has a broad, overarching goal (kill Sarah Connor), which is divided up into multiple smaller moment-to-moment goals (get clothes to complete disguise to get close to Sarah Connor without raising suspicion, get weapons to kill Sarah Connor with, find the correct Sarah Connor, chase down and kill Sarah Connor).

Dunno just practice bro

If you *never* act according to your PCs stated personality, then the other players might wonder why you bothered defining one in the first place, yes. But unless you're outright defying your alignment (in any system that has alignments), then no-one is going to call you out on it.

Again, TTRPGs are not high art. No-one is expecting you to create a perfectly consistent character. A bit of inconsistency is expected - you're not a paid actor, nor a paid writer. You are a hobbyist having fun.

It's a game. You should really just relax.

...

It can be just practise. Get somebody to give you a bunch of conversation prompts and practise your character's style of speaking. Do it as fast as you can, then analyse -afterwards- and correct.

Nobody "knows" how to do it, we usually just do it naturally (some of us better or worse than others) so we have little idea how to explain it to you.

But have you ever tried writing? A simple scenario with simple, one-dimensional characters like... I dunno Santa Claus or Batman.

Obviously if Santa Claus saw a kid crying in the street he'd sit down next to em', ask them what's wrong, relate to them, and send them off on their way.

Batman would probably tower over the kid and gruffly inform them that it's not safe here, maybe grapple them up to some high ground and tell them to find a safe place before running off.

Homie, humans aren't pronouns like an anime character. They make decisions based on the life they have lived and what they learned. If someone grew up on a farm instead of a school, what would they value?

This.

The easiest way is to pick a character from fiction you know well and like. Use that personality for your character. Not the name and story, just how they talk, how they act. Then just be them in character. That's how i did all my roleplaying the first couple years, and i still use it as a starting point.

Just don't use anime. No one behaves in a remotely human manner in anime, and you will come off weird.

So many layers of autism
Everything from "I don't know how to play pretend" to "they will kick me out if I am bad"
Don't take it so seriously OP

There's a difference between being "driven" and being literally built for a single mission with no emotions or opinions outside of that.
Didn't the T-100 say like four lines of dialogue in the first movie? That's less than what I already do, and it's clearly not good enough.

If I act according to my character's stated personality only at the rate of chance, at best 50% of the time, is that WRONG and will other players kick me out again?

I'm not asking how to pick traits for a character such as "what would they value" at the start of the game.
I'm asking how to convey those traits in dialogue, in a situation that I can't possibly have thought about in advance because it comes from the GM and other players rather than myself, and do so consistently across many different situations, at an acceptable speed.
Trying to simulate my character's entire life would be even slower.

just b urself

...

You are a highly disfunctional human being, I hope you are getting professional help.

>they will kick me out if I am bad
Are you implying that is an untrue statement? It has happened before and it can happen again.

this pasta is really stale
OP is a fag

>No one is ever 100% consistent.
Yes, but should I be making an effort to avoid inconsistency at all times? If so, how do I learn to do this faster? If not, how often and under what conditions is it acceptable to go against my character's written personality traits?
It can't be just "practice" because I had been playing tabletop RPGs for years, and half the players in that group had never played a tabletop RPG before.

Nigger if you're SO worried about them thinking less of you, why not just tell them 'sorry guys I kinda struggle to get into my characters head sometimes - I'm not being quiet because I'm not invested, and I'm not just r changing my character's personality at a whim. It's haut hard for me to get into sometimes'

No one expects absolute rip top perfect rp every time

>No one expects absolute rip top perfect rp every time
pleb

git gud or get out

>I get what you're sayng, but are you sure NO ONE WILL EVER scold me for playing an inconsistent character?

OP, serious question: are you the same Bajoran Helmet autist who asks if [THING] is allowed on Veeky Forums and then makes six or eight threads claiming that [THING] must be allowed on Veeky Forums because some random user told him so?

>git gud or git gone

Well yeah but you gotta do some gitting gud before you can be gud.
Op is struggling at that stage since he is overthinking it massively

Good luck fixing this, mayne. I mean it.

>why not just tell them 'sorry guys I kinda struggle to get into my characters head sometimes - I'm not being quiet because I'm not invested, and I'm not just r changing my character's personality at a whim. It's haut hard for me to get into sometimes'
Because I did tell them that, in my own words, and they didn't believe me.

The same way we all try to act cool in front of others, and how we flirt when we have that first crush. We are not ourselves.
Define that persona, create a story for them that would attaches you to the character. Using real life with fantasy helps you connect and create ideas.

Look buddy, correlation is not causation.
Your groups don't kick you out because you're bad. They kick you out because you're obsessed with being bad.
From every single one of your posts over your multiple threads, I've gotten the impression that you're just this intensely unpleasant person to be around, regardless of roleplaying.

So you're telling him to not be himself?

Hm...

I see what you're getting at, but no.
I'm not telling him to temporarily act like he's not himself, I'm telling him to permanently stop being himself. Or to permanently stop being. That's fine, too.

This is a fucking copypasta from months, maybe years ago, word for word. Same image and everything. Good work OP

It's a copy, but not pasta. This is clearly the same idiot still struggling with his complete inability to comprehend basic advice.

I dunno he seems to have a lot of people ruled up. It might be the genesis of a pasta

I'm completely serious about this, and I'll ask again.
Should I be making an effort to avoid inconsistency at all times? If so, how do I learn to do this faster? If not, how often and under what conditions is it acceptable to go against my character's written personality traits?
It can't be just "practice" because I had been playing tabletop RPGs for years, and half the players in that group had never played a tabletop RPG before.
Playing as a literal robot with no real personality, who barely speaks a few short sentences, doesn't seem like it would be any different from what I already do, which is unacceptable.

>Should I be making an effort to avoid inconsistency at all times?
No, you should relax.
>If so, how do I learn to do this faster?
Don't force it. Relax.
>If not, how often and under what conditions is it acceptable to go against my character's written personality traits?
Any time it would make sense from their perspective. The guy who "loves children" might still be able to bring himself to kill Baby Hitler, under the right circumstances. Stop overthinking it and relax.
>Playing as a literal robot with no real personality, who barely speaks a few short sentences, doesn't seem like it would be any different from what I already do, which is unacceptable.
Personality doesn't have to come solely from dialogue. That's just the easy way. Fucking relax.

You're taking shit too seriously. That's your problem. You care too much. Relax. It's just a game.

If you have infinite resources, go to college and take an entry level creative drama class. It covers the basics of getting into and playing a character, which isn't just good for Veeky Forums, it's good for all sorts of shit.

Practice, but during your spare time.
When you are in the car, take on the personality of one of your characters, and just free speak for a while. Turn on some talk radio, or news, or some shit, and respond to what ever gets said with something you feel the character would. Don't spend forever, the point isn't to get it down to a science, the point is improv. Next time you play a vidya gaem, play it like one of your characters would.

When you are walking somewhere, imagine how that character would walk. No, not weighed down by a million pounds of shit, just if they were going somewhere. Give that walk a try for a few seconds, iron it out. Imagine what that walk says about someone.
Practice. That doesn't necessarily mean on the job, it means put some time aside and do exercises. Run your material.
A good character, and I mean a really, really good character will probably stick with you for a while afterwards.

Start with a cartoon.
Be a pirate for a while. Do piratey things, text your friends in piratespeek, pepper your speech with "arrghs".
Do that long enough, and you can try something more subtle.

>Should I be making an effort to avoid inconsistency at all times?
How inconsistent are real people?

>Any time it would make sense from their perspective.
I know that, but I need to think hard to get into their perspective. If I don't think, I'll slip into playing a self-insert and that's a cardinal sin of roleplaying.
And again, ACTIONS such as "do I kill baby Hitler" are not too difficult for me, only DIALOGUE slows me down enough to be a problem with other players.
>Relax. It's just a game.
Yeah, a game in which I am being judged on my performance, and if I roleplay wrong they'll kick me out. It has happened before. How can I relax knowing that?

Significantly, but not 100% of the time, not in a way that makes their actions seem completely random. Otherwise we would have no concept of personality traits because every person would act every possible way as much as any other person.

>Yeah, a game in which I am being judged on my performance, and if I roleplay wrong they'll kick me out.
Wrong. You are being judged on your inability to enjoy the game due to your paranoia. It's not any inconsistencies in your roleplaying that lead to you being kicked out. It's this air of unease, tension and, well, anti-fun that you radiate that ruins the other players' enjoyment of the game and makes them want to get rid of you.
The only way to avoid that is by relaxing.

What does my character SAY before and after killing baby Hitler?
I want to say "I hate doing this but it's Hitler and I only get one chance".
Oh no, another player has said a very similar line of dialogue a few seconds faster! Now it will sound like I'm copying him!
Do I just say "yeah, what he said"? No, that's lazy. I need to say something original and insightful. I need to add something to the conversation.
I need to enrich the story before it's too late. The clock is ticking.

Then they're shits, and not worth worrying about.

Find a group that aren't such stuck-up pricks.

>Guess he did Nazi this coming.
>A small twitch for my finger, but a big thrust for my Nazi hateboner.
>This is for your crimes against the art world.
>You should be happy we don't gas you.
>Now Charlie Chaplin's moustache won't be disgraced.

In their own words:
"We kicked you out for being a lazy ass who looked for excuses to make as little effort as possible."
From my perspective, I was making a great deal of effort during the game, hence "overthinking", but it didn't show through text.
So they wanted me to make EVEN MORE EFFORT which is the exact opposite of "just relax and turn off your brain bro :^)"

What do you want, a cookie?
Each of those would take me several minutes to write. I guess if I'm ever in a game where I kill baby Hitler, I'll be able to copy and paste.

Addendum: the only "excuses" I ever gave were variations of "what you're asking of me is beyond my mental capabilities" and "I'm not interested in doing assignments outside of game sessions like it's a second job".
I just wanted to engage in an activity that I thought was FUN, but they expected more.

Trying pretending to be one of your family members or someone you've known for a long time.

This, Beautiful

>ITT: Commander Data tries tabletop RPGs