Thread by @Epidiah

I can't act, I don't do funny voices, I mispronounce every fifth or sexth word, & I'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's my turn to narrate, I pause to think about what I'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'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've formed over the last thr—fuck I'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'm crafting & blessing them with. These are mysteries that we're uncovering together. Right?

Quick Aside: If you've got acting or storytelling chops you can bring to bear at the table, I'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't larp.

Here's why I think this technique works.

"When it's my turn to narrate, I pause to think about what I'm going to say."

Pausing is great! It's dramatic. It provides breathing room. If your fellow players don't jump all over the silence, it'll draw the spotlight your way.

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

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

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

"Then I share my thoughts."

Now that we'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's reactions without having to act it out. Just sharing thoughts.

"Occasionally I follow that up with, 'Right?'"

Right?

You know, I was going to be cute & end it on that, but there'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's ideas & sentences, but in a fruitful, creative way. Everyone feeding off of everyone else's inertia. It appears as chaos, but something is being created.

Now imagine reading a good book—a real page-turner. You'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'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're all up in each other's fiction, but there are rules—written or otherwise—that govern & regulate this. It's my turn to talk, or you have the authority over this subject, or it's time to consult the 🎱.

In this mess, we can often slide around a bit. There's wiggle room. Room to play.

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

But I'm also leaving the door ajar.

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

That's one of the superpowers of this medium.

Anyway, there are other tricks out there, I'm sure. You don't have to know them all. Just find one you're comfortable with, one you can rely on, lean on it when you need to, & if you're feeling brave, experiment with others.

#TTRPG is a medium where it's rather safe to fail.