I Took Improv Classes... My DnD Games Have Changed Forever
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- Опубликовано: 22 сен 2024
- The advice "learn improv to be a better DM" is pretty common, but to get up on a stage with no idea of what you're going to say in front of a room full of strangers is... a big deal.
I'm curious to know if anyone came to DnD / TTRPGs from improv / theatre / comedy first? Or if any of you have done improv as a result of running games?
I actually did it, and learned SO much, and expanded my comfort zone by miles.
So I'm going to repeat the advice: learn improv!
If you're in or around Glasgow, learn it here:
✨ Glasgow Improv Theatre ✨
improvglasgow.c...
Congrats on stepping outside your comfort zone and trying something new! I'm glad you had fun and hope you can drag people from your group into some games! 😂
New to the channel - if you haven't yet - take a look at PbtA games like Blades in the Dark (if you like heists) or if you are comfortable with very dark horror Kult: divinity lost. or if you prefer the fantasy setting Ironsworn.
PbtA or Powered by the Apocalypse has less "crunch" and more story/improv. I regularly run KULT 1:1 games, using a custom Tarot deck for character creation and then fully improvising, no prep possible.
I started out with improv in london, because I thought I wasn't ready for GMing wtihout and it paid off big time. Especially the "listening" to scene partners as well as myself.
Having the awareness to notice that I am getting slightly emotional, or doing a movement I don't usually do when I am in character and leaning into that is great. But also noticing a certain wording or gesture/expression of a(nother) player and using that in roleplay, Our emotions are often there before we even know it ourselves and paying attention to that as a GM or player adds so much to the game
Great comment - can you remember where that idea of not feeling ready came from? When I first started GMing I was full of bull-headed confidence: "of course I can do this, Matthew Mercer makes it look easy" ...reality quickly caught up with me though!
It's that Active Listening which was the gamechanger (literally) for me - it forced me to realise that the direction of the plots that I plan ahead of time wouldn't actually work at the table, and would hurt the game if I forced them on my players. Thinking about scenes, not plotlines has made my session prep much easier and less stressful as I'm not trying to force players down a certain path.
@@RenegadeRolls before I started playing DnD I soaked up all GMing and DnD advice and what I heard a lot (Marisha Ray, Brennan Lee Mulligan, …) improv theatre helped them - and I kinda took that as 'If you want to be a good GM, you must take improv classes', and I wanted to be a good GM from the beginning, you know perfectionism sitting in the driver seat.
And I have to say I had one or two sessions in the last 5+ years that I am unhappy with as a GM. The experience has been from great to okay but rarely awful. And the one session I vividly remember being bad, was one of my early DnD sessions where I put the PCs in a dream world where video game logic applies - explore => die => respawn => explore differently, and I failed to telegraph that in this environment death was not permanent, the players were okay with it, but I had the expectation of a fast paced game, where the players being cautious snailed through the dungeon.
Unfortunately there seem to be no improv classes where I live...looks like I'll have to fly out to Glasgow! 😁
Yep. I’m afraid so. You will be very welcome here though! Make it a holiday and come for a week or two!
Thanks for the awesome tips! Will definitely try to get out of my narrative comfort zone more :D
You’re welcome! One thing I cut from the video was that the improvised parts can still be supported by good prep: focussing on all the things you struggle to think of in the moment. On my GM screen I’ve got lists of names and places near where the party are, as well as reminders to mention all the senses when describing scenes. Knowing I’ve got all this to fall back on makes it much easier to make “big story moves” on a whim! Good luck!
Great video, and well done on doing something new! I wish I could have caught the show!
I think I could definitely improve in ‘being in the moment’ with my players and not concentrating as much on what happens next and what I have planned for them in the adventure 👍…. Looking forward to seeing the video of you on the improv stage 😉
It’s still good to have ideas of where it could go next, and if you have the prep time, it’s well spent giving thought to the motivations of NPCs and different factions, as that gives you the tools to be ready for all sorts of player shenanigans.
The advice I heard from the coaches at the theatre is that improv is very much about the atmosphere in the room, and doesn’t translate well to recordings… though I’d love to do an Actual Play with my improv friends some time!