Players have it easy.

They have exactly one character. They can focus all of their attention on portraying that character. And once they get into character, they can basically just stay in character for the entire session.

As a GM, on the other hand, you have to portray everyone else in the entire universe! Not only will you almost certainly need to swap between multiple roles during the session, you’ll simultaneously need to be handling your adventure notes, world description, and pacing, not to mention all of the rules! Plus, there can easily be scenes where you need to play multiple characters all at the same time!

That’s quite the juggling act.

So let’s see if we can simplify it down a bit and get things off on the right foot.

INTRO TIP #1: PICK YOUR ROLE

Simple interactions with a single NPC in a scene where the sole focus is the roleplaying are, obviously, a good place to start because they let you stay focused and (relatively) undistracted. So, whenever possible, try to frame up your roleplaying scenes like this.

If you have a situation where the PCs are talking to a group of NPCs, pick one of them to be the “spokesman” of the group and focus on them. You can often ignore the rest of the group entirely, but you may find it useful to think of them as scenery: Occasionally have them agree or disagree with what’s being said, just to remind everyone that they’re there.

INTRO TIP #2: TOUCHSTONE

Create a physical touchstone for the NPC you’re roleplaying. Everyone defaults to an accent (i.e., talking in a funny voice) here, but it’s easier to do stuff like:

• This guy rubs his neck a lot.
• She sniffs imperiously.
• They nervously flip a coin.
• They lean forward
• They cock their head to the left when listening.
• They talk with a smirk.

This touchstone does not need to be clever or unique. It might be something you just do once or twice during a conversation, or it might be a persistent mannerism that the NPC does throughout the entire scene.

The touchstone gives the conversation a memorable hook and identity at the table. It’ll help the players to say, “Oh, yeah! It’s this guy again!” Making each NPC distinct — even in the most minor of ways — will make them more vivid, which will also help to make them feel more “real” to you and the players.

INTRO TIP #3: OBJECTIVE

The NPC should have an objective. What does the NPC want from this conversation/situation?

This should not complicated. You should be able to state it in a single, simple sentence. You might also find it useful to state the objective in the first person:

• I want the PCs to rescue my daughter.
• I want to get out of here.
• I want them to believe my lie.
• I need them to understand how dangerous this is.
• I want them to give me an excuse to help them.

The objective may or may not be in conflict with the PCs’ goals, but when in doubt, setting an objective of “the opposite of what the PCs want” is almost always an effective default.

The objective gives you focus: Whenever you’re unsure of what the NPC should say or do next, just ask yourself, “How can I accomplish my objective?”

INTRO TIP #4: RESOLUTION POINT

When a roleplaying scene begins, the characters will talk to each other for a bit. You’ll establish what the PCs’ goal(s) and the NPC’s objective are. Everyone will be working towards their desired outcome, and this will generally lead you to one of three outcomes.

First, it will become clear that some or all of the characters’ goals in the scene have been accomplished. (For example, the NPC wanted to convince the PCs to save his daughter and the PCs have agreed to do that.) When this happens, you can just wrap the scene up. Good work!

Second, the scene will be interrupted or transform into a different scene. Maybe a PC becomes so frustrated that they throw punch — BAM! Now you’re in a combat scene. Or an NPC realizes that the PCs are onto him, so he bolts and makes a run for it — VOOM! You’re in chase scene. (These scenes might revert to roleplaying scenes later.)

Third, everyone in the scene has made their best effort to accomplish their goal, but it remains uncertain who will succeed (if anyone). This is the moment to call for a social skill check or similar mechanic. If the result is a success, great! Describe the success and move the scene to its conclusion.

If the check is a failure, on the other hand, use one of the techniques from Failure for the Beginning GM to figure out what happens next.

The real trick, when the PCs have failed (e.g., this guy isn’t going to talk), is wrapping things up: Given the chance, players will gladly just spin their wheels trying to achieve the thing they’ve already failed to accomplish. The skill check will help with this, giving a clear point of demarcation, after which you can shift to summary: “You keep at him for another hour, but it’s clear he’s not going to break and there’s no point in continuing the questioning. You send him back to his cell. What do you want to do now?”

(The better players will also figure this out, take their cue from the result of the skill check, and help you bring the scene to its conclusion: “I shove him back into the chair in disgust. ‘Get him out of here, Tommy. Maybe rotting in his cell overnight will loosen his tongue.’” But you can’t always count on this.)

Scenes can get a lot more complicated than this, of course. But for right now, just keep your eye out for these three possible outcomes and you’ll be in good shape. (When you’re ready to dive deeper here, check out The Art of Pacing.)

Bonus Tip – Key Info: Paradoxically, it’s not unusual for an adventure to include an NPC for a reason that’s antithetical to what the NPC wants. A very common example is an NPC who knows something (e.g., a clue) that the PCs are supposed to learn (e.g., by interrogating the NPC) but which the NPC doesn’t want to tell them.

The key thing here is to go all-out in roleplaying the NPC’s objective. But then, as the GM, remember that YOUR goal isn’t to stonewall the PCs. You may also find techniques like Default to Yes and Failing Forward useful when resolving the scene.

Go to Part 2: Intermediate Tips