Improv For Gamers is a great resource for gamemasters and players alike. Written by Karen Twelves and published by Evil Hat Productions.
Improv Acting
In the Venn diagram of hobbies, we see obvious overlap between acting and tabletop roleplaying games (RPGs). But many of us who play RPGs are not actors; we weren’t even theater kids in high school. Improv For Gamers shows you what’s going on in the minds of those Second City and Whose Line Is It Anyway? performers and how those skills apply to RPGs.
Step into the fear.
Improv Words of Wisdom, Improv For Gamers
Improv Your RPG
The book Improve For Gamers grew out of a workshop run by the author and friends at a game store in Oakland, CA, USA. The workshop is now available online, but if that’s not an option for you, this publication enables game groups and individuals to learn improv at home.
Each chapter provides a series of activities (referred to as “games”—and some are exactly that, party games) that develop a particular RPG skill set. Some examples include character building, establishing relationships among characters, setting the scene, dealing with props, and the all-important “yes, and . . .” (More on that later.) The glossary defines the various acting terms used in the book, and several appendices provide tips on safety in RPGs, random locations and relationships, and recommended further reading and games that will particularly showcase your new improv skills. I’ve talked about some of these in my blog, Storytelling Games.
Say “Yes, and . . . ”
Improv Words of Wisdom, Improv for Gamers
Character Attitude Builds the Action
I learned somewhere along the way in my writing life that the phrase “Yes, and . . .” powers a whole lot of what I saw in improv comedy shows. Each actor responds to the “offer” provided by their scene partner with a positive attitude—Yes!—then they build on it—And . . ! Several years ago, I started applying this to scene building in fiction: I image my characters are in a improv scene together. In an RPG, this means taking up what your fellow players lay down and running with it. Even if it’s not what you had in mind. Because the goal is fun for all, not the fruition of your own special vision.
Make your partner look good.
Improv Words of Wisdom, Improv for Gamers
Using Improv For Gamers
The improv exercises are all simple and brief, depending on the size of the group. However, many established gaming groups might be reluctant to take thirty minutes at the start of a session to play an organized game. These activities would be right for another social setting, like a barbecue or New Year’s Eve party. A convention panel build around playing improv games would be popular.
Another way to utilize the book is to glean tips for the reader’s own play style: fostering best-practice in-game interactions and new thoughts on character building. One idea I really liked was to express character by vocalizing emotion (fast or slow talk, for example), adopting a facial characteristic (wrinkle or twitch nose, for example), and honing a predominate feeling (always irritated or anxious, for example). Apart from making your character a vibrant, distinct individual, this is also a great way to get away from regional accents, which are difficult to maintain and few of us non-actors really pull off well.
Recommendations
The book itself is a beautiful hardback printed on high-quality paper to support fun, get-you-in-the-mood-to-party illustrations. It is organized to be a quick reference with sidebar boxes for tips, lists of examples, and step-by-step instructions.
I highly recommend Improv for Gamers to RPG players, gamemasters, and all types of storytellers.
Do you think improv skills would make your RPG play even more fun? Or would “acting” distract you? Can you think of ways to apply improv to your writing? Drop me a comment! (Click this blog title and a comment box will open at the end of the post.)
Check out some of my other RPG blogs: Playing Games, American Artifacts: A Role-Playing Game Resource Review, A Letter-Writing Game Review: De Profundis by Michal Oracz, and Archive: A Role-Playing Game Resource Review.
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