One of the most thrilling parts about our hobby is the organic way each game can fly off the rails at any given moment. Negotiations with a baron or guard captain escalate into a “run for the hills” chase scene, and perusing a library shifts into a Mission Impossible-esque stealth mission after your Rogue learns of a priceless tome hidden within a vault somewhere on the premises. Improvisation (or simply “improv”) is like calcium to the bones of any great TTRPG, but that means you have to be ready to utilize it. Does this mean anyone who wants to play a TTRPG has to first take a semester-long Improv 101 class? Of course not! There are some simple ways to conquer the unexpected and that’s what we’ll start to cover in this post.

NOTE: This is not to say you can’t or shouldn’t take improv classes; I’m sure your games would be better for it! But, they’re certainly not a prerequisite.

In my experience as both a Player and Dungeon Master, improv in this environment is easier when you don’t try to plan for every outcome and instead focus on knowing the elements that typically don’t change regardless of the circumstances; what I’m calling static knowledge.

For Players

In many cases, a Player’s static knowledge is what their character wants from the situation, what they want to accomplish long-term, and a defining trait/quirk. In the negotiation example above, perhaps you’re playing a Bard who, along with her adventuring compatriots, are beseeching the baron to grant them access to a family crypt where a vampiric thrall is rumored to be nesting. Your Bard, in her quest to be forever recognized by the illustrious Hall of Valor, sees this as yet another tale to spread her renown. However, her disposition immediately transforms from jovial to vicious the moment someone insults the flute she inherited from her grandmother.

NOTE: Other factors about your character (e.g., background specifics, equipment, available magic, special abilities, etc.) tend to change too frequently or require too specific a scenario to unfold to be considered static knowledge. While still incredibly important tools in your improv arsenal, I recommend not committing these to memory and instead referring to your character sheet as needed.

Focusing on these few bits of information allows you to absorb and react to the scenario unfolding around you. In the midst of the negotiations, which up to this point had been going rather well, perhaps the baron makes an off-hand comment about the poor craftsmanship of your instrument and offers a sizable allowance to find a better one. This insult will not go unanswered and, to your DM’s delight/chagrin, this is where negotiations go sour.

For Dungeon Masters

As a Dungeon Master, your static knowledge is not only the goals and quirks of the NPCs currently engaged with the Players but also the goals and resources of the antagonizing force(s) in the campaign. Rather than trying to create Plan A through Z for the baron to navigate the negotiations (as this not only takes up hours of your precious time, but almost always guaranteeing your Players will create a scenario you did not consider), focus instead on how he treats others, what he is trying to accomplish, what tools are at his disposal (guards, knights, bounty hunters, arrest warrants, etc.) to keep his plans moving forward, and his breaking point (i.e., the point at which he will either abandon his goals or throw everything he can at the adventurers).

When dealing with small-scale threats like the example above, most of my effort is spent in the initial preparation to ensure the resources available to the antagonist are plausible and meaningful to the story. Large-scale threats, like those affecting entire nations, worlds, or even entire planes of existence, are more complex but surprisingly just as easy to improv. These larger forces also have goals, resources, and various quirks you can also commit to static knowledge. By focusing only on static knowledge, you can adjust both characters and schemes on the fly; your world begins to react organically to the choices made by your Players without wasting hours of your life in preparation.

Final Thoughts

The most important part of improvisation is maintaining control of your narrative in uncertain circumstances. For Players, that narrative is almost entirely your character, hence why their goals and defining traits are your static knowledge. Dungeon Masters, on the other hand, spread the spotlight across many different, usually shallower, characters. In addition, many of these characters are tied to an overarching narrative the Dungeon Master is telling. For these reasons, DMs must consider the goals and resources of the NPCs and the larger forces at play.

There’s certainly a lot more to discuss when improving our improv game, and we’ll cover those in future posts! In the meantime, try focusing on the static components of your characters, NPCs, and antagonists and seeing where the improv takes you.

Until next time,

Matthew Wulf

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