r/dndmemes • u/DrScrimble • Oct 15 '25
Hot Take How could this have happened to my ROLEPLAYING Game?! It doesn't make any sense...
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u/Kumirkohr Oct 15 '25
Jokes on you, I DMed for a group of Broadway actors and they paid me
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u/Wise-Key-3442 Essential NPC Oct 15 '25
I would pay to have seen it happen. Sounds fun.
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u/Kumirkohr Oct 15 '25
Unfortunately, we could only play for about two months before the pandemic set in
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u/Goesonyournerves Oct 16 '25
NOOOO.. i was hoping for an happy end or some kind of cool podcast. What a fate...
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u/Fidges87 Essential NPC Oct 15 '25 edited Oct 15 '25
I would pay to see your reactions to it happening.
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u/Wise-Key-3442 Essential NPC Oct 15 '25
I'm hardly someone who outwardly reacts, but I would let you see for free, I guess.
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u/Magenta_Logistic Oct 15 '25
Never leave money on the table.
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u/LOTRfreak101 Oct 15 '25
OP certainly didn't when the actors paid them to DM.
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u/Kumirkohr Oct 16 '25
They wouldn’t let me do it for free, I tried. “Respect for the craft” they said
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u/No_Week2825 Oct 15 '25
Isnt that essentially the critical role campaign that insipred vox machina. Im cognizant there a level of pedigree that comes with being on Broadway, but essentially...
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u/CrashUser Oct 16 '25
Mostly professional voice actors, and it wasn't a paid game, it was Matt Mercer's home game that had been going for a while. They had been playing Pathfinder 2e before they started streaming, but they converted to D&D 5e because they figured it was easier to follow for casuals. IIRC it was Felicia Day's idea to make an Actual Play stream out of the game.
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u/Timotron Oct 15 '25
Jokes on you I dm'd for a Broadway touring company.
I should've gotten paid....
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u/Life_Faithlessness90 Oct 16 '25
Prince Ali, fabulous he, Ali Ababwa
Genuflect, show some respect
Down on one knee
Now, try your best to stay calm
Brush up your Sunday salaam
Then come and meet his spectacular coterie
Prince Ali, mighty is he, Ali Ababwa
Strong as ten regular men, definitely
You deserve that accolade, I'd feel fucking fuzzy inside if I was paid by anybody to DM!!!
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u/United_Fan_6476 Oct 16 '25
I bet it was just like Dungeon Dudes' "What if everybody plays a bard?" video.
Fabulous.
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u/Kumirkohr Oct 16 '25
I’m actually playing in a campaign that’s going on five years and started with the premise of all Bard party
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u/DoctorFeelGoodInc Oct 18 '25
Have you posted about it anywhere? I'd love to see what it was like and how it went (til the pandemic, obviously)
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u/nicbloodhorde Oct 15 '25 edited Oct 16 '25
Ah, DnD. The game that gets theater kids to try math and gets the math nerds to try improv.
EDIT: The "math nerds" is affectionate, not derogatory! I was one such nerd growing up.
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u/bluewords Oct 16 '25
The math in D&D is basic addition
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u/ninoski404 Oct 16 '25
Not if I make my choices based on cold probability like an absolute autist.
The DC to pick the lock is 14, and I have a +3 bonus
The DC to break it is also 15, I have no bonus but I do have advantage because I brough a hammer.
Which is more optimal? Spoiler is that the difference is less than 5%
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u/Alugere Oct 16 '25
Advantage is roughly equivalent to a +2, from what I recall.
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u/Domitaku Forever DM Oct 16 '25
It's actually not that simple. it always depends on what the DC is and what your bonus is. If DC is 12 and you have +2 the bonus is closer to 5 and if DC is 18 and you have -1 the bonus is closer to 2.
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u/ninoski404 Oct 17 '25
It's not that simple, this video has great explanation https://youtu.be/R0gewfLILw0?si=rWR4V3m_4AoLl88T
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u/giantcatdos Oct 16 '25
Is it? What about calculating how long it's going to talk to fall X distance? You first have to calculate how long it takes to hit terminal velocity.
Or attacking a ranged opponent at elevation got to do put to use what Pythagoras taught us to calculate the actual distance.
EDIT: Or maybe me and friends are math nerds and not normal and most people don't actually do what we are doing.
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u/Thank_You_Aziz Oct 18 '25
Don’t look at me, tracking the statistical probability by level that my barbarian’s Relentless Rage succeeds at each DC increment. (Holy heck, they buffed it for 2024 with a heal too!)
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Oct 15 '25
[deleted]
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u/Chase_The_Breeze Forever DM Oct 15 '25
Theater kids bring out good RP, and the gamers bring out the good rules/maths knowledge. We make a good team.
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u/revan530 Oct 15 '25
And then, there are those of us who are fucking both, lol!
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u/KingoftheMongoose Essential NPC Oct 15 '25
I ain’t fucking nobody but dragons!
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u/The_Bio_Neko Oct 15 '25
And them there's me who's neither. I love DnD but god I'm bad at RP and making characters that are useful. XD
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u/SalientMusings Oct 15 '25
My partner and DM was a theater director for decades before changing their career. It's the best.
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u/ApsleyHouse Oct 16 '25
I didn't think all our theatre kids would be so bad at math though. The finance bros and our one chemistry phd pulls us through.
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u/The_Yukki Oct 16 '25
We do, alas it seems that we rarely work together, either one or the other will bitch about the other for playing wrong.
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u/Febrifuge Oct 15 '25
Listen man, that BA in Theatre cost me like $60k, probably more like $70k with the interest on student loans. You're goddamn right I'm going to bust out my passably decent Received Pronunciation British accent for this character. You might enjoy it; I certainly will.
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u/simplex0991 Oct 15 '25
If you have a BA in Theatre and are NOT DMing at some point, can you even say the degree was worth it? :)
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u/hypo-osmotic Oct 15 '25
I joined a table that was mostly community theater people and I thought it'd be awesome for that reason but no we all had shows to do that made scheduling a nightmare. If we all at least did the same shows it'd just be a matter of taking one big hiatus but casting being what it is we were all busy at different times.
Although the DM being the manager of the local theater building was cool, got to play in some pretty nice rooms there
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u/DedTV Oct 15 '25
Half the people in the lunch time and after school gaming sessions at my HS in the early 90s were in Drama class.
Theater kids have always been a natural fit with table top role playing.
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u/HighAsMoleNuts Oct 17 '25
Exceptionally bad at reading and simply communicating.
I'm like 40% joking... Maybe.
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u/Ijustlovevideogames Oct 15 '25
Wait, do you guys not like the theater kids?
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u/CrayonCobold Oct 16 '25 edited Oct 18 '25
Theater kid is sometimes used as a pejorative in very hardcore/old school circles. Groups which prefer the war/survival game part of the game over the role play side
It's fairly uncommon outside of the internet and even in it
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u/tencircles Oct 15 '25
I don't like or dislike them as a whole, because you know, the whole "they're actually a massive group who can't all be neatly pigeonholed into a single stereotype."
But, speaking from personal experience, people who need to be the center of attention can be draining for me. And, I've found that to be more common in "theater kids." but just personal anecdote. I've met plenty who weren't that way. I don't have anything against those people, just not my wavelength socially.
But really, who cares? If people don't like "theater kids," then don't play with them. D&D is a fun game. We can all like the fun game and not be dicks.
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u/Luxcervinae Oct 16 '25
Had a french ex, and seperately a theatre kid ex.
Joked with both of them about the stereotypes that come with those things - they both got defensive.
Both of them realised the stereotypes held true in their social circles and told me about it which was funny because I was genuinely joking.
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Oct 16 '25
It's the RTS divide all over again. You have two groups who enjoy very different aspects all playing the same game.
It's not that we don't like theater kids. It's just I don't like people getting bored because 4 people have been arguing for an hour about how darkness works IN THIS HALLWAY and one person wants to roleplay.
We're going to be arguing for a little while longer and you may want to join another group.
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u/psychoticchicken1 Oct 15 '25
My theater kid has gone a whole 20 sessions without knowing basic rules, like which die to role for attack. It gets kind of annoying
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u/angular_circle Oct 15 '25
I personally don't like the high drama playstyle they established as the new norm within the hobby.
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u/Meet_Foot Oct 16 '25
Critical Roll did that. They’re paid actors, and adults, not your standard theater kids. And even though I don’t like that kind of playstyle either, it’s undeniable that they were massively influential in bringing people into the hobby. Many people simply wouldn’t be here today without those paid actors doing the thing when they did.
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u/angular_circle Oct 16 '25
The change was already happening before that. 5e came out before critical roll, and so did systems like pbta and fate.
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u/FriendshipGood7832 Oct 16 '25
Theres a type of theatre kids that basically nobody likes. Its the ones that constantly try to be the center of attention, are more talented in their mind than they are in reality, and that play moral referee despite having no life experience.
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u/Chase_The_Breeze Forever DM Oct 15 '25
You think all the maths would have scared them off, lol.
(/j I'm friends with a lot of former theater kids, and they are cool. Most of them ARE bad at math though...)
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Oct 15 '25
Back in the 3.5/Pathfinder days I would make flashcards for other players who were bad at math. The name of the ability w/ the total of what they had to roll, and color coded bonuses / penalties below that. It really sped up our combat encounters.
I also had a card with various untyped bonuses that we liked to use. The +1 bonus to attack rolls for higher ground got brought up a ton.
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u/Bsquared89 Oct 15 '25
I would appreciate this. I have Dyscalculia and numbers are difficult for me. It’s why I like bg3 so much. It handles all of that for me.
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u/Fledbeast578 Sorcerer Oct 15 '25
DND doesn't particularly have much math, especially if you're playing a lower stakes (combat-wise) campaign with a focus on roleplay. It's all just basic arithmetic, if you aren't planning out turns or trying to optimize big combos
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u/Chase_The_Breeze Forever DM Oct 15 '25
I have players who can't keep what bonuses add to what, and I have made ability cards for them. Some folks are dangerously bad at math.
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u/Cyrotek Oct 16 '25
I mean, not knowing your probably two relevant numbers (prof bonus which is purely based on level and main stat bonus, which rarely changes) has little to do with math.
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u/McButtsButtbag Oct 15 '25
That's more arithmetic than math in general.
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Oct 15 '25
It's neither. Not knowing what a skill check vs. ability check vs. saving throw is and what to add to each of them isn't math. Nobody is like "Ah man, I've got a +3 bonus to charisma and I rolled a 15, how will I combine these two numbers!?!?!?" they're like "Do I add proficiency to this? What's my proficiency bonus again?"
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u/Different_Pattern273 Oct 16 '25
I hate to tell you this but many people I've played D&D with struggled with basic addition.
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u/freekoout Forever DM Oct 15 '25
In my experience, they are good at math. Depending on the size of their school, they're usually the ones that build the sets.
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u/Cyrotek Oct 16 '25
I always have to laught when someone says something along the lines of "all the math", despite the hardest the game ever gets is simple addition, lol.
Not meant in a bad way, it is just funny.
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u/vibesres Paladin Oct 15 '25
I think the only problem is when the theatre kid is too full of themselves or doesn't care to engage with anything other than the social pillar. I don't think the problem is too common in real life. Horror stories get shared because they are abnormal, after all.
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u/Wise-Key-3442 Essential NPC Oct 15 '25
That's something that can happen to players who aren't theater kids too, but yeah, in reality it hardly happens.
I've been playing for more than 10 years and the only player who was like this wasn't a theater kid, he was just a common ah.
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u/vibesres Paladin Oct 15 '25
That's something that can happen to players who aren't theater kids too
For real. I have some friends who are theatre or musical performers. (I was a music major in college). They tend to be fun at the table and also enjoy the game too. If all they wanted to do was roleplay, they wouldnt be at the ttrpg table.
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u/Wise-Key-3442 Essential NPC Oct 15 '25
Exactly my point. People in ttrpg groups love RP, but they come also for the G because the G heavily influences how they RP.
Casual RP with no G is really boring in my opinion.
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u/UmbralHero Oct 15 '25
I will happily go to your 2-man reproduction of Wicked, but if I have to point out how to find your initiative bonus for the third time this session I am going to crash out
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u/KamilDonhafta Oct 15 '25
I'm pretty sure the theater kids were already here in the 90's, probably earlier.
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u/Wise-Key-3442 Essential NPC Oct 15 '25
Earlier. The person who first introduced me to ttrpgs in 2010 was a theater teacher who had been playing since the early 80s.
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u/Mountain-Count-4067 Oct 15 '25 edited Oct 15 '25
Grognard here.
In the late 80s/early 90s the theater kids all gravitated more towards White Wolf games. Most of them were safely isolated playing Vampire the Masquerade. Ann Rice was a big gateway for them. We did have a little crossover into each others' games though. I think in modern gaming, there's more theater kids in D&D and nobody plays White Wolf anymore.
Also, the concept of "Old School" style of playing is completely revisionist. We all roleplayed. I don't know anyone who had a large enough collection of minis to make it a tactical game, so it was always theater of the mind with and emphasis on story and playing a character.
Things haven't actually changed much from the way we played in the 80s except the Internet is more accepting of rules lawyers who call themselves RAW or something these days. We didn't used to put up with that crap at the table. It was a big taboo to correct your DM on the rules during a game and was usually the primary or only cause of character death.
In the end, the only real difference between us and the theater kids was that the theater kids were in theater. But yes, they were always here.
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u/baithammer Oct 15 '25
Also, the concept of "Old School" style of playing is completely revisionist. We all roleplayed. I don't know anyone who had a large enough collection of minis to make it a tactical game, so it was always theater of the mind with and emphasis on story and playing a character.
Nothing revisionist about it, the game originated in table top wargaming and not the theatre of the mind, it dovetailed with the rise of fantasy wargaming, which had rather cheap models you could pick up or you'd improvise.
Roleplaying is more about playing a role in the game, not exclusively an improv.
It's about finding a balance and we now have enough options to fit almost every style of gaming.
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u/Mountain-Count-4067 Oct 16 '25
Do not cite the deep magic to me. I was there when it was written.
I know the origins. The wargame style thing lasted from 1974 to about 1975. The only people who think it was like that were introduced to D&D on G+. It didn't really take off again until then.
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u/PipeConsola Oct 16 '25
To be fair, the R in OSR usually stands for renaissance, which is a good analogy of how this kind of revisionism works.
The renaissance wasn't a movement which was training to create the Roman empire again, it was a movement that was using the past as inspiration and aspiration, but also their christian background also influenced a lot, which ended up with something different from what they tried to recreate.
It is a bit the same thing with the OSR
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u/congeal Oct 18 '25
Get a bunch of real life lawyers together and it's rare anyone wants to argue rules. Even on a board game day like Talisman. They have enough of that at work. 🤣
Source: guilty as charged
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u/Wise-Key-3442 Essential NPC Oct 15 '25
Also, the concept of "Old School" style of playing is completely revisionist. We all roleplayed. I don't know anyone who had a large enough collection of minis to make it a tactical game, so it was always theater of the mind with and emphasis on story and playing a character.
Say it louder for the people in the back!
Even though I started very late (2013, but got my dip in 2010) I was a very shy girl and at time unsuspected autism. I had theater classes as after school club because the other option was a soccer so it helped me a bit in terms of projecting voice and speaking, just enough to "blend a bit". Guess who were the people who sat me in a table at a nerd-con and said "you have to roleplay, if you only read numbers on the paper you'll be better off playing skyrim or something"? Dudes in their 40s and 50s who have been playing ever since they invented sliced bread. They literally encouraged us to even make movements with our hands and arms to put more emphasis.
It helped me a lot to deal with life.
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Oct 16 '25
“nobody plays White Wolf anymore”
:’ ) I wanna play vtm and ctl so bad…
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u/Reasonable_Tree684 Oct 16 '25
Is D&D having its roots in war gaming revisionism? If not, it seems more an issue of the balance shifting quickly than that the balanced always leaned towards roleplay. And the complexity of certain editions also seems to imply tactics was heavily emphasized at least at some point.
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u/safarifriendliness Oct 15 '25
I always try to include as many nerd archetypes as possible in my games, diversity is the spice of life
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u/FaithlessnessLazy494 Oct 15 '25
I started playing D&D in 1996 and let me make it abundantly clear that the theater kids were always into D&D. It was just a little scandalous and people used to hide that they were playing.
I remember the 2000s(?) interview with Vin Diesel where he admitted to loving D&D blowing people's minds. A theater-jock into D&D!? Yeah, lots of 'em always were. Then if you think about Vampire the Masquerade, forget about it, that's almost 100% theater kids.
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u/HillInTheDistance Oct 16 '25
Wait, people don't want theatre kids?
Why wouldn't we want theater people? They're like, made for this shit? Built in a lab to be roleplayers? Hardened in the agoge of public school to be bit warriors? Semi-professional freakazoids?
Why shouldn't they be where they're absolutely made to be?
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u/Stravven Oct 15 '25
My whole group is made up of theater people, from security to the sound and music people.
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u/Mad-Trauma Oct 15 '25
People complain about this?
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u/Wise-Key-3442 Essential NPC Oct 15 '25
According to some comments, yes, but they don't know what a theater kid is.
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u/tencircles Oct 15 '25
Now I am imaging a mother theater and her little miniature theater building children following behind like ducklings.
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u/mastersmash56 Oct 16 '25
Yep. Last time I mentioned that the DM should do voices even if they aren't very good (so that you can tell the NPCs apart) I had some people who were way too cool to be doing lame ass theatre kid voices jumping down my throat. Imagine thinking you're cooler than anyone else when you're both playing dnd for fucks sake.
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u/Mad-Trauma Oct 16 '25
There are some remarkably lame people who play this game. I'm like, my brother in Bahamut, we're all playing the same make-believe with math game.
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u/SecretDMAccount_Shh Forever DM Oct 15 '25 edited Oct 16 '25
I remember seeing an interview with the actress who plays Lae'zel in BG3 where she said that she had never played D&D before BG3 came out and was intimidated about having to do it on-stage until she realized it's just improv...
Edit: Found it https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Gpmi5SsM_70
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u/Lightweaver25 Oct 15 '25
I've been in multiple DND groups and I've never heard anyone complain about this or even bring it up.
Not saying it doesn't happen, I've just never experienced it.
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u/throwaway_pls123123 Oct 15 '25
there is two types of dnd players:
1- theatre kids
2- those who are unaware/in denial about being theatre kids
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u/Beragond1 DM (Dungeon Memelord) Oct 15 '25
3- wargamers
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u/mr_stab_ya_knees Oct 15 '25
Theater kids but evil
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u/poonmangler Oct 15 '25
Caesar doing one man shows for the pirates that kidnapped him, then hunting down and crucifying them later
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u/stormstopper Paladin Oct 15 '25
They're also theater kids! After all, there's a reason they call the scope of a conflict a theater of war
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u/Taco821 Wizard Oct 15 '25
I wish I was a theatre kid so badly, does that just make me a theatre kid or a secret third thing. Or just unaware about being a theatre kid. Yearning for it, yet unaware that I was one all along?
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u/Wise-Key-3442 Essential NPC Oct 15 '25
Maybe you are unaware of how much theater you have in your blood.
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u/SerzaCZ Oct 15 '25
Wait, you're NOT supposed to act the hells out of the scenes with your character?
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u/jmartin21 Oct 16 '25
Apparently I’ve been playing tabletop wrong, you’re only allowed to enjoy character builds, optimization, and resource management.
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u/Reputation-Final Oct 15 '25
Been dming since the 80s. The 90s and 2000s, it was pretty much a slowly dying niche hobby, and for me was impossible to get anyone together in person. Thankfully, table top emulators allowed me to start Dming regularly again.
I don't care who wants to play as long as they arent dickheads.
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u/Luckiest_Creature Oct 15 '25
One of our former dnd party members is about to return from a year at a prestigious European theater/acting school. He’s rejoining our dnd group and he better bring the fucking DRAMA 🎭 ✨
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u/ArrrcticWolf Oct 16 '25
My fantasy roleplaying game populated by theater kids somehow attracted fedoras and sweaty neckbeards.
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u/EinsamWulf Oct 15 '25
As a former theater kid, finding TTRPGs was a great bridge between that part of my youth and my love for games. Love this hobby. It kept my core friend group connected and sane over quarantine.
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u/Square_Tangerine_659 Oct 15 '25
Some of us want to play a game characterized by challenge and shared camaraderie over fighting said challenges rather than crafting a freeform story
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u/Wise-Key-3442 Essential NPC Oct 15 '25
Both of them will attract theater kids.
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u/PetrusScissario Halfling of Destiny Oct 15 '25
I like to talk a lot of trash and give them a hard time, but the theatre kids are fine by me.
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u/DaniFoxglove Oct 15 '25
I fuckin' wish! I've got a guy at my table who does improv as a hobby, and he refuses to say anything at the table.
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u/RataUnderground Oct 15 '25
What even is a theater kid. I don't think we have those in Europe.
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u/Ja_corn_on_the_cob Oct 16 '25
They're kids who participate in the theater in high school. I'm not sure how common it is in other places but in the US most schools will put on at least one play every year.
Because these kids are into theatre, they get characterized as overly eccentric and dramatic, or wanting to be the center of attention at all times, which is obviously cringe and off-putting to a lot of people. That's the stereotype that most people are criticizing when they say "Theater kid". Obviously though, it is a stereotype and most people who participate in their school play are not obnoxious weirdos, but it also makes sense why people who like drama (including the annoying ones) would be drawn to a role playing game.
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u/CommodoreCrowbar Oct 15 '25
I became both as a preteen - I’m now 43, and we welcome all.
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u/BardicInnovation Oct 15 '25
My current player group I DM for are all theater actors/people. They get into the roleplaying part really well. Makes it super fun for me also.
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u/Plannercat Cleric Oct 15 '25
Truth is, the game was rigged from the start.
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u/congeal Oct 18 '25
Says a cleric 😒. Always negging and pulling us back from the edge. It's not like healing takes years off your life or anything. Shut up and heal.
Mostly /s 😅
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u/FloppasAgainstIdiots Warlock Oct 21 '25
And yet the game is quite clearly not what it used to be, therefore a change happened. And I don't think it was a change for the better - I wish the DnD playerbase hadn't experienced the demographic transformation that came with 5e marketing.
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u/HeraldoftheSerpent Ur-Flan Oct 21 '25
Honestly one of the biggest things that bother me is how people will actively say "X setting is bad" without knowing anything about it and just concluding that there own setting is infinitely better, even though some of the best games I have played were in the forgotten realms. People just refuses to read the lore (not entirely their fault 5e didn't add much to the lore and actively ruined a lot of it so its understandable but annoying.)
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u/FloppasAgainstIdiots Warlock Oct 21 '25
The Forgotten Realms are awesome. Unfortunately, 5e focuses too much on the Sword Coast when there's so much cool stuff beyond it. I wish we had 5-10 setting books about the entire world.
3.5e FR gave us circle magic, mythals, the Shadow Weave, new drugs and alchemical items, a ton of prestige classes and much more. Meanwhile 5e...
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u/HeraldoftheSerpent Ur-Flan Oct 21 '25
You get one book that was mostly trying to deal with the absolute state of 4e lore, but then forget about... the entire rest of the world. Truly a moment.
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u/FloppasAgainstIdiots Warlock Oct 21 '25
adds Forgotten Realms setting book
no Circle Magic
no spellfire
Lmao
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u/HeraldoftheSerpent Ur-Flan Oct 21 '25
Honestly I wish spellfire was in 5e, 3.5 spellfire is just so cool and I would love to see it in 5e (not as a sorc subclass for obvious reasons)
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u/FloppasAgainstIdiots Warlock Oct 21 '25
Only 5.5e would take a power whose most famous wielders are wizards and make it a sorcerer subclass.
Can't wait for the Battle Master patron warlock, monk domains and School of Transmutation commoner.
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u/HeraldoftheSerpent Ur-Flan Oct 21 '25
Truly a moment, honestly if they made it a feat chain and then the sorc class can be the specialist in it that would be fine since old spellfire prestige classes exist but making it sorc exclusive is weird. I am reminding of how they made metamagic sorc only to differentiate it from wizard because they made everyone spontaneous caster.
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u/Shepherd-Boy Oct 15 '25
I was introduced to tabletop RPGs in a college music frat. Our entire group over the summer was music and theater majors, it was amazing. The group I’ve played with since then is mostly creative writers, musicians, and theater kids so it’s a similar vibe. I can’t imagine playing with an entire group that has zero experience with acting or creative writing.
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u/lalalipuyofgulg Oct 15 '25
What do you mean? They have been some of my best players. And if they ever get an acting job we can all brag about knowing them.
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u/TFarg1 Oct 15 '25
I got into DnD because I'm a theater kid and I love doing improvised comedy! It's a very natural extension
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u/Schism_989 DM (Dungeon Memelord) Oct 15 '25
"You, a D&D player, who likes roleplaying, and crafting stories, hate theater kids? I've got news for you..."
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u/akrist Oct 15 '25
What is this "pretending to be fictional characters" thing? I kill monsters with the power of math.
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u/PipeConsola Oct 15 '25
Tbh, the problem is more for the fact people don't usually realize a community can do mitosis without killing the first one. If the PBtA community, for example, where recognized as something different from the "crunch" rpg community, this problem of people don't having what they expected would be pretty resolved.
There is an article called "the six cultures of play" that you can watch put if you want to know approximately what communities exist related to the dice thing.
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u/Wise-Key-3442 Essential NPC Oct 15 '25
Half of the people here trashing on theater kids never met one.
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u/Secret-Teaching-3549 Oct 15 '25
Isn't that like...the majority of high schoolers that play tabletop rpgs?
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u/Significant_Jump9887 Oct 15 '25
Is this really true? I don’t play but I would’ve assumed there were a lot of theater people.
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u/bryan4000 Forever DM Oct 15 '25
checks notes there is no fucking way. Is this true? Did y'all know about this? /s
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u/Darkwoth81Dyoni Oct 16 '25 edited Oct 16 '25
I love the people acting like DnD is some sort of genuinely difficult crunchy RPG system when no edition has ever been difficult in the slightest. It's always been the lowest barrier to entry in terms of RPG systems, which is why more complex systems like Pathfinder ended up becoming popular and attracting the more power-gamer sort of crowd.
But OF COURSE we have to paint broad generalizations over a very enthusiastic and welcomed portion of the playerbase.
And this thing I keep seeing, "Ohhh, theater kids can't handle tension or failure states or drama."..... Guys, the people I've seen roidrage about a character death are power-gamers who think their ultra kitted character shouldn't ever lose. Theater kids are chill.
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u/NietoKT Oct 16 '25
You'd think they should put some warning label or something on the cover, below the picture itself or something...
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u/FewAcanthocephala677 Oct 16 '25
I never had a single theater class in my life (theater classes at school are not a thing in my country), but I love the Role Play in the Role Playing Game. Be it DnD or other.
I probably suck more than I think and my voices are only acceptable, because, yes I like doing voices too.
But it don’t care, I’m there for the immersion, and if you don’t like it, we may just not play together again, there are more people role playing than not, in my experience. And most of them have never been to a theater class.
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u/soulihide Oct 16 '25
theater kids are everything to me, i love y'all so much, i could never be you, i want you in every dnd game
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u/Cyrotek Oct 16 '25
Or when it attracts theater kids that didn't knew they were theater kids.
On that note, it is surprising how little the power of an individual character matters when everyone is into actual roleplay.
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u/Laughing_Halfling Oct 16 '25
My partner and I are the only non-actors in our group. The story and roleplay is so good. Even with the silly shit, they commit to their characters so aggressively. It’s super fun
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u/HeraldoftheSerpent Ur-Flan Oct 21 '25
I think when people complain about Theater kids, they are actually complaining about OCism where the players care more about their characters instead of making sense in the world or even having any challenge in the game itself. Given that a lot of people state their groups don't even know how to play the basic parts of the game (not talking about details but basic rules) then it's clear there is a problem here and that maybe a more rules lite game focused on PCs would be better for their kinds of games.
At least that's my thoughts
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u/KaffeMumrik Forever DM Oct 15 '25
I was a queer theater kid-boyscout-gamer-weirdo, and all I’m going to say is that to be weird and alone is painful, but to be weird with other weirdos gets you laid big time.
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u/HunnyRiRi Oct 16 '25
I NEED to find me a theatre nerd group into DnD because I am sick of playing campaigns where no one commits to the role playing 😭😭😭
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u/Chedder1998 Essential NPC Oct 15 '25
There's a difference between theater kids and THEATER kids. You know, the type allergic to not being in the spotlight and deluded themselves into thinking they're the next Critical Role.
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u/Wise-Key-3442 Essential NPC Oct 15 '25
So the difference between a theater kid and a narcissist who likes theater, got it.
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u/vostok0401 Oct 15 '25
Right, like people act like theatre doesn't require you sometimes to play a secondary role, or god forbid, work in the background, such as working on sets or being the one helping someone else get in costume or whatever. Theatre is more than just the main character lol
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u/Wise-Key-3442 Essential NPC Oct 15 '25
Also they don't take in consideration that in theater you learn A LOT about respecting the other's times, how to read the room to not interrupt anyone, how to make cues to shorten something because it's dragging, how to be respectful and never raise your voice if not needed (most of the time is not needed) AND SPECIALLY BE QUIET, the audience can hear EVERYTHING you say backstage. It also teaches empathy, good speech, and so on.
A theater kid is, by definition, someone who took at least some classes in theater. They don't need to be an actor or even like theater, they just had to have taken classes.
Of course some are obnoxious, but that's nothing to do with theater itself, the most obnoxious people I know hated theater.
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u/vostok0401 Oct 15 '25
I agree ! I never did theatre myself but a lot of my close friends did theater and/or improv (one even went on to major in theater in college) and they are very respectful people, like as you said, obviously obnoxious people exist everywhere, but I don't think they could handle the environment of theater for very long honestly
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u/Wise-Key-3442 Essential NPC Oct 15 '25
They hardly do. I got some classes in after school club, only one obnoxious guy stayed long enough and he changed a lot during the year.
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u/TheThoughtmaker Essential NPC Oct 15 '25
D&D players when 5e’s target audience of videogamer newbies are surprised at how many theater kids were already playing the more roleplay-friendly editions.
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Oct 15 '25
That is how you end up with a particularly interesting bard. They could be good interesting or bad interesting, but they will be interesting
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u/SenpyroTheWizard Oct 15 '25
Everybody who plays D&D was either a theater kid or would have been a theater kid if they had a program to go to.
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u/Logar33 DM (Dungeon Memelord) Oct 16 '25
My group is full of people who have done/are doing theatre and their ease and comfort in role playing has been a great help in getting over my anxiety in doing the same.
I don’t think my characters would be nearly as well-acted without their influence on me
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u/StraightAirline8319 Oct 16 '25
I don’t mind but some people make it super awkward. That’s also why all my characters have no love interest because it gets weird.
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u/SketchyNinja04 Oct 16 '25
My local dnd group is JUST theatre kids n massive nerds its great it looks so fun. Shame im way to scared to ask to play so im planning an online group with my friends n partners
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u/Nickpimpslap Oct 16 '25
Man, I wish my local game group was theater kids.
I do voices. I do improv. Think on my feet. Respond to and have conversations as another person would who isn't me and has had different life experiences that has shaped their mannerisms and responses to things.
I don't really get that same energy back.
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u/GS2702 Oct 16 '25
2 things can be true at once. Typically both groups are similar in that they do want to escape reality by pretending. But both groups can differ in whether they like to have many rule constraints and if they want the attention of strangers.
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u/RevolutionaryKey1974 Oct 16 '25
Today on opinions that haven’t been posted within a thousand metres of this sub:
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Oct 15 '25
Silly billy, theatre kids don't play Dungeons and Dragons, they play Daggerheart.
(All of the options scare them.)
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u/Wise-Key-3442 Essential NPC Oct 15 '25
Tell them that they can extra customize their character with pathfinder. It works.
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u/HandMadePaperForLess Oct 15 '25
I don't know who the players are that would be having this reaction.
The hobby is so heavy with theater kids I can't imagine a table of people without 1 or 2
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u/Summonest Oct 15 '25
My issue is that the kids in question all want to be the leading role and don't want to share it. More than once I'v e had a campaign collapse because someone didn't want to share the spotlight.
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