Self Immersion

It isn’t solely the job of the DM to create an immersive world for their players. They do a lot. Set the scene, provide handouts, and ensure that their words as descriptive enough to paint a picture in our minds. However, we as players can also do a lot to help us get closer to our characters and the story.

For our last big campaign, the rest of the players and I made sure we were doing our party to bring the story to life for ourselves too. The player who was Kaladrax, the Black Dragonborn Wizard, created notes to pass onto other players during sessions. He also wrote poetry when his character and mine started a relationship in game. He did everything he could to become Kaladrax when he came to a session. He dressed in black, wore a necklace of claws, he even bought a huge dragon ring. It was the ring Kaladrax got from his father after his passing.

For Kariss, her player would only roll dice with dragon themes on them. He bought miniatures for each stage of her evolution, any pets she had, and even had art work commissioned to display in his home. When his snake Kess gained the ability to turn into a young silver dragon he bought an awesome miniature for that too. He asked me to paint them all and I made sure they were unique and personal for him. Towards the end of the campaign he bought tankards for everyone and his was a gorgeous one in all platinum and royal blue for his god Bahamut.

I did a few things for Aleera. I wore purple jewelry and usually wore my hair down with an amethyst circlet during session. As the table artist I painted a few pieces for her, all the miniatures she had, including the little sprite that was hers through Pact of the Chain. I also bought dice that were purple to match her color scheme. I have a super active imagination so it was easy for me to just become Aleera during our sessions but I don’t expect anyone to dress up just to feel like their character.

Dice, jewelry, art, and even notes can make a game more realistic for the player. Just writing something down in character helps bring it more realism. Understand that a Player Character is both a person in a world and you combined. We can do our part in ensuring our immersion to help the DM. Plus it can be super fun to buy and wear things that remind you of that character even after a campaign is over.

Have any questions or comments? Message below or find me on Twitter @DnDWifeStories and on Instagram @dndwife. I would love to hear from you!