Portraying NPC's in DoM

[Jacen]

My group are now a few years into the Darkening of Mirkwood and everyone is having a great time. Minor spoilers for this campaign may follow in this post.

I was reading an article online about portraying NPCs through distinctive mannerisms and it got me thinking about how I am portraying the NPCs in Darkening of Mirkwood. There are many, many interesting characters to keep track of in this campaign so I was thinking it would be beneficial to try and think of practical ways to role play them at the table.

I recall that Tales from Wilderland did little sidebars for key NPCs that gave you the sort of thing I'm talking about, which I loved. I understand that it was probably a case of space when it comes to DoM not to include this sort of thing (there is so much goodness crammed in already!)

Mannerisms are not personality traits or motivations, but things like speech patterns, expressions, accents and body language that you can act out. I find this sort of thing immensely helpful as it can be hard for me to think of this on the spot, so if I don't prepare for it ahead of time most NPCs come across as fairly generic.

Here are some examples of NPCs I have played out already and I was happy with:

King Thranduil: Tilt your chin up and straighten your back in a lordly manner. Speak slowly and carefully as if talking to children. Tolerate no slight or offence against your people.

Radagast: Speak with the slow, husky voice of a gentle old man. Occasionally speak aloud as you wander in your own thoughts. Mime leaning wearily on a tangled staff. Become easily distracted by birds and beasts, sometimes breaking off mid sentence to to absently mildly speak to a passing squirrel or hare.

Mogdred: Twist face in a grim frown and speak with thinly masked contempt. Hint as often as you can that you know much of the Shadow and it's secrets.

That's just a few I can think of at the moment. Does anyone else have insights to share on how they bring the NPCs of this story to life at the table?

[Stormcrow]

I never pictured Thranduil as the stuck-up jerk portrayed in the Jackson films. As an elf, he should laugh a lot, though not without dignity. Making merry should be a large part of any elf's day-to-day concerns, even the king's.

[Jacen]

I don't act quite as snooty as the guy from the movies and fundamentally he still a decent guy and the group like him. I just think that with recent events and all the trouble his people have endured he's pretty defensive and stern. Maybe once he was merry like the younger elves in his halls but that had been slowly drained from him by a long and constant struggle against the shadow.

[jamesrbrown]

In The Hobbit, Tolkien describes the Elvenking as looking grimly at the Dwarves and yet ordering them unbound. After questioning them at length, and getting nothing but angry, surly, and un-polite responses, he is angry. In fact, when Balin questions the king, Tolkien says, "Such a question of course made the king angrier than ever." He then orders that they each be placed in a solitary cell, but given food and drink.

I think the idea of the Elvenking's seriousness and sternness begins with this encounter. As the reader, Bilbo and the Dwarves are our heroes. Being taken prisoner and treated this way by the Elvenking makes him somewhat of an antagonist, albeit a mysterious one. It illustrates beautifully the tension and distrust that exists between the Elves and Dwarves. But does it speak to the Elvenking's disposition otherwise? Not sure. But here, at least, he does seem rather snooty.

[Majestic]

These pointers are great, and I too really enjoyed the hints in Tales.

Just be careful with Mogdred. Hopefully, you'll get to a point in your game where the PCs don't know whether to work with him or against him. My players were against him at first, but had to humble themselves and go to him later, asking for him to work with them. He's still definitely got that dark edge, but hopefully he can still come across with just enough mysteriousness that they wonder whether they should trust him or not.

[zedturtle]

I love Mogdred... he's a lot of fun, and I like the moral ambiguity and giving the players hints that they just might be able to turn him away from the Dark Side.

[T.S. Luikart]

I generally choose the mannerisms of one or two actors I like and model NPCs after that, though not so much that players are guffawing at my Christopher Walken impressions - kinda takes one out of the Tolkien feel if you go that far.

As to Thranduil - just a few quotes for consideration:

"But the king, when he received the prayers of Bard, had pity, for he was the lord of a good and kindly people"

"But the Elvenking said: Long will I tarry, ere I begin this war for gold. The dwarves cannot press us, unless we will, or do anything that we cannot mark. Let us hope still for something that will bring reconciliation. Our advantage in numbers will be enough, if in the end it must come to unhappy blows."

"I will take your gift, O Bilbo the Magnificent! said the king gravely. And I name you elf-friend and blessed. May your shadow never grow less (or stealing would be too easy)! Farewell!"

In short, I dig the Elvenking. I think sometimes folks are a bit harsh on him due to his fear for his people... but recall that they once had the run of all of Greenwood the Great and are now reduced to slightly less than a mere quarter.

I play Thranduil as Richard Burton with a merry twinkle in his eye, struggling between amusement and sorrow.