On Casting

From Sir Ian McKellen's Excellent Acting Advise

Quite a few people are aware I have somewhat... complicated feelings on theater. Even more so the perception that games that involve "roleplaying" tend to be a refuge or share some vestigial similarities to the 'theater kid crowd'. While I think both art forms take queues from that most sacred and humble of ancient practices (oral storytelling), I think the separate art form of the Actual Play has somewhat muddied the water for how theater may relate (or more aptly not relate) to the simpler act of play itself. All this is to say I'm about to contradict myself and relate tabletop games to theater, so bear with me.

As someone who has acted, directed and produced, I've found there is no moment quite as pivotal for the lifeblood of a production as casting. Auditions are an important factor in this, but what play is even chosen to begin with can rely heavily on the expertise and strengths of a troupe. Now if you don't have at least one or two tabletop troupes of your own this advice likely won't resonate - It's not really for people who run for whoever, wherever and certainly doesn't apply to running games at conventions.

But if you have a regular troupe of players you run for, here's some methods I've found useful for leveraging the group's and various players' strengths:

• KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE - But we're talking about casting actors here?? Mixed metaphors aside, it's important to know the kinds of games your players like (duh) and to remember your table isn't for everyone. Once you've read that and feel like you've found a game that's a good fit for your group you can get into the real meat of casting.
• CAST YOUR ANCHORS - Sure every player is the main character of the session, but I find it's useful to pick one or two players who you're confident will be able to make every session and make them your "Anchors." To have their backstories and opportunities be particularly pivotal to events. While this applies more to story/trad games, having Anchors also helps retain a drop-in drop-out feel without losing a connective tissue of at least one character who's seen it all and is invested in all of it.
• CAST YOUR FOOLS - Often there's one or two players who will type-cast themselves as a larger-than-life caricature of some kind. Work with this. While someone who wants to play the Fool can sometimes be a huge distraction, it can just as easily be an opportunity for emergent and immersive hijinks.  ((Ex: I once offered a comically capitalistic character the opportunity to sell out the party's location to bounty hunters off-table, which created a great and hilarious opening to a session)).
• CAST YOUR SUPPORTING CHARACTERS - Some people are shy, or always busy, or just don't have fun being in the spotlight. It's good to know which players want to be playing a more supporting role, and equally important to leverage this by giving them smaller side arcs that cross in with whatever the Anchor is dealing with and contained kernels of interaction that are lower stakes.
• CAST YOUR ISHMAELS - Everyone else you more or less treat as a kind of "audience insert" - They're your Ishmaels whose lens is pivotal to the events at the table, and whose actions may shape things even if they're not at the center of the storm.
• KNOW YOUR TROUPE - Which member of your troupe is good at playing a scoundrel? A hero? What about your strategy heads? Who is apt to cause the coolest mayhem? Knowing your troupe and playing with them more will mean you'll have a better idea of who should be an Anchor for which campaigns. Your bold brave hero player may be an excellent Anchor in one high fantasy campaign context, but an absolute Fool in darker grittier one. I myself have played an Anchor, a Fool and an Ishamael in equal measure!
• PLANT BAIT - If you're crafting a game from scratch (as I often do) I usually create character classes and player options specifically tailored to different members of my troupe and the kinds of characters they play best (see the above bullet). And more often than not they (delightfully) surprise me by correctly identifying the bait and trying to pick a different option or put a new spin on it to play "against their usual type."
• WEAVE THE THROUGHLINES - Lastly, as play goes on, try to find the thematic throughlines between the characters your cast has brought to the table and leverage it! Put those critical reading skills to use and examine how the characters act and what struggles they bring to the table!

Remember not to tell anyone that they've been cast as such, but consider these roles in the back of your head as you go through session zero and work through the campaign. Often these roles may change depending on in-game events, life circumstance, and even just which session you're playing, but it's a framework that usually helps me as a GM know who to focus on and in which ways and to what capacity.

It should also be stressed that this lens of "casting" is most helpful for a planned beginning-middle-end campaign (which is my general wheelhouse and why I'm itching to run something far more open and aimless). But hopefully you've found the framework interesting or useful!~

Also Happy Trans Day of Visibility ~~~~