How to Give a Great D&D Speech (Without Boring Your Table)

This is the fifth in Authentalk’s series about how to write subject matter-specific speeches. Call it “DNDiain.”

I’ve played Dungeons and Dragons since 3rd grade. By middle school, I was a regular on a play-by-post gaming forum. This format moved excruciatingly slowly compared to live games but forced me to think deeply about my writing.

My favorite character to play was ‘Azael Moonwhisper,’ a half-elf rogue with ‘Perpetual Backstabbing Disorder.’ He betrayed just about everyone he met, often with a melodramatic monologue the moment the treachery was revealed.

While this approach worked for online forums, it does not for in-person games. When you play live, you are performing, but you are not performing alone. You are telling a story, but you do not own the story.

D&D speeches combine improv, character work, comedy, leadership, and group storytelling. The best ones work because the speaker commits hard without taking over the room.

Nobody wants their fellow players (not even the Dungeon Master/game leader) to keep yapping.

Thankfully, we live in an age where over a billion minutes of DND games are streamed every year, so we have models of how to communicate better at tables.

Here are some lessons from watching my favorite monologues from these games.

1. Commit to the portrayal

If you are playing the character, play the character! Voice. Posture. Gesture. Rhythm. Silence. Word choice. All of these things matter.

A weak roleplaying speech sounds like someone describing a character from a safe distance.

• “My character is angry.”

• “My character gives a stirring speech.”

• “My character says something intimidating.”

A good one feels like the character walked into the room and borrowed the player’s body for a minute.

• If your character is royal, sneer like you expect the chair to apologize.

• If your character is pathetic, let the nervousness show on your face.

• If your character is dangerous, get quieter before you get louder.

Here’s Justin McElroy playing Rick Diggins, a living LEGO-man, in a setting meant to parody Toy Story. Notice how much his pauses tell us about his character’s state of mind.

2. Know what drives your character

The character needs an underlying reason that a speech has to happen now.

In this clip, Brennan Lee Mulligan plays Asmodeus, the greatest devil of the Nine Hells. He’s convinced Zerxus, a holy knight, that he should be freed from his prison. In this terrific turn, the Lord of Lies admits that he was, in fact, lying. He is the embodiment of pride, driven by a hatred of mortals.

Brennan’s villain has a grievance and a worldview. He begins monologuing out of wrath and drops the mask of civility because he perceives Zerxus’s attempt to redeem him as an insult.

Before you start talking, ask yourself this: what does my character want from the room right now?

Forgiveness? Control? Recognition? Permission? Revenge? A laugh?

3. Show others you see them

Here’s another scene from later on in the story with Asmodeus. The fiend is destroying an ancient civilization.

Sam Riegel plays Loquatius, the town speaker, who can broadcast a final message to the people of this once-great city. He is estranged from his partner, played by Aabria Iyengar; their struggling relationship has been a focal point of his character growth.

As Sam/Loquatius speaks, he draws points of comparison between the city’s togetherness and his in-character marriage. In doing so, he shows how much attention he’s been paying to both the general story of the campaign and the specific story of his in-character romance. He ends by paying tribute to every other player character.

And yeah, Sam actually took the time to write this monologue in advance. This isn’t for every session, but it’s great for a finale.

4. Leave doors open for interaction

A D&D speech is still part of a dialogue. As a practical rule, give others chances to react and reply mid-speech. Loop their answers into the next part of your speech, incorporating their language.

Here’s Brennan again, this time as a player instead of a Dungeon Master, in a parody of Harry Potter. They’re having wizard duels and he’s playing a vastly overpowered/cursed character, calmly threatening his opponents.

You don’t have to fully stop mid-speech, but you can pause. You can look at another player. You can ask a question. A great roleplaying monologue has doors in it.

Brennan has two monologues in this clip—the threat to the student he’s dueling, and the description of what happens to that student when his character wins. Neither of them last longer than 30 seconds uninterrupted, so everyone at the table is engaged.

I love D&D. I wrote about it extensively during my executive MBA application and led several biweekly sessions with my cohort.

I also love public speaking. And great roleplaying speeches are about giving the table something worth responding to.

What’s the most memorable speech or monologue you’ve ever seen delivered at a D&D table?