I have been involved with RPGs in general for a long time, but have only been involved with tabletop RPGs (like D&D 5e, currently) for a year or so.
In my current game (D&D 5e), I play a charismatic Paladin who is strong, kind and headstrong. I, however, am rather introverted and do not enjoy "roleplaying." Another player in my group is a very charismatic person who does enjoy "roleplaying," but he plays a rather dopey strong/dexterous ranger.
I chose to be a charismatic paladin because I, myself, am not charismatic, and wanted to be charismatic and outgoing in this fictional world we play in. But when we play, I feel as though, because the other player is naturally a charismatic person, his character gets away/succeeds with more charisma-type situations in the game than my charismatic character.
I will say things like, "I charismatically persuade this person to assist us," and the DM responds "OK, roll for Persuasion." The other player will say "Fellow soldier! We need thine assistance with [blablabla. Enter speech here]. Won't you aid us?" And the DM responds "of course sir!"
Or a situation will come up where I say, "I break out an uplifting, motivational speech to bolster our troops' morale." And the DM responds, "Well, what do you say?" And I stumble and respond, "Come on, guys! Let's fight! Yeaaaaaaa…" And then my uplifting speech fails, and the other player will just bust out the Braveheart speech verbatim and succeed. (These are rather exaggerated examples.)
This feels a bit unfair. How can I bring this problem up, and what is a good way to balance a group with both a naturally charismatic player and a naturally introverted player?
I have mentioned this issue to the DM in passing, without trying to make a big deal out of it or sound like I'm whining. More or less, I'm often left with something like "Just say what you want your character to say."
Best Answer
I ran into this when playing Exalted
My PC was the "Socialite" (Merchant-Prince), with maxed Charisma and plenty of Social Skills. I am not that Social, and wished to play a Charismatic PC.
Another PC was a Warrior, with minimal Social Skills (not a complete klutz, but just not in my league, numbers-wise). The player is well-known as a good Talker.
I found that I was having to make rolls, while they seemed to be given Successes without, due to the Player's ability to "talk the talk".
I spoke with both the other Player and the GM
Between Sessions, I talked with them (together), to see how they viewed the situation.
I brought up specific occasions, where I had failed (or had minor Success), and encounters where the Warrior had gained (what seemed like) Major Successes.
e.g.
I also posed hypothetical situations, and first approached it with one PC, and then the other:
I tried to keep everything polite, and friendly
It's not 'whining' to try to clarify how/when the rules are being used. It is not impolite to (occasionally) check with the GM: "Are you sure?"
Addressing things between Sessions can avoid stalling a game with "quibbles", but doesn't help at-the-time.
It can be a delicate balancing act.
Your Table May Vary
Some tables are very much based around Players being able to talk in-character, and "say what their characters say".
Other tables work with The Dice, and care little (mechanically) for 'rousing speeches' or glib words.
At our table, it worked out
One thing I found sometimes worked was to include details in my declarations, beyond the direct Action:
Rather than "I give a Rousing Speech to raise the Morale of our troops", I might say "I give a Rousing Speech, mentioning the Weaknesses of our foes, and appealing to our troops' sense of Honour and Duty. I'm thinking of something like that scene in 'Braveheart' "
Our GM, and the other Player, took my words on board, and tried to keep things balanced. He asked for more Persuasion Rolls from the other PC, and sometimes gave me "Free Successes" ("I know you're really good in this area .. no need to waste time rolling, adding up dice, calculating scores ... You Succeed!")