Do you Role Play (RP)?

♥▀Acid Doll▀♥ 2012/09/22 05:13:16

Role-playing refers to the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role. While the Oxford English Dictionaryoffers a definition of role-playing as "the changing of one's behaviour to fulfill a social role",[1] in the field of psychology, the term is used more loosely in four senses:


The problem with roleplaying is that -- unlike other playstyles -- it's not about being the best. The objective of roleplay is to exercise creativity and enjoy the company of others. Whenever it's possible in a roleplay scene, leave your actions open-ended so that someone else can respond. Conversation is like a relay race, and the objective isn't to hold the baton the entire way through. Be prepared to pass it to the next.

Right: sends his goblin after you
Wrong: sends his goblin which brutishly pummels you to death

The first statement allows the other player to decide what the goblin actually does, and perhaps he will carry that story back to you -- or to another player.

Staying in character
The greatest challenge and often the greatest pleasure is to maintain your roleplaying personality. If you're not aware, staying "In Character" essentially means that you're simulating the role of your virtual being. You see your character on screen. Now visualize what he may be seeing, smelling, or hearing. Speak is if your physical body is sitting in that dark tavern. Use emotes to convey what you are thinking and feeling, especially with dealing with real-life problems.

Right: My axe is craving blood, perhaps we could venture to the Orc Caves?
Wrong: I'm so bored can we go on a raid?

Another common problem is simple everyday phrases that are unacceptable in the roleplaying community.

Right: laughs full heartedly at the elvish fool as he attempts to tie his boots
Wrong: lol

Some roleplayers will allow the use of out-of-character discussion in brackets, whereas others reserve specific areas for chat that is not for roleplay use.

Right: [omg did you see the latest Ironman movie??]
Wrong: Did u see that Ironman movie? lmao

I thought it was worthwhile to mention the importance of maturity in roleplay. It goes without saying that roleplaying is not for the immature crowd and is only for those who are interested in taking it seriously. So if you want to be a roleplayer, don't be a n00b.

Be original
The roleplay universe is huge so don't feel obligated to rip-off some low-budget movie from the 90s. Roleplayers are smart, and most of us have been doing this for a while. We have encountered many roleplay tropes and character stereotypes in the past. Keep in mind that if you create something truly distinctive you will be well respected. How to be original? Details are critical, and it's safe to assume that everything you come up with has to have some reason behind it. If your character has a scar over her left eye (lame), then there must be a reason it's there. It's not required that you divulge where that scar came from because nobody wants to hear someone drone on about how you almost got your eye jabbed out. However, you should allow that scar to affect how your character acts. For example: The scar over her left eye was caused from a large lava lizard, and now your character is hesitant towards lizards.

Gear and skills
If there's anything that's set in stone, it's that your character's armor, weapons, jewelry, attribute-enhancing-clothes, skill or level have nothing to do with roleplaying. A level 1 Orc with rags on his back could very well roleplay the ruler of the world if he wanted. Roleplayers are like car salesmen -- ultimately they're trying to sell you a long drawn-out story.

Often a practice exercised my amateurs coming from the PvP world. Quite frankly, don't roleplay like your invincible. Creating a character that is immune to any type of damage is not beneficial for anybody especially your ego. If you want to become a god, perhaps you should stick to PvP?

Starting a story for your character can be a daunting task, and choosing a roleplay style can make your experience easier and more enjoyable. Choosing a roleplay style really depends on your experience with roleplaying, your gaming-style, and what exactly you want to get out of the game.

Immersive environment
With the latest game engines, environments are becoming a thing of real beauty. Just finding yourself caught in the awe of fantastic scenery might accidently switch your brain to "roleplay-mode," so be aware of that. Immersive Environment is when you build your character story around the setting in which it exists. For example, your character may be a part of "The Woodland Elves of Tralus," in which elements of the setting are key characteristics for how your character behaves in-game. Roleplaying based on the environment can be very relaxing as it requires less creativity, you take elements of the scenery to build events instead of creating them yourself. Even if it may be easier, it can still be a challenging undertaking as it still takes a great deal of observation from the player.

Fictional immersion
This is by far the most challenging and risky style of roleplay. Using this method the player is building a character story or special event entirely from scratch, which requires a great deal of research.

"Lord Bukener runs a __________ from his home in __________ and occasionally plays _________ on the weekends"

It takes a great deal of creativity and imagination to create your character's story and allow it to seamlessly integrate with the existing world. If your story has a lot of conflicts or questionable elements, then there will be a good deal of hesitation within the community, and you face unfavorable results.

PvP or PvE
The biggest debate in the roleplay community is the integration of player-vs-player activity. In older games, this was a one-way ticket to griefing. Although with the popularity of roleplaying a "soldier," various RP guilds have seemed to adopted this perspective and proven it to be moderately successful -- at least successful enough to mention in this guide.

Great care must be taken into such activities. When engaging in active PvP, a player can become mixed with the riff-raff, lose sight of his character, become obsessed with gear, and ultimately fail his roleplay agenda. The key to PvP-RP is to enjoy the thrill of the battle. Whether you win or lose a battle is irrelevant; just because your character dies doesn't mean the player has to. I will mention numerous times: roleplaying does not exist to be on the top of any charts but simply to enjoy the game and community.

Guild supported
This type of roleplay is by far the easiest and is recommended for inexperienced roleplayers. This style involves a place where a player is given an outline in how to use their character. The character's backstory or personality is mostly irrelevant, but rather their role within the guild is crucial. This is a kind of "apprenticeship" for roleplay as they are given strict guidelines and pre-determined rules to follow. If the player can run their character to fit the needs of the guild, then his skills in roleplay will progressively build.

Apart from the level of difficulty, this style is also beneficial to create a strong sense of community. Often having individuals at similar skill levels can allow people to share and grow together. Whereas very skilled roleplayers with years of experienced are more prone to become rogues.

"Roleplaying is nerdy!"

At one time, playing pong on an Amiga was considered a nerd's hobby or in 1985 when friends got together to take turns shooting down digital ducks and saving pixelated princesses. Gaming is an evolving industry, but since the revolution of "next-gen systems," Guitar Hero, Halo, and Zelda are common household names. Now that those names have entered everyone's living room, where exactly will the gaming industry evolve next? I could see a future of Matrix-like devices plugging directly into player's heads or maybe holodeck systems from Star Trek. Aside from all of that, it seems quite clear that the future of gaming exists on the internet and quite possibly in MMORPGs.

Roleplayers do not rely on content generated by the gaming company but rather keep themselves entertained from player-generated content.

MMOs are a cash-crop for gaming companies as subscriptions can mean a lifetime of revenue. How does roleplay affect this? Well, it all boils down to the type of activity the roleplayer embarks on and his reasons for playing the game. Most players spend their time towards the endgame achievement. Unfortunately, once their objectives are completed, they are faced with a question we have all asked "Now what do I do?" This question is destructive to the gaming industry that relies so heavily on subscribers. A lot of these gamers have short attention spans and once they are satisfied will move onto the next game. This, however, is not behavior practiced by those in the roleplaying community. Roleplayers do not rely on content generated by the gaming company but rather keep themselves entertained with player-generated content. Player-created events -- followed by dedicated and imaginative people -- can create sequences for infinite hours of play. One could say that by allowing companies to meet their subscription requirements keeps them in business and ultimately aids our economy (in real-life).

"Playing Video games is anti-social"

We are a generation who lives on the computer; we work in front of them, eat in front of them, our cell phones and televisions are even computers now. Spending endless hours in front of a TV used to be frowned upon, but unfortunately it's become a part of our lives. Because of this one could argue that our social-life has degraded; however, this isn't the case. Our abilities to socialize have mutated into a form that may be superior, and this is all thanks to the online community. If the concept of community seems foreign to you, it may be a tricky thing to grasp -- especially if you are an "endgame" player. Community is best friends, mentors, lovers, enemies, rivals, family and another other close-knit individuals. World of Warcraft is a perfect example of how to discourage the creation of community. For example, when a player enters an instance, the player will encounter other players; he will fight alongside other players for hours and never once even speak a word or looked at their names. The value of roleplay is that it forces you to interact with other players just as if you would in real life. It's unfortunate that greeting and talking to other people in a game is a practice mostly exercised by imaginative fanatics (roleplayers).

Roleplayers are an exclusive group and tend to regularly socialize with each other no matter their in-game differences. This is the community; this is a healthy social environment.

One day, I could see how the video game industry could surpass the film industry, or just somehow they merge into some type of interactive experience. The video game industry is swallowing up the entertainment market and is becoming one of the most profitable along with this comes an alarming rate of addiction. MMO's are without a doubt the most addictive type of video game, and some trigger our brain into producing an anti-anxiety chemical called serotonin. Mission-based gameplay is a prime example of an addictive element in games. Have you ever found yourself saying "Just one more quest!"? It's never just one more quest. It may seem like a stretch, but being a roleplayer actually lifts a lot of the burden of addictive gameplay. A roleplayer may play World of Warcraft for three years and never actually embark on any quests simply because he finds himself satisfied with player-generated content. Roleplaying and questing have nothing to do with each other. It could be argued that quests can be story-driven; however, without the social connection it remains PvE.

Remember, roleplay relies largely on player socialization, and interacting with other people is a critical element to dealing with addiction. If you find yourself unable to pull yourself away from gaming, maybe you could try roleplaying with other people?

Because roleplay relies on player imagination, every individual may have their own rules for what defines "roleplaying" especially since the concept of roleplaying has been deluded over the years.

The most important element to roleplaying is your backstory! Create your character's story as if you were retelling your personal life story. Think of every detail imaginable and make sure there are no conflicts with lore of the environment. There are no restrictions on how you perceive your character as long as it follows a realistic path within the world. Your character may be 5 years old, but if they are, how do they hold a battle axe? Maybe your character is 200 years old, but how did they live so long? Everything in your backstory must have a reason.

Grammar and spelling are a critical element for character immersion. And tlkin like a n00b will get u baned from any rp activity. Use your backstory to customize how your character talks. Are they a big huge monster with a small brain? Maybe they're undead and have trouble speaking because their jaw and tongue is rotten. Or are they a sea-fairing adventurer that says "Aye" ever other sentence.

Some would argue that a character must have a first name and last name are required in all roleplay elements; however, I do not agree. A lot of characters in fiction go by one name as they have "outgrown" their original, or simply despise it. Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter is a good example of this. It goes without question that creating a character with a name like KillingU, Worgenfreeman or Metrosexual is completly discouraged and will not be permitted in roleplaying events.

Dress code
Some roleplayers insist that other players follow strict guidelines in their clothing and gear. Mostly this refers to clowning (Wearing multi-coloured peices of armor that don't match) which is understandable as it's called clowning for a reason. Other events and groups may insist that you are dressed in compliance with a uniform system. This is much rarer but adds a certain degree of realism.

Character decisions
Roleplaying is always in motion, and therefore you must be prepared to act in accordance with player events that transpire. If you're a "good guy" and your caught ruthlessly killing kittens, obviously that should have some effect on your character, and your actions should reflect within the community as well perhaps calling you a "Kitty-Killer".

Character knowledge

Making your character know everything will make him very uninteresting to roleplay with.

When walking the world with your character, it's crucial to consider your backstory when interacting with other players. Ask yourself, "What does your character know nothing about?" Making your character know everything will make him very uninteresting to roleplay with. As with real-life, it's truly the flaws that make us individual. Remember this while roleplaying. If your character is a dwarf, then he probably has no idea what it's like to be tall or agile or to be a vegetarian.

This falls under the same category of "character flaws", adding flaws into your character definitely makes for a better roleplay experience. In fact, it could be very entertaining if your character had one leg, blind, partially deaf, one hand, an avid storyteller and a raging alcoholic. Although it's best to not go overboard in most cases a simple "scar on left shoulder" is more than suffice. Consider: the more traits you add, the greater your roleplaying skill must be.

Death is a sticky thing to deal with in roleplay, and it's often cause for much debate. Some absolutely hardcore roleplayers would require you to delete your character and start fresh. However, that doesn't seem very favorable. I would like to say that in most cases it's simply ignored, but it truly depends on the community that you interact with.

Communication tools
I believe a lot of people are afraid of roleplaying because they believe it's a requirement that they roleplay over voice chat. This never was an issue in the days when voice chat was not a staple in online games. However, it is not something that is very common in roleplaying and really only practiced by the most extreme roleplayers. A lot of communities use a variety of communication methods but you can guarantee that there will be some area where you can talk out-of-character.

Emote - Performing an emotion or action, often utilized with asterisks *smiles*

Clowning - Wearing multi-colored non-matching clothing or gear.

Goddmoding - Creating a character which does not fit with the realism of the world.

Griefing - A player who, due to psychological issues or unresolved frustrations, tries to disrupt the gameplay of other players, such as through interfering with play, racial slurs, or other such destructive behavior. According to industry sources, grief players are usually about 3% of the player population

IC - (In Character) - To act, speak and perform in a manner that is suiting to your character and elements of roleplay.

LARP - (Live Action Roleplay)

MMORPG - (Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game) - A type of online game which exists through dedicated servers and is maintained by gaming companies. What makes MMORPG distinctive is that almost all character data is stored on servers located all around the world, and only the static elements of the game are stored on players computers.

NPC - (Non-Player Character) - A character which is operated by the server, through software mechanics or artificial intelligence. Essentially any character which is directly attached to the world.

N00b - (newbie) often referred to as someone who is new at an experience, or quite frankly their an idiot.

OOC - (Out of Character) The opposite to IC, to talk and act in a non-roleplay manner, much more suitable for real-life.

PC - (Player Character) - A character who is directly operated by a human being.

PvP - (Player vs Player) - A method of gameplay that involves strictly fighting other human players, or PC's

PvE - (Player vs Environment) - A method of gameplay where players are directly interacting with their environment or the static world. Such as fighting monsters or completing quests.

PvP-RP - (Player vs Player Roleplay) - A method of roleplaying that involves players fighting other players.

RP - (Roleplay) - See page 1 of guide

Toon - A synonym for "character" which originated from "cartoon," it's a widely used term to define one's avatar. However referring a character to a toon seems like an overgeneralization and is discouraged within the rp community.

WoW - (World of Warcraft) - An MMORPG with the largest subscription record to date, it was used as a reference for this guide since it is more common than any other MMORPG.

Add Photos & Videos

Sort By
  • Most Raves
  • Least Raves
  • Oldest
  • Newest

  • Medium Jock 2012/10/26 01:00:30
    Medium Jock
    yep mainly at work where I roleplay as a customer service agent who cares the rest of the time it's mainly on the PS3 or at discworld conventions
  • Zombionic 2012/09/27 05:35:33
    I like to rp lol
  • Tim Terror 2012/09/23 22:00:36
    Tim Terror
  • ♥▀Acid ... Tim Terror 2012/09/24 03:53:06
    ♥▀Acid Doll▀♥
    i love warhammer!!
  • Tim Terror ♥▀Acid ... 2012/09/24 17:10:32
    Tim Terror
    I have 3 tattoos from the Warhammer rulebook ;)
  • MissFinyx 2012/09/22 21:13:44
    I tried to play some dungeons and dragon style games when I was younger because that is what my best friend was into but, that didn't work out. Once I got older and started going out I did adopt an alter ego or two. One was a girl named FINYX(phoenix) and the other was a guy named BEN LAID lol. I was a drag performer. So much fun.
  • ♥▀Acid ... MissFinyx 2012/09/23 11:14:00
    ♥▀Acid Doll▀♥
    haha i love the ben laid one that is interesting ^^ haha i wish i could seen that would been fun , i dont usually do the live ones, cause im really shy in person but now get me some note book or some group forums and ill rp my hearts content when you have time go look at do you like to write post, theres some of my work there
  • ikeknight 2012/09/22 16:33:14 (edited)
    Yes, at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Fair. I always wanted to do Civil War reenactment. Pennsylvania Renaissance Fair
  • ♥▀Acid ... ikeknight 2012/09/23 11:12:47
    ♥▀Acid Doll▀♥
    thats the real deal there bub, f-ing sweet!! id love to watch that
  • Harley Squiggles the God \(... 2012/09/22 13:44:41
    Harley Squiggles the God \(#o#)/
    Yesh. :3 I just can't find anyone to do it with. >_<
  • ♥▀Acid ... Harley ... 2012/09/22 13:45:55
    ♥▀Acid Doll▀♥
    ill rp iwth ya!!
  • Harley ... ♥▀Acid ... 2012/09/22 13:49:49
    Harley Squiggles the God \(#o#)/
    Really? :o Yay! :D
  • ♥▀Acid ... Harley ... 2012/09/22 13:58:13
    ♥▀Acid Doll▀♥
    yea, i so gotta get you on imvu too!! but ill make another forum we can rp on
  • Harley ... ♥▀Acid ... 2012/09/22 13:59:00
    Harley Squiggles the God \(#o#)/
  • ♥▀Acid ... Harley ... 2012/09/22 14:00:01
    ♥▀Acid Doll▀♥
    ok group style it is xD make me do the hard work haha :P:P jk
  • Harley ... ♥▀Acid ... 2012/09/22 14:01:02
    Harley Squiggles the God \(#o#)/
    No. >_<
  • ♥▀Acid ... Harley ... 2012/09/22 14:04:23
    ♥▀Acid Doll▀♥
    no what o-o blonde kicked in haha
  • Harley ... ♥▀Acid ... 2012/09/22 14:07:50
    Harley Squiggles the God \(#o#)/
    I don't wanna role play...haha, that sounds wrong. O.O muffins...
  • NYCbrit 2012/09/22 09:58:25 (edited)
    Started playing AD&D; at 10. So, yeah...

    Got this hanging in my living room (tho this isn't mine... too much green for me!)

    Houses and humans
  • ♥▀Acid ... NYCbrit 2012/09/22 10:02:50
    ♥▀Acid Doll▀♥
    haha my walls are black painted so i know that feeling and i love that game to heart!!
  • Dryth 2012/09/22 06:23:43
    HELL YEAH! (the long definition was not necessary)
    I'm a practiced DM in Dungeons & Dragons, working on my own d20 system.
    I'm the admin of an RPG website: thegeekzone.org
    and I do rather enjoy anything made by Bethesda or Bioware :P
  • ♥▀Acid ... Dryth 2012/09/22 06:28:19
    ♥▀Acid Doll▀♥
    haha i know , but those new to it i thought id bring them up to par with what it is ^^ and thats cooool , right now im fixing my own called tragic kingdom , rise of the kuricians, and i also rp it out on imvu, second life, and a lil rp group called ferrai legency
  • Dryth ♥▀Acid ... 2012/09/22 06:31:44
    It's a bit of work keeping a forum afloat, especially if you're the main DM. I need more players and DMs
  • ♥▀Acid ... Dryth 2012/09/22 06:41:14
    ♥▀Acid Doll▀♥
    if i had more time id say count me in whats your rules with posting as far as timing
  • Dryth ♥▀Acid ... 2012/09/22 06:46:01
    Once a day or so is preferred, but some of our players go days without posting. Right now our most active RP is being held up on one friend of mine who has taken the whole situation by storm and then got a job at a hospital.
  • ♥▀Acid ... Dryth 2012/09/22 06:55:26
    ♥▀Acid Doll▀♥
    yea thats my problem im only on most on saturdays, cause im working both third shift , then going to school part day and night so i sleep inbetween the hours im not , so its a win loose situation but maybe let me get things in order and id like look more into it
  • Dryth ♥▀Acid ... 2012/09/22 06:59:22
    that would be awesome! I have the same username there if you do decide t join.
  • ♥▀Acid ... Dryth 2012/09/22 06:59:50
    ♥▀Acid Doll▀♥
    will do ^^ ill keep ya in mind definally
  • NYCbrit Dryth 2012/09/22 10:01:18
    What is it about D&D that always makes people want to redo the rolls system, esp. combat! Can't remember how many I've worked on over the years.
  • Dryth NYCbrit 2012/09/22 14:42:49
    The issue I have is that it's not very realistic. Armor shouldn't determine how hard you are to hit, it should reduce damage, and the leveling system is too rigid for me. My system is classless and based on opposed skill rolls. I haven't found anything quite like it yet, so I'm running with it.
  • NYCbrit Dryth 2012/09/23 09:16:20
    When I was playing (haven't been active for a few years), it had alot to do w/breaking actions down to the most realistic, weapons vs. spell casting time, etc. Never could settle on a system everyone agreed with, tho we spent many 12-15 hr. sessions frantically working at it!
  • Dryth NYCbrit 2012/09/23 19:20:43
    lol, yep. My system is very near completion actually, and I'm quite proud of it. I just need to pull together the time to finish polishing it and get a compiled rule book together. If you like, I'll keep you posted on my progress. I hope to get a rule book published within the next 3 years.
  • NYCbrit Dryth 2012/10/03 06:32:21
    Kudos to you for getting to the point of even considering publishing. I'd be glad to hear of your progress. Please do share. I'll even spring to buy the finished product!
  • doc moto 2012/09/22 05:57:32
    doc moto
    YES, with grandsons and daughter, yes, lots of times and we do all the action deals; but the real story is when they are close to bed and want a story out of the Bible, it calms them to sleep!
  • GIR213 2012/09/22 05:46:35
  • ♥▀Acid ... GIR213 2012/09/22 06:04:45
    ♥▀Acid Doll▀♥
    :O u do!!
  • GIR213 ♥▀Acid ... 2012/09/22 06:12:24
    ya. I used to do wow, and I play D&D and Pathfinders and changelings and a zombie game I cant remeber the name of and I want to try Skyrim
  • ♥▀Acid ... GIR213 2012/09/22 06:16:46
    ♥▀Acid Doll▀♥
    skyrim is bad ass!!! i also do actual rp's with freestyle ^^
  • GIR213 ♥▀Acid ... 2012/09/22 06:21:33
    cool! I want to play it but I havent yet my little pony skyrim lol
  • Stef and the City 2012/09/22 05:38:00
    Stef and the City
    I did when I was younger, not so much anymore. It's definitely fun and addictive though.

See Votes by State

The map above displays the winning answer by region.


2014/10/31 08:29:26

Hot Questions on SodaHead
More Hot Questions

More Community More Originals