Sound Off: What is "Role-playing" anyway?

[Stormfalcon]

My take on role-playing? It's when you can get into your character's mind and make decisions and say things based on what that character would do and say, not what you, the player, would do or say. It may or may not involve amateur night-level acting at the table. It just means that you're putting aside your own biases, knowledge, personality, etc. and using the biases, knowledge, personality, etc. of your character instead.

 

[Inconsequenti-AL]

Yes, I accept that that is subjective and I agree that if they are that deep into a dungeon then the game is going to be more dice rolling than character interaction. Perhaps I should rephraise it, as if the campaign is more dice rolling and character interaction there is the problem.

Personally, it doesn't sound like my ideal game, but I think it's only a problem if the group aren't enjoying it?

If that's what they get together and want to do... then surely, they're doing things 'correctly'?

 

[Berandor]

I differentiate between Role-Playing and Roll-Playing thus:
Role-Playing means the player tries to act like his character would.
Roll-Playing means the player just wants to roll some dice, and whether he's a cleric, a fighter, brave, yellow, relaxing in a tavern or fighting a dragon is unimportant, nor does it change his/her approach.

Whether you talk in first or thirs person, whether you fake accents, dress as your character, or constantly address the other characters with their player's names, I don't really care that much. But at least try and think about what your character would do in a given situation, and you role-play.

 

[Wombat]

Roleplaying to me does involve rolling dice. In the end, however, roleplaying involves a greater emphasis on story and characterization than on rules, charts and dice. Coming up with patterns of speech, acting in character (even when in game terms this is not the safest or wisest route), interacting with NPCs beyond just "give me the next assignment", developing a backstory, perhaps even **gasp** a life outside of adventuring **close gasp** for your character, these are the fun aspects of gaming for me & my group.

If half or more the time of your game session is spent in rolling dice and checking rules, then you have fallen over into miniatures gaming or board gaming, as far as I am concerned. If you are under, and you have had some good "schtick time", then you have a roleplaying game.

Personal definitions only, YMMV, usw

 

[Zappo]

Roleplaying, for me, is having your character do what he would actually do. If you're playing a cowardly thief and charge into battle, that's poor roleplaying. If you're playing the INT 6 half-orc and say to the wizard "why don't you cast grease in front of the charging cavalry?", that's poor roleplaying. If you leave your loved ones alone in the dungeon, that's poor roleplaying, even if it's a sensible thing to do. Real people have weaknesses, and real people make mistakes because of their emotions (sometimes knowing full well that they are doing them!). A character that's always behaving like some kind of mixture between Sun Tzu and a borg is unrealistic.

Rollplaying is a derogatory word made up by elitists who don't like rolling dice. In my humble opinion, of course, D&D must involve dice, combat, hacking, and slashing... or you might as well be having a conversation.

Don't let yourself be drawn into the usual dichotomy between combat and roleplaying. Combat can BE roleplaying. People who dislike combat saying that they like roleplaying are missing something, or they are poor roleplayers. Combat is extremely dramatic and emotional, people get killed, your friends are in danger... chatting with an NPC about the weather isn't half as good an opportunity for good roleplaying as a nice tough fight.

Yes and No. At the same time.

At least until you do kill the baby, thus collapsing the field. Only after that, you will either lose or not lose your paladin powers, and thus find out whether it was evil. Schroedinger morality.

 

[beverson]

I've seen more than a few thread discussing the elements of rolls to roles, IE. roll-playing vs. role-playing. So, I pose the following question:

How do YOU define role-playing in character?

Do you talk in the 1st person? With accent? Do you have intricate backgrounds? Form bonds with NPCs? What does it take to be a "true" role-player? What draws the distinction between rolls and roles anyway?

Its an age-old debate with lots of sides, share yours and be civil to others opinions.

I think some of the replies have gone away from what the original question was (which I highlighted in red italics above). The question wasn't "which one is better", or "which one is right". It was how each of us defines role-playing, and he added "in character" as well. IMHO, one of the most important aspects of role-playing is being able to divorce yourself from "player" knowledge and sticking to "character" knowledge. I have made numerous decisions that "roll" players and munchkins would have chewed me out for, saying that they were stupid or tactically poor, but I made them using the knowledge that I knew my character had, even though I had more knowledge that would normally have altered my decision.

Roleplaying to me is getting to know who your character is, what his motivations are, and immersing yourself in the character and situations.
Depending upon the game system being played, sometimes there's more dice involved, sometimes less, but being able to play the ROLE, I think, is what truely separates the roleplayer from the rollplayer.

 

[Elf Witch]

To me role playing is thinking and acting how your character thinks and acts it does not have to be amateur acting. I cannot talk in accents for example. But I try and make decisions based on who my character is not what she is.

I like to form bonds with NPCs and have NPCs treated the same as PCs not the he is a NPC don't waste the last heal on him.

I also like playing in a game where if you make the decision to protect your NPC lover and there was a better tactical move you could have made no one cares because what you did was in character.

And yes I like rolling dice and winning battles and a game with out any of that soon becomes boring but so does a game that is nothing but rolling dice and choosing the most optimal move you can make.

 

[Minicol]

To me, roleplaying is not only playing your character and having him react as he should, but also storytellling : it is perfectly Ok to have fights and lots of combats, if the villains are believable, if they have goals, and if their demise brings really something to move the story onwards.

In RPGA adventures for instance, you need three encounters necessarily (or so I'm told). Which means that authors must add fights with monsters, looking like random encounters, even if that is stupid and makes the rest of the story seem inconsistent.

If I just wanted to fight monsters using lots of tactical data, I would play wargames ! I love fighting and combat, but with a prupose dammit ! And when I mean purpose, I mean something better than :
"You see a tower in the distance. It looks ugly. Seems like a good place for xps and gps".

 

[Bendris Noulg]

I think some of the replies have gone away from what the original question was (which I highlighted in red italics above). The question wasn't "which one is better", or "which one is right". It was how each of us defines role-playing, and he added "in character" as well. IMHO, one of the most important aspects of role-playing is being able to divorce yourself from "player" knowledge and sticking to "character" knowledge. I have made numerous decisions that "roll" players and munchkins would have chewed me out for, saying that they were stupid or tactically poor, but I made them using the knowledge that I knew my character had, even though I had more knowledge that would normally have altered my decision.

Roleplaying to me is getting to know who your character is, what his motivations are, and immersing yourself in the character and situations.
Depending upon the game system being played, sometimes there's more dice involved, sometimes less, but being able to play the ROLE, I think, is what truely separates the roleplayer from the rollplayer.

Sums up my view nicely.

 

[Krellic]

For me roleplaying is escaping from the humdrum mundanity of my real life and immersing myself in another life and another world. If I have to roll a few dice to pierce the curtain between this world and that so be it.

As a DM I try and set up the situation where others can have the experience that I would like as a player. I'm not quite there yet but I'm working on it...