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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Reynard" data-source="post: 4718783" data-attributes="member: 467">First thing first: in order to answer the question, we have to define the term "roleplaying".It seems simple at first -- playing a role. But let's pick it apart a little.What does "play" mean? "Play" is often associated with "game" -- does that mean when we are talking about "roleplaying" in an RPG we are discussing the game aspects, i.e. the mechanics.What does "role" mean? Is "role" the same as "character"? Is "role" individual, or is it defined as ones place within the structure of the group or the game as a whole? If 4E has taught us anything, it is that "role" can have very different meaning than we might assume on first blush when we think "roleplaying".Even if we define those terms, we have to consider degree: is the person who speaks in first person with a funny voice roleplaying "more" than the person who narrates his character's actions in third person, all else being equal? What about the people (most of us, I'd wager) who oscillate between the two during any given session or even encounter/situation/scene?  And if speaking "in character" is roleplaying, what about wearing a funny hat to the game or prosthetic ears?  I'm sure we've all seen or heard about the infamous episode of Jesse.Is roleplaying limited to a singular character? If me and my little brother play D&D together and he runs 4 characters, is he roleplaying? And by the same token, is the GM roleplaying, handling so many characters at once?What happens when the system demands an action or mindset? If your character is affected by a fear spell, is "pretending" to be afraid a prerequisite of "roleplaying" in that circumstance?  And on the flip side, if the player is in an emotional state that the character isn't (ex: the player characters, all 1st level, encounter a rust monster for the first time), is he or she no longer roleplaying?For the record, my answer to all of the above is, "It depends."  To me, the only useful definition of "roleplaying" is whether a player chooses a course of action -- whether in combat or at the king's banquet table -- that he thinks his character would take (irrespective of whether he, himself, would take the same or a different action). All other issues are secondary and based on nothing more than preference and comfortability.So, to answer the question: I think system matters, but only insofar as it might help or hinder the ability of a player to make a decision or choose an action for his character. Systems that rely heavily on meta-game effects that make decisions for players -- whether it's Exalted's Limit Breaks or 4E's encounter/daily mechanics -- hurt role-playing, and systems that open up player decision making -- whether it's Exalted's Virtues or 4E's skill challenge mechanics -- promote role-playing.</blockquote>

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