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<blockquote data-quote="Dannyalcatraz" data-source="post: 5019588" data-attributes="member: 19675">No, you don't see.I'm not talking about anagram names.&nbsp; I'm not denigrating people who don't use fake accents.&nbsp; I'm not ridiculing people who only play alter-egos of themselves.I'm talking about people who, not infrequently, do not even bother picking a name for the PC at all.&nbsp; The space may even be left blank.The PC in question doesn't have the player's personality- it has no discernible personality at all.In order to not say &quot;The Wizard&quot; or &quot;The Ranger&quot; every few minutes- especially since they may not be the only one of that class in the party, we are forced to refer to the PC by the player's name or &quot;your PC.&quot;This makes it even more difficult to deal with when there may be more than one campaign active.&nbsp; We can't very well say &quot;Next week, bring Bob, your wizard.&quot; when there are 20 years worth of virtually identical unnamed PCs- some of whom may have been active in the same campaign (due to deaths and new PC gen)- and only the HP and campaign-specific magic items may differ.&nbsp; They are as interchangeable as chess pawns or Go pieces.This is not a knock on their ability to play and contribute to the fun of all (including themselves).&nbsp; It is an observation that they do not play a &quot;Role&quot;- at least in any sense that a psychologist or actor would recognize.&nbsp; For them, the PCs are no more than waldoes for them to manipulate objects within the environment as defined by the DM- IOW, the campaign.Or is it your assertion that someone playing the classic arcade game Gauntlet is also &quot;role playing?&quot;&nbsp; That &quot;Elf is about to die.&quot; and &quot;Wizard needs food badly.&quot; are indicative of actual role play?&nbsp; That someone playing the Scottie Dog with Boardwalk and Park Place is roleplaying?If that is so, what separates playing a board game or arcade combat game from RPGs?In the broad spectrum of role-play, it is equally possible and acceptable to play a PC in a detached, 3rd party manner as it is to play with an immersive style, complete with costume.&nbsp; But you eventually reach an point on the spectrum when you are are no longer role-playing.&nbsp; There is, at each extreme, a cutoff.On one end, the person is merely rolling dice and taking actions based upon the results.&nbsp; At the other, the person is delusional and can no longer discern the difference between real and fiction.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Dannyalcatraz, post: 5019588, member: 19675"] No, you [B]don't[/B] see. I'm not talking about anagram names. I'm not denigrating people who don't use fake accents. I'm not ridiculing people who only play alter-egos of themselves. I'm talking about people who, not infrequently, do not even bother picking a name for the PC [I]at all.[/I] The space may even be left blank. The PC in question doesn't have the player's personality- it has no discernible personality at all. In order to not say "The Wizard" or "The Ranger" every few minutes- especially since they may not be the only one of that class in the party, we are forced to refer to the PC by the player's name or "your PC." This makes it even more difficult to deal with when there may be more than one campaign active. We can't very well say "Next week, bring Bob, your wizard." when there are 20 years worth of virtually identical unnamed PCs- some of whom may have been active in the same campaign (due to deaths and new PC gen)- and only the HP and campaign-specific magic items may differ. They are as interchangeable as chess pawns or Go pieces. This is not a knock on their ability to play and contribute to the fun of all (including themselves). It is an observation that they do not play a "Role"- at least in any sense that a psychologist or actor would recognize. For them, the PCs are no more than waldoes for them to manipulate objects within the environment as defined by the DM- IOW, the campaign. Or is it your assertion that someone playing the classic arcade game Gauntlet is also "role playing?" That "Elf is about to die." and "Wizard needs food badly." are indicative of actual role play? That someone playing the Scottie Dog with Boardwalk and Park Place is roleplaying? If that is so, what separates playing a board game or arcade combat game from RPGs? In the broad spectrum of role-play, it is equally possible and acceptable to play a PC in a detached, 3rd party manner as it is to play with an immersive style, complete with costume. But you eventually reach an point on the spectrum when you are are no longer role-playing. There is, at each extreme, a cutoff. On one end, the person is merely rolling dice and taking actions based upon the results. At the other, the person is delusional and can no longer discern the difference between real and fiction. [/QUOTE]

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