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<b>Introduction: This is a brief overview of my personal opinions on roleplaying and how to be better at it. Please take it as such, and not as fact. I hope those of you reading this take from it what you can and use it in your daily life in nexus. The first thing I'd like to do is go over what roleplaying is, by definition, so you have a good idea of what lessons and suggestions in the future are concerning. <b>Roleplaying: <b>Roleplaying is assuming a new identity, enveloping yourself <b>in that identity, and allowing the character you control to <b>make decisions you, the player, might not normally make. Skilled roleplayers are often best known for the depth their characters have, the amount of time they've invested into them, and the storylines and plot arcs that they've had their characters be a part of. Consistent and constant development of the character, as if they were real, is what roleplaying is all about. There are two different kinds of roleplaying: <b>Improvisational roleplaying - Randomly interacting with your surroundings without a planned script, and unknown results. Personally, I find this type of roleplaying to be the most effective at real character development. <b>Planned roleplaying - This is setting a storyline into motion that you know the outcome of. This type of roleplaying is often referred to as 'role-acting' because there is little genuine improvisational elements. Sometimes, planned roleplaying is used in order to set up a situation where improvisational roleplaying can occur. <b>Backstory: At this point, most people ask, how do I start? The answer is easy enough. Creating a proper backstory for your character gives them depth, and also logical reasoning for them to act the way they do. For example: A character who's parents were murdered by a wandering band of Barbarians may have trust issues. A character who's first job was being a Farmer may know more than others about weather, growing fruit and vegetables, and where to sell them. These are just a few examples and the possibilities are endless. The most important thing you can do when creating a backstory for your character is to be original! Think long and hard about what makes your character special, and then find a way to embody that in their backstory. Think of this backstory as the back-bone for the personality, attitude, and intelligence of your character. Keep in mind, a backstory is just a backstory; the more you roleplay, the more your character will be presented with opportunities to evolve by adding new skills, emotions, physical characteristics, enemies, and friends. After you've developed a backstory, things become a lot easier. Your character now has a past that they can draw off of in order to make decisions during roleplaying situations. ----------------------------------------------------------------- <b>Character development through interaction: Before we get into character development, I'd like to touch on the subjects of metagaming and powergaming. These are two things you definitely want to avoid when roleplaying if possible. <b>Metagaming: Metagaming is using information you learn as a player (on other characters, from people's legends, or from sources outside of the game) to dictate the action of your character. An example of metagaming would be logging onto your Shaman, copying a post from their board, and sending it to your Barbarian and trying to use it to further their reputation. Another example of metagaming would be clicking someone or seeing someone's name above their head and using that information as a player to pretend your character knows them by first name, or knows their accomplishments or exploits. | |