Role Play: Tips for new roleplayers

Why would anyone want to roleplay? What should new roleplayers look for when they’re just starting out? What kind of things should new roleplayers avoid? A lot of the questions I commonly get when it comes to roleplaying all involve what seems like a simple task — getting started. But for many new roleplayers, that’s the biggest hurdle out there. Making a character is easy enough, interacting with other people? That’s a little intimidating at best.

As for why anyone wants to roleplay, it’s simple. If you’ve ever played make believe when you were a kid, or a game of let’s pretend, or even had fun in a school play: that’s roleplay. It’s taking on the persona of someone else for a time. Only instead of a play where your character is the creation of the author, with roleplay you are the author, and you’re making up the story as you go. It’s a little like improvisational acting; it’s creative and fun all at the same time.

But that first step — the one where you go out and talk to people — is a big one for many players. So here’s a few tips to get you started, and hopefully ease any nervousness you might have about talking to other players.

Make your character believable

It’s easy enough to make a character you want to play. But with roleplay, you have to step out of the box a little, take an objective look at that character and give them reason to exist. Why is your character the class you chose? What’s their reason for traveling around the world? You don’t have to get too in-depth with this if it’s your first time roleplaying, it’s something that you can flesh out and develop over time.

But it is something you want to have readily available, because that reason for existing is also a reason you can use to interact with people. It doesn’t have to be anything incredibly complex, either — even saying your character is out in the world because they’re looking for a lost pet is enough to go with. Simple reason? Sure. But now you have a reason to talk to other people, a reason to approach them without feeling out of place.

Just asking a question is usually enough to get a conversation going, and once you’ve got that conversation going, it doesn’t really matter whether you find Sniffles the cat or Fido your faithful pooch. The point here isn’t to give your character a gigantic story arc so much as it is giving you a reason to start a conversation.

You aren’t the only character that matters

Roleplay is a social activity, one that really only works when you’re interacting with other people. But you’re not the only one with a story in mind for your character. Go ahead and ask that guy if he’s seen Fido, but keep in mind that he’s got his own reasons for being around, too. Maybe they don’t involve helping someone with the search for their pet. Maybe whatever they’re up to can be accomplished while looking for your pet. Who knows?

Other roleplayers are, in their own way, like quest NPCs, each with their own potentially fascinating thing for you to do or chat about. But unlike the fairly rigid NPCs in Warcraft, other roleplayers have fully fleshed out character backstories and lives that began well before you arrived, and will continue on long after you leave. In roleplay, it’s not just about what you’re doing, it’s about learning what everyone else is up to as well.

So if someone doesn’t necessarily have time to talk about dear old Fido, or help out in the search for Sniffles, it’s not worth getting discouraged — it could just be a case of that character having something more important on their agenda. And realize that just because a character turns down a conversation with you, that’s not a reflection of the player behind that character. There’s a distinct difference between the character and the author of that character.

Don’t worry about leveling

For most players, hitting max level is the end goal of creating a new character — you want to do dungeons, raid, PVP, grind reputations, and everything that end game has to offer. For roleplayers, that doesn’t matter so much at all. Your level is a game mechanic, it’s not a reflection of the character you’ve created. So sure, go out and have fun leveling if you’d like to, but you can certainly take your time while you’re doing it.

As far as roleplay is concerned, there is no “end game” you need to reach before you can start doing all of the fun stuff. The roleplay is the fun stuff. Max level isn’t a requirement to talk to other roleplayers at all — there’s no magical final destination you have to reach before you can begin roleplaying with people. It’s not about where you get to in roleplay. Instead, it’s all about the journey.

Keep your story fluid

The last thing you want to do as a roleplayer is to lock yourself into a storyline. Going back to that earlier example — if all you do when you log on and start roleplaying is look for Sniffles or Fido, how long is that going to keep you entertained? What happens if you find your lost pet — what is your character going to do after that? Roleplay doesn’t have an ending like traditional stories: it’s a tale that’s being perpetually written and you want to make sure you leave your character open to adapt.

All those people that you talk to along the way? See what kind of stories they have to offer, get to know them, and find out what they’re out in the world for. Keep an eye out while you’re leveling for new elements you could potentially introduce to your story, or even elements you think might help someone you’ve spoken to. You don’t want to just further your own story — if possible, you want to help other people further theirs, too.

Be kind

This should be a no-brainer, but it’s worth mentioning regardless — be nice to people. If you like someone’s RP profile, or just like how they play their character, take a minute to send them an OOC message and let them know. If you liked the interaction you had with a roleplayer, thank them for the roleplay after you’re done. It lets them know you were having fun, and that hey, you wouldn’t mind doing that again sometime.

You don’t have to limit this to out of character interaction, either. A character I made asked for directions from another roleplayer, and they gave her the correct directions, albeit a little hurriedly — so afterwards, I sent an in-game mail with some herbs from the area she went to and a thank you for the directions. That ended up being the spark that caused my character to eventually join a guild and make all kinds of new friends.

Being nice never hurts anyone, and if people know that you’re friendly and polite, they’re far more apt to say hello should your characters ever cross paths again. With roleplaying, it’s not about the gear you have or the levels you’ve obtained, it’s about being social — so give yourself a reason to get out there, don’t forget to put your best foot forward, and you’ll be roleplaying in no time.