Principles of Roleplaying

Over the past few weeks I've experienced (subjectively) both "good" roleplaying and "bad" roleplaying. I figured I'd finally get off my backside and share the three rules that I try to apply to my roleplaying. They've distilled down to these three principles from far too many years rolling funny shaped dice and playing MMOs. Hopefully you'll find my comments interesting or at least, useful.

These principles can, in my experience, be applied to everything from impromptu one-on-one roleplay to full-blown, organised events. So here we go, Jaen's Three Principles Of Good Roleplaying.

Plausibility
This is the crux of any good roleplay. It tends to apply to everything from how you play your character to how you organise the mechanics of large scale events. If roleplay is implausible, it quickly becomes ridiculous. Other players will not want to interact with you and inevitably, your event will fail.

An event must be plausible within the context of the game universe. That means no automatic weapons in a fantasy setting, no magic in a cyberpunk setting and so on. This applies to your characters description and any interaction you might have with other players. Lack of plausibility is the usual cause of everyone's pet hate: the power-emote. What might start out as a gentle interaction between two consenting roleplayers rapidly spirals out of control as one pulls out a knife and stabs the other in the chest, who in turn happens to have the blow deflected by a hip flask and... well, you get the idea. Initially, these power-emotes may seem plausible (of course it's reasonable for a character to be carrying a hip flask) however the sequence of seemingly random coincidences most definitely is not.

Try to consider whether your actions, your character's behaviour and their background are plausible. I cannot stress enough how frustrating it is to try an interact with someone who can turn into a demon/dragon/angel/robot at will or who has inherited the power of the gods from their father/mother who happens to be a major deity. Again, this sort of thing rapidly becomes ridiculous and ceases to be fun for all involved.

Plausible: Jaen starts to mutter quietly and his body begins to distort and shimmer (then cast Ghost Wolf).

''Implausible: Jaen's skin erupts into flame and he starts to grow in size before your eyes. Moments later, a cackling demon lord stands before you.''

Consistency
The second game-breaker in my opinion. If you're going to roleplay, roleplay consistently. That doesn't mean you need to be inflexible but if you're going to apply a personality, behaviour or other character hook to your roleplaying, stick with it. If you play a crippled beggar on the streets of Stormwind, stay in Stormwind and always roleplay your limp. The next time someone sees you sprinting down to Goldshire to pick up a quest, you break their immersion and damage their perception of your character and you as a roleplayer.

The easiest way to do this, I find, is apply a broad, general personality to your character. I'll use my main as an example. Jaen is, simply put, an irrational, intelligent but blind religious zealot. This means I litter my conversations as him with references to the earthmother, to the heathens, to her unbridled wrath and so on. It applies a consistent style to the way I play Jaen and that is good: people will remember you for such consistency.

Now the downside. It is possible to get caught in a role to such an extent that it does indeed become inflexible. I am personally experiencing this with Jaen at the moment. People know him as a religious fundamentalist. They know he'll be out in the middle of the battlefield, spilling the blood of his enemies. Great in principle, but I find myself now wanting to explore Jaen's character a little more (why is he so obsessive when it comes to religious zeal, for example) and it is difficult to adjust his personality and maintain consistency.

Consistent: Jaen does not fight in Warsong Gulch as he is opposed to their violation of the earthmother, even if they are Horde.

''Inconsistent: It's double honour weekend and I'm close to a new rank. Anyone for WSG 60?''

Fun
It's what playing games is all about. It may seem obvious but sometimes people forget we're here to have fun, all of us. Sometimes I feel players forget they're playing a multiplayer game. They apply the psychology they associated with singleplayer games to the MMOG and that doesn't work. In a singleplayer game, the world revolves around you. You are the pivotal, key figure. Everything is geared to your enjoyment. In an MMOG, not so. The game does not revolve around you, it revolves around the community of players of that particular game. It's worth trying to keep this in mind.

It's not just your fun, it's ensuring the fun of your fellow players that ultimately makes for an enjoyable and memorable roleplaying event. One of the first server-wide events I was involved in organising for an MMO had elements that all players of all levels could enjoy. With the participation of the GMs we had in-game quests for low levels ("Go and take screenshots of these strange invaders, the best one wins a prize") and ultimately an immense space battle for the hardcore PvPers to get involved in. I still grin when I remember it as so many people enjoyed themselves. An event that encompasses the fun factor for all involved will be a success, I guarantee it.

Fun: A series of organised, pitched battles from The Barrens through Ashenvale and Felwood to Winterspring, with characters of each level bracket catered for.

Not fun: A raid of twenty level 60s on a a starting zone with the intent of slaughtering everyone and everything that stands in their path.

So there you go. A bit of a condescending brain fart of a forum post but hopefully of some use. Flame and discuss :)

Reply From Gorbesh
I agree with pretty much every word Jaen. Plausibility is so important. OK, so you may like the idea of shadowy guild of demon/dragon vampire dark elf ninja assassins who can control people with their minds, but don't expect other people to play along.

I'm the last person to discourage people who are attempting to roleplay (even if it's a bit clumsy) but even I draw the line somewhere. I just treat the extreme cases as insane people in order to stay IC.

Also remember that if your story is plausible to more people then it will be easier for them to interact and enhance your RP.

Consistency. I have the same issue as you Jaen in that I have rather limited Gorbesh's interaction by his attitudes. I have never taken Gorbesh into a battleground and you never will see him there. He has an outlook on things that are just not consistent with joining up with a mercenary band to slaughter alliance for cash and shiny rewards. He has seen the horror of the plaguelands and had a glimpse of the power of the real enemy and considers that skirmishes with alliance are just a distraction from our real nemesis. He will fight anyone who attacks horde towns but he simply doesn't believe in escalating the fight. The great warchief Thrall has a stance with regards to the alliance and Gorbesh follows that approach to the letter - his first meeting with Thrall changed his life, from one of irresponsible selfish drifter to a true servant of his people. Thrall is his hero and he would lay his life down for him. Nipping into BG to do a bit of honour grinding just isn't on.

Fun ? Well clearly so. It's important to remember that your fun might be someone elses frustration, particularly so when it comes to immersion breaking OOC stuff and power emoting.

Nicely summarised Jaen. /salute