11 Ways to be a Better Roleplayer

[welian]

11 Ways to be a Better Roleplayer

An article published on Look Robot back in 2013 on how to be a better roleplay participant. I thought it was pretty interesting, and wanted to share it with you guys. There's a lot of swearing, but the first paragraph of the article contains a link to a "clean" version.


A TLR version for people unable to open the link:

1. Do stuff
   
2. Realize that your character does not exist outside the things you say/type
   
3. Don't try to stop things
   
4. Take full control of your character
   
5. Don't harm other players
   
6. Know the system, don't be a dick about it
   
7. Give the game your attention. If you can’t give your full attention, step away from the table
   
8. If you make someone uncomfortable, apologize and talk to them about it
   
9. Be a storyteller
   
10. Embrace failure
    
11. Play the game
    

But hopefully you read the article because the author says a lot of other great stuff.


Let's discuss!

• What did you think of the article?
  
• What do you think of the author's suggestions? Do you disagree with any of them?
  
• What are some of the biggest issues of "being a good roleplayer" that you've run into?
  
• Which of these "rules" do you think you've broken the most?
  
• What would you add to this list?
  
• What do you think a DM could do to foster this behavior in their roleplayers?
  
• etc.
  

 

[Giyari]

That first point, that first point right there.


Too many RPers are happy for their character to wander around a threads universe, go sit on a bench, sleep under a tree, disappear to a library, all out of the way of the action and just wait on someone deciding that sitting around also sounds like a good fun time. When people complain that any RPs they join die quickly, I just think "Well did you post anything worth replying to?" and 9/10 times it's no. there's only so many times someone can interact with a "shy loner" character in a corner before you decide to bail and write something more exciting.


Also point 10!


There's nothing wrong with your character not being the most powerful badass in the thread! There's nothing wrong with your character getting beat up and losing fights! Weaknesses and insecurities make characters feel more real, they make them relatable and three dimensional rather than a flat boring unstoppable goon who other people make their characters avoid because "It'll be no fun to interact with that guy"

 

[Chordling]

Overall, I think the article sheds a good amount of light for those who really want to improve their skills as a roleplayer and specifically as a GM. The author makes some really great suggestions that don't just "tell" someone how to do something. Everyone is different and the only way we can improve our abilities as a roleplayer is to roleplay. There are multitudes of methods that people can use, not just one. My favorite point was about respecting the other members in your game. To me that his huge. It may sound ironic coming from me, but when you boil everything down, it only matters whether you're having fun. I may explain that I desire my roleplay partners to meet requirements X, Y, and Z, but if I am not enjoying the story, then none of that hogwash even matters.


One thing which I have recently learned about myself as a roleplayer is that I tend to sacrifice my character's personality for the plot. I totally agree with the author, don't constrain yourself, just go with the flow. But I think I have met the other extreme to that rule too often. Sometimes my wild and crazy imagination will run away with my logical reasoning, and I will come up with the whackiest ideas for a roleplay. In some cases, they fit perfectly, and in other cases, not so much. No matter the case, I have had a tendency to go with it anyway. This has caused a lot of awkward moments within the story, especially if I practiced a lack of communication with my partner.


With those two points mentioned above, I would advise aspiring roleplayers to keep your head in the clouds and your feet on the ground. Roleplaying should be fun, or why else would you want to do it? But always remember, while writing can be a great way to break away from reality, it shouldn't mean you have to break your character's reality. Rather than asking yourself whether your character would do this because of a personality type, ask yourself whether something makes sense. I am constantly asking this question to myself as I am writing, and I alway remind myself that maybe things aren't meant to be. If you're writing out a scene and you're not feeling those good roleplayer vibrations, go with something else. Use your creativity. There are millions of paths for you to take. Don't feel discouraged. It doesn't have to be that way.

 

[Archie]

I love this thread

Overall, I think the article sheds a good amount of light for those who really want to improve their skills as a roleplayer and specifically as a GM. The author makes some really great suggestions that don't just "tell" someone how to do something. Everyone is different and the only way we can improve our abilities as a roleplayer is to roleplay. There are multitudes of methods that people can use, not just one. My favorite point was about respecting the other members in your game. To me that his huge. It may sound ironic coming from me, but when you boil everything down, it only matters whether you're having fun. I may explain that I desire my roleplay partners to meet requirements X, Y, and Z, but if I am not enjoying the story, then none of that hogwash even matters.
One thing which I have recently learned about myself as a roleplayer is that I tend to sacrifice my character's personality for the plot. I totally agree with the author, don't constrain yourself, just go with the flow. But I think I have met the other extreme to that rule too often. Sometimes my wild and crazy imagination will run away with my logical reasoning, and I will come up with the whackiest ideas for a roleplay. In some cases, they fit perfectly, and in other cases, not so much. No matter the case, I have had a tendency to go with it anyway. This has caused a lot of awkward moments within the story, especially if I practiced a lack of communication with my partner.


With those two points mentioned above, I would advise aspiring roleplayers to keep your head in the clouds and your feet on the ground. Roleplaying should be fun, or why else would you want to do it? But always remember, while writing can be a great way to break away from reality, it shouldn't mean you have to break your character's reality. Rather than asking yourself whether your character would do this because of a personality type, ask yourself whether something makes sense. I am constantly asking this question to myself as I am writing, and I alway remind myself that maybe things aren't meant to be. If you're writing out a scene and you're not feeling those good roleplayer vibrations, go with something else. Use your creativity. There are millions of paths for you to take. Don't feel discouraged. It doesn't have to be that way.

Yaaa! And even when I'm GMing it's really fun when characters use their own personalities and create clash with other characters or with the plot adn refuse things. All the best stories; Tvsoaps, Rps, other stuff have a lot of drama so that means people clashing and not being afraid to burn bridges with other PCs since in OOC people rarely end up hating eachother from it. Having characters fight is actually a really weird bonding experience

 

[Atreus]

Wow thanks. I've DMed a teeny tiny amount and been on the other end for D&D as well and in hindsight I can see my own and other's shortcoming in both dice and non-dice RPs. Yes! Make stuff happen! I feel like that's one of the most important things you can ever do, and is heavily connected to the RP setup and pregame.

 

[Senshin]

Very sound advice. These pretty much cover my basic guidelines when I run any tabletop.

 

[SpartFarkles]

This is very sound advice no matter what kind of rp you're doing, be it a group one, 1x1, or dice rp. Very nice and thanks for sharing! I especially liked the first point.