by Tom Doolan

Created on: May 01, 2008

What is good role-playing? That's a rather loaded question. Mainly because the answer depends on who you ask. To determine what "good" role-playing is, one must first define what role-playing is. In the simplest of terms, role-playing is acting. It's the process by which a role-player takes on the role of his character, and portrays them in a manner that makes the character believable in the context of the game being played.

Some players prefer to begin the role-play aspect at their character's germination. From the very start, a player may define exactly how a character looks, thinks and acts, thus creating a very rigid set of parameters with which to create his "performance." This often includes the character's origins, his past experiences, his personal quirks, and his personal world-view. This allows the player to mentally say "In the presence of X, he will respond with Y." However, this method can lead to stilted performances, and two-dimensional characters.

Many players prefer to role-play "on the fly" so to speak. They have a general idea of what the character is like, a few details about his background, maybe some personality quirk or another. But nothing is set in stone. And they will tailor the character's "performance" to the situation at hand, and react on instinct. While this method is usually the easiest, it sometimes leads to character inconsistencies, and contradictions. And this can be frustrating, especially to a Game Master who is trying to tell a compelling story.

Generally speaking, the two methods described above are the extremes. And most players will develop something that fits somewhere in the middle. Many players like to use props, voices, and physical gesturing to "get in to character." And this is as often done by the former type as the latter.

But that still doesn't answer the initial question of what constitutes good role-playing. As was stated, it's a loaded question, and there really is no right answer. A better question might be, what is a good role-playing experience? The answer to that is simple. One that allows all involved to have fun. Some Game Masters, Dungeon Masters and Storytellers rely a lot on role-playing. They require complex backgrounds, and for players to be "in character" as much as possible. Others run a more free-flowing style of game, where certain scenes may require the players to speak on behalf of their characters only when there is a plot-driving reason to do so.

In the end, all that matters is that whatever a player's chosen method of role-playing is, his fellow players and Game Master be comfortable with it, and it doesn't disrupt the game. Role-playing is a form of recreation and relaxation. If a player is forced to do something he isn't comfortable with, it becomes less like play, and more like work. Which completely defeats the purpose of the pastime.

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