Role Play for Beginners

[The Bloody Baron]

This tutoring business is kinda new to me, so sorry in advance for the lame intro.

As a role player, I've seen too many times people coming into the role playing community with absolutely no clue of what they're doing, or the do's and don't's of role play.

Some people may want to start role playing, but don't know where or how to start.

Others still may just have questions about role play. What is role play? Can you teach me the lingo? And other questions.

So, I'm starting this little discussion to give pointers on all things role play, and to answer any questions asked.

[Katharine Hinson]

You are my hero! I've wanted to do this for forever, and have been too clueless to even know where to start. :)

[The Bloody Baron]

Well, I did you a favor then :-)

[The Bloody Baron]

To kick things off here's the first pointer.

Know your character. Hermione Granger is a knowledgable young witch who learns everything she can, but she's not all-knowing. Katniss Everdeen is master of the bow and arrow, but even she can't hit her target every time. Don't give your characters skills and/or knowledge that they don't have, without first having them learn it.

If you know the character you want to play, but are unsure how to play them, research. Go away and read the books, or watch the TV shows/movies your characters features in, check out sites like Wikipedia, or the various lexicons that are on offer, and get to know them intimately. The way they speak, the words they'd use, their feelings and thoughts and how they express or don't express them. All of this and more besides goes into the way you portray that character in role play.

[Merry Peck]

I've been role playing for years now.... eek, almost over a decade... so here's a few resources: Wikipedia.  No, it may not be good enough for academia, but it's great for role playing.  Now you know just enough Russian history to play a Russian Ambassador in a Victorian Steampunk LARP!  Congrats.  Also, look for groups.  Does your high school or college have a role playing group?  Can you ask at the local gaming store?  How about google?  Wikipedia: Look at the "see also" section: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larp  Sorry, LARP = live action role play, the main one I do, though I have done table games before, and board games, etc.  

My #1 pet peeve?  Don't break character.  Don't put your motivations and opinions into your character.  If your character hates Snoozles because they all have purple hair, but you yourself like purple hair, just play the character.  It will give you new insights into things.  If you're not an angry person, but your character would yell a lot, yell a lot!  Maybe you'll learn something (like how to channel anger constructively, instead of bottling it up).  

[The Bloody Baron]

Thank you for that, Merry. Very much appreciated :-)

[The Bloody Baron]

Okay, reviving this thread, and in relation to my post about knowing your character.

Know your character's limits. Timelords can and often do live a long time, and can change their physical appearance when each body, each incarnation, grows too old or is fatally injured. But they are not immortal or invincible. They can get injured and they can die.

Giving your character's limits is especially essential of you are playing an original character. In other words a character that doesn't exist within the fandom for which you are RPing (more on RP lingo later). No-one wants to RP with a character that has no flaws, limits or imperfections. Knowing the limits of your character will give you an insight into and - with regard to OCs - help you establish what your character can and cannot do.

If you have trouble making sense of any of what has been posted here, or simply have any questions, please don't hesitate to approach me and ask.

[Naomi Howse]

This is very specific advice, but just... hear me out.

When it comes to roleplaying a person from a certain cultural background, the key rule is respect. Respect for the people who live there, who identify as coming from there, the past and current events happening there, the works. I myself rolplay two characters, both from countries I do not come from personally. So knowing where to draw the line is a very important skill to have, particularly when you are roleplaying in a 'real world setting', for lack of a better phrase.