Why do you roleplay?

[LordNarhan]

Hello all. Welcome to another one of my random topics. I'd like to invite you all to share your reasons as to why you roleplay. I'd tell you mine but I've hear enough people say they don't wanna hear sob stories haha. Although I will say I like to write which is half the story.  

[T3rran]

Ah, a way to flex my opinion!

I roleplay for the reason of basically having fun. To me, an RP is a story. Someone has a basic plot laid out for everyone to follow. Basically, some rules, a small bit major plot points, and really an end in mind, but that changes because of the players. An RP is a constantly developing story. Every player has a character plot they want to delve into, and each character brings a twist with them. So you don't get a constant, predictable plot, the players are constantly taking stabs in the dark. Making it fun as you never know what the other player might do next. Will they make their character like yours? Or will they go berserk and try to kill them?

Other than having fun, it helps you develop writing skills with other people. Scenes you aren't good with will improve by reading other peoples writing of them in an RP, then, applying them to your own RP posts. I know I've evolved from writing poor romance moments, to halfway decent ones since I started roleplaying about a few months ago. Remember, if you steal work from one person, it's palgerism, if you steal from many, it's research. smile  

[Zhaveriane]

: < I came here all prepared to write a huge paragraph concerning why I love to roleplay, but other than quoting T3rran, I have nothing to offer this thread. X D

Well-stated, T3rran! And your last line is great. : )

 

[The Silver Paradox]

Basically I roleplay to escape reality and to let out my inner demons as the characters in a roleplay......  

[Yumi Arishima]

I see you shiver with antici~pation.

I roleplay because I love to write stories. To be honest (as a few of my fellow Pensieve roleplayers might have noticed) I can be perfectly content roleplaying with myself. One of my favorite things to do is to create a character and slowly write out the events that display/develop his or her personality.

Boo.

 

[I am written]

Well I like to rp because of all of the reasons the others have said, and because I love writing and I'm constatntly looking for new ideas to write about, by looking at rps and participating in rp forums I get ideas to write stories, either long or short.

I also rp because it's to escape from reality, which I need to. (Family problems. ._.) Also because I meet new people and in a way get to know them through their writing. For everyword written there is some truth.  

[DeviantLuLu]

Role Playing has become my hobby and outlet for all the weird and wonderful things that I can't seem to put on canvas or sketch out. This is also happens the other way around. If I can't think of something to paint for sketch I usually turn to RPing to start up those creative gears of mine which can sometimes stick on "duuuhhhh". The Character's I create are also an extension of me as well. Also to include... I can lose myself in RP. I don't have to worry about the real world and I can clear my head of all the fuzzed crap that has wiggled its way in during the day.  

[Silvrya]

I roleplay because I have been commanded to do so by Aliens from outer space. They have installed an antenna in my brain which makes me send subliminal messages in all of my posts. Those messages infest in the brains of others and cause them to speed up global warming and cause the END OF THE WORLD!!!

But seriously, I do it because of the reasons above.  

[savior_of_light777]

well damn... everyone else took all my reasons. but i like RPing because i love to write and it's something fun to do to escape reality for a while. you can be anyone or anything you want in an RP without ever having to change yourself. that and eventually my roleplaying will eventually make me millions >=3  

[hybrid_hero]

I started to RP for a few reasons:

The first being my best friend RPed and so I joined him in his hobby.

The second being I'm very creative and come up with characters and stories all the time. RPing gives me a chance to use those ideas and thoughts and share them.

The third I love how an RP can take over your real life. My friend and me would talk about the RPs we were in and discuss the story, it's history, future and it's excisitance. We have come up with great plot twists, characters and stories this way along with other crazy ideas.

The fourth there is not limit like when reading a book. In the book it will take you so far but in a RP you can take that story where ever you want. As the only thing restriciting the story is the imagination of you and the others in the story.

The fifth is that it's so much fun and you meet new people and make new friends.

 

[thisisadeeaadacount]

Its a way to socialize without being yourself!! (<--- note deeper, serious meaning)

I like writing, but I don't have the endurance for a full on story. I like making characters and I like pretending to be them.

It's a fun way to improve my skillz

And its a progressing story where anything can happen! I *love* it when I start reading someone's post a go, "WTF???" blaugh  

[The Count of Monte Carlo]

I roleplay because my real life doesn't have the drama I want. I never get to unload a shotgun into the crowd of zombies, I never get to engage in epic sword fights or fly on my own set of wings, I don't have the balance or senses of a cat, although I think I have the reflexes.

I guess I also RP because I get to make my characters out of the best of worst parts of my personality depending on who the character is. I've made angels, and I've made a character that was a single step below pure evil.

I roleplay because I can't write a story, but I'm full of characters.  

[thisisadeeaadacount]

Quote:

I roleplay because I can't write a story, but I'm full of characters.

heart Same here.  

[Tranzo]

Because my mind works out scenarios and characters on its own and I feel compelled to play them out. I love seeing deep characters and various interpretations of worlds and stories, seeing multiple perspectives and finding the worlds morphing around you as your character lives life. It's a philosophical experience, not to mention a great way to expand one's writing skills.  

[Peasley]

I roleplay for a variety of reasons. Firstly for the spelling, grammar, and punctuation....it's my life, and roleplaying helps me build it up and make it better. Also, as an enthusiastic reader and fervent writer, I enjoy making up plotlines and character backgrounds, which helps me a lot.

Roleplaying helps me get a sense of not only what my own characters think and do, but also of what the other person's characters think and do. Something that I call 'The Unknown Property.' You know what you're going to do at all times, which makes fanfiction lose a few sparks of its magic; but with roleplaying, there's another factor. The other person. Although you might be able to predict their characters' actions after a few posts, you'll never know for sure, because you aren't the one controlling them. I find that trying to take the reigns on this Unknown Property is an exciting conception; attempting to pull the odds in your favor; gaining the upper hand of the roleplay and hearing your peers scream, "WHAT NEXT?!"

Round characters. Second opinions. Internal conflict. Trauma. Drama. Angst. Emotion.
I think that it's these things that add effect to a roleplay (and, for that matter, a fanfiction.) I roleplay so I can excercise my ability to write these out well; master the art of capturing a mood in a literate paragraph.

For the most part, I write or type my roleplays out. I do this because my brain is more connected to my fingers that my mouth. The images I picture in my mind are better explained in paper or on Microsoft Word than voice, and explanations are one thing that I cannot go without.
In order to get my stories out, I need to write; I need to roleplay. I would prefer writing or typing it out, as I said before, but if I must...I will speak. The horror!

Despite all of the limits and unknowns, roleplaying is also simply...fun. It calms me down after a hard day at school, and it pumps me up for the day on an early Saturday morning. Literacy is important, but it's only half of the wonder.