What's your RP style?

[*dordon]

I'm the exact opposite of Kelth...

I come in to a new server with only a vague notion of who my character is. So I enjoy RP as an opportunity to learn about my own character as much as everyone else. Campfire RP is ok for that, but I prefer action RP in general. Unfortunately, I find it very hard to RP convincingly when grinding. My characters seem to always be talkers, talking themselves into and out of tough positions. So what I most love is the chance to RP in a small DM-led group.

[*Aidelynn]

I love cloak-and-dagger RP. For the best cloak-and-dagger RP, you really need the occasional alt who is willing to snuff it. I refer to these characters as "one-shots". They are characters who are created for no other purpose than to play one episode and be killed or fade away.

The knight who mistook Naya'il for the queen of his realm is a perfect example. I will give a few other examples in a moment.

I am in agreement with cdnspr in that I am not a huge fan of the "stand around and trade lifestory" RP. He calls it campfire RP. I call it common room RP. It's good sometimes. In fact, I would go so far as to say that it is necessary sometimes, if you want your character to have more than superficial relationships with the people around her. (It is ironic in that I feel like I have done quite a bit of this with Deri rather than what I really like to do.)

I think of good RP the way I do about a good story. It's all about the conflict. That does not (usually) mean PvP conflict for me. It is about having an apparently insurmountable problem and finding a way around it. Specifically, within the realm of NWN2, I like to see people RP clever ways of using their abilities to solve various problems. So, I usually pose problems to people.

Deri is always looking for help. She can't figure out how to cut the razorvine without destroying her hands. She can't figure out how to capture a goblin to advance her studies. She has been assaulted by a power too great for her to assail on her own.

The idea is not to make Deri weak or foolish; the idea is for other players to be heroes by coming to her rescue. Someday, Deri will help someone else with a problem, I am sure.

This leads me back to the issue of "one shots". I tend to keep an alt account full of disposible characters. That way I can play the wife who wants to hire someone to kill her philandering husband (as well as the husband himself...who may not be as unfaithful as his wife thinks), or I can play the thug from the Hive gang who tries to mug the wrong tiefling, or the fledgling wizard who has accidentally released the imp from his master's laboratory (I love having a familiar), or the necromancer who is looking for a few fresh bodies...and no questions asked.

These are the sort of vignettes I love to play. I like creating problems for other characters and letting them sort things out, whether using Deri or a temporary alt. I also love it when other people put my character into these situations.

Too much answer? ;)

[*Mabus]

I have multiple personalities. In other words, multiple characters. I enjoy playing different styles. I enjoy the "campfire" RP sometimes, but if it drags on too much then it gets boring. I like action RP: getting into a party and adventuring. But what I love the most is getting involved in deep DM plots with lots of twists and problem-solving.

All forms of RP have their place but they need to be well-balanced out. It's difficult to RP characters who aren't very talkative, like Spec or my newly-created necromancer Daemonius. But they just need to be approached the right way.

[*Raneguin]

Blah blah blah blah blah...

Too much answer? ;)

Nope, just enough answer. :)

We love Deri... well. I love Deri. She's always so amusing... every time I see her now I get this little funky music in my head... I think it's the "something silly" music from Final Fantasy 6.

[*Psionic-Entity]

I've usually got two different styles of character develiopment, that both work rather well, but it usually depends on the server. For established long time places, I like making a blank slate and letting it fall in to place over time, so that I dont end up as one of those people completely unsuited to the RP going on around them. For new servers, like this one, I like making characters with extensive histories and backgrounds, so that I can work with an artifical "continuum" that helps drive off the new server feel.

As for RP, I like a bit of everything. I believe that "campfire" RP is a great way to keep a server alive, as RP will never be hard to come by, then, but it shouldn't take precedence to the bigger things. I think so far with Elrik I've done about half and half, which is a healthy medium. The key is not to trade prewritten backgrounds, but to trade experiences that have actually been RPed out.

Anyways, if RP has some drama, comedy, mystery, action or romance, it's good, in my opinion, though stuff that's RPed halfway is never quite good enough, need lots of people who're all interested in it. So, nuff rambling, posting thoughts now.

[*Aidelynn]

...I think I enjoy most of all rp'ing a characters adversity... falling from grace, losing loved ones, dominated by evil mage, etc...

This is actually one of the things that are vital to interesting characters: weaknesses. It is characters' vices, frailties, and imperfections that make them come alive.

And I love plotting... the longer the goals take, and the less who know I was behind it IC the better :)

I could not agree more. Though, on the flip side, I hate plots that drag on interminably. I like things to have resolutions!

It's difficult to RP characters who aren't very talkative, like Spec or my newly-created necromancer Daemonius. But they just need to be approached the right way.

These characters can be very challenging to play, and sometimes challenging to play off of, as well. If you are good at conveying things nonverbally through emotes, though...they can be so much fun for both sides.

[*Pashan01]

Hmmm...I like playing different character styles and having them go through dramas. I love playing silly (so Piri is perfect for me!) and I enjoy touching on the emotions of a character, try to actually 'feel' that for them in those dramas.

I enjoy campfire RP as much as adventure RP (better in small group of like minded for that) whether any DM involvement or not. I like to guide my chars through a story, not prescripted, but with a concept and see where they fit.

And I love RP story as well. Story that summarises their thoughts regarding those dramas and emotions and their experiences with other characters they meet.

:) There is prolly more, but that will do for now. oh yeah, I am not too great at conflict RP, but I am learning that too.
Pasha

[*Meow]

well i mainly like "tavern RP", just chatting in role or doing doing my main quests,
every my charachter had is own main quest , for example Celeta wants to find ,the portal to go back to toril , when it gets boring i prefer exploring dangeons . i hate to force the roleplay .

[*BongMong]

Right. Firstly I'd better mention that I am an old Planescape PnP fan from back in the day. More recently, but still a fair while ago now, I was a big NWN1 online PW fan (Three Kingdoms - Euron).

Now we have NWN2 Auto Downloader I've decided to get back in to it. I played my first S-CoD last night and had a great time.

I'm playing a basic chopper with a tracking bent to start off with. Keen to be a Henchman.

What I used to play, however, is a crowd-pleaser. I'm not set up to do that at the mo, but I might roll such a char again.

By this I mean someone who likes to whip up a mob or a role playing environment with a lot of involvement for those who usually hang around that campfire. Theves can obviously get such a group going, as can Bards, but I prefer a bit of religious stuff or maybe some faction based encouragement.

I used to play a nice, low powered monk halfling who would act as a bit of a witchfinder in a lower magic setting than this one. He was also extremely swift, good for getting away from trouble fast!

You should see the confusion of a powerful spell caster who suddenly realises that the annoying low level halfling he thought was a sneaky thief and easy fodder has quickly pulled a mob together with flaming torches and pitchforks. It reminds them that char level and fireworks don't always give one the upper hand in role play, and that they'll need a bit of quick thinking and smooth RP to back out of the situation. It just takes a good presentational style and others are then happy to join in. Especially if a bit of mayhem is on the cards.

[*cryptc]

Welcome to the server BongMong :) I've done everything I've could to attract exactly your kind, old pnp planescape fans that may not have tried nwn2 at all... mind telling me how you discovered SCoD?