Possible roleplay?

[Vorid]

Any RPG game would be better if it had actual Roleplay going on in-game. That has been ruined by the quest hunter people nowadays but I think D&D would be better with roleplay double time.
In general I like to roleplay within the game. But people are either quiet, spam the chatbox with trades and what not or just act like an imbecile mostly.
So through this way I'd like to ask if there actually ARE people who roleplay more often than not in the game or if the better playerbase has died forever with only a few that remain.

[Tyrande]

Any RPG game would be better if it had actual Roleplay going on in-game. That has been ruined by the quest hunter people nowadays but I think D&D would be better with roleplay double time.
In general I like to roleplay within the game. But people are either quiet, spam the chatbox with trades and what not or just act like an imbecile mostly.
So through this way I'd like to ask if there actually ARE people who roleplay more often than not in the game or if the better playerbase has died forever with only a few that remain.

Check out the Roleplay section of the Forums.

Also, on Sarlona, there were several guilds and a RP channel. Ask in the Roleplay forums...

[PsychoBlonde]

Because it's not enough to have a preference, no, you have to declare that YOUR preference makes you a BETTER PERSON than EVERYBODY ELSE.

If this is what all "roleplayers" are like, good riddance.

[Soulfurnace]

Any RPG game would be better if it had actual Roleplay going on in-game. That has been ruined by the quest hunter people nowadays but I think D&D would be better with roleplay double time.
In general I like to roleplay within the game. But people are either quiet, spam the chatbox with trades and what not or just act like an imbecile mostly.
So through this way I'd like to ask if there actually ARE people who roleplay more often than not in the game or if the better playerbase has died forever with only a few that remain.
You can get dedicated roleplay groups, guilds and channels.
General chat is used for whatever, trade channels are typically for trading,, etc.

You may like to roleplay, I don't. I've been through level 1-20 dozens of times. Nothing new for me. Not to mention, roleplaying (esp with a DM) requires a lack of metagaming, something I excel at. (and need to, due to horrible reaction speeds and bad eyes)

However, referring to roleplayers are the "better" playerbase is a tad harsh.
Not to mention, I'll be quiet all I please.

[Philibusta]

Any RPG game would be better if it had actual Roleplay going on in-game. That has been ruined by the quest hunter people nowadays but I think D&D would be better with roleplay double time.
In general I like to roleplay within the game. But people are either quiet, spam the chatbox with trades and what not or just act like an imbecile mostly.
So through this way I'd like to ask if there actually ARE people who roleplay more often than not in the game or if the better playerbase has died forever with only a few that remain.


Because it's not enough to have a preference, no, you have to declare that YOUR preference makes you a BETTER PERSON than EVERYBODY ELSE.

If this is what all "roleplayers" are like, good riddance.

I don't see anywhere in the OP's post where they declare themselves to be a better person, merely a better player. And, in the case of this game, they're right. Think about it:

DDO is an MMORPG. (I know, most just call it an MMO..but "MMO" stands for...Massively Multiplayer Online....nothing. It's short for MMORPG).

RPG stands for "Role-Playing Game".

Not only is DDO an RPG, it's an RPG based on a PnP RPG.

A thinking person would conclude that in a roleplaying game, there would be some roleplaying. I mean, you'd be kind of disappointed if you went to a baseball game, and there were only a couple players who were willing to bat and field (with the rest saying "I'll go up to bat, but I'm not fielding"), right? And why would that be a disappointment? Because the game itself would suffer, that's why. You'd end up seeing a lackluster game, because hardly any of the players wanted to actually play the game the way it was intended to be played. But those few players who did play the game as it was intended, fully played the game, they would stand out as the better players.

Therefore, one must conclude that the person who roleplays in a roleplaying game is, indeed, the better player.

Now, that said, even though I'm one of the biggest advocates for roleplaying in a PnP environment, I do find it lacking in MMORPGs. Simply because you're not there with your fellow players, and this causes difficulties in communicating more subtle nuances in roleplay, such as voice tone/inflection (unless one is RPing in Party Chat and all have Voice); facial expressions; and gestures. I know these can all be written out, but it's so much more simple to just do it, and takes much less time.

And time is another issue. Some people have no problem expressing themselves verbally (I've actually been fortunate enough at times during my PnP years to have experienced some RP that was very like a conversation -or confrontation- between characters in a fantasy movie) but take forever to write out a post, either because they have to stop and think about each and every word before they type it just to make sure the post is beautifully well-written; or they're simply very slow typists. This makes the RP drag out to sometimes unbearable lengths.

My last point is this, and this one's for the "I dont RP" crowd: There's no reward in an MMORPG for roleplaying. I mean, for some of us, good RP is its own reward. It's hugely fun and engaging, when it's done well. But in the PnP world, DMs are encouraged to reward good roleplaying with bonus XP and so forth. There's none of that in an MMORPG. So that makes even less people see a point in doing it.

Well, thats my two....er maybe ten..cents on RPing. Sorry for such a long post. I'm just passionate about the RP aspect of roleplaying games. But I do believe it's better confined to tabletop gaming.

[dkyle]

I don't see anywhere in the OP's post where they declare themselves to be a better person, merely a better player. And, in the case of this game, they're right.

Not a better game player, no. Roleplaying is tangential to game mechanics. At best, they're better improvisational actors, performing in the context of a fancy chat room.

Even in PnP, the "game" is in support of roleplay, not roleplay itself.


A thinking person would conclude that in a roleplaying game, there would be some roleplaying.

I conclude that it's called an RPG because it uses mechanics that originated from PnP RPGs, not because there's actually any roleplaying inherent to the game. Any game can be roleplayed. Any RPG can be played straight as a pure game.


I mean, you'd be kind of disappointed if you went to a baseball game, and there were only a couple players who were willing to bat and field (with the rest saying "I'll go up to bat, but I'm not fielding"), right?

The game mechanics of baseball include players both batting and fielding (aside from substitutions, designated hitters, etc.).

The game mechanics of D&D (much less DDO) do not include roleplaying.


But in the PnP world, DMs are encouraged to reward good roleplaying with bonus XP and so forth.

This is a bad idea. Roleplaying should be its own reward. Roleplay XP just encourages non-roleplayers to game the system, not engage honestly.

[Philibusta]

Not a better game player, no. Roleplaying is tangential to game mechanics. At best, they're better improvisational actors, performing in the context of a fancy chat room.

Even in PnP, the "game" is in support of roleplay, not roleplay itself.



I conclude that it's called an RPG because it uses mechanics that originated from PnP RPGs, not because there's actually any roleplaying inherent to the game. Any game can be roleplayed. Any RPG can be played straight as a pure game.



The game mechanics of baseball include players both batting and fielding (aside from substitutions, designated hitters, etc.).

The game mechanics of D&D (much less DDO) do not include roleplaying.



This is a bad idea. Roleplaying should be its own reward. Roleplay XP just encourages non-roleplayers to game the system, not engage honestly.

Hmmmm....maybe there's more than one game out there called Dungeons & Dragons then. Cause the game I played for 20 years WAS like I described, while whatever you played obviously isn't.

[dkyle]

Hmmmm....maybe there's more than one game out there called Dungeons & Dragons then. Cause the game I played for 20 years WAS like I described, while whatever you played obviously isn't.

You've missed my point. I have certainly played and roleplayed D&D, and a multitude of other roleplaying games. And continue to do so.

Computer RPGs, especially MMOs, are not actual roleplaying games. They are a pale facsimile with some mechanics borrowed from PnP RPGs, but lacking the core essence. Without a human DM and the infinite possibilities they allow, the only roleplaying that exists is that which people imagine for themselves. And in that capacity, DDO acts as nothing more than a fancy chatroom.

Roleplaying is no more or less a part of DDO or any other MMORPG than it is a part of any other multiplayer computer game.

[Philibusta]

You've missed my point. I have certainly played and roleplayed D&D, and a multitude of other roleplaying games. And continue to do so.

Computer RPGs, especially MMOs, are not actual roleplaying games. They are a pale facsimile with some mechanics borrowed from PnP RPGs, but lacking the core essence. Without a human DM and the infinite possibilities they allow, the only roleplaying that exists is that which people imagine for themselves. And in that capacity, DDO acts as nothing more than a fancy chatroom.

Roleplaying is no more or less a part of DDO or any other MMORPG than it is a part of any other multiplayer computer game.

Ah. Well, I guess I did miss your point then. And we agree, cause like I stated earlier, while I do love roleplaying in a tabletop environment, I think it has little or no place really in online gaming. So we agree on that point at least. Though I'm not sure about that whole "any RPG can be played as a straight game" thing. Well, yeah, I agree that D&D can be played that way, and I have had the bad luck at times to get in with groups that played it that way....but it sucks. If all I'm gonna do is sit at a table and roll dice, I might as well go to Vegas and play craps. At least that way Ill have a slim chance to win some money.

And I disagree about the game mechanics of D&D (not DDO, not arguing that one, just D&D) not including roleplaying. That's why there's things like alignments, to use as guidelines for judging how your character would act or react in a given situation, and roleplaying the character accordingly. Thats why the DM has the ability (according to game rules) to penalize people who stray too far from their alignment. They're not roleplaying the character the way it was envisioned.