to put it simply: I roleplay to do stories that wouldn't happen normally. To use and make characters that I would not usually see and or influence. Even video games are limited in that regard. I want to make a story and have a hand in making it with other talented writers.

Because it's fun. I enjoy writing, and I enjoy creating things, but I don't have the patience to write a book and I can't draw for crap. So I do this.

because it is fun and i get to play out story ideas i have in my head plus being disabled i do not really have alot to do and so yeah.

I love writing stories, either making a new world or a new character that builds connections with other characters. To me, every RP I've ever had the pleasure of participating in is creating a book, and not knowing what will happen next. That, and these stories are 9 times out of 10 infinitely better than anything you could pick up off the shelf or watch on the tube (in theory - while there aren't great writers out there, their ideas are phenomenal all the same ;D)

Writing has been a hobby of mine for a very long time. It started with short stories, then I got into RPing. Turns out I loved it a lot, even though I was absolutely awful when I first started out. Like many have said before, it's an escape from reality. I really get into my characters, and I usually end up making faces at my computer screen or talking in some silly manner to get a feel for it. Although, that usually leads to a confused parent or relative that walks in on me writing.

Pretty much what you said, in a roleplay environment you have total freedom to do whatever you want. There are no restrictions; your imagination is the limit - barring an RP's specific tastes.

Writing stories is like playing single player on a video game; sure it's fun, but after a while, you realise that all your characters are constricted by how you think - no matter how hard you try to instil yourself with a foreign thought pattern. Kinda like how bots in video games always follow the same logic, no matter how good they are, and they become predictable.

RPing is like going back to the main menu, and hitting the multiplayer button. You come up against characters and writing styles your own brain would never have been able to conceive if it only practised against itself, just like in video games you come across players that employ tactics and skills you'd of never encountered if you were stuck on single player ;)

Then you take those skills you learnt from the pros on multiplayer, and kick single player to the curb with them. :D

For me it's a creative release, and an easy one since other people help and the GM does most of the work. Recently I've been coming to terms with the fact that I'm not as creative as I thought I was, or would like to be. I can't really think up my own stories or interesting plots, but I can make characters, give them backstories and mess with them.

Hm... It's a good way to practice my writing as well as a great way of creative release. I lost count on how many times I was stuck with a great idea in my head, but had no one to share it with. I do now! It's also a way of getting into worlds you normally wouldn't see. That's why I don't like/do not play high school's, animes and fandoms. Too close to reality. Give me a good fantasy or sci-fi any day of the week. Something new and fresh!

I roleplay for a lot of reasons

For one it's downright straight fun, no pressure writing. There is no pressure to plan everything out by myself and proceed to write and direct everything by myself.

For two, it's a way for me to make the stories I will not find anywhere else. (or very rarely) As I normally RP queer women romancing other queer women, it's me creating my own representation for myself (as a queer woman)

For three, I make friends through my RPs. I love interacting with my partners and building a friendship if I can. Some people I don't bond with and we have a 'business' relationship. But I do try to make friends.

For four, I love immersing myself in my characters minds and thoughts and feelings. I go through ups and downs with them. Their friendships. Their enemies. Their lovers. I feel as they do.

There's probably more but those are the first four that cross my mind at the moment.

For me, mainly experimentation on character development - throwing my characters into unknown waters and see how they would react and interact with characters of other players. Less on the plot, because it's very difficult - almost impossible - to get two different minds to think along the same wavelength, but that doesn't mean that I disregard the importance of a good story idea.

Personally I find that it's more stressful to roleplay than to write stories on my own. Writing for myself means I have absolute control over how the setting will be like, where the plot is heading to, and how the characters are progressing with each other; in RP, I'm sharing the same position with someone else, and what I like may not be what s/he likes. On the bright side, writing with others means a new idea may be born from a fusion of our different thoughts on the same subject, something that we would not be able to come up with on our own.

I roleplay because I like stories.
And a story can be boring if you know what's going to happen next.
But a Roleplay is a story that has no conclusion, you don't know what's going to happen next, because the other people roleplaying with you don't know what you're going to do next. And the GM, who has the best idea of what they're going to present to the players next, has no clue how they'll respond to it. It's this uncertainty that is so delightful. An RP is constantly changing, with different people acting and reacting off each other.
Writing a story requires you to know everything that will happen next. Reading a book, or interacting with other media similar, (films, ordinary plays, videogames) is an ultimately fixed outcome. The book ends, the play finishes, the movie goes to credits. Even videogames, which herald interactivity, aren't totally interactive. All you're doing is inputting responses into a static system of logarithms, and we trick ourselves into believing that it's fluid. When, in reality, the 'hyper-openworld sandbox RPG with more possible endings than atoms in the known universe' only lets you do what the programmers thought you would want to do. Fable is a great example of this: it claims that you can do anything you want, and be whoever you want to be, but really you can only do and be whatever the game is coded for.

A roleplay isn't like that. Because a roleplay is a story that isn't finished being told. You can't know the entire story, because the storytellers don't know it either. And that's why it's okay that roleplays get abandoned. Sure, it's sad, and you'd like to know how the story concluded, but that's not the point of the story. The point of the story is to have fun.

I have no clue where I wanted to take this rant, so I'll close it here.

I roleplay for the obvious escapism. Sometimes I just want to be someone who isn't me, but I also just plain enjoy writing and roleplaying is a good creative outlet when I don't feel like building a world from scratch.

There was somewhere on here...I can't remember the name of the thread or who posted but they compared roleplaying to an MMO. "Writing a story is like playing a game in singleplayer mode," they said, "And roleplaying is like turning on the multiplayer." or something to that effect. This is exactly how I feel. I'm pretty shy in real life, almost to the point of being antisocial. I don't watch the same TV shows that a lot of other people do, I don't read the same books, or listen to the same music...I have very little in common with the people around me.

But when I'm roleplaying, I don't have to be anything like the people that I'm roleplaying with; the thing we have in common is the world in which we "live", and that's enough. Some of the coolest experiences I've had online were when I was roleplaying.

I'm going to try not to sound corny here, so bear with me.

I RP for a few reasons. One being that I love telling stories. I love reading fiction books with different worlds, whether it be fantasy, sci-fi, horror, or mystery. I've often read a book or graphic novel and thought "Wow, being part of this would be cool!" But of course, I can't live like a superhero.

But with RP, I can! Or rather, I can live through my character. Each character I create has a little part of 'me' in them. It could be their look, their personality, their likes, etc. So I tend to live through my characters. I always try something new.

Second, I RP because it gets me connected with other people who share my love of interactive storytelling. I've met many people in these communities who have been so much fun to work with and interact with. The stores they create are sometimes awe-inspiring.

Lastly, I RP because I want to have fun. It's why I do anything really. It's why I play certain video games, its why I watch certain movies/tv shows. It's why I join certain games and ignore others. If I am not having fun, there is no point in doing it. It's like playing League of Legends or something. While it can be a fun game, in my experience, it's often led me to not enjoy myself because I end up playing with people who get pissed off if I miss one of my jobs or if I don't do something I should do. It's like....enjoy the game!

I've had a good amount of bad experiences in RP. I originally started RP in MMOs, with City of Heroes and I branched into other games. In most, if not all, of these MMOs, the RP community ended up being really hostile and volatile with how they treat other people. So I gave them up and decided to try something else because, in the end, I missed RPing.

It's been a tough journey, but I enjoy what I do now. It continues to be a fun hobby.

good reasons those, @FantasyChic.

Its rare to see any RP characters that don't relate in any fashion to their player - even if the relation is being opposite in almost every fashion.

To escape from reality, if only for a bit.

because i think it's fun

that's really all there is to it

Much of the time I Rp just for the pure fun of it but then there are times when I use it as a release of emotions. Twisting in reality to help vent in ways I couldn't irl.

To write a truly fun story with others and watch characters grow and change depending on the story. Sadly I've only completed two roleplays EVER (One technically as the other was forced completed and VERY rushed due to all the players leaving). I love making stories based off my favorite shows or games or simply trying to come up with a whole new concept.

I got into RPing sometime in 2010. Back then, it was full escapism for me. I'm not gonna delve too deep on that one, but Roleplaying did save my life on more than one occasion, and it possibly helped me avoid (cure?) developing mental illnesses that would've made my life a living hell. After I was free from the shackles of escapism, I actually began to enjoy Roleplaying because of the world and character creation.

Nowadays, I find it hard to settle in any roleplay. I believe I'm growing out of this stage, as I've been increasingly interested in traditional, single-author writing for a while now. Participating in NaNoWriMo and managing to write more on a single novel than I've ever been able to has really made me feel great, so perhaps this is me saying goodbye/see you later to one of the most important activities and stages in my life, the Roleplayer stage.

Well, I've always been creative. Writing and drawing random things and then one day I just got online and through major motivation of my boredom, I found this one RP forum and then ventured out from there. See, the truth is, I suffer from what can be considered as mild depression and writing has always been my escape and sites like RPG are good for that as well as meeting people and just letting loose.

Not only that, but I've always came up with idea's for characters with no where to put them into action, so, Roleplaying gives me a chance to do that and I must say that I am grateful.

So, in short, it's an escape and I enjoy getting to know others.