Why do you RolePlay?

[Tera]

I’m new here and I got curious about this question, what exactly makes people want to roleplay?

What is the single thing that excites you the most when you role play? Is it the creation of characters? Is it the interactions among players? Is it world building and exploration? Is it how you can be someone you want to be?

There are so many alternatives out there, from immersive novels to video games; but why specifically do you choose to spend your time on role play rather than others? What makes roleplaying so special to you?

Also, do you think there is something you hate about role-playing on forum that you would like to see improve?

[whizzball1]

I enjoy writing as a creative expression. I'm a lover of logic, but rather than let that restrict my creativity, I use it to encourage it. I like to take ideas and extrapolate them as much as I can in order to create a consistent, coherent narrative; otherwise, I don't like to throw ideas around willy-nilly. I enjoy roleplaying as another opportunity to write with like-minded people. It's providence that I'm in a group of like-minded people so we can extrapolate all our ideas and mesh with each other instead of clashing.

[Darcel]

1-

"Oh fuck, I'm so mad right now! I'm stressed and I need a release! HELP???"

"Sex Roleplay helps."

---

2-

"Oh shyt, I zuck at inglesh and weed to improv my lawguage zkills. HALP PLEAZE."

"Well, how about you hit up elementry first? you can always roleplay. One-liner, advanced, doesn't really matter."

---

3-

"So I had my first wet dream about loads of biscuits, stuff and pork pies but my stepdad ruined it by waking me up. He was yelling about having to sleep and get up early and blah blah blah, squirt squirt, finally left, and I collapsed onto the floor. I want to experience this by writing. Any suggestions?"

"Ask Gordon Ramsay's ghost to give you hand jobs I see, you can roleplay! Well, sort of food smut but still."

---

4-

" Fucking bored, dude."

"Fucking roleplay, dude."

---

5-

"Guys, my life is a crazy road and I want to write. I want write for myself, for the sake of story, for the sake of beauty, for the sake of grief. I want to write with creative partners and have fun. Wake me up, save me..."

"You write, I write. You're creative, I'm creative. How about we private message each other and spam dank memes roleplay?"

---

6-

"Bills are suffocating me. I'm caged, I need to b-b-breathe..."

"Ever heard of drugs Mouth-to-mouth roleplay resuscitation? It's method of artificial respiration in which roleplay rhythmically blows air into your imagination's lungs."

---

7-

"I want to have sex, get pregnant by Gaybelline sparkle boyfriend and almost die."

"Gotcha, the only way you can be bella from your own Twilight Saga fiction is by roleplaying."

---

8-

"I'm going to be straight honest here. So yeah, I read a fanfic where Voldemort had sex with Pikachu, can I please do that? Can I do that? Can-I-do-that? Can I do that too...?

cAnIdOpLeAsEtHaT."

"Everything is possible in roleplay communities. Yes, you're mentally ill you can do it."

---

My point in general is that everyone have varies reasons to roleplay, it can be as countless as genders stars in space. Some escape and draw into the moment, some to plant names for themselves and discover meaning and purpose, some because they have weird fetishes, etc. But more importantly, we all roleplay because we have something to say, to communicate, and to deny what realistic world denies from us.

[mickilennial]

I don’t know, sometimes I get bored, too. It’s a thing to do.

[SleepingSilence]

I'll admit, I have less good reasons then I used too. :D But I enjoy writing and people enjoying my writing. It's also a lot easier when you split the differences between a bunch of other people. So boredom and out of habit, with the excuse to improve my writing abilities and tolerance through trial and error.

[Mae]

When I started roleplaying alot of my friends were part of story-writing communities. I loved reading their stories and I loved writing, but I felt they were on another skill level to me and didn't feel comfortable writing entire chapters/novels and then getting feedback on them.... seemed spooky.

When I found roleplaying I was super pumped. All these people writing cool stories together with a little more leeway, fun and less pressure? Plus throwing unexpected plot twists in? Seemed great. I loved acting and improvising too and it seemed like a nice way to express that in a less uncool way. Hey, I was a teenager ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

My reasons now are pretty much the same. I really like how unexpected roleplay can be compared to writing by yourself. I also like seeing other people's writing styles as well as how they present ideas. Mostly I like it when I feel something towards the setting or the characters or the relationships. I like the excitement an adventure can create or exploring the tension between two OCs. A good roleplay stays with you for a long time, sometimes I still catch myself reminiscing about roleplays from pre-guildfall.

I still play games and read alot. They're slightly different mediums though. With a roleplay, the character you've created starts to think for themselves, do their own thing, you feel like you've created something that comes alive by itself and you just slip into it's shoes now and then (writer's block allowing). For a character you've played a long time it can almost feel weirdly... comforting?

With games I rarely feel that level of connection to something, though I have played many games that have moved me in one way or another, it still feels like I'm taking more a passive role. Books illicet a very similar feeling to roleplay for me, providing it's a book I can sink into, anyway. I'll have to think more about... the difference I experience between books and roleplays, because when I get a roleplay craving a book isn't a good substitute, and vice versa. That being said, I've been doing alot more reading then rping recently, and the way I roleplay has changed substantially from when I started. hum, food for thought for me :P

TL:DR I guess it's a visceral, tactile thing.

[Lady Absinthia]

There are a 1000 and one reasons for me to Rp but the main one? To get all the shit going on inside my head out of it, lol!

[Monacho]

Primarily to de-clutter my mind, but it also helps with memory + reading issues I have. Plus writing is already a passion for me. Pretty much a win/win scenario across the board.

[Briza]

I’m new here and I got curious about this question, what exactly makes Briza want to roleplay?

► Bad writing skills and the need to write.

What is the single thing that excites you the most when you role play?

► Reading and writing.

There are so many alternatives out there, from immersive novels to video games; but why specifically do you choose to spend your time on role play rather than others? What makes roleplaying so special to you?

► Bad writing skills and the need to write.

Also, do you think there is something you hate about role-playing on forum that you would like to see improve?

► Briza.

[Mixtape Ghost N]

I’m new here and I got curious about this question, what exactly makes people want to roleplay?

@Traps

Because I'm bored, way too damn imaginative, and need a writing outlet.

[ArenaSnow]

Mind clearance, expressing my insanity and generally not associating with the real world.

[Hero]

Now that I think about it, I think I do it for the social aspect. Bouncing off ideas between people, getting challenged, feedback if things don't make sense...even with the occasional jerk it's nice to interact with people through writing.

[The Harbinger of Ferocity]

Perhaps the one defining reason I choose to roleplay is, is that I enjoy forging stories, be them characters or worlds, not just as a writer but as an individual bound to creative bias as a whole. I intend and desire to work words into a product, an identity and concept to be portrayed by in some cases and in others, just a means to an end to put forward underlying thought processes. There is no avoiding this for me, as in many cases they are distorted, mirrored reflections of myself or those I know in person and always have been; so long that as far as I can remember, I have been putting forth stories and lore since early youth. Some have evolved, others fell away as the depth of content and material became too deep, although most are still there at their core.

Involving others, however? It makes for poorer quality to lack other perspectives and personalities beyond those I hold domain over. No less, a story without an audience of sorts, or even participants, makes for a very empty tale. Who is to learn or gain anything from it that the author would not already? More can and should be done with it, thus it becomes a point to make it an interactive adventure.

[Crimmy]

For fun.

[Carlyle]

>What is the single thing that excites you the most when you role play?

Story-driven experiences with my friends to forge a passionate tale, usually one of heroics.

>There are so many alternatives out there, from immersive novels to video games; but why specifically do you choose to spend your time on role play rather than others? What makes roleplaying so special to you?

To escape emotional abuse and turmoil directed to me by those who have the honor of being related to me by blood. My grandfather, who is a father figure to me, fostered my love for imaginative tales (especially being a former roleplayer himself) through epic sagas and adventures.

>Also, do you think there is something you hate about role-playing on forum that you would like to see improve?

There is nothing to my knowledge so far that bugs me, so I'll get back to you if there is something that does.
Edit: Perhaps there is something that bugs me. Gifs in character sheets. They don't bug me in signatures or avatars, but whenever they're in a spoiler my computer turns into a potato.

[shamrocknroll]

I’m new here and I got curious about this question, what exactly makes people want to roleplay?

@Tera

I am at my core, a creative and artistic person. I've done what I call amazing works and I've done utter garbage. RPing is just another way for me to be artistic, especially since I write. Something that most sites either don't promote or something looked down upon. I know from experience on DeviantArt that there's a huge bias towards visuals than actual written word and it's sad that nobody can just sit back and read something.

What is the single thing that excites you the most when you role play? Is it the creation of characters? Is it the interactions among players? Is it world building and exploration? Is it how you can be someone you want to be?

All of the above. Especially since I have always been viewed as the outsider hence I have a VERY different view on the world. I write everything from romance to biopunk and everything is important to the story. However if I HAD to pick something it's character creation and how they interact with each other. I'm a Marvel fan and that reflects how I see characters as people not archetypes. Or the people next door that I can relate to, not look up to.

There are so many alternatives out there, from immersive novels to video games; but why specifically do you choose to spend your time on role play rather than others? What makes roleplaying so special to you?

Honestly I love to read as well as RP, however what makes RP amazing to me is that it's mostly free. All ya need is internet connection. I'm not a rich person so I like when I can pay for nothing and get a great reward. I was never a video game fan, even when I was all high on them.

Also, do you think there is something you hate about role-playing on forum that you would like to see improve?

Not really anything major however I think I tend to kill A LOT of threads or stories on here. I don't know why I just feel like I am a charisma vaccuum.

[Hallion]

Mind clearance, expressing my insanity and generally not associating with the real world.

@ArenaSnow

That^...and it helps to push creativity to new levels by having my character do/say things that I wouldn't normally.

[Fabricant451]

Because I started doing it when I was like 14 trying to impress a real 3.14 that was into RPing about Naruto or some shit and like now it's 15 years later and I'm in too deep to stop now.

Also, do you think there is something you hate about role-playing on forum that you would like to see improve?

Aesthetics taking priority and people wanting to blow their load early in character creation.

What makes roleplaying so special to you?

At this point it's because a good portion of my internet presence involves hanging out with/chatting with people I met through different RP locations and I feel responsible for their growth into functional human beings so that they don't end up like me.

What is the single thing that excites you the most when you role play?

The vague glimmer of hope that maybe THIS one will be the one I join that lasts longer than two weeks.

[KawaiiKyouko]

>What is the single thing that excites you the most when you role play? Is it the creation of characters? Is it the interactions among players? Is it world building and exploration? Is it how you can be someone you want to be?
All of it, really. None of it as well. Nothing about it really excites me that much. Its more I don't feel whole when I don't roleplay, nevermind how weird that sounds.

>There are so many alternatives out there, from immersive novels to video games; but why specifically do you choose to spend your time on role play rather than others? What makes roleplaying so special to you?
I've grown out of video games. Honestly, the bore me to no end. At best I'll play a game or teo of HoMM3 with some friends.
I do read a lot. Everything from fiction to non-fiction to the stuff inbetween (read: German philosophy). Oh and currently I've only got one hand, so gaming is kinda hard. And sports is kinda hard.

>Also, do you think there is something you hate about role-playing on forum that you would like to see improve?
Nah.

[nightmare medx]

As much as I enjoy writing and creating, I have trouble when it comes to forcing myself to sit there and write; with a partner or group, it's an activity and no longer just a chore. I find it makes stories more diverse and dynamic than if I were to write on my own.

I also like that role playing gives me another outlet to play someone not myself. It can be a fun challenge: on another site, I'm playing a character who is an herbalist and uses folk medicine in a pre-modern medicine era, whereas I am a paramedic today. I have to blend my understanding with what my character knows and figure out how to portray that.

The most exciting part about role playing for me is probably the character interaction. I come from a theatre background, so I would be content doing lines of dialogue back and forth all day- for me, it's all about the people and how they react to each other.