Breakfast Topic: How do you roleplay in WoW?
by Olivia Grace 
Feb 6th 2012 at 8:00AM
I did a Breakfast Topic recently asking you all what your game was. This included a woefully inadequate poll, but it still gave me some interesting results to look at. There was the expected dominance of PvE endgame content, but that's not what I'm here to talk about today. I have just enough knowledge to be dangerous about most aspects of WoW; I could explain PvP and PvE to a non-player pretty easily. I could also make a relatively decent stab at achievement farming, professions and playing the Auction House.
But roleplaying ... now, that is a total mystery to me. I get that we're all playing roles to an extent -- bar a recent Halloween fancy dress outfit, I'm not an orc shaman any more than I really could survive being beaten up by a huge dragon. But that, as far as I know, isn't what roleplaying is really about. I could be totally wrong, of course!
I think it has to do with creating a story for a character and then enacting it, but I have so many questions! Do you raid? Can your character's storyline encompass all aspects of gameplay? I can see how there may be a good amount of PvP involved, but are instances more troublesome? Do you quest? If you don't include normal gameplay, what do you actually do? What are the constituent parts of a few normal days of roleplaying in WoW? I'm intrigued to hear your stories!
But roleplaying ... now, that is a total mystery to me. I get that we're all playing roles to an extent -- bar a recent Halloween fancy dress outfit, I'm not an orc shaman any more than I really could survive being beaten up by a huge dragon. But that, as far as I know, isn't what roleplaying is really about. I could be totally wrong, of course!
I think it has to do with creating a story for a character and then enacting it, but I have so many questions! Do you raid? Can your character's storyline encompass all aspects of gameplay? I can see how there may be a good amount of PvP involved, but are instances more troublesome? Do you quest? If you don't include normal gameplay, what do you actually do? What are the constituent parts of a few normal days of roleplaying in WoW? I'm intrigued to hear your stories!
Filed under: Breakfast Topics
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
RetPallyJil Feb 6th 2012 8:09AM
I'm on a regular server, but that doesn't mean I don't know everything about my character. It comes from my D&D background, I guess.
I RP spontaneously, much to the annoyance/amusement of those unlucky/lucky enough to be near me.
ravyncat Feb 6th 2012 10:09AM
This is me too. XD
I will also spontaneously RP and if anyone joins in it is a bonus. Sometimes it is awesome how you can coax people to RP even on a normal server.
My main is working on Loremaster and her motivation to help people all over the world is repentance. That is how I work a lot of quests into her personal story.
Bart Feb 6th 2012 8:10AM
RP isn't as hard as so many believe, nor is it the activity of a basement dweller.
All you need to do is think of your character as a puppet, and you're the puppeteer but also the writer of this characters story (ONLY his story mind, trying to write another characters steps into God-moting territory).
Just think: If my character was a character in a story, what would he/she be like? Funny? Serious? Clumsy? Loyal to the Alliance/Horde? Militant? A pacifist? Honest? Cruel? and so on.
Now that you have a personality do just think: Where did they come from? What goal do they have? How do they feel about current events (Currently the fall of Deathwing)?
After that just be sure to keep IC (In-character) in /say and /yell PLEASE, I see too many people going OOC in those two channels. I do not care if you are not currently RPing but it pisses me and many others off to no end when someone says "*" even if it's to correct themselves. Keep OOC (Out of character) stuff in OOC channels such as guild chat or party chat.
The same applies to ((doing double brackets like this)) or EVEN ALL CAPS LIKE THIS to show it's OOC. Do. Not. Do. IT!
And remember: to walk just press / next to numpad (by default) and be sure to avoid modern slang or leet speak while talking in /s or /y.
tw_holt Feb 6th 2012 8:17AM
I don't actually role play, even though I play on a RP server (The Scryers). Sadly, I don't see any RP there....
cyclopsfar Feb 6th 2012 8:20AM
question: how do folks handle the ambiguity of body language/speaking tone in a text-based medium? Are emoticons considered OOC?
My only RP experience is tabletop, so if someone wanted to sound sarcastic, they simply acted it out or stated 'I say sarcastically...'
jmccance Feb 6th 2012 8:33AM
Emoticons would probably be seen as "modern slang", but that's what emotes are for. In addition to the usual /laugh and things like that, there's also the incredibly power "/em". This lets you "emote" whatever you want. For example, if your toon name was "Gerald' and you typed "em looks down in shame", nearby people would see "Gerald looks down in shame" show up in their chat boxes.
Jacob.Kuntzman Feb 6th 2012 8:40AM
This is mainly a reply to the topic, but I also wanted to reply to Cyclops' question too... A lot of RPers use addons like Total RP 2, which allows you to create custom RP "buffs" and "debuffs" that can indicate body language or other things about your character that can't be indicated except in text. (For example they might have a debuff that says they are limping on their left leg.) Emoticons are considered OOC, but we (on my server, Earthen Ring) generally try to indicate sarcasm with emotes along with the dialogue. Or in the case of my most common RP partner, I'm usually on Vent with her so I can verbally clarify anything that might not have come across clearly in the typing.
Now for the main topic: I start RPing by thinking about what kind of person my character is. Does she actually like being part of the Horde, for example? In my case, my blood elf mage doesn't really care for the Horde, and considers herself more Kirin Tor than Horde. What does she think of Garrosh? Sylvanas? Other political issues that a blood elf mage would consider? It starts by putting myself into the perspective of blood elves in general and what they think of this and that, and then I start customizing the character's story personally and see how that changes things. My mage's view that she is more Kirin Tor than Horde comes from the fact that she was in Dalaran when it was destroyed, and helped rebuild and protect it.
My character's storyline encompasses MOST aspects of gameplay... Although I've been seen in Alterac Valley many times, my character would not admit to having been there to fight the Alliance... It's just not her thing. She does raid, but does so out of character. If my RP partners are with me, we usually stay silent throughout the raid and then we RP at the end when everyone else is leaving, after loot rolls and so on, to look at the impact that this raid's results might have had on Azeroth and on our characters. (RP after the Sunwell raid, for a blood elf mage, was very...interesting...) This lets us get our RP fix without being disruptive.
Last thing and then I'll shut up... There really doesn't seem to be much PVP involved. Cross-faction RP that could lead to PVP isn't really possible without dual-boxing or Vent to get around communication barriers, and I've only had one case of PVP dueling ever.
So there ya go. Great breakfast topic! This was a fun one. :D
Duerma Feb 6th 2012 3:28PM
Usually if there's supposed to be body language involved, then I'll combine the emote and the speech into one line, such as:
/e rolls her eyes and folds her arms. "Yeah, you're a real hero."
Or maybe
/e giggles and punches Bob in the arm. "You're a HORRIBLE person!"
You might not be able to type out tone of voice, but with some body language you should be able to convey a sentiment that is different from the actual words without having to resort to emotes.
Duerma Feb 6th 2012 3:33PM
And by emotes, I meant emoticons. :P
DarkWalker Feb 6th 2012 8:22AM
I don't; I just try to nor ruin it for players that are actually RPing, in the (very rare) occasions I see someone RPing.
Lumi Feb 6th 2012 8:42AM
My big question always was how RPers deal with dying in an instance. I mean, what does one do?
Jacob.Kuntzman Feb 6th 2012 8:57AM
"That didn't just happen. Take two...action!"
Bart Feb 6th 2012 9:36AM
Most RPers don't RP in instances (This also includes raids and BG's) instead if we decide to take what happened IC we do so AFTER the instance to not piss off the PuG.
Nagaina Feb 6th 2012 12:06PM
What Jacob said.
Alternatively, and I've used this myself, we were overcome by our enemies, dragged off to durance, and the plot turned to "how do we rescue ourselves/our imprisoned comrades."
Aaron Feb 6th 2012 3:18PM
I believe Jacob's explanation is consistent with how the devs see character death. Rezzing is a game mechanic, not a lore element. Recovering your corpse is basically like rewinding in the Murozond fight; you basically reset things to where they were a minute ago, though some things stay changed. You could also say you were *near* death and that the corpse run represents your internal struggle to hold on.
Duerma Feb 6th 2012 3:32PM
The folks I play with generally handle it as being knocked unconscious. I used to have my gnome say zany things after being rezzed, as if she were disoriented and confused upon just waking up. :)
The Colonel Feb 6th 2012 8:53AM
Playing on a RP server adds just that little bit more immersion to the game in my opinion and yes basically you add background to your toon so it becomes more of a character that you might encounter in a book or fantasy film.
I am proudly the GL of the Blackwatch a three year old casual RP guild, formerly a Dwarf guild and now a Mercenary band on the Argent Dawn, EU server. The central thread of our RP story has seen the guild evolve to cater for our goals to raid Cataclysm content in an out of character (OOC) context whilst having an in character (IC) rational for doing so. See http://www.blackwatch.org.uk for and idea of the IC depth we submerge ourselves in.
We generally do not raid IC as we have a fair few non RP'ers in the raid team, but during Wrath we have done entire wings of Naxrammas IC with our close friends the Gnomish Rescue Squad.
We define ourselves as a casual RP guild and whilst there might be some spontaneous RP when the opportunity arises, it is mostly at organised events such as the forth-coming 'Bordelands Campaign' where some 20 or so different Horde and Alliance guilds will come together to interact over a number of weeks.
Just as there are hard core raiding guilds there are hard core RP guilds whose focus is purely on the RP and less so on the games content, but for us we like to drift into and out off character between raids, BG's and heroics. But our RP story gives us purpose and fuels the things we actually accomplish in game.
jbjohnsons08 Feb 6th 2012 8:57AM
I always think of my mage as having a similar personality to david tennant's doctor. Not the "time lord saving the world" asppect, despite wearing the full set, but more the old guy who travels with his companions - my party/raid. The guy who is wise, and yet down to earth and enjoys a good time. And of course, the guy who can bring the hurt if it ever comes to that, (it normally does)
razion Feb 6th 2012 9:14AM
Imagine two people in a park. One is sitting on a park bench, quite alone. The second approaches the first individual with two books, and hands one book to the one sitting and then joins the other on the park bench.
He then instructs the other to begin writing in the book. The one, curious, does so. Just as he finishes writing his sentence, he looks up and gasps. The other informs him that whatever he writes in his book will happen. The other then takes out his book and also begins writing. Soon both begin participating in the same story-writing, each taking turns developing the story with their own ideas.
This, in a nut-shell, is roleplaying. It is writing and creating a story in real-time--with other people. As the story is being written in real-time, this can make recreating the scenarios in mediums such as World of Warcraft a little complicated, as you are not only responsible for writing what occurs, but for controlling the actions of your character, sometimes at the same time (such as in a raiding or dungeon scenario). In such a case, it can be quite difficult to, say, heal your group while at the same time mourn the loss of Jimbob who just so happened to be turned into a pile of liquid goo just over-yonder.
But again, you are writing with another person. So writing whatever you well please may not rest well with the other. Imagine the two men from the park, again. One man brings into existence a flying fish with his book. The man creates a family for the fish, and soon an ocean and a nice coral reef for it to live in. The other then writes in his book, and the fish is then netted up, gutted, turned into sushi, and turned into an exquisite meal for a food critique (who, for completionist's sake, would in turn find the food 'lacking').
Now, depending on who you are 'writing' with, this may or may not be a problem. Some people may be more lenient in their company and more docile. Others are not quite so accepting of people destroying their characters (who they in turn probably had their own plans for). This scenario would be what we call the influence of 'god-mode', where one writer acts as god and ultimately decides the fate of something without leaving room for the other writer to act. The fish, for example, could have found a hole in the net. Fish-friends could have come to help. A wave could have hit the ship, breaking free the net, who's to say? No one, now that the fish has already been taken and eaten.
To avoid such scenarios, most people take turns with 'attempts'. "The fishermen try to catch the fish in this way." "The fish tries to get away in this way." "The fishermen try something else." "The fish tries something else too." And so on and so forth--usually until compromising scenarios can be reached, one that both parties are satisfied with (ie: A great white whale appears far in the distance, distracting the fishermen and letting the fish get away, to later plot against the fisherman who would later take their battle far to the oceans ... and so on and so forth).
Naturally, as you get to know the people you roleplay with, you can extend a certain level of trust to ensure that the story will progress faster (assuming this is a desire at all) by allowing a certain level of free-moding. Taking the two men as an example again, both know each other quite well enough to figure that neither really cares much for the fate of the white whale and do not really have any plans for him in the story, and so the whale is swiftly removed from the story in one way or another.
This has turned rather lengthy, so I think I'll leave the rest to the other commentors.
Luotian Feb 6th 2012 9:25AM
My sister and I RP together, and as we are in the same room it is generally something done out loud. The one time I tried to RP with someone in game (they were RPing by their lonesome on the steps of the Cathedral) it was a lot of /s and emotes. It was fun, too.
RP isn't really any different than a collab writing project. You tell your part of the story, and someone else tells theirs. If you can't come up with a way for what you're doing to 'make sense' in your story, then it is probably best to just ignore it or write it out.
...Like my mage's trip to Outland or what she *actually* did in Northrend compared to what I SAY she did.