HOW TO GET STARTED WITH ROLEPLAY
Have you ever played a roleplay centric game and just, winged it? Have you
thought, “I’m going to put points in these skills because they’re cool.” instead of
thinking about the characters choices? Have you ever thought you are terrible
at roleplaying?
Struggling to come up with characters is a common problem for people who
maybe do not trust in their own creative ability, or maybe just do not know how
to use it to its full potential.
In this guide, we will explore a new process of thinking of a
character, but not just that. We will also explore how to get into your new
characters mind and see their perspective on things, that is to play the role of
someone else. Roleplay. I have combined lots of resources from across the web
as well as some of my own techniques to create the ultimate guide.
In my workbook, you can run through some exercises which will help you create a
character and then some exercises which will help you get into the mindset of
the character and teach you how to empathise with another being and see
things from their perspective.
But first…
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Benefits of Roleplaying
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Roleplay can help us get immersed in a different world. It is a moment to escape and be someone else for a little while. This has been proven to help people’s mental health during times of stress. During the Covid 19 pandemic that began in 2020, Skyrim was found to be the best game to play for people suffering with isolation depression and lockdown anxiety, and it was for this very reason. Roleplaying a character gave people space to be free during a time in our lives where that just was not possible in the real world. RPGs are not just games. They’re another world where we can go to escape.
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The Creation Process
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Roleplay is all about trying to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. By that I mean the character in the world that we are creating. So how do we do that?
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First we have to establish some things. What is it we want to do in the game, i.e, what are our goals? Do we want to be the most powerful magic wielder in all of Tamriel? Do we want to be the most ruthless mercenary assassin in Night City? The goal you set for yourself is the first step.
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Secondly we need to establish character values and what they would want to achieve.
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Thirdly, we look at personality traits. Are they excitable? Are they shy? Are they sadistic and evil? Are they loving and sweet? This all has an impact on deciding what decisions that they would make in each scenario. You need to know what they are like as a person before you can think about what they would be doing.
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Choose a class for your character next and make sure you stick to it. You want them to have a class that fits in with their personality. Someone who is shy and quiet would probably rather be a stealthy character than a confrontational type so bare that in mind too when creating the classes. Classes in roleplay are all about the character building, not about the effectiveness. For example in The Elder Scrolls games, playing as a Breton just because you want the best stats to be a conjurer, is not roleplaying. By all means feel free to play a Breton that wants to be a powerful conjurer though but you are doing it because that is the characters wish, not because it makes the numbers look good. If you play a Nord that wants to be a mage then you might struggle to become a powerful character that can use magic since the Nords are not built with high magic stats, but that's the whole idea! This Nord wants to prove to the clan that he can be a mage if he wants. Why not?
The most important thing to consider when creating a character is their backstory. The backstory shapes the whole character and their choices. There are plenty of things to consider here. Races, cultures, places, family members etc are all important in forming a character. For example, if your character backstory is that they were orphaned when their parents were killed in a fire, the likelihood is that they will be afraid of fire and stay away from fire spells or enchantments and maybe even refuse to fight fire mages due to their phobia. Someone who comes from a culture where they are only recognised as the strongest if they can fight will be more inclined to charge headfirst into battle rather than sneak around trying to to be caught.
Also ask if they have any previous faction affiliations. Was the thief you're playing as once a member of the Dark Brotherhood? Was that warrior once a mighty soldier from a war that was long ago?
Consider whether or not there will be an arc for your character. Will they change their views depending on their experiences or will they be stubborn and stuck in their ways?
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Final Thoughts
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If all of these different factors are taken into account, your character roleplay experience will be greatly enhanced. You have to imagine what life would be like if you were the person in that position. If you are struggling with any of the character creation aspects and getting into the right mindset for playing these new role play characters, you can always download my free ebook filled with short activities and workbooks to get into the roleplaying zone. You can find that here.