"To Be or Not to Be"

"How do you roleplay?" is a question often voiced by those who don't. There's a million different detailed answers, depending on what system you play and where you play it — on line, tabletop, live action, mail . . .

But there's a general reply too, based on the philosophy you use to create your characters. It falls into three categories: at one extreme is the "acting" method, at the other is the school of the power gamer (a.k.a. twink or munchkin). In between is the "vicarious" method. Each class has fervent advocates. Drop by any gaming convention and you'll hear them arguing about which is best.

When roleplay first developed, the twinks, unfortunately, predominated. Bristling with weapons and killer spells, distinguished by lack of play creativity, power gamers treat their characters as merely a set of stats on paper and the story as a flimsy backdrop to brawl fests. Not yet extinct, they can be spotted online as the players who are notorious for character killing and stat flexing. The limitations set by game rules and the consequences of their actions are ignored.

However, these players aren't hopeless. Many of the munchkins mature into one of the other playing styles if they game long enough and gain an appreciation for plot intricacies and subtle manipulation.

Then came the actors. Imagining elaborate histories for their characters, their alts are as different from themselves as possible. Thus roleplay approaches theater. Luckily, the actors outnumber the twinks now and our hobby regains its artistic nature. When running a game, you have to be an actor because of all the different characters you'll use to fill out the story.

But some of us don't roleplay to escape ourselves. Some, including myself, roleplay to find out more about who we are and who we wish we were. We fall into the vicarious category.

To roleplay vicarious-style, your character contains elements of yourself — good and bad. Its response to situations during the adventure mirrors the way you like to think you'd react.

Of course, most of us when confronted with a snarling werewolf deep in a midnight black, ice-crusted forest would run screaming in the opposite direction. And be annoyed that we'd forgotten our mittens and warm coat. Our avatars, however, are free to respond in a more heroic fashion. Or not — perhaps you retain your cowardice in order to explore how it affects your life and relationships with the other characters in the game.

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