roleplaying — a method of instruction or psychotherapy aimed at changing attitudes and behavior, in which participants act out designated roles relevant to real-life situations.
Ooops. Wrong definition. Let’s try again.
roleplaying — to assume the attitudes, actions, and discourse of (another), especially in a make-believe situation in an effort to understand a differing point of view or social interaction.
Close … but still not what we’re talking about. One more try.
roleplaying — to play in a roleplaying game, where the intention is to assume the identity of a character or characters (broadly defined) within the game for the duration of the current game session.
That’s more like it. But it begs the question: what is a roleplaying game?
roleplaying game — a form of interactive group play in which the participants create or are given characters with which to participate in the play by interacting with the other players’ characters in the persona of their character within the context of a planned or extemporaneous story and plot using a previously agreed upon set of rules and guidelines for character creation and conflict resolution, either directed by an independent operator (known as the game master) or through communal agreement.
Roleplaying is one of my pleasures and hobbies, and even, a little, a profession. (I have been paid for what I wrote as part of my roleplaying.) Its a major element of my social interaction and influences my fiction and non-fiction interests, and maybe the other way around, too. And since I am a writer by nature, it is only natural that I write about what do while roleplaying.
But roleplaying also influences my writing: it has in the past and continues to improve my writing, my character creation, my plotting and development, in fact, everything to do with my writing. Being involved with roleplaying on both sides of the GM screen definitely improved my writing.
Playing a Roleplaying Character
Scratching the Acting Bug
For me, roleplaying is my way to manifest my hidden actor. I treasure the opportunity to take up another identity for a while, to immerse myself in relating to another (fictional) person. It is a means to discover other people, to learn about what makes them individuals. This is especially true when writing about fictional characters. Roleplaying helped me understand the fundamentals of creating, playing and writing interesting and unique characters, such as:
- Brigid of Emerald –sorceress, enchantress and sociopath-in-training
- Chime — pacifistic alien telepath and teleporter
- Morgana Black — vampire stage hypnotist
- Scar — scout, hunter, fierce warrior, werewolf and admired lady’s man (just ask him)
- Thomas James Duncan — modern-day Hollywood stuntman and fight arranger lost in a fantasy world
- Trouble — thief and grifter who hides her smarts and cunning behind a mask of frivolity
I’ve already written about these and many other characters I created, and I always will be writing more.
Looking Within
It is also a way for me to explore sides of myself that normally would escape investigation, to improve myself through observing the better (or worse) natures of the characters I roleplay. By understanding the differences between myself and the characters even more than the similarities, I gain a better understanding about myself.
And besides: its fun!.
Running a Roleplaying Game
“There are two types of people who plan murders: serial killers and writers. I’m the one that pays better.” — The opening monologue from the TV series “Castle” spoken by Nathan Fillion who plays the lead, Richard Castle.
You can a third type of person to that mix: gamemasters. That is, unless a gamemaster is considered a form of writer, but any gamemaster is more than that: a gamemaster is not only the script writer (of only half the dialog, the rest being the province of the players) but are also the producer, director and special effects operator. (And yes, it certainly pays even worse than even serial killers, let alone professional writers.)
Certainly elements of good writing are involved with designing roleplaying game scenarios and sessions: creating viable and believable characters for the player characters to interact with and settings in which these interactions take place and drawing upon a wealth of story ideas, plausible plots and hoary tropes for the players’ (and the gamemaster’s) amusement. That certainly sounds like what a writer does in writing a story.
