It seems that - while most don't - some RP themselves.

When I was a teen plying KotoR or Fable I would often play chaotic evil characters. Now I tend to play lawful good characters.

In games like that I tend to do 3 play throughs. Once the first time doing things naturally, doing what seems best at the moment, typically landing in a grey area as far as morality goes. The second and third are me playing with specific intention to be as good or evil as possible.

If I played multiple runs it would be the same for me, just usually evil first. Now I play more of a neutral good first. He'll still do "bad" things but only if there is a good reason for it.

I almost exclusively roleplay as myself. Mainly because in real life, i'm a righteous hero with strict morals and a heart of solid gold.

I tend to pick characters from books, characters what I know extremely well, and rp as them. They may be evil (i have played as a serial killer, which was fun because it was so unlike myself) and I have played as a moral white knight, which got boring. Usually characters in books are more grey than that, which is why I enjoy using them.


But RPing as myself? That's not role playing is it? That's just playing the game.

Not necessarily.

My question was open to interpretation, but do you ever project any of your opinions, sensibilities, etc in your games?

That - in a way, was also what I meant.

No, I method act. I imagine that the character I have chosen in a book (my last Skyrim character was Matt from the wheel of time) is the character in the game, and I make the decisions in the game that the character from the book would make. If I am making decisions based on what I would do in real life, that isn't role playing is it? I would be using my opinions and my sensibilities, which is the opposite of playing as a character that is not me.

So, in your opinion, role playing must be a character totally different from us, as if we are not characters? What if the character chosen has "similarities" to ourselves?

Not at all the case. It makes it more entertaining, but that isn't what I'm saying. My point is that we puck a character and pretend to be that character. We are playing a role. To be yourself is not playing a role, it is being yourself. Now, whatever character you pick can have any character traits you like. You can choose to play as your twin brother, if you like, and while it would be boring to do so (in my opinion) it would be considered role playing.

Nope. I'm me all of the time. I'd rather take a break and be someone else for a while.

I'm just saying that most of my own ideals and morals follow me into RPGs. The wonton killing is a stretch, by far, but otherwise, the personlity is very similar to me. Physically, nothing alike

This is why I can't play "evil" characters. I don't enjoy roleplaying so much that I can find fun being a bully to NPCs

Most of characters think of themselves as good and try to do what they believe is right but that doesn't stop them having a wide variety of beliefs and behaviours.

I enjoy trying to get into the mind of someone else and understanding why they think the way they do. fantasy games are usually no place for a western liberal anyway.

I'm a mix, my characters tend to follow shades of grey instead of white/black morality. It's interesting how they react to others when I'm RPing in MMOs

That's cool

I even enjoy playing through Morrowind's and Skyrim's Thieves Guilds, though I am not a thief. Morrowind's Morag Tong gave me enough "moral rationale" to allow me to enjoy that Guild, too.

I just can't play serial killers or bullies. I could, but I find no joy in them

I guess I'm a rotten roleplayer

I follow a bright shade of green - the colour of determination, life and....well, I don't know what else

Snot?

Nope