Role-play

Role-playing is an important element in RPG's. RPG stands for Role-playing Game. It's an opportunity to make a fantastic character and to bring him/ her along to join some kind of legacy or adventure. Most RPG's encompass the roles of exploration and battling monsters the world has never seen. You're probably familiar with Dungeons & Dragons-- the tabletop RPG that lets you travel across medieval worlds, battling unworldly monsters, and earning levels as you go. In role-playing, there is no beginning or end. You make the story. The architect is the one who designs the world, and the subjects bring in their characters to explore this world.

Improv is a useful skill to learn; it helps guide the game along. Improv is much better than a pen and paper (which is a common recipe for Rail-roading). Many games can go on with some form of organization, but mainly the world is full of surprises, and wherever the characters go, they will explore a new chapter-- a new place with many roads of opportunity. A successful game can leave the players with memories of what happened, and sometimes of what is to come.

There are certain things that characters want to do. If a player decides to do something that is not in the other's best interests, the most common mistake many people make is making a fuss out of it. We've all been there-- the character makes a wrong move, or a player decides to steal some money when a good-natured character is watching, or the player decides to become evil and attack their own allies. Making a fuss out of the problem won't solve the problem-- it'll only make the role-playing experience even worse. Don't hound the player for doing something that wasn't in the party's best interest-- leave that to the game host, the one who created the adventure. Or better yet, decide what to do In Character. Maybe the character gets knocked out and gets put behind a tree, or the character sneaks out and causes more trouble. Let the individual players do what they want to do for a short bit-- let them get used to the environment. There's no reason to fight about what should and shouldn't be done.

With that said, enjoy this experience. Sometime's it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience-- or it could be replayed, but in a different way. In any case, have fun with it. Role-playing is supposed to be a fun time, a way to met new friends or to get together. Role-plays are a way to connect and reconnect socially.

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