Unwise but In-Character

I know I’ve mentioned this a few times already, but you know you’re an experienced gamer when you elect to take an action, even one that might be thoroughly imprudent, because your character would do it. The point bears repeating, however, as many new players don’t grasp the significance of this level of immersion.

This weekend I went to my favorite LARP. The town as a whole was engaged in fierce combat with a horde of orcs and demons. The more powerful townsfolk, myself included, waded through combat to the real target, an ancient red dragon. Before we could get to it, however, a large wall of fire appeared to block our advance.

Now, my character is a mage who is neither a great combatant alone nor prone to flights of emotion. However, in this particular instance, he believed that the dragon possessed something that was necessary to preserve the life of one of his dear friends. Without hesitation, I incanted a spell, leapt over the wall of flame, and battled toe to toe with the dragon for half a minute before the wall came down and my allies poured through.

Needless to say, this was one of the most exhilirating experiences of my character’s career to date and a moment that I feel I proved the depth of my roleplaying ability. It stunned my friends and impressed more than a few of the other players, both in and out of play. More importantly, however, it showed that I was playing for love of the game rather than to win. New players take note. This is the sort of thing you should be aspiring to accomplish.

I think that the level of immersion a player prefers has little or no correlation to how “experienced” they are as a gamer.

I’ve gamed with new players that were unabashed about playing their character to the hilt, no matter the consequences. And I’ve seen “old school” gamers that are gun-shy and second guess every little thing in a very tactical, OOC way.

Immersion (or not) is a perference, not a mark of game quality. Both types of play can be lots of fun for any experience level.

Of course, there’s no such thing as “what my character would do” because characters are fictional constructs that don’t exist. What matters is what the players choose to do — and then express through the medium of the fictional character. But that’s a different topic.

You’ve got a point, John. Immersion is a preference and experience doesn’t necessarily determine roleplaying ability. These factors do appear to be correlated, though. That is to say, it has been my experience that higher quality games tend to be more immersive. On the same note, I have seen that more experienced players tend to roleplay better. These are more my personal opinions on the matter than authoritative statements.

As for characters being fictional constructs, you are again correct. However, a player who approaches the game to play the role of their character should naturally pose this question. Perhaps a better way of stating it would be, “If I were my character, what would I do in this situation?”

The point that I am trying to make is that immersing oneself in the role of one’s character may require the occassional unwise decision. But, while those who are “playing to win” may consider this a sign of stupidity, I believe it to be a mark of pride as a gamer.

These, of course, are just my opinions. I appreciate all the feedback.

Stephen wrote:
… a player who approaches the game to play the role of their character should naturally pose this question. Perhaps a better way of stating it would be, “If I were my character, what would I do in this situation?”

Yes. Absolutely. That’s one way of going about it, and it’s a good way.

I can think of at least two more, questions that are equally valid ways to roleplay:

“If I was the author of my character’s story, what would I write next?”

“If I were the director of a movie about my character, what would I put in this scene to make it great?”

Between us, we cover the three basic approaches to roleplaying (called “stances” by the theory folks). Yours is Actor stance, and my two are Author and Director stance, respectively.

You’ve probably done all three, as have most roleplayers. It’s natural to shift between them as you play. Some people naturally prefer one over the others, or actively avoid a stance. And that’s cool. But to me, Immersion and Actor stance are one part of the tapestry, not the whole deal.

To be honest, I had never even considered these other two stances. I’ve probably used them from time to time, but I don’t think I’ve ever looked at it quite like that. You’ve given me something very interesting to think about. Thanks, John.

Cool.