What is Role Playing - Really

When RPGs first became a thing in the 70s, role-playing was just a few stats, and you put on a face (Fighter, Assassin, Cleric, etc.) and played and did whatever you, the 'player,' felt was correct. You were yourself with fancy abilities. This is a great idea if you were stuffed into that character. But this is not the case most times. This is what most people still do today.

Your face is important and truth be told, if you are playing any of a thousand modules out there. Your face is all you need. FYI OOC: Most of your TV shows are this way, with characters only gaining knowledge and staying the same throughout their journey. It is less obvious today, with character arcs but is still very true.

But in the mid-1980s, that started to change. Many wanted to create the feel of the whole character, not just a Face. They wanted more! They also wanted the reward of becoming more, a hero's journey, if you will. To know you the simple shepherd, thrown into harm's way and survived. Or any of a thousand other beginnings. The player wants to have fun seeing how their character would change and develop over time. Would they become the hero, failed sidekick, or maybe tomorrow's villain?

Sometimes during the game, you might need to consult your soul. Your party is dying and you can run leaving them for dragon chowder, or you can fight, maybe win, but most likely you will be the cracker on top. What do you do? It is much more meaningful if your character has a good reason for their choice.

To do this you have to know who your character was before you got hold of them. Now that you have hold of them, and they become the "you", in the story. What is next?

Ask, what were 'you' raised believing, and what are your mis-beliefs? What culture and tradition are yours, and what superstitions were you raised with? Finally, what good and bad things happened that helped shape the person you are today?

Believe this: good things that happen to people do not always make them better, and bad events do not always make us worse. What we learn along the way shapes how our experiences affect us. It is the character's interpretation and internalization of these experiences that truly shape our personality and future actions.

NOTE: Be aware that the use of player and character are not interchangable.
OOC: Out of Character