Role Play vs. Roll Play (and why this is a stupid concept)

On a recent episode of Kicked in the Dicebags, Jonathan's girlfriend, Kristin, had previously asked some listeners to provide the podcast with some questions, a typical Q&A session. One of the questions was something along the lines of, "What is your favorite RPG system and why?" Her answer is the reason for this post you are about to read.

It isn't because of her preference to one system over another -- it was her reasoning behind it. She said that she wasn't really into D&D because she's, "more of a r-o-l-e roleplayer than a r-o-l-l player." Despite her claim to having some experience with the system, it is obvious that she really doesn't. It probably isn't her fault, but instead the fault of the DM running those games for her. Or it could be something that she's missing entirely in a role-playing game.

Before I go on any further, there are some terms that need to established: roll, roll play, role, role play, and roleplaying game (RPG). Roll is, obviously, as in to roll a die to determine the result of any action you may take in any given RPG. Roll play refers to people more or less declaring the use of a given skill (say, Diplomacy), rolling a die, and then accepting the result and not following up with any actual speaking or interaction except for the rolling of that die/dice. Role is simply the role you play in a game, your character. To roleplay, is the act of playing that role, your character but not just a sheet full of numbers and stats. It means to speak as your character would (funny voice or not) and do the things he would do in the scope of the world provided for him (not go against his personality, despite what certain stat numbers might say). A roleplaying game is a game in which you the player take on the role of a character. However, because an RPG is in fact a game, to effectively roleplay within its boundaries requires the use of certain mechanics to be in order to decide how you succeed and fail at various things throughout your character's life.

My players all roleplay thier characters and they do it well. Its all in how you play the game. I run mainly 4E D&D campaigns and roleplaying is a must. Now, contrary to popular belief, a die roll is not required for all roleplaying situations; it is only required when a situation has a chance of failure having an adverse effect on the rest of the game. EXAMPLE: The PC's stumble into a small village in the middle of a swamp. Under normal circumstances, one PC could simply just walk up to a local and say (literally, in-character) "Pardon me, do you know where some weary travellers may find refuge for the night?" Of course, the NPC would just simply point the way and all is progressing. But, suppose that the locals resent and distrust outsiders and would prefer that they stay any place but this village, and then you have to work within the scope of the game's mechanics.

Take a look at your character sheet there, do you see all those numbers listed next to abbreviations like Str, Int, and Cha? That's not you, that's your character! Based on what a 17 Intelligence translates to in game terms, most regular people fall short of that, generally in the Average 10-11 range. You are not as smart or as charming as your character. Especially if you're playing a character who's world is defined by one of those stats. Sometimes, it works the opposite way. If your PC has a low Int score you most likely are smarter than your character. It can be really hard to play something you're not. I've seen several rogues and most of their players simply aren't charming enough to play them up to what their Cha score suggests. That is why dice come in when failure to do something can alter the course of the game. Suppose you need to convince a nation's beloved king to impart a secret of great importance upon you so that you may vanquish a foe quicker and easier -- without it, it will be a long, ardous battle that may see the very end of some of your beloved companions. Of course, the king isn't going to just tell anybody this secret... You get the idea.

You don't need dice for the menial things, but if a single word or phrase is all that hangs in the balance of begging to not be thrown in prison or getting a well-reputed freelancer to accompany your group on their next adventure, the dice define your character's abilities in the context of the game world.

There are certain caveats: If a player, in-character says or tries something that is so profound, or just plain creative (I'm thinking of the token one-liner that just makes the whole group start cracking up -- as long as its appropriate to the situation), they should either get a nice bonus for the roll (+2 to +5) or just an auto-success as warrented by the situation. If someone says something like what was said by Jim Darkmagic, a character in a recent D&D podcast, "Now that your wife's dead, let's dance," would totally earn something at my table -- for that it would probably be a +2 to the attack roll.

Basically, the dispute between roll-playing and roleplaying is a ridiculous concept when it is directed at RPG's. You are not your character, nor is the DM really that NPC. You are not as skilled as your PC's are at certain things, mechanics help you describe that better than simple play-acting ever could. Just because you roll dice to determine success or failure in any given task does not mean you shouldn't portray your character. Even a simple, "Please sir, I'd never survive in a prison," along with your Bluff roll is acceptable.

Next time on 1d4+5...
Perhaps this calls for a discussion on Skill Challenges? Or maybe I'll talk about religion in RPG's, something I had been planning on doing for awhile now and today found out that The Podgecast had a discussion about it on their last episode. It don't matter, I have other things on the subject that they failed to discuss upon. Until next time, keep rolling those 20's!