The Roleplay Forum: What the hell do you want?

By Persephone Bolero

Roleplay is a lot like planting a community garden. You start with a seed, give it some water, and see what grows. Because other people are working in the same garden it’s not always easy to predict precisely what will sprout, but you will never grow roses if you plant dandelions. And you won’t grow anything without seeds.

I’ve had a few encounters recently in the Amazon that began when I ran into men I didn’t know. The men smiled, waved, and said hello. Being a vulnerable female alone in a lawless jungle, my character is, of course, cautious with any strange man she meets. She looked them over suspiciously and replied with a hesitant, “Hello.” They asked how I’m doing, and I said I’m good. They gave me their name, and I gave them mine. They said it’s good to meet me, and I replied stiffly, “Likewise.” After staring blankly at each other for a moment, I said, “Well, be safe,” and continued on my way.

These brief roleplay scenarios had no where to go beyond meeting each other, so it wasn’t going to hold my interest. There’s certainly nothing wrong with exchanging friendly introductions and meeting people, but the most you can get out of it is social interaction. It’s not going to create a story. Would you want to watch a movie about two people who meet, hang out, and enjoy each other’s company?

Sometimes your character wants a bath.
Photo by Persephone Bolero

Consider the potential for roleplay in a very different scenario. What if a man you didn’t know ran up to your character, breathless and frantic, and begs, “Please, can you help me?”

Depending on your character’s personality, he or she might say yes and go help the man. Maybe your character is like mine and would respond with a distrustful, “Depends on what you need.”

The man explains his girlfriend is injured. She broke her leg in a fall, she can’t move, and she’s bleeding badly. You might offer at that point to go find him a healer, in which case he then tells you pleadingly there’s no time. He just needs you told hold her still while he sets her bone. Then he can stop the bleeding and splint the leg, allowing her to live long enough to get her to a healer.

Now we have some roleplay, and the outcome of this interaction can go in many different directions. Perhaps he leads you to a secluded spot where there’s no girlfriend. There’s just him and his gun. Maybe when you get to where he left his girlfriend, she’s gone, leaving only a trail of blood. Now he wants your help to find her. Or maybe his girlfriend really is lying there with a broken leg.

Sometimes your character just wants to fuck shit up.
Photo by Tantrica

The difference between the first encounters and the second is that in the second scenario, the person initiating the interaction wants something. In the first interactions, about all those guys wanted was to meet a stranger. Again, there’s nothing wrong with that, but it won’t produce great roleplay. You also won’t produce great roleplay being rude and obnoxious for no apparent reason. Whether your character is polite or mean, the roleplay will grow from what he or she wants. That’s where all good stories begin.

As Kurt Vonnegut said, every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water. In Game of Thrones, Arya Stark wants revenge against those who murdered her family. That’s the same thing that Inigo Montoya wants in The Princess Bride. It doesn’t have to be complicated, either. Jack London’s “To Build a Fire” is an amazing classic short story in which the main character wants nothing more than to not freeze to death.

Your character can also yearn for the unobtainable. In George Orwell’s 1984, the main character wants freedom from oppression and fear. My character in the Amazon wants the security, comfort, and luxury she enjoyed back in the metropolis of Los Angeles, and she’ll almost certainly never get it. I have a friend in the Amazon who is seeking a lost ancient city, which probably doesn’t exist. Kiki, a feral girl in the Amazon, simply wants to be fed, safe, and loved. 

Sometimes your character wants to catch a mouse.
Photo by Persephone Bolero

Your character may seek answers or help for routine matters, and it’s a great opportunity for roleplay. This is why people who ask for help on quests, finding food and healers, and for information in group chat are told to find what they seek in roleplay. They're squandering a roleplay opportunity by acquiring things OOC.

What your character wants is the seed you plant in roleplay, and it will determine the richness and excitement of the roleplay you have in the Amazon.

So ask yourself this: What does your character want more than anything else in the world? What other things does he or she want? When you first log on, ask yourself what your character wants today. Then go out and find someone who might help you get that which your character desires. That will be your seed from which all your roleplay will grow.