What is Role Playing?
Role Playing is the act of assuming a character, existing or invented, which you then act out in a series of actions and by use of dialogue which suits the character. The first thing that would come to mind in this description, at least for some people, would be overly avid D&D Players. This isn't too far off. What you see there is LARP, or Live Action Role Playing, which is nothing more than acting and having fun slaying monsters and evil here and there and so on and so forth. Though, some people used to, and probably still, take it too far and begin to believe it is real. Whatever the case, this is not what I am here to talk about.
I am here to talk about internet role playing and what it is. Internet role playing is essentially the same thing, except that instead of acting out a script or on the spot, you write out a story. The main draw of role playing is creating a story with your friends, real world or internet, which expands on creativity and gives you a slight excuse for being on the internet. 'It helps me with my writing class.' Um, I totally didn't use that excuse before. Not at all, nope. Not a bit. Okay, actually I did, but truth be told, I never used it to get out of school. But more on that subject in a little bit.
Generally Role Playing is harmless, good natured fun. However, it is to be noted that it is not all hurray and posies. Some role players, subjects, and places are notably age specific. Meaning, there are adult role plays out there that children should not be in. Many places are safe, especially if you are smart enough to screen what you will join, so really you don't have much to fear. One place I recommend is Gaia Online, which is mostly a role playing community, but it has a lot of extra stuff that is fun and makes it more well-rounded; more on that in the links section.
The most important things in role playing are, your character, your genre, your style, and your peers. You must have a character, you need to have that character in a roleplay, you need to roleplay yourself, and you need to be considerate of your fellow role players. This site is designed to help anyone interested in role playing with each of these subjects as well as provide a great way to strengthen an already great role player. As I always say, 'you can only get better'. Not too catchy, but it gets the point across.
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