As a roleplayer, a certain portion of my gametime goes to..well..you guessed it.  Roleplay.  There are a lot of misconceptions out there about what roleplay is.  The most common I think is that roleplayers walk around talking in bad old English and enacting bad melodrama.  Alright, so there -are- some folks who engage in the bad melodrama, but the whole old English thing is right out.  In short, roleplay means acting “in character” in whatever game you are happen to be playing in.  You react and speak as you imagine your character would in any given situation.  Think of it as acting in a play–sort of an ongoing improvisation as you go along.

There are some folks whose whole purpose in playing MMORPG’s is solely roleplaying.  That is their priority and their gaming tends to be an aside to the enjoyment they get out of enacting a character.  I’m the type of roleplayer, however, who uses roleplay to enhance my gaming.  I enjoy the game aspect–the mechanics, quests, combat, dungeons, etc—first and foremost, but I use roleplay to make it more fun.  Sure, there are some nights that I just want to do nothing but roleplay, but they are fairly infrequent.  However, as a roleplayer, I pay attention to the things that make roleplay enjoyable for me in any game I’m playing.

In my recent switch to Age of Conan from Warhammer Online, I’ve noticed a few major differences.  First and foremost, the physical game environment in AoC is more conducive to roleplay.  There are a host of workable emotes, such as sit, walk, crossed arms, combing hair–litereally DOZENS of emotes to use to make your character come alive.  WAR didn’t even allow me to sit or walk.  I had to type any emotes, rather than watch my character actually perform them.  AoC also provides some very nice roleplay environments for its players.  There are plenty of taverns, where players can congregate.  There are also many open communal areas that lend themselves to a roleplay atmosphere.  WAR did not provide these things.  The Inevitable City, which was obviously the hub for Destro activity did not have many places to meet and socialize.  Of course, players did the best they could, but standing in an empty room in a dark, gloomy city doesn’t compare with sitting in an opulent tavern in Khemi with courtesans walking buy, cushions that you can sit on, music playing in the background that is so appealing you can stand up and dance if you wish.

One major difference that I have seen since my return to AoC is the prevalence of roleplay as it compares to what I just left in WAR.  In AoC, if you want to find roleplay on the Wiccana server (which is an “unofficial” roleplay server, PVE), you generally can.  I often see people walking through the streets in Khemi or Conarch Village.  The Serpent’s Head tavern remains a hub for roleplay, and you will generally find a few roleplayers in there no matter what night you go in.  There are quite a few dedicated roleplay guilds, including the one that I have joined.  I do not think the roleplay community has decreased at all since my departure from the game over 6 months ago, and in fact, I think it’s gotten stronger. 

This is quite a change from WAR, where random roleplay is almost never to be found, even on a dedicated RP server.  When the game first launched, you would occasionally see roleplay happening in player hubs such as the Inevitable City or warcamps.  However, as the server merges happened, transfers inundated Phoenix Throne with non-roleplayers, roleplay became something that you only found if you belonged to a guild.  Although many of us rp’d publicly, it wasn’t enough to make it noticeable and keep the flavor of an rp server.

From a lore perspective, I’m finding AoC to be “easier” and more enjoyable.  WAR’s strength and weakness is its in depth  and fully developed lore.  While it gives a wealth of information for players to pull from, it also limits their choices with regards to the class they choose to play, the race they choose to play, etc.  I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard people correcting other players and saying “That’s not in keeping with the lore!”  I could pay for the rest of my gaming for the year.  Cal and I led a Druchii (dark elf) themed guild, and it turns out that was one of the most restrictive races we could have chosen with regards to lore.  Although we always espoused a rule of “reasonableness” when it came to lore, we had our fair share of  lore nazis in our guild.  I found it tiresome, and it really detracted from my enjoyment of roleplay in that game.  I don’t necessarily fault the people who want to stay true to the lore; I think that it is very important to respect the lore.  However, when the lore by nature is restrictive, it limits creativity to some extent, and no one enjoys being corrected all the time.

In Age of Conan, which is based on the works of Robert E. Howard, there is a framework that is provided for the players to use, but the vast majority of the lore is very vague.  For example, we know that Cimmerians, by nature, tend to be humorless and serious because the land they come from is so harsh and unforgiving.  We know that they are suspicious of magic, so it makes sense that there are no caster classes for Cimmerians.  But that’s about it.  There is a whole array of classes for me to choose as a player if I want to play a Cimmerian that allows for me to flesh out my character in a variety of ways.   The lore is “loose” enough that it’s easy to respect it and yet find a way to truly express what I want from my character.

I am not backed into a corner by the class I wish to play, as opposed to WAR, where the idea of a married or non-celibate Witch Elf or Sorceress is absolutely against the lore.  I played my Witch Elf character in WAR as married, and again, if I had a dollar for every time I heard “You can’t do that” I could pay for a big chunk of my gametime.  Another thing that I noticed in WAR is the prevalence of those who took it upon themselves to instruct those who weren’t experts in the lore.  I can certainly understand why someone who loves the WAR universe would want to play that game.  But the majority of the players know little or nothing about it, and are there to have fun.  I don’t mind a little “help” in learning some things, but constant correction wears on the nerves of even the most patient gamer.

One thing that has surprised me pleasantly since my return to AoC is the lack of “selfish” roleplay I’ve encountered. I see lots of cooperative roleplay going on among players and guilds.  There isn’t as much sense of “ME ME ME” from the roleplayers I’ve encountered.  In WAR, my experience of the roleplay community was that there were quite a few folks like me, who wanted to develop a story and learn and grow WITH other players who got completely run over by a vocal few who seemed to think that every action or story must revolve around their character or their story.  As a result, if you didn’t stamp and scream and force your way into the spotlight, it was very difficult to feel as if you were contributing much.  There was a sense of strong personalities overwhelming the majority of other players.  It was very tiring, and I found it frustrating. 

That’s not been the case in AoC.  I’m seeing a better dynamic among players.  There is more of a sense of low-key, friendly fun.  Not every story is a melodrama.  Not every character has to be the center of attention.  It’s possible to have a conversation with another character and feel as if you both walk away having learned something of the other.  There aren’t a lot of “stars” but more of an “ensemble” feel to the roleplay, where the group working together produces something enjoyable, as opposed to watching one character lecture and posture.

I have a theory about why this is:  I think it’s because AoC has been around almost a year now.  The volatile drama queens tend to have shorter, intense careers before leaving–usually in a mushroom cloud.  I think AoC’s been out long enough that the drama queens have moved on to other games, leaving behind a corps of roleplayers who just want to do what most of us want to: have fun and tell a story.  WAR is still going through growing pains.  However, WAR’s lack of game-related, roleplay, social features is against it.  Will the roleplayers of any kind stick around long enough to get to that “comfortable” stage?

Time will tell.