This guide is not going to talk much about 'how' to roleplay but rather some habits of good roleplayers and some things to keep in mind as you go on this journey. If you are interested in learning how to be a better roleplayer, you should watch your fellow players. Solicit their advice. Read or watch tutorials on the internet. Most of what many of us learned about good roleplaying was learned by watching, doing, and experimenting.
This guide is about the meta mechanics of roleplaying. There are several important steps to good roleplaying. First and foremost, remember you are playing a character. They don't always have to make smart decisions for the game to be fun. They don't always have to 'win' for you to have fun.
FORGET WINNING
It doesn't exist in the roleplaying world, especially when you're a player. Unlike video or board games, there usually is no definitive end to a roleplaying game. There may be an end to a specific plot or line of `RP', but sometimes the end of one plot will be just the beginning of another.
If you absolutely must focus on "winning", here's a new perspective to do it with: You're winning if you're playing your character to the best of your ability, even if that means putting him in situations where he might be killed. You're winning if you are involved in the game and not talking to the other players about your day at work. And most importantly, you're not losing if your character dies. Sometimes, remember, death is only a temporary inconvenience for those with enough money and/or power to get it reversed. And even if death is more serious than that, a new character and a new adventure is just around the corner from the tunnel of light.
This is also known as 'playing to lose'.
TAKE IT EASY
There is a tendency in roleplaying for players to become very attached to their characters. And it's perfectly understandable; in our game systems, it takes a fairly long time for a character to advance to the point when she/he is something special. When you the player feel the emotions of your character it is called 'bleed'. Your characters emotions are bleeding into yours. The opposite is also true. If your character is annoyed ICly because you are annoyed OOCly.
Sindome is a PvP game. GMs will probably not perma-kill your character, but player characters very much might.
Whether you lose a character to death, capture (I've seen players who would rather their characters die than be taken captive), injury, disease or GM control, always remain positive and remember that (for death) you can always start again or (for capture or other) there might be a way out.
This also means that you shouldn't get upset with the other players, either. Sometimes, if a player is very deeply in character, she'll do things she would never do as a person. We've seen players who were married play characters who hated the other with a passion, then, when the game took an intermission, be just as loving to each other as newlyweds. We've seen players who were just friends play romantically involved characters. And I've seen players who were so goody-two-shoes they would make Sandra Dee look like Satan play the vilest, evil creatures to ever walk the face of the earth.
"In one game in which I played (a time-travel campaign), my character was a Japanese ninja from the fourteenth century. The other characters were a World War II general, a 1920's inventor, a futuristic cyborg, an Amazon warrior-priestess and a modern-day individual who believed he was Elvis. Now, I must admit that I tend to get very deep in character, and the ninja was one of those times. He believed very strongly in finishing the mission (whatever it might be) and getting the job done -- and let nothing get in the way of, or in any way endanger, the mission lest they suffer the consequences. And he would act on it no matter how slight the threat. When an NPC got between the group and their goal, the ninja slit his throat. And when a PC had his leg torn off, he became (at least in the ninja's eyes) a liability to the mission. The ninja shot him at point-blank range. Needless to say, the player got quite upset with me. Was I being mean? Did I do it just because I didn't like the player? No. I did it because that was what the character would do. Once I explained that the player calmed down. He started a new character, and this time he decided to play it as in-depth as I played mine." --Johnny
STEPPING AWAY
When the game gets too much or you are having trouble with bleed, take some time (minutes, hours, days) away from the game and let your emotions settle. Many times this will allow you to come back with a fresh perspective on whatever events you were having a hard time dealing with.
PLAYING TO THEME
Always play to the theme. This is a cyberpunk world. It's important to act like it.
SEE ALSO: help theme help roles help stats help skills @newbie *Last Updated: 07/17/19 by Mench*