How do you define awesome RP?

Discuss!

Consistency.

If you are complex and thought but also consistent and interactive. You will be remembered for that.

If you are simple and stereotypical but also consistent and interactive. You will be remembered for that.

Your character has depth and consistency. Just talking funny doesn't make awesome RP. When I get really invested in a character I figure out what's important to the character and what's not. Then I figure out what the purpose of the character, and finally I add flaws to make my character more interesting. Once that is done you have to keep it all together. You have to remember how your character is going to react to certain things. That is what I did with Balan. I did the speech thing, I gave him flaws. He was a dumb giant, he didn't understand a lot of simple concepts and he couldn't read or write. I made random people write my notes for me and send them to me, before resending them myself. It was the most fun I have ever had on AR. Even more so, I found myself getting so immersed in him that I was thinking like that, and sounding shit out to see how it sounded to me while playing. My wife thought I was crazy.

One of the biggest problems I have with RP is that it's difficult in a PK-based MUD to develop your RP as consistently as you'd like, in some situations, without it sometimes bleeding over into the interactions with PK players.

But "awesome RP" to me starts with, as was already mentioned, consistency. If you log with multiple characters and you interact with Bob the Stone Giant, and Bob has a Scottish accent and is always emoting "Bob juggles some knives," then with another character Bob is "duh, Bob smashum dem goblins" and picking his nose, obviously it takes away from how original the character is.

Originality is great, but everyone has a different perspective and view on what "stereotypical" race/classes are. The Sheriff of Nottingham is portrayed extremely differently in Disney's "˜Robin Hood' and "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves," for example (never mind the fact that one is an animated wolf). Likewise, new/original takes on standard races/classes aren't always as necessary as a well-developed backstory and a character who holds "grudges" or remembers those who helped them in the past, etc.

But one is an animated wolf...

Giving a character a hobby other than pking, would be a start. Fishing, identifying, forging, writing, whatever. Makes the character have more dimensions.

Speaking differently then what's generally accepted and changing as your character ages (hours put in, not time.)

Backgrounds and stories that are not based on previous characters...this one bugs me simply because someone rolled a character that said "I killed a dragon." Then deleted and rolled ten more characters with the same surname and asked me "did you know my father?" No shit I haven't deleted yet. Followed by "He killed a dragon!" Then they would delete and roll the next character with the same shtick. Kills the mystique and ffs no effort. The dragon didn't have a name, all characters were the same. Not many hours put in on any of the characters. Just..ugh.

Motivation beyond game mechanics. Your character probably wants to level and develop, but that's nothing. Maybe your character wants to do good in the world or evil and on that quest game mechanics just happen to be involved. Develop some philosophy for each character.

One of the biggest roadblocks to good RP is the PK aspect. When you're trying to develop a conversation with background, context, etc. and some illusionist runs in with spelled up dupes and rapes you with your pants down with no warning or pretext, it blows up the RP atmosphere.

Granted I'm not saying it shouldn't be there; this is a PK mud first, RP enforced second, after all. It's just something that I've seen ruin lots of interactions over the years.

I agree with Vhrael but will add that PK can ruin rp in a different mode as well. For example, I suck, so I can't RP being a badass because I'm not.

Eurayel's queen of the drow thing was very cool. But I'd never be able to pull off exemplary RP like that, because everyone would laugh at me. Hahah

Nobody defeats the hamsammich!! Add cheese and ketchup for the ultimate ending

Vhrael... AR is RP enforced, PK encouraged. I think you got it backwards. #justsaying.

@Merlandox - I understand fundamentally it is, yes, but in reality nobody here plays to find Winter gear that gives your character elite emotes, esays, or a better background/storyline. The game mechanics and code are 99% about the PK interaction, not about who killed your character's family, forcing the character to seek revenge.

RP is as hard to do as PK and I'm not great at either. But I think good RP finds a way to channel whatever you're feeling in game through your character. Doing it well helps build the world around you. PK is the hook that holds the old time players. Fast pace competitive gaming with high stakes. But RP is what gives this game its soul and makes it something special that can't be found elsewhere. You can't RP a badass if you aren't one, its true, and IMO that helps enhance the sense of reality. You have to work with what you've got on some level, and that means there are real emotions behind your strengths and limitations. Luckily badass is not one of the more interesting character archetypes one could imagine.

For me, RP is what reminds me that my character is not me. Sometimes, perhaps a bit of my personality, at times greatly exaggerated, will play a part in defining the character, but not always. What I consider especially good RP comes from an ability to disregard all external influences from the game (particularly knowing people outside the game) and make a character with a consistent personality.