Role Playing versus Role Playing

The title may sound strange…okay, it does sound strange, but it is where I have to start. Quite a few years ago, I started playing Role Playing Games (RPGs). I suppose that I started with Neverwinter Nights (NWN). I moved on to Morrowind at the suggestion of a friend, and loved that game. I have played pretty much all the major RPGs since then, the only two I can think of recently that I have missed are Fallout 3 and the Bioshock series. Neverwinter Nights 2 came and went, and Oblivion was one of my favorites. I successfully transitioned from Fantasy to Science Fiction with the Mass Effect series, which are both among my favorites. Presently, I am debating Dragon Age Awakenings and Dragon Age 2.

That is part of the history, but another part is NWN Persistent Worlds (PW). I played Morrowind until my character was level 80 and nothing on the island was a challenge anymore. I didn’t have the money for the expansions, and I was looking for something new. I don’t actually remember who suggested it, but some friend suggested that I check out the NWN Persistent Worlds.

For those who don’t know, Neverwinter Nights was based on Dungeons and Dragons (DnD), and so it was designed for the creation of new campaigns that would be run by a Dungeon Master (DM) how runs the game and players who join that game. Eventually, this led to the creation of Persistent Worlds, where the game was up all the time, like a Massively Multi-Player Online (MMO) game, like World of Warcraft (WoW). DMs and players could log in whenever they want. When properly built and implemented, a PW offers most of what you get in an MMO, but with a smaller, more intimate feel.

In the PWs that I played on Role-Playing (RP) was the most important focus. Now, this is completely different than what you get in a game like WoW. In WoW, the role that you play is mostly a combat, or leadership role. Your role is Meat Shield (the guy who faces the bad guys head on, toe to toe) or Crowd Control (usually a mage whose spells effect many enemies at once). In a PW, you design a character, name it, give it history, motivations, goals, and then you play that role. It is much closer to creating a character in a play without a script and then playing that character, or role. This means that sometimes, you just sit and talk, rather than always killing monsters.

In a PW, your role is not a job title, though you may play some of those roles as well. Your role is as a character in a developing story.

I miss that.

The days of NWN and PWs seem to be fading away. There are fewer and fewer PWs, and those that still survive seem to have fewer players. I haven’t tried any in months. The last time I played, it was mostly by myself, because either no one else was in game, or they were all off in far away places that my low level character couldn’t reach.

I miss the days when I logged in to find a dozen players in the game, and I could go to a few locations and find someone to spend a few hours role-playing with. Sometimes there would be a bit of conflict between characters. Sometimes a DM would log on and run an event for us. One of the greatest pleasures of the PW was having DMs run events that were significant to one or more characters. Not just an attack by some random monsters, but something that helped a character advance their story. You really became part of the story. The DM was the director, but you were the actor, and there was no script. The DM presented you with a situation, and your character had to react. It might be hate, or confusion, or love, but the emotions you portrayed were your choice, and no one elses.

That’s what I miss…and, it’s what I fear I won’t find again, a place where I can do more than play a role, but where I can have a hand in creating the role I wish to play.