User blog:Decrypted/How to NOT Be A "Harry Potter" Roleplayer

Quick note, but I have nothing against Harry Potter. The only beef I have is with people who act like him in-roleplay.

So you probably think I'm gonna get mad about the whole "destiny to fight the dark lord" thing. That isn't what I find obnoxious, though. What I find obnoxious is people expecting me to drag their characters into the action. Harry Potter is allowed to be this kind of character. He's allowed to be oblivious to the wizarding world because that's part of the appeal to the reader - it is something completely new, the unknown. But for roleplayers this is not the case. The adventure will find you, but you have to say "yes" when it calls. You can't just slam down the phone and hang up when destiny calls then expect your character to be the center of attention and be involved in the action.

As a roleplay guide for Skyfall, I had to "lead" a lot of roleplays and push the action forward. And let me tell you, it is extraordinarily aggravating to make an effort to add action and intrigue and then have the characters desperately try to AVOID going on an adventure. It's frustrating to see characters after I create a conflict or adventure for them to turn down my adventure and brood in the corner, then complain that they weren't included in the roleplay. No duh, Sherlock, I wonder why?

By god, if your character is not an adventurer, FINE. But at least give them some motivation to go on adventures, or they will never leave camp. If your character does not like adventures, they might go on an adventure because they are seeking revenge on someone and need to get stronger, they are looking for clues relating to their mother's death, or they want to prove themselves to the other characters.

If you tell characters "hey, that was a plot hook, bite the bait if you wanna go on an adventure" they might say something like, "oh, my character wouldn't do that!". And that's okay, you don't have to bite every plot hook I lower down the story fishing line. But roleplaying is to a certain degree about adventures! You get to immerse yourself in a fictional world and do things you could never do in real life. If I wanted to sit around and actively avoid adventures, I could do that in the safety of my own home. If you are avoiding going on adventures, solving mysteries, endangering your characters, setting out on quests - why are you roleplaying?! You can eat chips and twiddle your thumbs just the same on your couch without having to engage yourself in the experience of roleplay. And quite frankly, characters like this are a big pain for people who are trying to guide because it's difficult to make them want to do anything.

Roleplaying isn't about just a story. It's about a conflict. Your character gets to CHOOSE what happens to them. But when I mean that I want to give characters choices during conflict, I mean giving them the choice of fighting the dragon or hiding from it, NOT the choice of never even going up to the dragon's lair at all. You are not apart of some novel, waiting for me to pull you in and force you into the action. Your character is not Percy Jackson and I will not kidnap your character's mother in order to force you to join in on the action. Be a Firestar. Actively seek out the forest. Seek out the adventure and you will have the most fun. Don't expect me to reel your character in as if this is some book. This is a story, but it is a roleplay, not a novel.

You can make a character who is like Harry Potter, but make sure that he's the Harry that fights Lord Voldemort, not the one sleeping under the staircase waiting for someone to tell him he's a wizard.