Breakfast topic: Roleplaying
We don't do a whole lot with roleplaying here at WOW Insider. As far as I know, none of us has mains on an RP server, and it can be a tough thing to get into from a non-RP background. There seem to be few happy mediums between "You must be in character and follow all rules at ALL TIMES or you will be gkicked" and "RP is for sissy nerds who want to cyber with gnomes." (I never understood why non-RP players constantly make fun of RP players for being geeks. Is there a non-geeky way to pretend to be an elf for hours each week?)
But having dabbled a bit on RP-PVP servers, I can see the attraction. Even without RPing in general chat, players on RP servers seem to be a little friendlier and more likely to spell correctly. And RP allows you to get a little more depth from the game than is offered by the quest text. It adds a whole new dimension to WoW, beyond simply raiding for phat lootz or PVPing to fulfill your bloodlust.
Even though my blood elf paladin isn't on a RP server, I've thought a little bit about my motivations for playing her. I play my paladin as a good guy -- healing the sick, protecting my teammates, even helping injured Alliance. How can I reconcile that with draining the Light from a Naaru? Well, I find the Naaru sickeningly good, and I really like the current theory going around that the Naaru are actually evil beings setting us up for a fall, so I sort of transferred that to my character. Since the Naaru are bastards, it's totally cool to drain the Light from them, and my pally is still good.
What do you think about roleplaying? If you play on an RP server, do you have a background for your character, or are you just there to enjoy the sights? Why do you RP (or why do you choose not to?)
