All the World's a Stage: Top ten ways to roleplay the holidays

All the World's a Stage performs for you every Sunday evening. Reserve your tickets early!

This is a season of holidays for many people around the world, and indeed many of you may be faced with the peculiar situation of logging on to WoW only to discover that your entire guild is off with the family instead of playing online. So there you are, thinking of what to do, not entirely excited about joining a PuG with some random elf, and suddenly the idea comes to you: why not roleplay the holidays away? Even if your friends are online during their vacation time -- do you really want to just kill the same old monsters? Why not roleplay as a form of celebration?

In this edition of All the World's a Stage, we bring to you the Holiday Roleplay Top Ten. Some are serious and some are silly; some are great for spontaneous fun with random strangers, while others can be a bit more theatrical and planned out with trusted friends. Read and discuss them all, then add any of your own ideas in the comments!

Let the countdown begin:

10. Have a friendly snowball fight:
Any snowy region in the game has these handy [Snowball]s just lying around for you to pick up and throw at each other. I myself have enjoyed running around trying to hit my friends with these things while at the same time dodging their tosses by hiding behind walls. You can count hits if you're feeling competitive, or else just toss recklessly and have a blast. Be sure to express your playful glee with /giggle and /rofl, and say things like "Ha ha! Gotcha!"

9. Have a deadly snowball fight:
Last week Zach talked all about RP-PvP, and now really is the best time of all times during the year to show the opposite faction what your RP is all about: Pick a day when you're not overly concerned about honor gain, and head on over to Alterac Valley. Once you're inside and the match is just getting started, shout out for all to hear: "1, 2, 3, 4 -- I declare [Hardpacked Snowball] war!" Then pick a spot where there's some high ledge, bridge or cliff for your enemies to fall off of and focus everything on tossing your [Hardpacked Snowball]s to maximum effect! Help out all your friends defending bunkers or towers by knocking your enemies right off the platform -- forcing them to climb all the way back up again. Hit them while they cross the Dun Baldar bridge and watch them go splat at the bottom of the ravine. This sort of roleplay is especially effective for rogues or other players who feel mischievous and crafty, and is equally suitable for new and experienced roleplayers alike.

8. Take the holiday quests seriously:
You may have done that Greench quest last year already, and possibly saved the reindeer too, but this time do it as if your character has never done it before. Gather some friends or random roleplayers together to set off on a merry quest to do some good in this world. Don't rush it like you might with regular quests -- really see if you can make it into a story. Remember to be extra silly where appropriate.

7. Go shopping for presents:
It's the time of gift-giving after all! Try to think of something small that would really fit each of your friends' characters. This could be anything from some sort of outfit that really suits their style, to helpful potions or foods, to some special items that have some useful or silly effect (like [Discombobulator Ray]s or [Savory Deviate Delight]s). You could even give them special Gift Certificates to be redeemed for any sort of service you can provide -- from help crafting something they need, or healing in an instance, or even sitting with them the next time they need to cry on your virtual shoulder. Keep them in-character or not, whatever is appropriate for your particular friends.

6. Make up holiday stories:
There's all sorts of christmas stories out there, many of which could be adapted to the Warcraft environment and retold to friends or strangers for fun and giggles. What would the Ghosts of Winter Veil past, present, and future say to the cranky old forsaken named Scroourge? What would the Night Before Winter Veil be like in Azeroth?

5. Get the holidays mixed up:
Walk around saying things like "Trick or treat!" or "will you be my valentine?" to random folks. Act all confused when they try to tell you what time of year it is. Pretend like they're the ones with the problem, not you! Then, before it stops being funny, giggle and say "Happy Holidays!" and move off to pick on some other unwitting soul.

4. Dress up as a Festive Personage:
You could be anything from Greatfather Winter himself, to a "little helper," to one of those sexy holiday heartthrobs we see walking around all the time now (remember, it's not just about sexy butts!) Think of all the interesting phrases your character could say in costume, such as: "Ho ho ho! Who wants to come sit on my lap?" or "Hi there little kiddie! What would you like under your Winter Veil tree this year?" or "I'm checking to see if you've been naughty or nice! Tee hee!"

3. Kiss somebody:
Is there anyone you or your character has a crush on? Now is the perfect time to make good use of your [Mistletoe] to let them know your feelings! Use the mistletoe on them, blow them a kiss, run away giggling, and then hope beyond all hope that they catch the hint. If they do, they should hopefully come after you, and blow you a kiss in return. If not... well... consider the blunt method. Beware: Genders of players may be other than they appear.

2. Engage in Winter Veil Wailing:
This is a lot like Christmas Caroling, only you take away the music and add extra silliness. If your victims fellow players are willing to get on voice chat and listen to you howl at them, very well, but likely the easiest thing to do is just to write up some fancy modified Christmas Carol lyrics in a notepad program (or addon), then walk about a major city copy/pasting them into your chat box. Make sure not to make your carol entirely unrecognizable, or nobody will laugh at your uproarious humor.

1. Steal Winter Veil:
Raid the guild bank and hold a bunch of items hostage. Create an alt called "Grinchiepoo" or some such, load him up with the loot, and hide somewhere in the world where your guildmates have to come and find you. Write out some clues (in Dr-Seussian style poetry if you can) that somehow lead them from place to place to find you. If you aren't the leader of your guild, make sure to get his or her permission before you try to pull this off. Your guildies will have more fun if they don't know your grinch alt's name, so that they have to actually follow the clues rather than just typing "/who grinch" while you say "Duh! I'm da Grinch!" in guild chat. Of course, once they find you, you should give all the items back, but be sure to commemorate the moment and congratulate the winners by reciting some poetic lines from the end of Dr. Seuss' classic, or adapting them for the World of Warcraft and your own particular guild:

"Maybe Winter Veil doesn't come from a store."
"Maybe Winter Veil means a little bit more!"