This guide was originally published by Sabo on The Lord of the Rings Online Roleplaying Forum on April 2, 2007. The Rangers of Thintaur support all varieties of gaming, including those who wish to roleplay. Although we would be classified as a light roleplaying kinship, we follow the guidelines below when roleplaying in game or on the roleplaying forum. If you are new to roleplaying, we hope this guide helps you get started.

Greetings! Since you clicked on this topic, I will assume that you're interested in (or at least curious about) role-playing your characters. Since many folks have never RP'd (role-played) before, I thought that now would be an opportune time to put together a mini-guide to help both the neophyte and the experienced RPer.

What is Role-Playing?

Basically, RPing is simply another way of saying "acting". For a normal non-RP character, you use your character to navigate the game world. However, you interact with others as yourself. If someone asks you what your favorite meal is, you probably answer "beer and pizza". If they ask if you have any pets, you say "no, but my mom has a chihuahua". However, when you're role-playing your character, you're "acting" your character, just like a stage or television actor. If someone were to ask about your favorite meal, you might say "ale and roast suckling pig". Basically, RPing is simply speaking as your character instead of as yourself.