Not Lost

I've been thinking about why I roleplay lately...probably because I haven't been roleplaying, and I do miss it, but I've jumped into things that didn't end up working out for one reason or another more than a couple of times lately and I feel very wary of jumping into something that isn't right for me.

I think I roleplay because I want to be surprised.

I don't roleplay in order to develop a character, although that's also fun, and it's certainly something that will happen if you roleplay, whether you do it for that reason or not. But I'm never really satisfied unless my characters are in the middle of some sort of conflict or some sort of change...some sort of story. For me, character isn't an end in itself, it's a window onto a story.

But I don't roleplay in order to tell stories, although that's certainly something I enjoy and something I wouldn't want to give up. But there are many ways to tell stories more directly. Fanfic, original stories, telling friends the funny story about the person at the pharmacy...

What roleplaying has that other forms of storytelling don't have is other people, a built in audience that cares because they're also involved. This is getting closer to the root of what makes roleplaying special to me, sharing something so directly with other people is definitely an important part of roleplaying.

But I can split the hair even further and say that the opportunity of being shared with is even more important to me. What I value more than anything else is the chance to incorporate things that I wouldn't have thought of into my own writing. Being surprised by another character, and being able to react to that and go on to be surprised again, perhaps. Because when you get deep enough, it's all surprises, and when there's a back and forth, that's what makes roleplaying wonderful.

So there we have it. Being surprised by other people is why I roleplay.

Why do you roleplay?