My suggestion would be to start off by completely creating your character. By this I mean not only ccreating the look and powers, but also coming up with a background and a personality for your character. Think about how they came up with their powers, how they would react to the situation in Paragon City, and how they would interact with other heroes. Is he/she friendly and outgoing, or a loner? Once you have all that figured out, try to control your character, and what he/she says in those terms, instead of just being yourself.
That's the most difficult question ever, though at the same time the answer does sound ridiculously simple.
Role-playing means just that. You pick a role and play it. You pretend to be someone else. You make believe.
If that's not exact enough, picture this: Consider COH a story rather than a game. A play, or a movie, or a novel -- or most obviously a comic book. Every character in the game is a character in the story. The things they do in game are what would be written in the script of the story. Main difference to a written story is though that you're in control of your character's actions but ONLY your character's actions -- you never know how someone else might react to you. Maybe a more clear term for RP is 'cooperative storytelling' cause that's what it boils down to. Several people are getting together and create a story together, each of them representing one character in the story.
The core idea is that the character you play in the game is not simply an abstract representation of yourself but an autonomous (albeit fictional) person. He or she is a guy with a life in Paragon City. They get up in the morning, probably use the bathroom etc. They don't discuss 'buying DOs with Influence' because these are abstract terms we use which they wouldn't be aware of in their world. They do things that have no real point in game (ie. don't give XP or make your character better) simply because it'd be something they'd do based on their personality.
Boiling it down, RP in COH would mean to play your COH character as if they were a comic book superhero rather than just yourself, playing a game. Maybe you'd just care to stop for a moment and consider how you'd act if you yourself had superpowers. You wouldn't be running around blasting Hellions all day either, I figure. There's nice superheroines to flirt with, celebrities to have your photo taken with or maybe you want to start your own super-powere boy band? Of course, you can't actually do some of these things in the game, but you can pretend you did them or plan to do them. It's not for everyone, but give it a try and see if that kind of approach adds to the fun factor.
"If you're going through hell, keep going."
Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
First make a distinguishment between Roleplaying (in the game) and fan fiction (what you will see a lot of in this forum).
Simply put, roleplayig is approaching the game as if you were in an improvizational theatre rather than in a contest to get and do as much as possible. One of the hidden gems of CoH is that the two are not far apart. Superheroes ARE usually rushing about trying to do as much crimefighting as possible. So start with your character. How did they get where they are? What adjectives would you use to describe them. Witty, sullen, angry, obsessive. What characters from other stories remind you of your hero...and in what way is your character different. This is very different than making a copycat. For example as somebody pointed out there are great similarities betewen High Steel and Robocop. Yes, that was on my mind, but I also knew how High Steel was different, and it wasn;t just that he was a construction worker rather than a policeman. Sometimes it helps to think about who you would cast in the role of your character. Captain Turbonium I had developed far along but hadn't gotten a grasp on his biting sarcasm until I had the idea of George Carlin playing him.
After that it is really rather simple. Instead of thinking "what do I think of this" you think "what does (name of my character) think of this" and instead of saying what you would say you say what your character would say.
Now, lets suppose your telephone rings and you have to leave to answer it. There are two approaches. One is to say.
"Wait while I recieve this important message"
and the other is to say
"OOC phone"
OOC stand for out-of-character. Some roleplaying purists detest even having labeled out-of-character chat but frankly I am not one of them. The latter is not only going to get you to the phone before the people hang up but it less likely to cause confusion. Frankly with the /bind function in the game you can create a single keystroke that will open the chat, add the OOC: and even give it a different color and type style.
Please, I beg of you - make an original character. Too many people are falling into the trap of carbon-copy RP characters that are so cliche they should be have been in Equilibrium. You've got the desperado with a tragic past who takes in a grave voice and always uses a gun. You've got the ordinary-person-turned-superhero-through-some-accident and always seems to be coming to terms with their powers while wondering what their future holds. You've got the extra-dimensional entities or other races who come to Earth and comment about how silly Humans are.
Make up an original character. Not so much in how they look, but how they act. Why do we never see narcoleptic priests? How about a pill-obsessed doctor? (My friend actually played a guy like that - whenever someone even mentioned a bit of pain, he would offer him a pill.) What about Captain Testasterone who acts tough around everyone else, but is deathly afraid of women and acts like a sissy around them? Originality is the essence of roleplaying.
[ QUOTE ]
Please, I beg of you - make an original character. Too many people are falling into the trap of carbon-copy RP characters that are so cliche they should be have been in Equilibrium. You've got the desperado with a tragic past who takes in a grave voice and always uses a gun. You've got the ordinary-person-turned-superhero-through-some-accident and always seems to be coming to terms with their powers while wondering what their future holds. You've got the extra-dimensional entities or other races who come to Earth and comment about how silly Humans are.
Make up an original character. Not so much in how they look, but how they act. Why do we never see narcoleptic priests? How about a pill-obsessed doctor? (My friend actually played a guy like that - whenever someone even mentioned a bit of pain, he would offer him a pill.) What about Captain Testasterone who acts tough around everyone else, but is deathly afraid of women and acts like a sissy around them? Originality is the essence of roleplaying.
[/ QUOTE ]
I think you're being a tad general as far as what isn't an original concept, and rather narrow about what is. Also, keep in mind that you're giving advice to someone new to roleplaying, not suggesting unusual concepts to a jaded player who's tried it all. In fact, it's generally best for someone new to roleplaying to go with something basic and archetypical such as the ones you passed off as "unoriginal." They can work in more personalization and detail later, but it's a good place to start, rather than jumping right in with the escaped mental patient with a fetish for hitting villains with large wheels of cheese.
Ultimately, I'd say just go with what appeals to you. So what if it's been done before? Almost everything has. Just give your own take or spin on something, and you can make even an old idea seem entertaining and original.
(Sorry Ubervermin, I don't mean to be overly critical of what you had to say, just wanted to present an alternate point of view that might be more newbie-friendly in some ways.)
[ QUOTE ]
(Sorry Ubervermin, I don't mean to be overly critical of what you had to say, just wanted to present an alternate point of view that might be more newbie-friendly in some ways.)
[/ QUOTE ]
No, no, you've got a perfectly valid point, and my comments were rather brash. I'm just a little off-the-wall; having roleplayed for many years and enduring a vast number of similar stereotypes, in which no involvement is given into personality or weaknesses beyond a few subjective quirks here and there.
My examples were, I admit, extreme - however, I still urge any beginning roleplayers to invest time in coming up with a unique characteristic for the character they are roleplaying, instead of falling into the trap of creating a carbon-copy person with one or two minor differences.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
(Sorry Ubervermin, I don't mean to be overly critical of what you had to say, just wanted to present an alternate point of view that might be more newbie-friendly in some ways.)
[/ QUOTE ]
No, no, you've got a perfectly valid point, and my comments were rather brash. I'm just a little off-the-wall; having roleplayed for many years and enduring a vast number of similar stereotypes, in which no involvement is given into personality or weaknesses beyond a few subjective quirks here and there.
My examples were, I admit, extreme - however, I still urge any beginning roleplayers to invest time in coming up with a unique characteristic for the character they are roleplaying, instead of falling into the trap of creating a carbon-copy person with one or two minor differences.
[/ QUOTE ]
Cool, thanks for not taking my response the wrong way,heh. Lots of people on these forums can be pretty thin-skinned.
And yes, that is definitely a good point in general, it's always good to have an original "hook" of some kind for a character to make it more original, such as possibly taking a basic archetype and giving it an odd twist of some sort.
The suggestions here are good ones.
Let me add one more practical one:
Come up with a character "voice." Use certain phrases often (I have a bad feeling about this), and/or have a favorite exclamation (Holy X, Batman!), and/or write with an accent (Ah don't know what yer talkin bout, sugah). Little touches like these go a long way to creating a persona others can understand.
and of course once you have created you heroes origin and built your personality it never hurts to look for a seasoned RPer to guide you through your early days, even heroes need training and take mentors to guide them through, Rpers can do the same i'm sure that any good RPer wouldn't mind giving a newbie a little push in the right direction. above all have fun. and now i must be away, crime is rampant in our fair city and i must do my part good luck to all
[ QUOTE ]
The concept of RP interests me quite a bit, but I'm not sure about how I go about doing this. Could some of the more experienced RPers give me an idea of how to get involved?
[/ QUOTE ]
Did you and your friends ever play cops and robbers, or cowboys and indians, or (better yet) superheroes? If you did then you know how to roleplay. Try not to behave exactly like an 8-year-old though 
. Try to speak as your character would speak, act as your character would act, and try not to let RL (real life) intrude on the game too much.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The concept of RP interests me quite a bit, but I'm not sure about how I go about doing this. Could some of the more experienced RPers give me an idea of how to get involved?
[/ QUOTE ]
Did you and your friends ever play cops and robbers, or cowboys and indians, or (better yet) superheroes? If you did then you know how to roleplay. Try not to behave exactly like an 8-year-old though . Try to speak as your character would speak, act as your character would act, and try not to let RL (real life) intrude on the game too much.
[/ QUOTE ]
Unless, by some chance, your character is supposed to be an eight year old 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The concept of RP interests me quite a bit, but I'm not sure about how I go about doing this. Could some of the more experienced RPers give me an idea of how to get involved?
[/ QUOTE ]
Did you and your friends ever play cops and robbers, or cowboys and indians, or (better yet) superheroes? If you did then you know how to roleplay. Try not to behave exactly like an 8-year-old though . Try to speak as your character would speak, act as your character would act, and try not to let RL (real life) intrude on the game too much.
[/ QUOTE ]
Unless, by some chance, your character is supposed to be an eight year old
[/ QUOTE ]
Then all you have to worry about is Michael Jackson.
Holy thread necromancy, batman.
Buahahahaha! Life is good!
*goes back to the graveyard to find more*
The concept of RP interests me quite a bit, but I'm not sure about how I go about doing this. Could some of the more experienced RPers give me an idea of how to get involved?
Pillars of Virtue - Hope, Justice, Discretion, Courage, Help
Now seeking new volunteers!