I prefer Role-Playing but sometimes i just say:THIS IS GOOD..I AM GONNA BE A POWERGAMER......

Roleplaying for all the right reasons.

<font color="gold">Roleplaying, no doubt. Though it is fun with the occasional powergaming. [img]smile.gif[/img] </font>

I like a bit of a mixture of roleplaying and powergaming. I would never use cheats or anything like that and I do roleplay my characters but I always like to role my stats alot until I have an uber character. So what does that make me?

Roleplaying! It takes a bit of effort to start with, but after a while you get into the spirit of things and it gets a lot easier. I glow with happiness as my good character does good things; I smnarl with embittered hate as my Evil character is hounded out of yet another village. Damn good fun.

that makes you a person roleplaying a character who likes nice toys [img]smile.gif[/img]

A bit of both. Like, I powergame when I know I should, like before I whack somebody's ass :D

I prefer roleplaying 'cause that is the genre of those games, isn't it? It really isn't fun powerplaying too much. The first time I played each of the games (TotSC, SoA, ToB, IWD, IWD2...) I was powergaming. Just to meet the game and see everything there is. Although I surely missed something.

Now I'm sorry I did it. Roleplaying is much better way to play if you're playing a game for the first time.

Oooops... I'm afraid I'm a powergamer all the way.

I don't play thinking "what would my PC do in this situation?", I think "What Would I do if I Were Him/Her?". And since I'm not in the brave side of the scale, I buff a lot before entering a new area. In 'real life' ;) , I'd never enter a graveyard littered with nasty beings that can suck your kidneys out of a neckbite without protections, so I make sure I cast spells like Rem. Fear and Chaotic Commands on me before entering. StoneSkin/IronSkins on 100% of the time. Always hidden in shadows or fully invisible. I even launch fireballs to dark corners, juuuuust in case.... (yes, more than a mourner got fried this way, but it's a tough life). I don't engage a fight I can't win, and my motto is "Live Today, Fight Tomorrow". In some quests, for, instance, the "Unseeing Eye", I just sneak past some monsters without engaging. Hey, those things could kill me in a blink!!! Let the strong ones fight, I'll just get the job done the best I can.

I play this way because I don't like to reload if my char gets killed fair and square. If it's what I consider an "unfair death" (i.e., soloing and getting charmed, dire charmed, mazed, etc.) I'll reload and fight again...

I have never played a Paladin, for instance, because I can't imagine myself as one. I wouldn't feel comfty as one...

I never use the word 'cheese' when soloing on Insane -it's called "Advanced Tactics". And I like powerful items that give a lot of protections and/or deal a lot of damage with a minimun effort & risk. It's what I'd do in 'real life'.

Just my $0.02, tho...

[img]smile.gif[/img] [img]smile.gif[/img] [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 04-06-2003, 10:30 AM: Message edited by: Lord Demerol ]

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Agreed, though of course I have that guilty little powergamer inside of me that wants to excel at everything (the one that blanches when I have to sacrifice from my stats at points in the game). But roleplaying is why I come back to this game. Otherwise I would have stayed with Neverwinter Nights or Diablo.

<font color=white> I find it, that powergaming make's the game rather dull and un-challenging. To stick with role-playing is rather difficult sometime's and will cost you much more efford than simple taking and killing everything that crosses your path.

A Paladin will follow justice and his deity, a evil sorcerer will burn down a city if he feels like it. A neutral bard would rather talk then fight... making fighting a second and probaly a last choose for him, though a barbarian will initiate melee at the very first sign of aggresion towards him and his compagnions... true role-playing is what Bioware intendid with BG I & II, if you feel like you need to hack & slash stick to Diablo and other hack & slash game's.

Sure I to play as a powergamer (look at my custom katana that I'm designing [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img] ), but if I feel like it... I'll play in a role-playing perspective... not knowing what to come, buffing only if the place/game give's specific hints of danger and death that can follow (lich tombs ect., Underdark)

It's all up to you, what you like.

I have an combination of both... strange... but effective. </font>

Powergamer who's trying to roleplay. I love playing my badass F/T (CN) who does what he wants to do...lost a few reps on the way, lol. :D

Both. I am a roleplaying powergamer.

First of all, let use define the terms.
As I have heard, the "role player" is a player who does not use any "anticipations". If his character does not know that a danger is before him, the role-player's character will enter the danger blindly and solve the problems when he finds them out.
This has to be distinguished from "power gamers". These bad guys will misuse their additional knowledge, cast protective spells, mobilize their forces and optimize their equipment before meeting the danger.

Let us accept these definitions for further discussion. Then we must conclude that both the "role playing" style and the "power gaming" is gigantic nonsense. Namely in the AD&D games. A few examples:

1. How do the "role players" select spells for memorizing before rests? Naturally, their mages and priests know nothing about needed spells after the rest.

2. How do the "role players" survive Kangaxx? Let us see the "role playing" course of events. Knowing nothing about the danger, the party of a "role player" enters carelesly Kangaxx tomb. It kills Kangaxx the Lich and then gets imprisoned by Kangaxx the Demilich. Okay, restart. Now, the "role playing" party has to enter the Kangaxx tomb carelesly again because the party knows nothing about the danger now! The party gets imprisoned again. And so on. Because there is no reason to give up - why, the party knows nothing about the danger! - the "role player" will play the fight until the hell freezes.

We could continue but I think it's enough. Therefore, let us stop dividing people to "role players" and "power gamers" and let us note that the only role player in the whole game are you yourself. Your party will do what you command it. If we want to speak about role playing then we should mean to play a thief as a thief instead of emulating a warrior by a thief. And so on. In the other words, role playing means understanding the contents of different classes and behave according to the contents. Using experience in your decisions is nothing wrong and it is not a sign of some "power gaming".

Well, how did you select spells the first time you played through BGII? You didn't know what you would be faceing next, but you (should have been) selected spells based on what was generally useful.

Most of the time its fairly obvious what a party is going to face. EG, dungeon with orcs outside will probably have orcs in it. The graveyard will probably have undead. The defiled temple with shades outside will probably have lots of shades inside. Its not exactly rocket science to figure out whats comming up in most situations.

This goes back to my first point. A role player wouldn't 'carelessly' enter a tomb, they would enter with caution, most likely prepared to face something undead (what else would be in an old tomb?), if they have his bones a 'role player' goes "Hmm, this is some sort of undead monster that wasn't destroyed when atleast two liches teamed up to give it a try, maybe I should be prepared for something".

"roleplaying" does not mean you have to act like a moron, which is what you seem to be makeing it out as.

I'm both, although a little bit more powergamish. ;) If I know there is a battle ahead, first I'll try it in a roleplayer-way. If I don't make it after couple of reloads (someone usually dies simply due my own stupidity [img]smile.gif[/img] ), then I'll take the powergaming-path and prebuff.

And usually I try to stick to the character/class/alignment I have chosen, although I find it somewhat hard doing things in an evil way. I guess I'm just 'too good' person to even roleplay evil. :D Or then it might be 'cause I just want high rep and so cheapier prices. :rolleyes:

Seraph, do you want to tell me that you are selecting the spells as a complete newbie in BG2? That your only decision base is some kind of usefulness?
If I uderstand you well then being a "role player" means to pretend to be a newbie all the time. And, as far as that Kangaxx is considered, well, you can think that something special is prepared for you but how do you detect that you cannot pass without a +4 weapon? Let's be frank, Seraph: Kangaxx needs preparation. Twisted Rune needs preparation. Many other places in the game need preparation.
It's not me who is trying to make morons out of somebody. I want to emphasize that using your own experience is nothing wrong. Even if you know the game so well that you can find the optimal ordering of events and take advantage from every resource in the game, even then you aren't some "power gamer". You are a real expert in BG2, that's all. You should install some mod that makes the game more difficult so that the game becomes a challenge for you again, or you should restrict yourself so that the victory loses its easiness, that's all.

im a mut as well
As a force for rightiousness i will roleplay my conversations and actions in that manner and vice versa for a force of evil or neutrality.

I generaly will not prebuff anything or do any extra actions like runing in stealth mode all the time etc etc, but that being said, i do often have trouble with some fights and will have to reload a lot, when this is the case i will be forced to use a powergamers stance to survive.

I think even though ive played through bg2+tob around 30 times now, i still die just as often as i did my first times through because of the variability in luck and relative power (or impotence) of the class im playing.

I do not like being forced to powergame to the extreme to win a fight (being forced to tweak a battle a dozen times so that it runs just right sucks)

case in point: my invulnerability topic in the tob forum, i really wish i didnt absolutely need to use such a powergaming stance just to survive.

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Another case in point...If i were to roleplay an absolutely evil character in the mind flayers lair in the underdark i would fight the gith instead of trusting them with their plan. This however makes the game unspeakably difficult since four mindflayers teleport to your character every minute or two so you have kill the brain much much faster since you cant survive this kind of a beating for long.

Yes I do. Some spells are almost always useful. My characters tend to have a pretty good number of buffing, anti-buffing, and summon spells in their memory. Why? Because they are useful for 95% of the things your character will encounter.

I also find that using mages as small walking gods kind of sucks all the fun out of the game, which is why I'll never have a PC sorcerer.

Someone who kills the two Liches and doesn't get a clue that Kangaxx is dangerous deserves to get killed. The game practily writes "demi-lich" in big red letters all over the screen. I mean "Hmm, I have this guys torso and legs, and hes still alive, I wonder what he could be? (A head perhaps) He obviously was powerful if people needed to turn into Liches in order to prevent him from being put back together, hes obviously powerful, and old, what is he? (Some kind of lich?)." Baldurs gate throws hints about tough fights at you by the dozen.

I would never find the Twisted Rune w/out knowing about it beforehand, First I would get nuked by the trap and decide perhaps I shouldn't mess with the door with a low level party (Again, this is one of those hits the game likes to give. Deadly trap in the middle of the city == something bad ahead), and second I generally don't go trying every door in the world while carrying a Rogue Stone. After all, there are things I would much rather have, potions, spell scrolls, the Robe of Vecona, $20000 to free Imoen, etc. That being said, its probably one of an increadibly small number of fights that requires knowlage if you walk around unprepared for a major fight all the time.

perfectly said i don't have to say anything. this is what i am.

My view on this is that roleplaying and powergaming is not always mutually exclusive.

Still I usually like to make the roleplaying part imperative so that choices who would be good powergaming-wise, but ruin any attempt to role-play the situation would be sorted out.

Actually powergaming can further roleplaying at times. Take mages for example: There are a lot of slightly cheesy tactics with arcane spells. Some of them are just plain unfair, but some can be justified as the mage being so well studied in the intricacies of spellcraft that he can utilise the spells' true potential by slightly odd procedures.

Also if I am playing an especially greedy evil party I like to drain every opportunity for as much gold as possible only deeming people expendable after they stop showering me with gold and stuff.

Yes indeed, except for the fact that the Shade Lich and Elemental Lich never say that their purpose is to prevent Kangaxx's rebirth. All they say is that they are Guardians (immediately translated by the gamer to mean "I have something cool, and you'll have to kill me to get it"), and that you shall never possess whatever it is that they're protecting. So the hint that Kangaxx is more powerful than those 2 Liches put together is never reinforced.

There is no evidence to suggest that Kanaxx might be a Demi-Lich. In fact, there is evidence to the contrary, as what the heck would a Demilich even want arms and legs for anyway? Sentimental value? For all the adventurer knows, he could be somebody Polymorphed into that skull, or sealed within the body of a Gold Golem. You are certainly given lots of hints that you're going to have to fight something when you put all the pieces together, but the possibility of that something being a Demilich is not put forward.

Lastly, there is no in-game information about Demiliches at all. You cannot go to the Temple of Oghma for a little light reading on insanely powerful Undead whose physical manefestation consists solely of a talking skull. Neither Edwin, with his 18 INT, Haer'Dalis, with his tales of legends and monsters, nor Aerie, who is arguably the oldest person you could have in your party, has a *single* helpful hint about what this Golden Skull might be. Nor can you find any ideas of what a Demilich might actually DO--sure, AD&D gamers who've read the Monstrous Manual would know about their terrible screeching Howl that can cause people to literally die of fright, and their ability to suck living souls into their teeth, but try finding documentation like this in Amn. Maybe if you could recruit Lavok into your party, he could help you out, but until that happens, the only way to find out how to beat Kangaxx is--you guessed it--use powergaming and Reload knowledge until you stumble across something that works.

Yes indeed, except for the fact that the Shade Lich and Elemental Lich never say that their purpose is to prevent Kangaxx's rebirth. They specificly say something along the lines of "So your working for Kangaxx (do they use his name?), hes bad news". One can make (a not to great) leap that they are guarding it from Kangaxx. Also, doesn't one of them say something that basicly breaks down to "I've guarded these for a long time"?

Also the "immediatly translated" bit is how a powergamer plays. I generally assume that there someone they are guarding it from. IIRC they even go so far as to let you know that your working for the person they are guarding it from.

I (who had very virtualy no knowlage about D&D Liches at the time, I knew they existed, (Ok, I didn't actually know that they were called demi-liches, I just knew liches could turn into these extra powerful skull-thingies) that they were undead, and that they were bad news) was able to figure out what he was (that is a not your average lich, and hense would need weapons better then those that hit an average lich) the first time I encountered him. Floating skull, knows liches, in a tomb, (does he give the 'evil' message, or is that a different one?).

He could be anyone for all the adventurer knows, but if it looks like a talking skill, and acts like a talking skull, odds are its probably a talking skull. Similar, if its old like a lich, knows atleast two other liches, and doesn't appear to be living, its probably lich or lich-like.

A character, who spent 20+ years in a library, with a powerful mage as a stepfather and priests as most of the other adults would probably have managed to read a book at some point that delt with demiliches. Espically given the fact that your character was supposed to enjoy stories of epic battles and heros and such, even if he doesn't know everything there is to know about demiliches, between what hes probably been exposed to pre-BGI, and the various perrils he has encountered he should be able to puzzle out a good idea whats going on, I know I managed to the first time I encountered Kangaxx (very, very lightly spoiled w/outside information, I knew that there were more powerful liches then liches, that was about it). Are there any quests where characters had something useful about a quest that didn't involve them a) being directly involved (Jaheria basicly telling you where to go when she is cursed), or b) involved someone they already had heard of (Nalia haveing some somewhat useful advice regarding Firkrag(sp) and even this isnt that much of a hint)

Roleplaying doesn't mean "don't use any knowlage that you wouldn't have in the game" (aka running around like an idiot) it means "dont use any knowlage that your character shouldn't have" which is somewhat of a personal judgement call (but thats why they call it "playing" it is a game afterall). Sure the game doesn't go Kangaxx is a demi-lich, but it does give you enough hints to safely assume that Kangaxx is a really tough character, and most likely is lich like. I can only think of 4 really tough types of monsters in the forgotten realms, and 3 of them (beholders, mind flayers, and dragons) are not capable of fitting the characteristics I listed before. The only option that leaves is lich, and to be more specific a really powerful lich. A normal lich has abilities like lots of magic, immunity from lots of spells, needs moderate +'s to hit. We know our character has fought atleast two liches at this point, so we can assume he has a fair idea of what their like. (I know I did after my first two lich fights in BGII) The next small leap is that a "really powerful lich" will have really powerul lich powers, in otherwords, be immune to more spells, have more magical attacks, and need high +'s to hit.

I kinda think we're using the wrong definition for Power-Gamer here. The whole "Reload Knowledge" thing doesn't make a Power-Gamer.

I tend to think of Power-Gaming as, for example, creating a character in Throne of Bhaal, complete with the items there & XP level, then importing that into SoA. Then immediately going & buying/stealing/cheating in/acquiring the best items, rings, boots, scrolls & then absolutely crushing everything in the game.

It may be that we need a middle term, between Role-Player & Power-Gamer.

I tend to fall in the middle myself. I can't, in all honesty, claim to be a pure Role-Player, in that I can't force myself to forget that there's a trap that will kill me right *there* (nor could I Reload & pretend to forget it again & keep killing myself). I fully admit that I have my Thief Search b/c I know a trap is coming up.

I will often choose the conversation path that will give me the best result (as long as it's not an Evil path while I'm playing Good or vice versa).

I will run right to the chest that contains the good loot & not even check the others in the room (thinking de'Arnise Keep here).

OTOH, I don't give my characters all the best equipment, all 18's, & up their HP by +500 right at the start (an extreme example, I know), so I don't consider myself a Power-Gamer.

Sometimes, though, I like to give my characters little advantages, like a Wild Mage Sorcerer, a cool weapon, a Thief->Necromancer, 100 Identify scrolls, a 21 CON, Summon Deva 1/day, 100% Cold Resistance, an early Bag of Holding, etc. (not all in one game, but I've done all of those at one time or another). All of which actually allow me to Role-Play better (at least, IMO).

The term Power-Gaming should be reserved for someone who, e.g. always creates a 100+ point character, starts off with >= +2 equipment, gives their character 75% resistance to everything, etc. & then breezes through the game with no challenge whatsoever.

Otherwise, I'd guess that anyone who's been through the game 3+ times would have to be classified as a Power-Gamer (e.g. anyone who's tried a Kensai & looted the Slave Lords ASAP or a Mage vs. Twisted Rune ASAP or even a Thief who rushes to the Docks to get Renal's quest, etc.).

- Imrahil

:eek:

Imrahil, what you describing is not a Powergamer, but a Cheater.

Powergamer != Cheater

The only real difference between a Powergamer and Roleplayer is foreknowledge. A Powergamer knows where all the good stuff are and systematically obtains them in the best sequence. A Roleplayer goes with the flow so to speak. A Powergamer often commits acts that are out of character, like a Paladin who refuses charity, or an evil Necromancer being cosy with Rose. A Powergamer strives to be the best, and plays to reach this goal.

A pure Powergamer will not cheat, since it defeats the purpose of powergaming, which is to prove that you can beat the odds and ascend to God-like status in the shortest possible time and with minimal effort. A Powergamer will buff-up before a major battle, and be immuned to most if not all of the enemies' attacks. A Powergamer has a pre-planned tactic for the enemy, and even memorised how the enemy attacks.

Essentially, a Powergamer is a psychic in the game. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

This is not to say that all Powergamers are Munchkin Lords though. Munchkin Lords are the pure Powergamers, to whom the concept of roleplaying is alien. Everything they do is based on the best possible outcome. A Roleplaying Powergamer is a compromise between the two opposite spectrums of the game.

He/she still strives to obtain the best possible results, but within the realm of reasonable roleplay. For example, a Paladin will pay Rampah the 100 gold, even though it is possible with no penalties to pay him nothing, because it is the right thing to do for a Paladin.

Roleplaying... very difficult to explain... I'd just say that it's as if you were there, what would you do? Personally, actually, if a tomb started to talk to me, I'd run the hell out of that place...

I'm sort of both. I don't deceive in any way. I don't kill civilians for jokes. I won't kill anyone that doesn't initiate battle with me, or follows my moral beliefs. I will check every chest for loot. However, I won't let my character die because of that nasty trap, for the sake of 'Well, I shouldn't know that it's there, so I'll just die now'. I will cast spells to provoke the Cowled Wizards (bah... I hate authority) I will stretch my abilities to beat a certain creature at a lower level, never backing out. Once I start a quest, I will seek its end. I will use my fore-knowledge to help me in certain situations. I will use CTRL-J to help me go across the map (but not in tactical situations). I'm sort of both, a powergamer and a roleplayer.

[ 04-09-2003, 12:22 AM: Message edited by: Assassin ]

I guess then it may be that I'm having a problem with the Role-Playing definition rather than the Power-Gaming side, then (in that I see your distinction between Power-Gaming & Cheating, but am still having problems with "ignoring" Reload Knowledge).

Aren't we all (multi-timers) Power-Gamers, then? You can't make yourself forget stuff (e.g. how to get the Genie Bottle in Chateau Irenicus - you could, I guess, wander around a bit "looking" before going to where you already know it is).

I see your point in, say, heading straight for Twisted Rune if you are a Mage, but how do legitimately distinguish that from Role-Playing "oh, look what I stumbled across while investigating the Skinner Murders..."? It just seems way too fine a line for me in that only first-timers could truly be considered Role-Players.

Otherwise it's just a matter of timing - i.e. convincing yourself when it'd be a "realistic" time for you to stumble across something.

Also, even Role-Players would have a hard time convincing themselves to enter a battle they know is going to kill them (even first-timers won't do this after a few Reloads), so how do you distinguish "being prepared" for a battle you don't really know about from Power-Gaming it? A good example might be a fresh party vs. the City Gates-who-you-get-Daystar-from encounter - theoretically you should be no more worried than in the Sea's Bounty, right? But who actually plays that way, other than first-timers?

- Imrahil

Oooo... the whole Twisted Rune shennigans. I admit that is quite a tough nut to crack without straining the constraints of roleplay. Assuming you Baldurdash Fixpacked your game( and everybody should), roleplaying the entire event of the Twisted Rune becomes much more believable.

Game Spoilers
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It all begins at the Copper Coronet... where you free the slaves. Hendek informs you of the slaves at the grounded ship in the slums. You go pay them a visit.

Next comes the Tanner murders, where the Twisted Rune is mentioned. The player will have to assume that he/she read in a journal somewhere in the Tanner's house regarding a possible Guarded Compound in the Temple District where the slavers have a stronghold.

Killing Koshi from the Guarded Compound reveals an unique Rogue Stone, which leads the player to the Bridge District, where of course... the Twisted Rune is. You will have to search door by door of course.

If you have Nalia in your party( what were you thinking?!?! ;) [img]tongue.gif[/img] ), you get even more clues about the connections inbetween the slavers and the Twisted Rune.

There are remarkable points in the posts of Imrahil and Dundee Slaytern.
What forced me to post my answer? We are seeing again and again the following picture: There are two groups of players. One of them - the good guys - are so called "role players". This group is completely different from the second group - the bad guys - called "power gamers". The posters FEAR that they are becoming power gamers and ask the others, whether they really have fallen so low that they have to count themselves to the worst that can be met among computer game players...
But it's different. Both concepts, "role player" and "power gamer" are rather nonsense. For example, everybody, who tries to improve his play style using his current knowledge about the game, is a "power gamer".
I think the problem is elsewehre. We can cheat and start the game with level 40 characters with 500 HPs and with +30 weapon in every hand available. Or, we can ignore the storyline and the classes and races chosen for the party and play the game as some hack'n'slash stupidity like Doom. But we can also play the game as a CRPG taking into account alignments, classes, races and the storyline. I think the last approach is the best and that it does not prevent anybody from searching optimal ways to victory. A paladin can behave as a paladin even if he knows which monster is waiting behind the corner. On the other hand, a paladin should never behave like an assassin.
Therefore, don't ask whether you are a "role player" or a "power gamer". You are both. Ask rather whether you are playing a CRPG.

well, in the long run you end up like a powergamer... imean playing the game so much that you don't have to think what to do anymore... just bam bam and bam... done... [img]smile.gif[/img]

just because you know what will happen it doesn't necessarily mean you are one... :D

It's possible to have played hundreads of times, and still be a roleplayer.

What is really roleplaying? It's acting in character. It doesn't matter if your character start the game with 25 in everything, the killsword and Imoen's belt, or if he start out as a "regular" character. What's important is that the player create a background and personality for the character and then stick to it.

When a player use his personal knowledge to help his character, it's called metagame thinkig. In a CRPG game, it can be hard not to do it, as you replay the same game over and over again, and if you fail, then you need to do it again, too.

If for some reason, you got to a monster, and can't kill it no mather what, you are stuck with 2 choices. Delete your game and restart, probably running in the same problem, or just forget it for now. You don't really have any choice but to leave. You could pretend your characters decided to go resuply in town and got too busy to go back and finish exploring that dungeon. You could also start the fight with the monster, and then after a few seconds of getting your ass kicked, you could run away.

What if there is a death trap in front of you, and you absolutely need to cross it? You could have one of your character cross and triger the trap and then revive him, or maybe your thief just followed his instincs and decided to make a quick check for trap in that suspicious hallway/doorway/chest. Of course, a good roleplayer would play the part of an adventurer, and send his thief scouting ahead all the time to find traps and monsters. It would be stupid to blindly walk around in an old crypt.

The bottom line is that this is not a pen and paper game, in pen and paper, your DM would not put you in an impossible situation, but the game do, so sometimes you have no choices but to help your characters a little.

What's important is that you don't overdo it. It's ok to wait until you have at least one +4 weapon before going to fight Kangaxx, it's not to go buy a pack full of protection from magic and undead scrolls. It could of course be justifiable once on a while, maybe yout character just went shoping for scrolls the day before and among all the scrolls he bought he happened to buy those, but if you do it for every hard encounter, that that's ridiculous.

Just remember to act in character. If you decided that your Wizard Slayer really hated mages and kill them on sight, then don't recruit Edwin. What you should do is kill him on sight. It will ruin the quest, but that's what your character would do. If he is selfish and sexist, he probably would not say kind thing to his romance, ending it very fast.

And to finish, here's a quck way to know if you are a roleplayer. Are you willing to botch quests, miss powerfull items/npcs or say stupid things if that's what your character would do? If yes, then you are a roleplayer. It's not a big deal if you buff up before every fights if you at least act in character the rest of the time.

I must say that i have started to roleplay this game just a little while ago(after i got bored of running through the game with every character un-realistically strong/unbalanced. example: a mage with stats like str:18, dex:18, con:18, int:18 and then wis and cha at 7 or so), but i do wish that i had started much earlier. ah well, i guess ill have to wait until i get to play p&p games, to really roleplay...

First of all, P&P GAMES ALL THE WAY!! Alright, now that that's out of the way, I think the hardest thing to roleplay is your chars statistics. Think about it; you make a character with a higher or lower Int than yourself. You find it hard to raise your thoughts to the "caliber" of the wizard, or on the flip side, are annoyed by something you would know easily, but shouldn't do because your char just cant keep up with that train of thought. So really what i mean when I say stats is Int, Wis, and Cha. How could a socially dereft person play a smooth talking bard? This is something that really strains your abilities to act out a character, and in many cases, also the most enjoyable. It really gives yopu the idea of improv and the such. (Oh, I noticed something contrary to my little rant. It would be easier to play a completely idiotic char, as you would literally walk around as a simpleton. Some people could find this chafing, but it sounds kind of fun to me!)

Later