Since everyone else has done a good job on defining roleplay, I'll go ahead and get out the 10' pole and touch that part of the topic that has been avoided. (Huh, can't find the 10' Pole - time to dig out the 2 5' Czechs...) :)
Anyway, PvP is part of roleplay.
The LEVEL of PvP that is part of your characters roleplay will vary drastically, though.
You're playing a freighter captain that's hauling goods intra- or inter- system, you're primarily looking to AVOID PvP because you're effectively a scared little mouse in a field of cats. You just want to complete your trade runs, get another load of cargo, spend a night in port somewhere and get drunk and laid (not necessarily in that order) and go do another trade run. You aren't looking for excitement.
You play a transport captain that's hauling supplies from someplace like Gran Canaria out to FP11, you're also looking to avoid PvP, but you know it might happen.
You play a regular non-affiliated pirate - you actually should be avoiding PvP if at all possible. It cuts into your profits. Unless you're operating somewhere the law simply can't get to you, you're always on the lookout for THE MAN.
You play a Xeno or a Gaian, that's a bit different from a regular pirate. You're probably looking for some PvP because killing the oppressors or the non-libertonians advances your beliefs.
You play a Corsair or Outcast - heck, those are houses themselves that are at war with the big houses, just from a slightly different viewpoint. PvP is part of your bread and butter - THEY call you a pirate, YOU'RE a freedom fighter.
Any navy or police - yeah, PvP is going to be part and parcel of your action. You can go all the way from, "May we share some tea and crumpets (or Sunbucks and donuts)" to "All naval forces, attack the enemy!".
Bounty Hunters? Oh, hell yes, PvP is a BIG part of their RP.
Nomads and Wild ... Can you say, "All humans must die!"?
It's up to each player to decide how MUCH emphasis on PvP they want their characters to have. But when you're rolling up a D&D character - you ain't making someone, even as a cleric, to go work in a childrens hospital for the entire campaign. You want to use that mace for some bashing! (Trust me - click the link. You'll laugh!)
(11-21-2013, 12:53 PM)Jihadjoe Wrote: Oh god... The end of days... Agmen agreed with me.
Roleplay is like acting out a part in a play, but only the setting of the play has been revealed to you, and you have to write all of your character's lines. You don't know what other people are going to say, how the acts are going to play out, or when your cue is. You are in charge of writing the backstory for your own character, and more often than not you have no idea what the backstory is for the other characters you're onstage with. Some of your fellow actors are more into their roles than others, while some just want to get the play over and done with so they can eat the after-preformance snacks. Most importantly, you have no clue how the play is going to end, or even how long it's going to run. So you just sit back, break a leg, and let the show go on.
' Wrote:Most importantly, you have no clue how the play is going to end, or even how long it's going to run. So you just sit back, break a leg, and let the show go on.
There were many times then I saw people raging that some kind of group ruined someone's plans. Later accusing others that they ruined their fun and their roleplay. Thing is.. it's dynamic. There is always chance of risk, chance of -loosing- to some extent.
Yet not all people understand risk as one of the major factors in this game.