Everyone above me has already gone over most of the basic stuff like being impartial about IC interactions and whatnot, so my suggestions will be about the two interwoven aspects of initiative and adaptability.
Initiative: the ability to introduce conflict or interesting circumstances without prompt.
This is, in my opinion, the hallmark of an excellent roleplayer. Of course, this is a double-edged sword that requires very careful balancing: too little initiative results in a DM-PC sort of relationship which, while not inherently negative on its own, carries the risk of not meshing with everyone involved, while too much initiative can result in the arbitrary or, at its worse, oppressively hostile introduction of new plot threads. Implementation is also key when introducing conflict or similar elements.
To clarify, the "without prompt" part of the above phrase refers to a prompt from the narrative, but it also refers to OOC interactions. If you want to join a storyline, encounter, or narrative, but you are unsure or lack the confidence, then don't wait simply to be invited, but ask to join, and offer ideas as to what your character adds. Of course, in casual encounters this facet can be unnecessary, but for narrative-driven roleplay, having initiative can lead to new characters, new elements, and a diverse array of situations and interactions.
Basic examples:Â
1). Bob and Alice are roleplaying a casual encounter in a tavern. Bob and Alice's characters have never met before. Bob has his character continually introduces new topics and rumours. Bob and Alice's characters start to argue. Drama ensues. (Also good for developing actual social skills!)
2). Bob and Alice are roleplaying a casual encounter in a tavern. Both of their characters are good friends and equal in temperament. Alice OOCly invites her friend John to ICly interrupt Bob and Alice's characters. Introductions and/or drama ensues.
3). Bob and Alice are roleplaying a casual encounter in a tavern. A new player, John, enters the tavern, and quietly sits next to them emoting to himself. Bob makes his character accidentally spill a drink on John's character. A new circumstance ensues.
4). Bob and Alice are roleplaying a casual encounter in a tavern. A new player, John, enters and, while OOC, politely asks to join. In this case, John is showing initiative.
5). Bob and Alice are roleplaying a narrative about chasing a jewel thief. Bob is also roleplaying as the NPC thief. Their characters both catch the thief, and Alice's character notes that the thief had also stolen one of Alice's character's long lost family heirlooms. A new branching narrative ensues.
6). Bob, Alice, and John are roleplaying a narrative about John's character. Bob asks John OOCly if he (Bob) can introduce a new plot element about how Bob and John are connected, and provides a brief description. John approves. A branching narrative ensues.
7). Bob and Alice are roleplaying a plot-driven narrative. John OOCly asks if he can join, and shares ideas that he has about what could happen and how his character could become involved. Assuming eventual approval, a new character begins to participate.
Adaptability: the ability to have a character participate or engage in new encounters in a manner that is consistent with how they are written.Â
This is heavily tied into initiative, as described above. Roleplay is improvisational at its heart, and thus a certain measure of flexibility is called for. This, too, is a double-edged sword: too much adaptability can make a character seem amorphous or inconsistent, while too little will result in stunted encounters or awkward introductions that go nowhere. However, the ability to adapt to new (and possibly even unwelcome) situations goes a very, very long way in creating memorable roleplay.
Basic Examples:
1). Bob and Alice are roleplaying a casual encounter in a tavern. A new player, John, rudely interjects his character into their conversation without asking. Bob and Alice both react while IC, and John's interruption becomes a new topic of conversation.
2). Bob and Alice are roleplaying together. Their characters had never met prior. Bob's character is amoral and selfish. Alice's character is suddenly targeted in a kidnapping attempt. Despite Bob's character being self-interested, Bob's character intervenes for reasons that are consistent with his character (e.g. Bob's character plans on extorting Alice's character, Alice's character offers to pay Bob's character, etc.)
3). Bob and Alice are roleplaying a narrative about chasing a jewel thief. Bob is roleplaying as the NPC thief. When Alice's character catches the thief, she notes that the thief is her brother. Despite Bob having never written anything about the thief being the brother to Alice's character, Bob rolls with it and has his character react accordingly. A new plot thread is introduced that is potentially vastly different from what Bob had originally intended.
4). Bob, Alice, and John are roleplaying a casual encounter walking down the street together. John suddenly has his character notice a bounty poster with Alice's character's name on it. Despite having never written a criminal past about her character, Alice creates a new plot thread wherein her character was framed for a heist.
--
Obviously, everything is dependent on context, but the general gist of the idea should be fairly clear.
Initiative: the ability to introduce conflict or interesting circumstances without prompt.
This is, in my opinion, the hallmark of an excellent roleplayer. Of course, this is a double-edged sword that requires very careful balancing: too little initiative results in a DM-PC sort of relationship which, while not inherently negative on its own, carries the risk of not meshing with everyone involved, while too much initiative can result in the arbitrary or, at its worse, oppressively hostile introduction of new plot threads. Implementation is also key when introducing conflict or similar elements.
To clarify, the "without prompt" part of the above phrase refers to a prompt from the narrative, but it also refers to OOC interactions. If you want to join a storyline, encounter, or narrative, but you are unsure or lack the confidence, then don't wait simply to be invited, but ask to join, and offer ideas as to what your character adds. Of course, in casual encounters this facet can be unnecessary, but for narrative-driven roleplay, having initiative can lead to new characters, new elements, and a diverse array of situations and interactions.
Basic examples:Â
1). Bob and Alice are roleplaying a casual encounter in a tavern. Bob and Alice's characters have never met before. Bob has his character continually introduces new topics and rumours. Bob and Alice's characters start to argue. Drama ensues. (Also good for developing actual social skills!)
2). Bob and Alice are roleplaying a casual encounter in a tavern. Both of their characters are good friends and equal in temperament. Alice OOCly invites her friend John to ICly interrupt Bob and Alice's characters. Introductions and/or drama ensues.
3). Bob and Alice are roleplaying a casual encounter in a tavern. A new player, John, enters the tavern, and quietly sits next to them emoting to himself. Bob makes his character accidentally spill a drink on John's character. A new circumstance ensues.
4). Bob and Alice are roleplaying a casual encounter in a tavern. A new player, John, enters and, while OOC, politely asks to join. In this case, John is showing initiative.
5). Bob and Alice are roleplaying a narrative about chasing a jewel thief. Bob is also roleplaying as the NPC thief. Their characters both catch the thief, and Alice's character notes that the thief had also stolen one of Alice's character's long lost family heirlooms. A new branching narrative ensues.
6). Bob, Alice, and John are roleplaying a narrative about John's character. Bob asks John OOCly if he (Bob) can introduce a new plot element about how Bob and John are connected, and provides a brief description. John approves. A branching narrative ensues.
7). Bob and Alice are roleplaying a plot-driven narrative. John OOCly asks if he can join, and shares ideas that he has about what could happen and how his character could become involved. Assuming eventual approval, a new character begins to participate.
Adaptability: the ability to have a character participate or engage in new encounters in a manner that is consistent with how they are written.Â
This is heavily tied into initiative, as described above. Roleplay is improvisational at its heart, and thus a certain measure of flexibility is called for. This, too, is a double-edged sword: too much adaptability can make a character seem amorphous or inconsistent, while too little will result in stunted encounters or awkward introductions that go nowhere. However, the ability to adapt to new (and possibly even unwelcome) situations goes a very, very long way in creating memorable roleplay.
Basic Examples:
1). Bob and Alice are roleplaying a casual encounter in a tavern. A new player, John, rudely interjects his character into their conversation without asking. Bob and Alice both react while IC, and John's interruption becomes a new topic of conversation.
2). Bob and Alice are roleplaying together. Their characters had never met prior. Bob's character is amoral and selfish. Alice's character is suddenly targeted in a kidnapping attempt. Despite Bob's character being self-interested, Bob's character intervenes for reasons that are consistent with his character (e.g. Bob's character plans on extorting Alice's character, Alice's character offers to pay Bob's character, etc.)
3). Bob and Alice are roleplaying a narrative about chasing a jewel thief. Bob is roleplaying as the NPC thief. When Alice's character catches the thief, she notes that the thief is her brother. Despite Bob having never written anything about the thief being the brother to Alice's character, Bob rolls with it and has his character react accordingly. A new plot thread is introduced that is potentially vastly different from what Bob had originally intended.
4). Bob, Alice, and John are roleplaying a casual encounter walking down the street together. John suddenly has his character notice a bounty poster with Alice's character's name on it. Despite having never written a criminal past about her character, Alice creates a new plot thread wherein her character was framed for a heist.
--
Obviously, everything is dependent on context, but the general gist of the idea should be fairly clear.
