Harry Potter Roleplay

[Prof. Maxim Trevelyan]

Roleplay - playing a character in a "real", imagined or established universe. Ever since the first book came out, there has been a surge of Harry Potter roleplays in many, many forms. Even HOL is one of them, though not perhaps so much in depth as others.

Your imagination is the limit with such kind of roleplays. Perhaps you want to visit Hogwarts when the main series took place? Do you want to discover how Hogwarts came to be in the Time of the Founders? Maybe you want to map your life in the Marauders Era? These are just some of the most popular roleplay timelines, with many more existing.

I find that I prefer to roleplay original characters (OCs) in a semi-modern era with already established world rules. I think it is the simplest, most immersive and there are less dangers for canon characters to behave too OOC (out of character for their established personality).

Have you ever roleplayed in the Harry Potter universe? In what era and kind of characters do you prefer to play? Or do you just enjoy a semi-immersive experience such as HOL?

[Prof. Sindor Aloyarc]

It's been a while, but when I was younger, I used to LOVE Role Playing as Neville Longbottom.

Being somewhat physically/socially awkward and more than a little overweight in my pre-to-mid-teens, I really identified with this character, and loved imagining myself in his shoes during the first few years of Hogwarts from the perspective of the books.

Once I remember in my Prefect years getting to create an account and Role Play that I was Professor Sprout, and when the "Hogwarts Teachers" gave out awards I was able to create a Sprouts Honor award, all of which was a lot of fun, but I'm thinking that may have been the last time I took an opportunity to enjoy a good old fashioned HP RP!!

[Isa Vestal]

I haven’t done as much forum-based role play in the Harry Potter universe but I absolutely loved LARPing (Live Action Role Play-ing) my Harry Potter OCs when I was in Middle School.

This goes for all role-plays but I personally don’t like playing in the canonical universe in which the major characters playing have existed or will exist in the future. I find it gets so easy to adopt a Mary Sue character when you’re a relative/friend/sidekick/enemy of one of the canonical characters and that sometimes comes with special knowledge or powers that make a character too overpowered. Like you said, Maxim, I also find it definitely becomes easy for the characters too become OOC far too often as well which easily turns to people arguing about what a canonical character would characteristically do.

In the times I have done LARP-ing in the wizarding world, my most fun setting has definitely been fun doing it in an alternate universe where Harry and the main cast aren’t real but a muggle author has suspiciously written of a world nearly identical to the wizarding world in terms of its workings, minor characters, and places which makes it so that the players can refer to Harry and his friends but simultaneously be immersed in a wizarding world that follows the same rules as the ones originally in the series. It was actually quite hilarious and many of the plot points were centered around spying on the JK Rowling in the LARP to try to find if she was hiding a secret.

[Gail Allen]

I have played Harry Potter roleplay in many different forms. One where we claimed the characters from the books and played them - this in my opinion is the most difficult part because it opens it up to people disagreeing over how characters would act and it's just a mess all around really, especially if there aren't enough of the 'main' characters to go around. Then some people get the cool characters while others are left with less cool ones, so I think this only really works in smaller groups where you all agree on a view of the story and the characters. Otherwise you'd be much better off doing something else which I also moved on to later on:

Playing in a world where Harry Potter and his friends are real, the wizarding war did happen and all the events in the books took place, but the play takes place long after the events and the characters from the books no longer influence the world. Furthermore; no one is allowed to have a character who is related to or friends with anyone from the books.

That kind of world is really fun to play in, because it allows everyone to have characters that are on the same level and curbs the Mary Sue tendencies as well as still allowing everyone to reference what happened - and indeed have differing opinions about the people who were inside the play, major historical figures, but who no one has direct contact to.
I really love that kind of roleplay.