Role playing games give people the opportunity to entire a world that is completely different from out own, with its own set of rules and often filled with a number of fantasy characters. This allows them the chance to escape and have an adventure, which is something that is appealing to a great number of people. Indeed, it is often the biggest draw into playing a role playing game in the first place. One of the aspects of entering this fantasy world, however, is forming a character to play. This character is someone who will fit into this special world with its special set of rules, and will often have a specialty within that world. Usually the game will provide a certain number of character types for a player to choose from. These are characters who come with a basic set of tools and skills which are suited to their role within the game.



Besides this basic set of tools and skills, however, players are given a lot of room to develop their character and what they might become. Normally, a player can give their character any name that they might desire as well as a personal history. Then, as play of the game commences, a personality might start to form. These characters can be played in any way that the player might wish, being overly friendly and bubbly or gruff and rude. The purpose of having a character in this role playing game is to provide someone for the player to identify with and to explore this new, fantastical world with.

Players are able to give their character more than a name and a personal history, though. As the game progresses, they can teach their character new skills and magic. They can earn upgrades for the tools of the character and find them better weapons. As they progress through the game, they can become more proficient with their fighting techniques and become a stronger warrior overall.

Characters within the game can develop partnerships with other players; sometimes even relationships can brew. The world created within a role playing game is nearly a self-existing entity and while it is fully dependent on the people playing within it, the world can often be built to such a degree that it can be run as its own plane of existence.

People can feel very close to the characters that they come to develop. More than one character is usually developed by long-term players of a role playing game. Often, when new players come to join a game, veteran players will make a new character so that they can be on the same level as the newer players, not leaving them to be at violently different skill levels than the rest. Therefore, one player may end up controlling any number of characters within a role playing universe. However, they are most often connected the closest to one specific character that they have spent a great deal of time on and feel a special connection with. This character can be like a second skin to them, giving them a nice place to escape from the real world into.