I dont see how reading LoTR gives someone imagination. Thats pure nonsense. Most fantasy books are written for enjoyment. A lot of them are very generic like the flood of Asian MMORPGs. Because people read such books, they usually RP godmodding orphans. Death to all parents!
While I think much of your post had merit, this one thought is a bit disjointed and, I feel, erroneous. Reading books is a very imaginative experience. I admit, LotR isn't the most thrilling novel to read for some people. (It was written in the tradition of the epic romance, rather than the novel, and Tolkien never intended it to be a "novel" in the strictest sense of the word. Rather, he was writing his own saga like
The Odyssey or similar... Suffice to say, the rhetorical intents and uses behind literary fantasy are elements that should not (and, honestly, cannot) be lightly turned aside. True, most fantasy books (like most mass market books) are written to sell, and thus use generic, pre-packaged stories with stock characters to appeal to readers who want pop-fiction rather than literary fiction. However, just because there is less literary, more mass-market fantasy out there does not preclude the validity or usefulness of fantastical works of literary fiction.
Lord of the Rings is a good example of such, as are some works by fantasy masters such as Ursula K. Le Guin, etc etc. (Sorry, I'm in grad school training to be an English professor someday... I can't help myself sometimes.)
Ahem. The bottom line is, there's plenty of validity to the argument that having read a lot of inspirational fantasy is a good way to write (i.e. role-play online) interesting and engaging, even entertaining characters. No, not all interesting characters are orphans. Broken families may be interesting right now because of the increasing numbers of people in many parts of society in the world (though I confess I speak from an American perspective) who are from broken families themselves, often with absent parents or simply alienation from their familial structure. But I digress. The point is, reading and creative engagement go a long way to enriching the experience of role-play, far more than mere grinding ever will. Not that leveling doesn't have a place in RP--I believe that it does--but that it cannot be the defining element without losing something of the essence of what makes an interesting story, compelling characters.
Literature isn't just books, though I love them dearly. Many films, songs, graphic novels, television shows, and yes, even video games can contribute to the literary landscape of fantasy. The LotR films are one example, but so are the works of Hayao Miyazaki, Neil Gaiman, Akira Kurosawa, Shakespeare, or even Baz Luhrmann. Watch
Labyrinth,
The Dark Crystal,
Legend, whatever tickles your fancy, and try to figure out what makes it interesting. What makes those characters not generic and dull? Use it. Learn from it. Get crazy and creative with it. Try one of those "random story starter" websites and write a background for your character, adapted to the PS setting. See what works. Most of all, have fun and get into the role. Tell a story.
Isn't that really what role-playing is all about--having fun, being creative, telling stories?
...Okay, my pedantic and literary rant is now over. >_>
