Jump to content

Roleplaying Addiction.


Mistress
 Share

Recommended Posts

LS-RP has always been the home of unique and realistic roleplay that other servers can't really seem to replicate, I’ve made two guides now on drugs and their effects but figured I’d make a guide about actually character roleplaying in regard to these drugs, specifically roleplaying addiction. It's kind of a general overview rather than focusing on specific aspects.

 

Once again, this isn’t the gold standard. I’ve just been roleplaying characters with addiction for a long time and think it’s an incredibly rewarding experience, it's also incredibly misrepresented and can, if done properly, be both enjoyable as hell and benefit so many other peoples' rp as well as your own. 

 

(This is sort of a work in progress, I'd like to add more about withdrawals, overdoses, rehab, relapses, etc. Watch this space!)

 

Also, just to be clear. Drug users and those suffering from addiction are human beings who deserve love and respect. Addiction is often a medically recognised illness that many people suffer from, they're still people, not something to be gawked at. If you choose to roleplay addiction, please do it properly and respectfully. 

 

 

Contents - 

 

1. Why roleplay addiction?

2. The stages of addiction.

3. Creating your character

4. Roleplaying Addiction.

6. Videos and resources.

 

 

Why Roleplay Addiction?

 

When some people hear ‘addict’ they instantly shy away, it has a stigma and does sound like a label that really corners your RP into a singular area. This isn’t the case, though. There’s so many stages of addiction and many addicts can be fully functional, both in real life and in RP.  

 

It might be better to change the label to ‘a character with an addiction/dependence’ on a certain substance or multiple substances. Many people have already played characters like this without even realizing. If your character is snorting cocaine every night with his biker buddies, there’s a character that’s going to get a dependence or become addicted to the substance. Most people (not all) though, don’t roleplay the downsides and other aspects of this kind of drug usage and they’re missing out on a whole new avenue of RP. If your character is doing cocaine every night and suddenly there’s no cocaine, it’s likely they’re going to seek some out, which allows for wider drug roleplay and interactions between characters.  

 

Your Character and Addiction/Dependence.

Literally any sort of character can experience addiction or dependence. A lot of people consider addiction roleplay to be a homeless tweaker character but that’s just not the case, though if people want to roleplay that, that's obviously fine. 

 

LEO characters could become addicted or dependent on painkillers they received for an injury, a fully legal nightlife character could become dependent on alcohol. Gangbangers might be tempted to try their product and become dependent/addicted to it. A lawyer's character might develop a dependency on cocaine in order to get their work done. 

 

You get my point, literally any character can become dependent/addicted to a whole range of substances.  Take coffee in real life for example, if you don’t feel quite right until after your morning coffee, or you crave it as soon as you get out of bed, that’s a form of dependence (although mild.) It can quite literally be as simple as that for your characters and the substances they use. It can be such a rewarding roleplay experience to roleplay everything that surrounds using substances, rather than just /use cocaine or drinking at some club and that’s it. If you roleplay the whole cycle it allows for whole new character development, roleplay with other characters and a contribution to the wider community within roleplay.

 

Roleplay & Character Development 

Of course, you can roleplay your character however you want but addiction or dependence can add so much depth to roleplay. It’s by nature, a negative trait and a massive ‘downside’ but roleplaying it can both add to character development and even have an impact on wider roleplay.  

 

For example, if your character is struggling with addiction to any sort of substance, they will often lie to their friends and try to hide it from their friends. They might attempt to leech off their friends or steal from their friends in some cases. You’ll meet with and build relationships with a whole variety of different characters; you might try and steal from strangers or any sort of act to get your hands on the substance in question. You might hurt yourself in some way whilst on said substance and have to make up excuses to explain your way out of it. You may have run-ins with gangsters or LEO’s no matter what sort of character you’ve got. If your friends find out about your addiction, they might try to help you and get you better by taking you to the hospital or rehab.  

 

As you can see, every aspect of roleplaying addiction or dependency opens whole new avenues of roleplay and character development. You can roleplay the darkest moments of your character, meet new characters, live a secret double life, interact with Law Enforcement, get involved in medical rp whilst trying to get better. There’s literally so much possible roleplay and character development possible.  

 

But my character isn’t a crackhead? 

Drug users and those experiencing addiction aren't 'crackheads'. Sure, you can roleplay a damaged character who's suffering heavily from addiction and cares only about their next drug hit but there's a much wider of variety of characters you can play. Those suffering from addiction are normal people who live normal lives, you can have a house, a car, whatever. You can and should explore all sorts of roleplay available to you. 

 

 

 

STAGES OF ADDICTION

(This section is sourced/stolen from: here)

 

I've chosen to skip to stage 3 for the sake of brevity, but its where dependency/addiction begins to manifest and is most useful for people roleplaying characters using substances.  

 

Stage 3: Regular Use 

As a person continues to experiment with a substance, its use becomes normalized and grows from periodic to regular use. This does not mean that they use it every day, but rather that there is some sort of pattern associated with it. The pattern varies based on the person, but a few instances could be that they are taking it every weekend or during periods of emotional unrest like loneliness, boredom or stress. At this point, social users may begin taking their chosen drug alone, in turn taking the social element out of their decision.   

 

Stage 4: Risky Use 

With Stage 4, the individual’s regular use has continued to grow and is now frequently having a negative impact on their life. While a periodic hangover at work or an event is acceptable for Stage 3, at Stage 4 instances like that become a regular occurrence and its effects become noticeable. Many drinkers are arrested for a DUI at this point, and all users will likely see their work or school performance suffer notably. The frequent use may also lead to financial difficulties where there were none before. Although the user may not personally realize it, people on the outside will almost certainly notice a shift in their behavior at this point. 

 

Stage 5: Dependence 

The mark of entering Stage 5 is that a person’s drug use is no longer recreational or medical, but rather is due to becoming reliant on the substance of choice. This is sometimes viewed as a broad stage that includes forming a tolerance and dependence, but by now, the individual should already have developed a tolerance. As a result, this stage should only be marked by a dependence, which can be physical, psychological, or both.   

For a physical dependence, the individual has abused their chosen drug long enough that their body has adapted to its presence and learned to rely on it. If use abruptly stops, the body will react by entering withdrawal. This is characterized by a negative rebound filled with uncomfortable and sometimes dangerous symptoms, that should be managed by medical professionals. In most cases, individuals choose to continue their use, rather than seeking help, because it is the easiest and quickest way to escape withdrawal. 

 

Stage 6: Addiction 

Dependency and addiction are words that are sometimes used interchangeably, and though the words are similar and frequently connected in drug use, they are different. One of the biggest differences is that when a person develops an addiction, their drug use is no longer a conscious choice. Up until that point, it remains at least a shadow of one.  

Individuals at this stage feel as though they can no longer deal with life without access to their chosen drug, and as a result, lose complete control of their choices and actions. The behavioral shifts that began during Stage 4 will grow to extremes, with the user likely giving up their old hobbies and actively avoiding friends and family. They may compulsively lie about their drug use when questioned and are quickly agitated if their lifestyle is threatened in any way. Users, at this point, can also be so out of touch with their old life that they do not recognize how their behaviors are detrimental and the effects that it has had on their relationships.   

 

Stage 7: Crisis 

The final stage of addiction is the breaking point in a person’s life. Once here, the individual’s addiction has grown far out of their control and now presents a serious danger to their well–being. It is sometimes referred to as the crisis stage, because at this point the addict is at the highest risk of suffering a fatal overdose or another dramatic life event. 

 

 

 

CREATING YOUR CHARACTER

(Shout out to Allegra for the inspiration for this section)

 

Although addiction is dynamic and I encourage characters who were not created specifically for it to roleplay around addiction and dependency, here's a rough bunch of questions to consider when creating a character that's addicted to some sort of substance. It's important when creating a character suffering from addiction to understand and build a backstory that really explains why your character suffers from addiction and how they live their life.

 

What is your characters background?

You should really consider your characters background and history, for every person suffering with addiction there's a story and a reason behind it, usually a tragic one. People who suffer from addiction are usually genetically pre-disposed or have suffered trauma in their past, usually their childhood. This doesn't have to be the case for your character, but it's important to think about where they've come from and if their past has any role in their addiction.

 

 

What are their positives and what are their flaws?

This shouldn't be a 2D character, you're roleplaying a person with all the important stuff that comes with it. Think about your character, their flaw shouldn't be 'they're addicted to heroin', that's not a flaw, that's addiction. Think about the positives of your character, can they make people laugh, are they good at art? Really build an in-depth character that has both flaws and positives. It'll only add to how you roleplay addiction, if your character is incredibly moral or good natured, they might hold out on doing questionable things to get money, or they might try and help others with their addictions whilst suffering with their own, just a couple examples. 

 

What are their goals, dreams and hopes?

Your character should have goals, dreams and hopes. They should have dreams they want to fulfil and goals they want to reach. These can change over time but people suffering from addiction don't just dream about getting high. If you're a roleplaying a homeless addict, your goal would be to secure yourself housing or to get a car, stay on someone's couch. Goals are achievable tasks to improve your characters life in some way. Dreams and hopes may be unrealistic but they help guide a character and create a far more in-depth character. 

 

What stage of addiction is your character on?

If you're creating a character solely to roleplay addiction, it's more than likely you're going to be at one of the higher stages of addiction. You should consider why they're at this point, how they got here and how they function at this point. If you're roleplaying a character at the lower levels of addiction, they may be fully functioning or fully addicted to a substance, the stage of addiction changes how a character does their substance of choice, how they feel about doing it and why they do it. 

 

What substances are they addicted to?

Every substance is different and it's worth looking into what they're addicted to, how it effects them and what the substance does. People who use meth will act differently to those on heroin. It's important to understand what your character uses, why they use it and how they use it. 

 

(I plan to expand this section.)

 

ROLEPLAYING ADDICTION

 

Roleplaying addiction is pretty simple, you have one main goal every day: to score. Whatever the substance is. If your character is an alcoholic, the first thing they need in the morning is some booze. If they’re addicted to heroin, they need to get high or score some. If they don't have enough money to do so, they might lie to a friend and try to get some money from them or even try to steal money from them. Their sole motivation, even if they're a 'functioning addict' is to get their desired substance and to use it. You WILL spend the last of your cash to pay for the substance, you WILL put yourself at risk to obtain your substances if needs be. If your character works, that’s great, but they will spend most of their money on their substance of choice. 

 

A lot of the time, people suffering with addiction are very sick. Their substance of choice basically becomes their 'medicine' and they don't really even get high off it anymore. If you're roleplaying a character at this level of addiction, it's important to recognise that there's no joy in it any more, simply desperation and sickness. 

 

The driving factor behind an addict character is that need for your substance of choice, it sounds pretty simple and boring, but it can provide a wide array of roleplay and character development. You’ll do whatever you need to do to obtain that substance, steal money or things from friends, make deals with your dealer, look for work, etc. There’s so many roleplay opportunities that come from the simple act of needing to obtain your substance of choice whilst also leading a normal life. Your character CAN be functional dependent on which substance they’re addicted to, if they manage to score some Oxycodone, they’ll be able to happily attend and smash that interview they’ve got lined up. Or your character can be fully within the wrath of addiction and roaming the streets looking to score, shooting up and nodding out. It’s your character so you can do what you want with it.   

 

Roleplaying addiction also allows you to explore character development and the way you interact with others in a different way. You can roleplay the darkest moments of your character, withdrawals, overdoses, financial troubles. All sorts of avenues of roleplay open when you explore the darker side of character development, and the harm addiction and dependence can cause, but there’s also other opportunities of roleplay, rehab, treatment, trying to get better. 

 

I don’t want to railroad anyone as it’s completely and utterly your character, you can roleplay addiction how you want. Just know, your character is still a normal person with their goals, friends, motivations. It’s just that they’ll prioritise their substance of choice 95% of the time. Roleplaying an addict is the same as roleplaying any other sort of character, you can work, hang out with friends, just anything a normal person does. Your character will just NEED their substance of choice, they usually cant function without it.  

 

"Addiction involves craving for something intensely, loss of control over its use, and continuing involvement with it despite adverse consequences. Addiction changes the brain, first by subverting the way it registers pleasure and then by corrupting other normal drives such as learning and motivation."

 

 

 

 

VIDEOS AND RESOURCES

Firstly, some threads on drugs and their effects to help you better understand the drugs you're roleplaying around if you choose to roleplay addiction/dependence. (sorry for plugging my own threads)

 

 

Some websites and videos that might be quite helpful in learning about addiction.

 

The Science of Addiction (shatterproof.org)

 

 

Some other videos

 

Edited by Mistress
  • Strong 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.