Cool! Trying new stuff is fun
Roleplaying is just a form of creative writing. Its essentially storytelling with multiple writers based off any given theme or story line. It can feature your own characters or characters you know of and you choose how they interact, talk, or act alone or with other characters. You post using your character(s) with speech, actions, or thoughts and then someone else will continue that part of the story with their character.
This forum has 2 kinds of roleplay both "Fun" and "Serious."
Serious RP is where roleplays have taken on a more formal way of posting. There are extra rules made by the roleplay creator who may ask you to post in an Out Of Character (OOC) thread on the Serious RP companion board. That is where most Serious RPs have out of character discussions as to character sheets, posting orders, story rules, what happens in the plot, etc. The Serious RP boards will have more formal roleplayers who write roleplay as if it were like a novel. No *actions* or one lined posts. It is usually a paragraph or more per post.
Example of Serious RP:
The bitter cold stung Spike's face as he waited out in the trenches of the barren field. Not a noise to be heard for fear of the German line over on the other side should hear one. His fur matted and muddy, Spike pulled his battle tunic up closer to his face. The brutal european winters were unforgiving, even for a coyote. Suddenly, he heard a sound followed by a faint orange glow from a lighter. He aimed his rifle and fired. The gunshot broke the silence as it cracked into an echo. The light went out and it was quiet again.
"...God help us all." He whispered quietly.
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Fun RP is where less serious forms of roleplay take place. All kinds of random roleplay using *actions* with no character sheets, story lines, or formal posting is used. Posters usually play around as their fursonas here.
Example:
*Is cold and gets booped on the nose*
I hope this give you some insight into which RP you'd like to try. You can even start your own RPs and get others to join. Enjoy the boards!