To Role Play or to Roll Play

In my way of looking at it,  I much prefer "Role Play" as opposed to "Roll Play".  What is the difference you may ask? 

The difference is in character development and a more "dynamic" adventure.  The interactions aren't so much dictated by a roll of the dice as much as they are how a Player has their PC respond to a situation.

I find using dice for every action and reaction to be a "Static" game.  Everything is determined by the roll of a dice.  Is the PC happy, sad indignant, what?  The Player can roll a dice to see what the PC response is according to a table or the Player can outright decide what the PC's reaction is based on their image of the character.

Using a dice to determine something is fine if the Player doesn't know or doesn't really care what the result should or could be.  I have no problem with Players rolling to find out any result but I encourage them to put some thought into the character.  "What would you do if you were that character?", I ask them. 

I don't insist that Players wear costumes and talk in different languages or accents.  That's acting, not role playing.  When it comes to character creation, if a Player doesn't have a PC in mind with all the personal details figured out, I encourage them to let the dice determine characteristics like age and size.  Secondary skills, and other details. 

By knowing these things, Players are often able to understand their character better and put some thought into what their reactions to situations will be. 

I also have Players write a one or two paragraph background story about each of their primary characters when they are created.  Again, this is too give more depth to the character.  It helps them to think of how the character would respond because it gives them something to relate to.

It's easier to relate to a 24 year old Ranger who came from the town of Nivh in Great Froghert whose family was slain by the king's men for lack of payment of taxes.  After that, the character was raised by a woodcutter who taught him those skills (secondary)  This as opposed to trying to relate to " You have a level 1 fighter, go."

Just rolling dice for every determination can make a game go quicker, but in my mind, much less interesting.