First of all, despite what others may say, you do not need to be in a role-play specific Free Company in order to enjoy role-playing.

For those who do not know what role-play is, role-playing is immersing yourself into your character, and telling a story as if they were their own human being. You are seperating the player from the character, and acting as if the character were living. This can range from combat, making friends, striking business deals, forming romantic bonds, or even just hitting up a party at the beaches of Costa. If you're interested in that kind of immersion, Role-playing is for you.

To begin with, a few friends of mine are a big part of the Hydaelyn Role-players Coalition. They run OOC (Out-Of-Character) Linkshells as well as free companies that are meant for players to connect with the role-playing community.

Further informaton can be found here. http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/