I'm in Steamfont and see the occasional person trying to roleplay a little. Like saying "aye" instead of "yes", and "priest wishing to join hardy adventurers heading for the unknown" instad of "cleric LFG" (looking for group).
I've never tried hardcore roleplaying, but it does exist. You may want to google "eq2 roleplaying guilds" and see if you can find guild sites for ones that roleplay. Joining a roleplaying guild (you can talk to them before you own the game, of course) would be a huge step towards that, i'd think. Joining one on one of the RP servers - even more so.
Otherwise the game is very balanced - almost insanely balanced. I just got a new rapier for my rogue. It does 2-7 points of damage instead of 2-6. Woohoo, I thought. An upgrade. But then I noticed its speed is 1.5, and the lower damage rapier is speed 1.2... (which is faster)... glad i didn't sell it. Because I use poison, and the faster I hit the more often I can land the extra poison attack...... The good news, however, is that you can still dig the game and have a lot of fun while ignoring most such stuff.
The two things I'd suggest you read up on before you start are Heroic Opportunites or HOs (search this forum and others) and the spell/ability upgrading system.
The HO is an exotic "extra" attack and/or buff that you get by casting spells or doing abilities in a certain order, depending on little windows you see popping up. They really aren't that hard - and you do initiate them. They allow you to kill much bigger than normal stuff AND make fights go much, much faster. And you often end the fight with a cool buff running that carries over to your next fight. Search this forum/site and google "eq2 heroic opportunities". They are very much worth understanding.
The upgrade system. Each time you level and get a new spell or ability it magically comes to you - you don't have to buy it. Mages and Priests get spells - like Lightning and Heal. Fighters and Scouts get abilities like Taunt and Sneak Attack.
Each spell or ability, when you get it, is ranked "apprentice level 1". As soon as you get off the newbie island to the big city of your choice you want to start upgrading your spells or abilities. Why? Because they do a LOT more. My druid's lvl 1 damage spell smite did about 17 points of damage when he arrived in qeynos. At lvl 9 or so he upgraded it to Apprentice lvl 3 - and it did 27 points of damage. Suddenly his old newbie level one damage spell was competitive again.
Above apprentice lvl 3 is the Adept levels (rare) and then the Master levels (insanely rare). My druid is lvl 14 and has his Smite - his level one damage spell - upgraded all the way up to Adept level 1. It does as much as 47 points of damage - almost as much as his level 11 Chill spell, which does about 56 (at App lvl 3). Confusing? It actually is a little confusing until you "get" it.
Am I saying a low level spell can actually be better than a higher level spell because it has been vastly upgraded? YES. A level one Smite spell upgraded to Adept 3 would outdamge a lvl 11-ish damage spell called Chill left at Apprentice 1.
If I've confused you with this I'm sorry. Just know that when you arrive in Qeynos (good) or Freeport (evil), you can easily find a "scribe" shop or "trainer" and buy apprentice level 2 upgrades. Just right click and "scribe" them, and you're good to go.
Heh, by accident I think in rambling on about these subjects I've told you something about hte game I didn't intend. It's really complex. But don't worry, you can play it without understanding any of this. And as you go along it will come to you. The game doesn't come w/ detailed instructions, as far as I've been able to see - so you need to ask other players or post and read up in sites like this one to figure it all out. But again, you really can start and have fun and get stuff done w/out doing any of this "extra" stuff. Good luck!