Accendie

There used to be an FC on Balmung that did something like that. Called... NPC, I think? Just a place for people who played support characters and the like that people could hire to fill in for various roles in plots and such. Was pretty neat... dunno if it's still going strong or not, since I haven't seen their tag in a while. ... Though given their purpose, I guess that's not too surprising? :blush: Possibly. I know we had our "Redshirts Inc" FC for quite awhile till my IRL got busy. Man I'm hoping this year isn't quite as busy cause I miss RPing. I'm still hoping to get this off the ground since RPing several NPCs would be a ton easier on me.

Hope you guys don't mind if I go back to the OP for a bit. Like Erah'sae said, what it sounds like you want is more of an antagonist rather than just a 'villain'. Really that term is something most who have studied storytelling (writing, acting, etc) try to avoid because, you might have heard this before, "Every 'good' villain is the hero of their own story." First let me explain much of the RP that I've observed (sadly from the sidelines as IRL has kept me away from the community for much the past year) since I started playing. The RP on Balmung seems to fall into a few categories, usually based on 'depth' and 'time involvement'. In my experience it seems that most of the 'random public rp' you'll find is simply the casual 'let's sit and chat' type stuff. Perfect for folks who only have a limited about of free time and just want something relaxing, fun and social to do. Most of my RP is like this because my IRL simply doesn't allow the time to put into more deep plots and storylines. This seems like this is the only RP you've experienced so that is why you haven't seen any antagonists. More on this in a bit. A step up from there is the 'public event rp'. Things like regular tavern nights, fight stuff, shops, club crescent, etc. Because these are regular scheduled events you tend to get the same groups of people going and their personal interactions deepen and you can get a bit more 'story' out of it as your character get to know one another. However, in general there isn't much overall 'plot' so it's still very casual. Usually the FC/groups who put these on will have their own plots that these events touch on. From there you get into the more 'group rp'. Wither it's FC related or just a group of friends doing their stuff, this is where you find your plotlines and major story arcs. Very time and energy intensive (if done right). This is where you'll find your antagonists. Why? Because the key to any good antagonist play is communication with your protagonist players. I played a Neutral evil support character for -years- on WoW so trust me when I say that communication is key. It's good for any roleplay but even moreso with Antagonist RP. This doesn't mean you have to warn your protagonists of every move you make, but rather that if there is something going on all parties involved know how to work out when something is happening. Back when I ran Fight Club we had someone do a bomb attack. At first I think they were wanting it to be just a small thing but because we had good communication we were able to make not only the whole thing run fun but random attendees were able to participate and I don't think I heard a single complaint about it. That's why it's really hard to have the random open rp antagonists. Could it be done? Yes. It's -really really hard though. I think that's why most just.. don't do it. Many put on their public 'nice' face and save their evil schemes for the more indepth plot driven storyines with their groups. Many of the RPers I've met here on FFXIV have been RPing for longer than the game (I've been rping longer than some of you kiddos have been alive) and we all know the pitfalls folks can fall into with open RP. It's just easier to do that type of RP with a set group. The other hard part is, like mentioned before, the 'consequences'. What happens when your antagonistic get's caught? Is there a law enforcement group to play 'cops'? how do you handle being jailed? Are you willing to let your character being killed if the protagonist decide to resort to extreme measures? Too many RPers invest themselves into their characters and don't want them gone. But if the protagonists can't effectively stop the antagonists then things can get frustrating and repetitive and in the end no one is having any fun. (I've seen this happen!) One solution my old group has was we had a corrupt judge we could pay off to 'get off with a slap on the wrists'. However, it get's old fast. One of my ideas I was trying to do was to create an FC of 'disposable' characters that people could 'rent'. Not necessary faceless generic NPCs (which would be available of course), but also more in depth characters with full backstories and whatnot as needed. Characters not 'invested' in that once the plot was done I could phantasia them into someone else and no worries. Then, like Erah'sae pointed out, there is the option of being the 'subtle antagonist'. Someone who has schemes that drive the protagonists nutz but are just this side of tolerable so you don't want to outright kill them. Lolorito really is an awesome example of this. Through the MSQ you despise him but then he does things that help you out and you can't bring yourself to want to stab him at first sight. He's USEFUL. In any case, if you're wanting some really good indepth storyline driven RP then I suggest getting in with a good RP FC. *goes back into lurk mode now that she's changed characters*

Erahsae was going to link this to someone and pointed out to me that the graphics were not working. Should be fixed now.

Yes please! And your events calendar, if you wouldn't mind! <3 Could you fill out this form for the venue? Already put last night's on the calendar, but if it's a regularly scheduled thing that form will let me know and I'll get it updated. Glad to see more places opening up!

Hey, I maintain a Balmung Venue Listing if you want to add your place to it.

Hello hello! Welcome to Balmung! Until you find an FC feel free to peruse the BalmungRPCalendar to find events to start networking at. Some big shindigs, other small tavern nights. All are good! Also check out the Making Connections forum as it's full of other folks looking for just the same thing.

I should be getting more time to log in after this weekend. Nef's been a rogue since I started FFXIV and I just love the whole concept of the Rogues in FFXIV since it's more of a black ops corp than thieves. They might sneak around and steal stuff but it's only in pursuit of those who have broken the Code. That whole "we steal things back to give it to whom it rightfully belongs to" is fun as well and goes along with Nef's personal 'tracking' business.

Might try getting the linkshell a listing in the "linkshells" directory. About to log in since we need to meet up anyway.

/shamless bump since more and more folks are making events again.

Believe it or not most the RP events don't happen in Uldah or the Goblet anymore (I think by far the Mist is the most popular destination these days), but just happens that the word of mouth about the Quicksand is the most prevalent and anyone who doesn't know about the RPC or the Tumblr community might not know about them. One of the reasons why I started the Balmung RP Calendar. There are tons of player run taverns and venues that most RPers go to in order to avoid the trolls. Most Limsa RP is in the Mist, not the city proper, though that's been changing of late. Last sunday there was a Maelstrom parade and then the Circus, both of which happened in the city proper. Then tonight I host my weekly Fight Club down in the Lower Decks that's open to everyone. Most people simply prefer to host events in player housing rather than in the heavy traffic spots to avoid non-rp trolls and have better control of setup, etc. Though Fight Club has been going on for almost half a year now and we only had trolls show up once and they really were not that bad. Didn't interfere with the RPers but were more like the troublemaking kids in the corner mimicking the adults in that eyerolling "let's carry on shall we" way. Heck after awhile they even actually made an attempt to try to actually learn the grindstone rules and try to RP. Having something in the Wench is very doable and I'd love to see it. Right now Monday's and Thursdays are the days most 'barren' of events. However don't let that limit you on when you have it. I've estimated the actual RP population of Balmung to be well over a thousand players, with as many as 120+ showing up to a single event before (not sure as most don't publicize their attendance numbers). Since I've been doing the calendar I've seen several major events go on at once and the server population was able to support them all. The key is all in the advertising IMHO. Feel free to check out my nifty "Tips & Tricks of Scheduling and Advertising a Successful Balmung RP Event" post.

updated 8/29-9/4

This is tonight folks! Yes, repairs have been made and the courtyard is intact, bridges secure, etc. Look forward to seeing folks tonight!

This weekend I'm a bit busy till after 7pm (GMT -6) But I'll be free during those times on monday. I'll see about hitting you up then.

Sadly I'll be at Dragon Con that weekend, but I'm willing to meet up with folks ingame before Wednesday.. since you know, Nef runs the Fight Club and all.

Thank you to everyone who came out last night! The Maelstrom Command bit after Fight Club went amazing. Feel free to see my screenshots here: http://imgur.com/a/VXebf And I have a post with recap about what happened. Short version is that Fight Club was amazing with at least 26 pairings. Afterwards bombs went off in time with the fireworks making everyone flee from the courtyard and head over the north bridge.