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Delilah_Brando · **06-09-2017, 09:11 PM**

Hello

So I played ff14 for about 2 months a while back but quit because there were a bunch of elitists on my server that soured the experience for me, I always wanted to roleplay in an mmo but never really found one that sat right with me, until i found ff14, i saw loads of potential for a good roleplay and got really excited, but there was little to no rp population in the server i picked. However, after looking into it a bit and finding this site i think im ready to pick the game up again and start my rping.

Now thats my "backstory", now for me, my name is Delilah (i usually use my real first name for characters i make but change my last name), I'm 18, i live in the uk and ive always wanted to get into roleplaying but my social anxiety has always held me back, im hoping that in ff14 i can get over it a little and meet new people and hopefully even forge some new friendships, and if anyone needs more friends, its me.

Just a little question, when you make your characters, do you usually have their personallity fit your own a little or do you make something completely different to yourself? I'm a shy person irl but open up once i get to know people, and i cant really imagine making my character not be shy as my shy side would definitely show when meeting new people, even over a computer.

Lydia Lightfoot · **06-09-2017, 09:38 PM**

It doesn't hurt anything to play as a character whose personality is "close to home", as long as you the player remember that you and your character aren't the same, and can maintain a separation between what your character feels and what you feel (for example, if a character and yours end up disliking each other, be careful not to let that cause you the player to dislike that character's player - the player wasn't mean to you, player-to-player, the only meanness which existed was in the story).Â

Admittedly, the use of your real name as your character's name causes me some concern that you may not quite understand that separation, but, hopefully your time as a roleplayer will prove that you do. Smile

Araatan · **06-09-2017, 11:03 PM**

Welcome to the community! I share your anxiety about appoaching people in RP. It get easier with time. My two cents on how to over it is to talk to people on here and set up some RP, don't worry about it much and just have fun at first.

Cassandra · **06-10-2017, 01:53 AM**

First and foremost, welcome!Â

As for character personality, all of mine usually exhibit some characteristics I possess, though they often become only the template until the character takes a life of their own. If you are shy and wish to portray that because you aren't yet confident playing someone differing too far from yourself, by all means! That can help strengthen a character as you have experience to draw from. Just be mindful, as Lydia said, to keep IC and OOC separate. Someone aloof or even mean to you IC doesn't necessarily mean they feel that way OOC, for example.Â

I also agree, using your actual name is... disconcerting. I'd personally suggest you pick something different because that separation is important and if you're already an anxious person irl, seeing your own name might make it harder to separation the IC feeling from the OOC.

Delilah_Brando · **06-10-2017, 10:30 AM**

Hmmm... taking into consideration your points i may decide on a different name for my character then, i dont know too much about the lore but id love to get into it and find out a bunch more about the world so that i can get more engrossed. How would i go about getting myself into the lore if im a newcomer to ff14 (ive played a few oher ff games but not many), does it require reading tonnes of pages from wikis or is there an easier way?

Lydia Lightfoot · **06-10-2017, 01:27 PM**

My advice is to take the "sheltered character" approach when you're new to the lore in an MMO. In other words, make your character's background be one wherein the character has a reason why they wouldn't know much about the world outside of their sheltered upbringing. One of the biggest reasons why it's vital for a player to know the lore is because their character grew up immersed in it (and so when you're writing from the character's perspective, they should definitely know those things). But, with this approach, the character can be forgiven for being as ignorant of the world as the player is, and it presents a lot of great roleplay opportunities for the character to eagerly learn about the world (and their player can learn too, in the process).

Athil · **06-10-2017, 01:59 PM**

(06-10-2017, 01:27 PM)Lydia Lightfoot Wrote: My advice is to take the "sheltered character" approach when you're new to the lore in an MMO. In other words, make your character's background be one wherein the character has a reason why they wouldn't know much about the world outside of their sheltered upbringing. One of the biggest reasons why it's vital for a player to know the lore is because their character grew up immersed in it (and so when you're writing from the character's perspective, they should definitely know those things). But, with this approach, the character can be forgiven for being as ignorant of the world as the player is, and it presents a lot of great roleplay opportunities for the character to eagerly learn about the world (and their player can learn too, in the process).

This is why so many fantasy stories are told from an ignorant outsider's perspective. It gives the author the opportunity to explain the world through the characters:

Harry Potter is a wizard who grew up as a normal kid. He doesn't know anything about this foreign world, so it provides ample opportunity for characters to explain things to him.
The Hobbits are just simple common folk who go out and explore a world of Men, Elves, and Dwarves; magic and monsters and ancient civilizations.

Thunderbolt300 · **06-12-2017, 08:56 AM**

Hey there, and welcome aboard to the RPC, FFXIV, and Balmung!Â Thumbsup

The biggest thing is just doing what's most fun for you- so, writing a shy character may be a bit better for you just starting out, but that does impose some challenges to overcome when it comes to networking and making friends. Still, trying to play a more socially outgoing character (not necessarily a butterfly) may allow you to stretch into a new realm from the relative comfort of your computer chair!

Delilah_Brando · **06-12-2017, 09:03 AM**

Thanks for all your replies everyone, I've made my character a shy character that is ignorant to most of the world so that I can learn the lore as I go. I've decided to not make my character super shy or else I just wouldn't be able to approach anyone. I also decided on a more lore friendly name for a Xaela.

Thanks again everyone, I hope I can fit in to the rp community well Smile

Lydia Lightfoot · **06-12-2017, 12:00 PM**

You should tell us her name, so some of us can bother you for RP. Smile

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RPC has moved! These pages have been kept for historical purposes