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Verad · **05-01-2015, 11:29 AM**

Here's why you shouldn't walk up:

1. There's no quality control. A simple "Walk-Up RP is loved!" comment in the search info will tell you nothing about how much you'll actually enjoy interacting with a player. They could be boring. They could be predatory. You are taking a chance every single time.

2. The RP is superficial. As somebody who engages in walk-up RP constantly (why is he writing this post if he does it so often, you wonder; I'll get to that), most of the interactions I have don't go further than the initial encounter. I sell people things, they have a laugh at Verad's behavior, I move on. The encounters that developed into more meaningful, long-term RP are vastly outweighed by transient one-shot transactions. If you're looking for walk-up as a gateway to more substantial RP, it is frankly difficult and you are probably better off planning something with somebody in PMs or on the RPC.

3. Reasons 1 and 2 both collaborate to create this one - in order to overcome them, you have to take a shotgun approach, constantly walking-up to as many people as possible for the walk-up RP to have any meaningful effect. If you are already grappling with introversion and social anxiety for the act of one walk-up, stretch this out across weeks of effort.

4. There will be days when, by relying on walk-up RP, you come up short through no fault of your own. The Quicksand will be empty because of IRL events. There may be an IC event drawing everybody's attention. Everybody might be engaged in other conversations or go afk just seconds before you approach. You have to learn to deal with rejection that has nothing to do with you or anybody at all, really. But it will still happen.

So there's plenty of good reasons why any given player shouldn't walk up. I nevertheless do it frequently. I have my reasons. For those of you who are struggling to get past shyness or social anxiety to do this: Why do you want to do this awful thing so bad?

Warren Castille · **05-01-2015, 11:34 AM**

And this is why everyone should attend the Grindstone.

/em runs out after his shameless plug, but not before littering the thread with posters detailing the 10PM EST start time every Saturday night, located at Fesca's Wash in Central Thanalan details in signature links etc etc

Edit, serious face: Shameless plug aside, that won't actually help. Instead you'll just see a cadre of people you don't know interacting with seemingly everyone EXCEPT you. It's not a bad spot to try and mingle, though, and the fights tend to give everyone something to comment on for conversation.

Cogito · **05-01-2015, 11:35 AM**

(05-01-2015, 11:29 AM)Verad Wrote: Here's why you shouldn't walk up:

1. There's no quality control. A simple "Walk-Up RP is loved!" comment in the search info will tell you nothing about how much you'll actually enjoy interacting with a player. They could be boring. They could be predatory. You are taking a chance every single time.

2. The RP is superficial. As somebody who engages in walk-up RP constantly (why is he writing this post if he does it so often, you wonder; I'll get to that), most of the interactions I have don't go further than the initial encounter. I sell people things, they have a laugh at Verad's behavior, I move on. The encounters that developed into more meaningful, long-term RP are vastly outweighed by transient one-shot transactions. If you're looking for walk-up as a gateway to more substantial RP, it is frankly difficult and you are probably better off planning something with somebody in PMs or on the RPC.

3. Reasons 1 and 2 both collaborate to create this one - in order to overcome them, you have to take a shotgun approach, constantly walking-up to as many people as possible for the walk-up RP to have any meaningful effect. If you are already grappling with introversion and social anxiety for the act of one walk-up, stretch this out across weeks of effort.

4. There will be days when, by relying on walk-up RP, you come up short through no fault of your own. The Quicksand will be empty because of IRL events. There may be an IC event drawing everybody's attention. Everybody might be engaged in other conversations or go afk just seconds before you approach. You have to learn to deal with rejection that has nothing to do with you or anybody at all, really. But it will still happen.

So there's plenty of good reasons why any given player shouldn't walk up. I nevertheless do it frequently. I have my reasons. For those of you who are struggling to get past shyness or social anxiety to do this: Why do you want to do this awful thing so bad?

Firstly, thanks for the advice everyone has given so far.

As to why I would want to, the answer is practice and to actually roleplay, I've roleplayed in forums and MMOs a lot before, but it has been a long time, I'm out of practice.

In addition, I don't want to just up and join a Linkshell or Free Company all willy-nilly. Even if I did I don't necessarily know what I want me character to be.

If you don't do roleplay through walkups/tell messages, how do you set up roleplay, is it on forums, through your guild? If so, what did you do before you were in a guild, was it exclusively with friends you made through the game? how did you make those friends?

These are questions I'm trying to find answers for.

Verad · **05-01-2015, 11:44 AM**

(05-01-2015, 11:35 AM)Cogito Wrote: Firstly, thanks for the advice everyone has given so far.

As to why I would want to, the answer is practice and to actually roleplay, I've roleplayed in forums and MMOs a lot before, but it has been a long time, I'm out of practice.

In addition, I don't want to just up and join a Linkshell or Free Company all willy-nilly. Even if I did I don't necessarily know what I want me character to be.

If you don't do roleplay through walkups/tell messages, how do you set up roleplay, is it on forums, through your guild? If so, what did you do before you were in a guild, was it exclusively with friends you made through the game? how did you make those friends?

These are questions I'm trying to find answers for.

These are important questions. I had them myself when I first started roleplaying on Balmung. It was especially a problem for me because I came into this game pretty much blind, not knowing any RPers from other services and having to start from scratch.

Before I started getting heavily involved in walk-up, I developed my character, sought out out-of-game roleplaying communities (This one, basically) and made a skeleton of a wiki with a basic personality sketch. Then I posted on the introduction page with the concept. I had a few people express interest. I made note of their names and contacted them over time to arrange roleplay when I could find them in-game.

I did have one person contact me to set up a play-by-post thread on the forums, and that worked well for a little bit, but it fizzled (No strike against you, Zhavi, that was all me). I'm not that great at responding to forum RP. Other connections made through the forums proved more long-term and substantial.

In-game, I started joining linkshells being randomly advertised. Again, no quality control, and several of the ones I was in at the time I have long since left. But it put me in contact with people and gave me a means of getting used to interaction while sussing out the in-game culture.

I also started engaging in walk-up RP. There is one piece of advice that hasn't been given: my walk-up RP is highly scripted. Verad has a goal, a set list of products, and a ton of stock phrases. Anybody who watches me engage in walk-up RP will no doubt see there's a lot of repetition. This is intentional. Having a big list of stock topics and statements makes it easier to engage in walk-up RP. There's not as much pressure to be inventive every single time, because I always have one old stand-by or another on which I can rely.Â

However, I ran into Reason 2, above; with a very few exceptions, it was all transient. If I wanted something more substantial, I'd have to do other things. I set up an advertisement here for a FC company and joined Harbingers of Dawn for several months. That helped with the ability to get long-term roleplay while also letting me continue with walk-ups.

You'll notice that I did quite a bit willy-nilly here. I don't really see a problem with willy-nillyness. I started broad with my roleplay and narrowed my approach as I figured out what I wanted. It was very much a work done in-process.

One last point: I made my character visually distinctive. He was, in the mists of time, a Hyur Midlander at one point. He was therefore easily overlooked. Elderly duskwight with bright white hair? Not so much.

**Unnamed Mercenary** · **05-01-2015, 11:46 AM**

(05-01-2015, 11:35 AM)Cogito Wrote: If you don't do roleplay through walkups/tell messages, how do you set up roleplay, is it on forums, through your guild? If so, what did you do before you were in a guild, was it exclusively with friends you made through the game? how did you make those friends?

These are questions I'm trying to find answers for.

I stalk people on RPC and send them PMs. Then, if they respond with interest, we try to figure out if we'll actually be in-game at the same time, and then we'll try to figure out if there are any mutual plot hooks we can make use of. It's worked somewhat well for me, and I'd bet others do the same. (I still have a few on my list I need to actually get to)

My first experience RPing was actually acting as an NPC for someone else's event. It threw me in with a bunch of people I didn't know, and I had to react accordingly. My next big RP was on the forums. From there, I pretty much stalked/approached the people I'd met, and then leeched off their friends until they became mine.

Friends come out of repeated RP or interaction on RPC/elsewhere. I've got plenty of "RP Friends" that I don't actually RP with. It's kinda weird that way.

As of now, I'm currently FC-less and keeping it that way. I didn't find my experiences in the last one I was in to be very enjoyable because of some things beyond my control. So I took control of what I could and left.

Aya · **05-01-2015, 12:00 PM**

(05-01-2015, 11:44 AM)Verad Wrote: However, I ran into Reason 2, above; with a very few exceptions, it was all transient. If I wanted something more substantial, I'd have to do other things. I set up an advertisement here for a FC company and joined Harbingers of Dawn for several months. That helped with the ability to get long-term roleplay while also letting me continue with walk-ups.

Glad to know you love me too Verad!! Cry

I've met most of my friends, and most of my friends that have lead to deeper RP, through random walk-ups either in-game or on the forum.Â I know its not easy, and Verad is definitely right about the shotgun approach, but to me it still seems like the most effective, and most obvious, way to get yourself into the game.

Aris · **05-01-2015, 12:10 PM**

I've zero experience setting up roleplay, but wistfully think about it ( Tongue

) and imagine I'd PM someone either on here or in-game and ask if they'd like to meet up. I like to plan more, so I'd explain about my character first and ask if they think their character would be interested in meeting and if they think there's RP potential. The latter isn't necessary - some people like to dive in.

Free Companies would help find roleplay and provide common ground. The Town Square forum on here is also a super easy way to join in. Just check out the (open) threads. Making a story thread and wiki about your character is a good way to get your character out there for others to see. That's my next plan any how. Big Grin

Kage · **05-01-2015, 12:15 PM**

Most of my roleplay now is entirely with people who I've made some type of OOC connection. I don't do much walkups anymore, but if I do it's not really "substantial". It's definitely more slice of life that I wouldn't really comment on as character development but it does hold one thing if it's with a character my own character is familiar with and that's building their relationship.

I do most of my networking out of the game. On tumblr, in the forums, etc. Stalking their art streams and meeting their friends etc. >.> <.< Most people answer my little cry of reaching out and it means I am trying to find creative ways for my character to do what he does to get to meet them.

I could count on one hand the people who I roleplay with that were made through walk-ups (either here in the IC section where I've spent a lot of time in my early days or in-game).

Verad · **05-01-2015, 01:49 PM**

(05-01-2015, 12:00 PM)Aya Wrote: Glad to know you love me too Verad!!

I've met most of my friends, and most of my friends that have lead to deeper RP, through random walk-ups either in-game or on the forum.Â I know its not easy, and Verad is definitely right about the shotgun approach, but to me it still seems like the most effective, and most obvious, way to get yourself into the game.

Aw now, you know I like the superficial RP as much as I like the deeper stuff. I wouldn't be aggressively badgering people in the Quicksand if that were the case - although it has significantly fallen off since I've been managing Scales I admit.

But I know a lot of players see walk-up RP as a gateway first and foremost, a means to get into the end of deeper storylines with heavier character development. There are easier ways, I think, to get started on that beyond shotgunning people in the Quicksand, and if a player wants that, but feels too nervous to walk up, it may be in their best interests to seek alternative venues.

Qhora Bajihri · **05-01-2015, 02:49 PM**

I've had a few people try to walk-up RP with me when my character's been in a public place, but I haven't actually had the time to start anything. It makes me sad, because although I respond in-character before dashing away, at some level it probably feels like a brush-off. Although, if they're trying me in a public enough place, they're probably trying lots of other people and getting brush-offs of all sorts.

And then sometimes people introduce themselves with something like "Hey baby," and ohohoho that's such the wrong way to approach my character if you want the conversation to be more than a slap across the face. I think that time I laughed, said something mean, and left, because again, it was in a public place where I was just passing through and didn't have the time to really engage anyway.

My real life right now means unless I've blocked out a timeframe, I'm decently likely to need to suddenly leave the keyboard, so I just don't start things anymore. Not that I did much before, but there was a time when I'd scope out a joint and see if there was anyone I recognized to watch for hooks. Now? I almost never have that ability.

All this to say, I have no advice for you on how to initiate it. I'm pretty much never the instigator of walk-up, only the responder to receiving it from others. But I do hope the occasional brush-off won't turn anyone off of continuing to try. Sometimes it's just bad timing.

Roen · **05-01-2015, 03:27 PM**

There has been some great suggestions here on how to initiate walk-up RP.

I will confess though, I am in Verad's boat in that if I was looking make some significant connections and or explore in depth RP, I arrange things behind the scenes. I like quality control. I like scoping out people's styles and the flavor of their character by reading their IC posts, OOC posts, and wikis. Then if I think we might gel or there are storyline hooks we might be able to play off of, I send a PM. It's worked out for me fairly well so far. (Although there are plenty of folks I wanna send PMs off to but I haven't come up with any hooks...)

But I am not ruling out walk-up RPs by any means! Two very significant relationships for Roen have happened through walk-up RP. One of them was at Grindstone and another at Quicksand. Two characters that didn't know each other just started to talk to each other for one reason or another. One of those relationships is still ongoing today, and the other only ended because the character died.

Aya · **05-01-2015, 03:28 PM**

(05-01-2015, 03:27 PM)Roen Wrote: I like scoping out people's styles and the flavor of their character by reading their IC posts, OOC posts, and wikis. Then if I think we might gel or there are storyline hooks we might be able to play off of, I send a PM. It's worked out for me fairly well so far. (Although there are plenty of folks I wanna send PMs off to but I haven't come up with any hooks...)

Walk up RP is literally a very good way to scope out people's style, flavor, and character Smile

Roen · **05-01-2015, 03:36 PM**

(05-01-2015, 03:28 PM)Aya Wrote:
(05-01-2015, 03:27 PM)Roen Wrote: I like scoping out people's styles and the flavor of their character by reading their IC posts, OOC posts, and wikis. Then if I think we might gel or there are storyline hooks we might be able to play off of, I send a PM. It's worked out for me fairly well so far. (Although there are plenty of folks I wanna send PMs off to but I haven't come up with any hooks...)
Walk up RP is literally a very good way to scope out people's style, flavor, and character

It IS! And if that is how people want to go about their research, good on them! It takes a lot of work though! But it could be fun too. This I will not deny.

Gegenji · **05-01-2015, 03:41 PM**

(05-01-2015, 03:36 PM)Roen Wrote:
(05-01-2015, 03:28 PM)Aya Wrote:
(05-01-2015, 03:27 PM)Roen Wrote: I like scoping out people's styles and the flavor of their character by reading their IC posts, OOC posts, and wikis. Then if I think we might gel or there are storyline hooks we might be able to play off of, I send a PM. It's worked out for me fairly well so far. (Although there are plenty of folks I wanna send PMs off to but I haven't come up with any hooks...)
Walk up RP is literally a very good way to scope out people's style, flavor, and character

It IS! And if that is how people want to go about their research, good on them! It takes a lot of work though! But it could be fun too. This I will not deny.

I would just add that it might be good to have some solid escape plans if the person's style/flavor/character turns out to be less than you expected. You see an interestingly designed Roe and his note says he's up for walk-up RP... and then you find out he's supposed to be Hulk Hogan brought into Eorzea through mysterious artifice. Which, while possibly awesome and entertaining, is not something you want your character to deal with.

There's still a player behind that character, and you wouldn't want to be just dropped like a sack of hammers because someone didn't like your concept. So, having a feasible, unassuming out on hand might be nice. Even if it's putting a hand to your ear and saying a friend is requesting your attention via pearl and you need to go.

Aya · **05-01-2015, 03:56 PM**

(05-01-2015, 03:41 PM)Gegenji Wrote: I would just add that it might be good to have some solid escape plans if the person's style/flavor/character turns out to be less than you expected. You see an interestingly designed Roe and his note says he's up for walk-up RP... and then you find out he's supposed to be Hulk Hogan brought into Eorzea through mysterious artifice. Which, while possibly awesome and entertaining, is not something you want your character to deal with.

There's still a player behind that character, and you wouldn't want to be just dropped like a sack of hammers because someone didn't like your concept. So, having a feasible, unassuming out on hand might be nice. Even if it's putting a hand to your ear and saying a friend is requesting your attention via pearl and you need to go.

The great thing about walk-up RP is that you don't need an escape plan.Â "Um, see you later!"Â Qualifies :-]Â There's no investment by either side, no commitment, or expectation involved.

I'm just trying to take what Verad and Roen have said (which is well stated and based upon their experience) and just point out that its not really exclusionary to walk-up RP.Â There's no "well, I want serious or deep RP, so I think I should avoid walking up...", I actually think anyone who takes that approach is doing themselves a disservice.Â Walk-Up RP is both a quick-and-easy way to generate RP opportunities, it also provides opportunities to meet people, and to become more comfortable (and less nervous about) your own RP.Â

There are other ways to go about it, but in the end its going to require approaching people to look for RP, all that changes is the venue (and perhaps your objective).Â Whether its approaching someone to join an LS or an FC, or else approaching someone OOCly with your RP idea, you're ultimately going to end up having to face down your nervousness and shyness (or just hope to be lucky in having someone walk up and approach you instead).Â

As I've said before in these sorts of threads, there's literally no panacea.Â No clear-cut one-size-fits-all solution.Â There's no advice that we can offer where any of us can say, "if you do this, you're going to find just the RP you're looking for."Â All you can do is try, and try again as the old stories encourage.Â The more you try, the more failures you face, but the more people you meet, the more stories you make, and the more opportunities you generate.

(05-01-2015, 09:12 AM)Melodia Wrote: *Hugs* Funny...I go through that same scenario when I walk into the Quicksand as well. Oh look, a friend.,...oh they look like they must be busy talking to someone I will just turn around and run back to the safety of my housing district Market Board. *clings to it*

I have to say that I hear this a lot, and it always makes me feel sad.Â I know that I'm never too busy for someone to approach me, and although you may have to be patient for a moment, I would vastly prefer that over leaving out of a fear of intruding on my time...

I mean we're in a place of public RP for a reason, and that reason isn't to avoid being bothered by people we knew, or people we could meet Smile

[A mod can delete my two-in-a-row-posting ^^]

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Walk-up Roleplay Advice.

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