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

E'irawen · **09-20-2013, 06:28 PM**

Okay so... I mean it's not a question specifically to the lore or the game or anything, but sort of just RP in general (and I figured I'd ask here since this is the only place I've roleplayed in like 2 years).

I'm having difficulty just like... "getting in" to things. Not as in my interest is low, but I'm sort of just having issue trying to join in on something or involving myself, which kind of frustrates me because I feel like it should be much simpler than my mind is making it.

Despite having a couple of people directly involved with my character, he's still not really doing anything. And then recently I asked for RP partners and friends in this forum, and I got a good response from a lot of you, but then I don't know what to say to anyone because I don't really have any ideas for plotlines or our own arcs or anything of that nature.

I'm not sure if I'm just shy or I'm still that awkward with people, or maybe I'm just an unimaginative moron. But I was hoping for any advice on the matter.

Thank you.

Sigyn Shieldbreaker · **09-20-2013, 06:46 PM**

(09-20-2013, 06:28 PM)Kaoru Wrote: Okay so... I mean it's not a question specifically to the lore or the game or anything, but sort of just RP in general (and I figured I'd ask here since this is the only place I've roleplayed in like 2 years).

I'm having difficulty just like... "getting in" to things. Not as in my interest is low, but I'm sort of just having issue trying to join in on something or involving myself, which kind of frustrates me because I feel like it should be much simpler than my mind is making it.

Despite having a couple of people directly involved with my character, he's still not really doing anything. And then recently I asked for RP partners and friends in this forum, and I got a good response from a lot of you, but then I don't know what to say to anyone because I don't really have any ideas for plotlines or our own arcs or anything of that nature.

I'm not sure if I'm just shy or I'm still that awkward with people, or maybe I'm just an unimaginative moron. But I was hoping for any advice on the matter.

Thank you.

Oh, dearling~

*folds hands* First of all, you're not a moron. At all. Not in the slightest bit.

I had an issue for a while. I wrote up Sio's wiki page and it's... it's huge. It's terribly large and overly descriptive for someone who didn't really know what direction they'd want to go because when I played 1.0 it only lasted about a month for me. I realized, as I started looking through all the new wikis that I'd kind of written up a really, -really- difficult character to play.

Sio is serious, laconic, and religious and all three of those really conflict with many of the funny, fun-loving, self-serving bandit types that I might've liked to be involved with. She's also a bit scary when she's embarrassed and that happens all the time so she frightens shy people. She's masculine yet short.

She's a paladin Hellsguard Roe. Despite being a paladin, she's neutral good, not lawful; she can't follow rules to the letter if it means wronging someone right in front of her. I find conflict, now that I'm RPing, because there's a lot of things that are said to her that she just kind of takes-- and I'm not sure why sometimes. It's not in her mentality to stand by and let someone talk down on the Twelve but it happens. It's not part of her personality to be idle while someone disrespects her fighters, but that happens too. I mean... she puts a stop to it but she doesn't just stop talking to people like that.

Maybe you wrote yourself into a bit of a corner. From what I've seen of your character, he's extremely shy, a bit curious, and I think he's fairly suspicious of others. Do you find it difficult to find legitimate reasons to do things sometimes? Like if there's a party going on and your character walks up on it, do you say to yourself, "I guess I'd better keep walking because I don't see why my toon would stop..." Even if you kind of want to?

Siobhain ended up as kind of a leader with the LS I made, though her personality might do equally well as a follower of a good leader. Maybe your character is built more as a side character who tags along for things so thinking up any plots or arcs that involve something big and maybe lore-related is difficult? Perhaps you should start one on one or in a small group and try developing his personality, letting him open up and change a bit more.

I think that's helping with me right now. Originally, I wrote up so much of my character that I realized every situation would inevitably turn into "What would Sio say to this? What would Sio do if this happened?" and when I do that to myself it turns into a Q&A issue where I kind of feel like I should wait for people to come up and say something confrontational-- but how will development happen that way? I didn't like it so I'm letting her grow more attached to people who show they share the same moral guidelines she does. As she sees them interact with each other, she slowly begins to adapt to living in a social group-- as that happens I feel she'll change a lot and that makes me happy. Now she's not just a character, like an anime character I pulled out of a series and decided to put into this world to see how they'd do things based on my perception of them; she's like a living thing.

Start small and don't be afraid to let things change over time, I think. Don't worry about arcs or plots yet and don't feel bad because you don't have any in mind-- tag along to events with others. Give things a chance to grow.

You've got an awesome little character; I'd love Sio to met K'aworu and Aysun because as hard as it might be at first for her to adjust, inevitably, I feel they'd get along. It's hard because we both have sort of shy, introverted characters in their own way but I hope to see it happen regardless, naturally, without being forced. Those are the kinds of things I look forward to so I don't feel too bad when I sort of feel like I'm in a slump or I'm letting myself or anyone else down.

Totally... Totally over-thinking this.

But to summarize, my advice is to not beat yourself up over not being able to get behind anything super sparkly and fantastic yet. Just worry about your character and really try to get that RP in there, for better or for worse.

Maqali Qulaan · **09-20-2013, 06:57 PM**

First, let me start by saying that every person is different and has different preferences, so I don't know if my advice will necessarily be what tickles your fancy. That said, this is what I do when I find myself not quite sure of a direction to take a character in.

First: I look at current events and see if anything gets the creative juices flowing. This is writing bread and butter in a lot of ways. Obviously, you don't take exact scenarios and plug them in as-is, but ongoing stories make for great inspiration for character impetus. For example, one of the news stories today talks about how a part of the US government passed a budget that requires defunding of a new program (no, not getting into politics here, bear with me Smile

). Okay, so... perhaps your character's tribe/social group/etc is having a conflict among its leadership (whether official or not) about how to run things, and the end result is that nothing is being done. How does he feel about this? How does he react? Does he seek aid in getting said group off its collective butt? Does he go it alone? Does he do nothing, or does he seek a way to leave the group to its own devices?

Second: I look at ongoing RP among my own friends, and see where I might fit in. Alternatively, I look at character wikis and see which characters have stories that seem to mesh well with my character/concept and contact those folks to see if we might work something out together. I like this option particularly because it involves building bonds with your fellow RPers, which is the best thing in the world you can do for RP. Why? Because RPing alone doesn't get you very far, and even furthering another person's story is great for enhancing your own character. Not only do you get potential ideas, but you can also springboard your own RP off of theirs. Say, for instance, you just helped a fellow Miqo'te rescue her sister from pirates. What if, in the process, you were wounded by a poisoned dagger, and now need to seek an antidote before something bad happens? I would imagine the Miqo'te you helped, and potentially her sister, would feel indebted to you and want to help you, too. Voila! More RP to be had, and even more potential to bring others along! After all, you might want a healer who can see that the antidote is properly made and administered, or someone who is nature-knowledgable and can find the rare herbs needed. And so on.

Anyhow, I hope this ramblingness helps!

E'irawen · **09-20-2013, 06:57 PM**

Originally, yes. That was my issue, he was so painfully shy that he didn't talk to anyone. But once he hung out with Aysun a bit more, that's lightened up a bit, but he still sort of behaves awkwardly, depending on who he's talking to. In the RP pearl I'm part of, he's varied from being calm and open, to sort of jittery (though this is attributed to some things besides "just being awkward").

BUT YES. I've tried working myself (at a reasonable/logical pace for the character) up to the point where he's a little more manageable on the social front.

elisan · **09-20-2013, 06:58 PM**

Sometimes it just takes the right people. I can't offer you much, as I'm over on Gilgamesh but if you got a good response from some Balmung players, maybe try to group up with a few of them and brainstorm ideas in game or via the forums. It's helped me to work through some things about my characters as well - what motivates him? What are his goals? What do you as a player want from your RP? That's a question to ask yourself too! It may help to try some forum RP as well just to get the ball rolling!

Once you have a handle on those questions, maybe you'll find jumping into things a littler easier! Best of luck to you!

Sigyn Shieldbreaker · **09-20-2013, 07:04 PM**

(09-20-2013, 06:57 PM)Kaoru Wrote: Originally, yes. That was my issue, he was so painfully shy that he didn't talk to anyone. But once he hung out with Aysun a bit more, that's lightened up a bit, but he still sort of behaves awkwardly, depending on who he's talking to. In the RP pearl I'm part of, he's varied from being calm and open, to sort of jittery (though this is attributed to some things besides "just being awkward").

BUT YES. I've tried working myself (at a reasonable/logical pace for the character) up to the point where he's a little more manageable on the social front.

Does he have something he's aiming to do or something he's looking for that could help you out with starting something? ** The person that posted right before me asked the same thing but better.

I personally worry that I might be feeling too selfish so I go to the extreme opposite. Siobhain is supposed to be a proficient fighter-- the only two fights I've had, I lost both. They were free form so there wasn't rolling, I chose to lose them and da's no bueno if it keeps happening just because OOCly I have issues with making others feel like I'm too OP. As said in the 'weakness' thread, when you have too many, it's just as character stumping as having too many strengths.

So, if you can find a little goal like love or a 'bromance' style friendship of sorts, then that might help too.

Gharen · **09-20-2013, 07:58 PM**

(09-20-2013, 07:04 PM)Siobhain Wrote:
(09-20-2013, 06:57 PM)Kaoru Wrote: Originally, yes. That was my issue, he was so painfully shy that he didn't talk to anyone. But once he hung out with Aysun a bit more, that's lightened up a bit, but he still sort of behaves awkwardly, depending on who he's talking to. In the RP pearl I'm part of, he's varied from being calm and open, to sort of jittery (though this is attributed to some things besides "just being awkward").

BUT YES. I've tried working myself (at a reasonable/logical pace for the character) up to the point where he's a little more manageable on the social front.

Does he have something he's aiming to do or something he's looking for that could help you out with starting something? ** The person that posted right before me asked the same thing but better.

I personally worry that I might be feeling too selfish so I go to the extreme opposite. Siobhain is supposed to be a proficient fighter-- the only two fights I've had, I lost both. They were free form so there wasn't rolling, I chose to lose them and da's no bueno if it keeps happening just because OOCly I have issues with making others feel like I'm too OP. As said in the 'weakness' thread, when you have too many, it's just as character stumping as having too many strengths.

So, if you can find a little goal like love or a 'bromance' style friendship of sorts, then that might help too.

Have to agree here, Without some kind of motivation or drive a character, just like a person will never evolve and wind up stuck. Having something happen or forcing that character into a situation that takes them out of their comfort zone is one way of doing it. It helps to inject your character here and there, Gharen is so withdrawn that walk up RP is something he wouldn't do. So I found an LS that coincides with his current motivation. Two fights lost, one more or less on purpose Siobhain is angry at him, it's been a good week and he's well on his way to becoming a productive member of the RP community. =)

That said, Sio's Wiki is awesome, up there with some of my favorites from our virtueverse wiki on CoH.

shdwsng · **09-20-2013, 08:24 PM**

First off, there's nothing wrong with just being a reactive RPer for awhile. That's been my role for most of my MMO roleplaying career. Sure, I occasionally come up with stories that I want to have people help me tell... But that's like once every six-eight months. And half the time they never really went anywhere.

However, the advice someone gave really struck a chord. Find another player you like RPing with and ask, "How can I help you further your story?".

People who can do that? Worth their weight in gil to an RP group. Twice their weight. Because if you successfully do that a couple of times and word gets around? I guarantee your RP dance card will not empty fast. And once you get him tied into a few plots, then feel free to play off them. Shoot, look at all the RP going around and see if there's ways to make things tie together. Always make sure that crossing plots is okay OOCly first, of course... Some people have issues with other players you might not know of, some people might just want things resolved a specific way, but I'll bet that better than half of the people will go, "Sure! That sounds fun!".Â

Help other players, build bridges between groups, and don't be afraid to leapfrog off other people's RP ideas. Especially if you can turn around and suck them right back into it. Because the one thing we all love is More RP!

JTeacher · **09-20-2013, 10:51 PM**

(09-20-2013, 06:28 PM)Kaoru Wrote: Okay so... I mean it's not a question specifically to the lore or the game or anything, but sort of just RP in general (and I figured I'd ask here since this is the only place I've roleplayed in like 2 years).

I'm having difficulty just like... "getting in" to things. Not as in my interest is low, but I'm sort of just having issue trying to join in on something or involving myself, which kind of frustrates me because I feel like it should be much simpler than my mind is making it.

Despite having a couple of people directly involved with my character, he's still not really doing anything. And then recently I asked for RP partners and friends in this forum, and I got a good response from a lot of you, but then I don't know what to say to anyone because I don't really have any ideas for plotlines or our own arcs or anything of that nature.

I'm not sure if I'm just shy or I'm still that awkward with people, or maybe I'm just an unimaginative moron. But I was hoping for any advice on the matter.

Thank you.

I may be misunderstanding the advice your are looking for, but have thought about going to one of those people you have been directly involved in, and asking for help iccly with a guildleve or maybe just ask them to show you around a town you are less knowledgeable off? I think its good to go out and do something tangible with a character, even if its not about a specific plot line.

If you can get an 'outing' with them, try to ask them about themselves and listen Ask them questions about themsleves and focus more on behaving with your characters personality. React to the world around you through the eyes of your character. After a trip or two you may notice some holes in your back story or character. Maybe your character has started to form some opinions of life around him. And you may have a better feel for who your character is. You may find planning a plotline or knowing how to get around your characters social flaws easier then.

TLDR? OR somehing like that?: Ask one of the people you met to help you with something (quests or locational help etc) Take your character for a couple reserved test drives, and then go back to the planning plot lines or developing your character.

Advice?

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