Answered in order with a heaping helping of personal opinion:
1. What's the best way to get started and educate myself?
-The guides are a good start. I'd also recommend finding and eavesdropping on some folks who are roleplaying when you find the time: Your city's Adventurer's Guild is likely a good place to overhear conversation and see how things flow in public.
2. Do I have to have a characters story fleshed out when I start or is that something that can develop as I play ?
-Nope! I'm (and a lot of us here, too) are of the opinion that RP should promote growth. There's nothing wrong with having an idea for a character that then gets changed once you really start writing them. It happens!
3. Since this is an mmo that allows you to change character classes/jobs, are you required to simply stick with one or could a character have a DoM/gathering/crafting class all at once?Â
-No one is required to stick to anything, but most folks I know tend to stick to the one-class/one-craft/one-gather sort of school. There's nothing wrong with being a jack of all trades, but it helps players who have focused disciplines feel adequate when they're not hanging out with swordsmen-who-are-also-black-mages-who-are-also-dragoons-and-also-world-class-jewel-and-armor-smiths-when-not-a-master-alchemist.
4. How does the RP community address progression in the game itself? Do you actually do the fates, quests, missions, dungeons, etc? Like of people on RP servers actually play through the game, or simply use the work as their playground to make their own stories?
-Er...Yes? Different strokes for different folks. There are lots of people who RP through dungeons and FATEs and storylines and stuff, and there are those of us who don't care about being attached to the main plot, and there are even people who are content to just play salesmen and barmaids.
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I think getting your feet wet will help best to answer your questions! It's a thriving world out there and you can likely find instances of everything you asked here if you're looking.
1. What's the best way to get started and educate myself?
-The guides are a good start. I'd also recommend finding and eavesdropping on some folks who are roleplaying when you find the time: Your city's Adventurer's Guild is likely a good place to overhear conversation and see how things flow in public.
2. Do I have to have a characters story fleshed out when I start or is that something that can develop as I play ?
-Nope! I'm (and a lot of us here, too) are of the opinion that RP should promote growth. There's nothing wrong with having an idea for a character that then gets changed once you really start writing them. It happens!
3. Since this is an mmo that allows you to change character classes/jobs, are you required to simply stick with one or could a character have a DoM/gathering/crafting class all at once?Â
-No one is required to stick to anything, but most folks I know tend to stick to the one-class/one-craft/one-gather sort of school. There's nothing wrong with being a jack of all trades, but it helps players who have focused disciplines feel adequate when they're not hanging out with swordsmen-who-are-also-black-mages-who-are-also-dragoons-and-also-world-class-jewel-and-armor-smiths-when-not-a-master-alchemist.
4. How does the RP community address progression in the game itself? Do you actually do the fates, quests, missions, dungeons, etc? Like of people on RP servers actually play through the game, or simply use the work as their playground to make their own stories?
-Er...Yes? Different strokes for different folks. There are lots of people who RP through dungeons and FATEs and storylines and stuff, and there are those of us who don't care about being attached to the main plot, and there are even people who are content to just play salesmen and barmaids.
__
I think getting your feet wet will help best to answer your questions! It's a thriving world out there and you can likely find instances of everything you asked here if you're looking.