I don't approach MMO RP the same way I would DnD RP. In fact, I generally try to separate the game mechanics from RP entirely.
Rather than try to fit my character into the structures the game has created, I try to fit the structures of the game into my character. For instance, my character Lyra is a lvl 25 lancer in game. So ICly she should be rising pretty fast right? Really showing progress, starting to reach a deeper and higher level of her craft.
But she isn't. Everything she's learned so far has been self-taught, and shaped by her environment in the wilds. The form of lancing she uses would not be recognizable to the lancer's guild. It's also a very undisciplined form.
In DnD, the game mechanics are tied inherently into the rp experience, and created specifically for RP. That does not hold true with MMO. If I try to play my character firmly within the game mechanics, I end up feeling frustrating by the enormity of restrictions. So... at lvl 1, in an MMO, I tend to base her skills off of what I want them to be at that time in her life, not off of what's actually available to her via the game itself.
Rather than try to fit my character into the structures the game has created, I try to fit the structures of the game into my character. For instance, my character Lyra is a lvl 25 lancer in game. So ICly she should be rising pretty fast right? Really showing progress, starting to reach a deeper and higher level of her craft.
But she isn't. Everything she's learned so far has been self-taught, and shaped by her environment in the wilds. The form of lancing she uses would not be recognizable to the lancer's guild. It's also a very undisciplined form.
In DnD, the game mechanics are tied inherently into the rp experience, and created specifically for RP. That does not hold true with MMO. If I try to play my character firmly within the game mechanics, I end up feeling frustrating by the enormity of restrictions. So... at lvl 1, in an MMO, I tend to base her skills off of what I want them to be at that time in her life, not off of what's actually available to her via the game itself.
