(11-01-2013, 02:40 PM)Siobhain Wrote:(11-01-2013, 02:14 PM)Theodric Ironheart Wrote: It's pretty questionable to role-play one's character as being royalty. It doesn't matter if it's a huge secret either. In fact, if you're unlikely to ever reveal something like that to begin with it seems rather redundant to tack it on as a potential plot hook in the first place.
I saw a lot of role-players try to do something similar in WoW as well. No role-player is special enough to be able to create an entire country to justify their character's existence. Why not simply work with the setting as it is currently depicted instead of trying to add various 'hidden' locations that don't even exist as far the canon lore is concerned?
The majority of WoW nobility I ever saw were humans or Blood Elves. Blood Elves sort of kind of make sense of you take in the Convocation of Silvermoon-- as at least five of the houses were unnamed so far as I've ever found. One large effort on Ravenholdt was to re-establish seven houses (not including Sunstrider or Drathir) in place of the seven that had fallen in RP. It was done entirely through roleplay and for a while it worked out really nicely, consolidating smaller houses into larger one and generally using political marriage and manipulation to get things combed out.
I never played on Ravenholdt, so I can't speak for that, but we had dozens of Sin'Dorei 'noble houses' on Moon Guard... and they were all awful. The idea itself isn't bad, in theory. But you're taking a major lore component into the hands of players at that point. Especially if you're going to present your house with having any sort of merit that's to be respected or acknowledged ICly.
I think it can be done, I think it can be done well, again in theory. But you have to have the drive, the ambition, the organization, and perhaps most importantly the lore knowledge to pull it off and run a respectable establishment.
Standing in bars all day playing spin-the-bottle is not what nobles do, and organizing whole houses around that perception is even worse. And that's what they all were. In fact, that's all any 'noble' type RP I've ever seen, really bad played up 'Victorian Playboy' types. Thus, my long running apprehension.
Please read all the above with a soothing, British accented monotone.
