What makes a story?
Conflict is the simple heart of every story.  It sometimes shocks me how people don’t understand this.  I’ve been in writing workshops where talented authors scribble page after page of lovely prose, building interesting worlds and unique characters, but the story is boring because nothing ever happens.  There’s no conflict.  Conflict is action and action is story.
That doesn’t mean every conflict is a duel to the death with fireballs and rapiers.  Conflicts can be violent confrontations between individuals, or they can be deeply internalized battles in the mind where a people wrestle with important decisions.  There are books and books and books written about conflict, and there are a variety of methods to try and categorize them, but for now let’s keep it simple. Â
There are essentially three kinds of conflict: Â
The second form of conflict (Character vs. Environment) is difficult to create in FFXIV, but not impossible. Â Rather than two characters (with two separate players) playing through conflicts or acting out a situation, the players come to an agreement about the environmental situation and how the problem can be handled. Â
Suppose you want to RP being stranded in a frozen wasteland.  You can take yourself out to Coerthas and start playing, but the scene will probably grind to a halt unless you’ve established some parameters.  How long will you play survivor in the frozen wastes?  What sorts of problems will you have?  Realistically everyone can just walk back to Camp Dragonhead any time, so suspension of disbelief is important.  It’s also important to think of potential consequences and complications that will arise from the environment.  Will the players freeze?  Will they be forced to huddle together for warmth?  Will they build an igloo and, if so, how well will it protect them?  Like Character vs. Character conflicts, these sorts of problems may be resolved with dice rolls, or the players may come to an agreement as to how they want the story to proceed.
What if you want to RP a perfect romantic picnic that gets ruined by rain?  Unless the random weather is very cooperative, you’ll have to pretend that the weather is bad regardless of what it’s doing.  Hopefully whoever you take along on your romantic picnic is cooperative.  Bonus points if you get to the picnic spot and it’s night time!  The problems here don’t seem potentially deadly, so chances are you’ll be able to play through the situation with a minimum of OOC communication and dice rolling.
As a final example, what if one character locks another character in a room?  There’s nothing to stop the person being locked in from simply wandering off (no locked doors in the game), but the individual players have an agreement that the room is locked.  Again we have some big questions.  Can the locked-in character escape?  Can the lock be picked?  Will help come if called?  These sorts of questions need to be answered.
In essence, Character vs. Environment conflicts have great potential, but they require more coordination and trust on the parts of the players.  If I let my RP friend lock me in the room, I’m trusting that my friend won’t leave it at that.  My friend should already have a plan in place for how I can escape or what might happen next, and my friend should guide the story in that direction.  If I need to wait to be rescued, my friend should have the decency to tell me to go ahead and leave the scene until the rescue has a chance to happen.  It’s rude to leave people hanging in the lurch.
The final form of conflict (Character vs. Self) is the most difficult to play in FFXIV.  These conflicts are deeply internal and require little interaction with others.  There’s no elegant way to present your internal monologue in game.  You could use a series of emotes to do so, but reading them would get tedious for other players and break the suspension of disbelief.  This gets back to that old rule of fiction:  show don’t tell.  Imagine you’re watching my character in game and you see each of the following:
Lum Delume stops dead, her eyes widening with disbelief at the news.
Lum Delume stops dead in her tracks. Â Can it be true? Â Is he really dead? Â Can a life so rich with experience and knowledge be snuffed out like candle? Â Will she ever hear his voice, or see the knowing twinkle in his eyes? Â Will she ever go back to the mid week market with him to buy blueberries and cream? Â Can a world without him have true meaning? Â Can she go on knowing he is gone?
Either of these could be fine in the proper context, but #1 gets the point across immediately.  Other players will understand my emotional response based on my reaction, and the scene proceeds.  There’s no need for me to explain everything I’m feeling, and it’s better if I don’t.  Much like acting, less is more, and the other players will use their imaginations to fill in gaps about how my character feels.
Good in-game RP should be dynamic and fluid, you do something, I respond, you respond to me, and so on.  This makes it difficult to play out internal conflicts in game.  Let your actions speak to the turmoils your character is feeling inside, but if you want to write some detailed inner monologue or give people a glimpse inside your character’s head, consider keeping an IC journal on the forums.
It’s also important to remember that you’re RPing with other people and they have their own characters and agendas.  You are not the sole author, and that’s what makes these games so interesting.  You should have ideas for conflicts and handling those conflicts, but be responsive to other players.  If they come up with a good solution a problem, let them follow that solution!  Don’t stop them from slaying the dragon just because they did it in a way you didn’t think of first.  Don’t keep them from changing your story.  The unexpected twists and turns of RP with other people is what makes the game fun.  If you want exclusive creative ownership of your character and story, you should really be writing a novel and not doing free-form RP.
All three forms of conflict can be employed in varying measures to create a dynamic story, but a good conflict falls flat without proper pacing.  Stories build, problems get worse, and the stakes get higher as the tale unfolds.  In the best stories, the problems become so large and the situation so intense that the audience can’t see any solution.  It’s then that great authors come in with a satisfying and logical climax.  Problems are resolved, and we bask in the warm glow of the denouement.
Because RP in FFXIV is dynamic and there are multiple authors, it’s difficult to control pacing.  Still, it’s useful to consider the stories you are telling and the time frame they’ll need to be resolved.  Major character conflicts may last a month or two of real life time, and there should be several complications that raise the stakes during that period.  Smaller problems may only last through one or two RP sessions but there should still be several jumps in the action.  Give a little thought and creative energy to your stories, large and small, and you’ll be happily surprised when other players latch onto the complications you introduce and run with them.
Consider this example. Â Suppose my character Lum has a crush on Professor Labcoat and really wants to impress him. Â She invites the professor to join her for a meal she is preparing. Â The scene could unfold a few ways:
In example #2 we have a story unfolding much like #1, but this time the Professor and Lum have something interesting to discuss besides how good the food is.  Lum finds out the Professor is already impressed by her intelligence and asks for help with a problem.  The evening will continue with them traveling to the professor’s lab.  What could happen on the way?  What could happen at the lab?  In this case, the characters get different situations to interact in and the characters have a chance to deepen their understanding of each other and build shared memories, creating a solid foundation for a relationship.
Example #3 seems ripped right from a romantic comedy and we’re curious where it will go next.  Will the Professor help Lum fix something to eat?  Will they decide to do something else completely?  Who knows?  The fun will be in finding out, and each player has a chance to show some of their character based on the action that occurs.
Example #4 immediately changes the dinner date into a wild goose-chase through the countryside.  Much like situation #2, there should be plenty of opportunities for the professor and Lum to interact.  They’ll cooperate and chase down the kobold.  Maybe they’ll get the roast back and maybe not, but they’ll have a memorable experience.  There’s still plenty of time to have a romantic interlude after the action is resolved, and indeed the quieter scene will be more meaningful following the excitement of the chase.
Scene one fails not because there is no conflict, but because the conflict has no pacing.  In scene one Professor Labcoat should clearly know Lum is interested in him, and he can accept her or reject her.  There’s no complication between exposition (Lum has a crush and wants to impress the Professor) and conclusion (Professor is/isn’t impressed).  In every other scene the resolution is delayed because of complications, and we have a real story.
Another way to think of these issues is to consider the gap between what everyone expects and what ultimately occurs.  Whenever a story goes as expected, it’s boring.  Actions and choices in stories should have results and complications that subvert expectations, creating a gap between audience prediction and what really occurs.  The action is born from the characters attempting to close that gap.
Just remember, in good stories the situation gets worse and worse until it’s finally resolved in the climax.  If you want to have good RP, you need to be willing to let your character lose sometimes, be willing to have setbacks and failures.  These problems are the heart of the story.
Conflict is the simple heart of every story.  It sometimes shocks me how people don’t understand this.  I’ve been in writing workshops where talented authors scribble page after page of lovely prose, building interesting worlds and unique characters, but the story is boring because nothing ever happens.  There’s no conflict.  Conflict is action and action is story.
That doesn’t mean every conflict is a duel to the death with fireballs and rapiers.  Conflicts can be violent confrontations between individuals, or they can be deeply internalized battles in the mind where a people wrestle with important decisions.  There are books and books and books written about conflict, and there are a variety of methods to try and categorize them, but for now let’s keep it simple. Â
There are essentially three kinds of conflict: Â
- Character vs. CharacterÂ
- Character vs. Environment
- Character vs. Self
The second form of conflict (Character vs. Environment) is difficult to create in FFXIV, but not impossible. Â Rather than two characters (with two separate players) playing through conflicts or acting out a situation, the players come to an agreement about the environmental situation and how the problem can be handled. Â
Suppose you want to RP being stranded in a frozen wasteland.  You can take yourself out to Coerthas and start playing, but the scene will probably grind to a halt unless you’ve established some parameters.  How long will you play survivor in the frozen wastes?  What sorts of problems will you have?  Realistically everyone can just walk back to Camp Dragonhead any time, so suspension of disbelief is important.  It’s also important to think of potential consequences and complications that will arise from the environment.  Will the players freeze?  Will they be forced to huddle together for warmth?  Will they build an igloo and, if so, how well will it protect them?  Like Character vs. Character conflicts, these sorts of problems may be resolved with dice rolls, or the players may come to an agreement as to how they want the story to proceed.
What if you want to RP a perfect romantic picnic that gets ruined by rain?  Unless the random weather is very cooperative, you’ll have to pretend that the weather is bad regardless of what it’s doing.  Hopefully whoever you take along on your romantic picnic is cooperative.  Bonus points if you get to the picnic spot and it’s night time!  The problems here don’t seem potentially deadly, so chances are you’ll be able to play through the situation with a minimum of OOC communication and dice rolling.
As a final example, what if one character locks another character in a room?  There’s nothing to stop the person being locked in from simply wandering off (no locked doors in the game), but the individual players have an agreement that the room is locked.  Again we have some big questions.  Can the locked-in character escape?  Can the lock be picked?  Will help come if called?  These sorts of questions need to be answered.
In essence, Character vs. Environment conflicts have great potential, but they require more coordination and trust on the parts of the players.  If I let my RP friend lock me in the room, I’m trusting that my friend won’t leave it at that.  My friend should already have a plan in place for how I can escape or what might happen next, and my friend should guide the story in that direction.  If I need to wait to be rescued, my friend should have the decency to tell me to go ahead and leave the scene until the rescue has a chance to happen.  It’s rude to leave people hanging in the lurch.
The final form of conflict (Character vs. Self) is the most difficult to play in FFXIV.  These conflicts are deeply internal and require little interaction with others.  There’s no elegant way to present your internal monologue in game.  You could use a series of emotes to do so, but reading them would get tedious for other players and break the suspension of disbelief.  This gets back to that old rule of fiction:  show don’t tell.  Imagine you’re watching my character in game and you see each of the following:
Lum Delume stops dead, her eyes widening with disbelief at the news.
Lum Delume stops dead in her tracks. Â Can it be true? Â Is he really dead? Â Can a life so rich with experience and knowledge be snuffed out like candle? Â Will she ever hear his voice, or see the knowing twinkle in his eyes? Â Will she ever go back to the mid week market with him to buy blueberries and cream? Â Can a world without him have true meaning? Â Can she go on knowing he is gone?
Either of these could be fine in the proper context, but #1 gets the point across immediately.  Other players will understand my emotional response based on my reaction, and the scene proceeds.  There’s no need for me to explain everything I’m feeling, and it’s better if I don’t.  Much like acting, less is more, and the other players will use their imaginations to fill in gaps about how my character feels.
Good in-game RP should be dynamic and fluid, you do something, I respond, you respond to me, and so on.  This makes it difficult to play out internal conflicts in game.  Let your actions speak to the turmoils your character is feeling inside, but if you want to write some detailed inner monologue or give people a glimpse inside your character’s head, consider keeping an IC journal on the forums.
It’s also important to remember that you’re RPing with other people and they have their own characters and agendas.  You are not the sole author, and that’s what makes these games so interesting.  You should have ideas for conflicts and handling those conflicts, but be responsive to other players.  If they come up with a good solution a problem, let them follow that solution!  Don’t stop them from slaying the dragon just because they did it in a way you didn’t think of first.  Don’t keep them from changing your story.  The unexpected twists and turns of RP with other people is what makes the game fun.  If you want exclusive creative ownership of your character and story, you should really be writing a novel and not doing free-form RP.
All three forms of conflict can be employed in varying measures to create a dynamic story, but a good conflict falls flat without proper pacing.  Stories build, problems get worse, and the stakes get higher as the tale unfolds.  In the best stories, the problems become so large and the situation so intense that the audience can’t see any solution.  It’s then that great authors come in with a satisfying and logical climax.  Problems are resolved, and we bask in the warm glow of the denouement.
Because RP in FFXIV is dynamic and there are multiple authors, it’s difficult to control pacing.  Still, it’s useful to consider the stories you are telling and the time frame they’ll need to be resolved.  Major character conflicts may last a month or two of real life time, and there should be several complications that raise the stakes during that period.  Smaller problems may only last through one or two RP sessions but there should still be several jumps in the action.  Give a little thought and creative energy to your stories, large and small, and you’ll be happily surprised when other players latch onto the complications you introduce and run with them.
Consider this example. Â Suppose my character Lum has a crush on Professor Labcoat and really wants to impress him. Â She invites the professor to join her for a meal she is preparing. Â The scene could unfold a few ways:
- Professor Labcoat arrives to find a sumptuous meal expertly prepared and laid out on the table. Â He has a pleasant evening with Lum where they talk about how good the food is.
- Professor Labcoat arrives to find a sumptuous meal expertly prepared and laid out on the table.  He has a dinner with Lum where they discuss lab coat technology and the future of lab coat research.  Eorzean lab coat technology is falling dangerously behind that of the Garleans.  Apparently the Garleans have developed a new method to make lab coats from the threads of mortal souls.  The Professor ask for Lum’s help.  He knows she’s a conjurer and he’s impressed by her sharp mind and keen wit.  Lum thinks it may be possible to weave the spiritual energy of nature into Eorzean lab coats to combat the Garlean menace.  The two of them make their way to the Professor’s lab.
- Professor Labcoat hears a deafening crash the moment he arrives.  He rushes to the kitchen to find Lum desperately trying to extinguish a smoldering loaf of bread, a large pot of spilled soup soaking through the floorboards beside her.  Before he can react, a cat darts from under the table, running through Lum’s feet, startling her and sending her tumbling to the ground.  She looks up at the professor with an awkward smile.  “Dinner is served?â€
- Professor Labcoat arrives to find a sumptuous meal expertly prepared and laid out on the table.  He starts to take his seat when a kobold leaps from the shadows and snatches up the pot roast.  “Mine!  All MINE!†says the kobold, cackling wickedly.  The professor makes a grab for the beast, but misses as it jumps through an open window, scurrying away into the darkness.  Lum enters from the kitchen and stops, confused.  “Didn’t I bring out the roast?  A kobold SNATCHED it?  After him!â€
In example #2 we have a story unfolding much like #1, but this time the Professor and Lum have something interesting to discuss besides how good the food is.  Lum finds out the Professor is already impressed by her intelligence and asks for help with a problem.  The evening will continue with them traveling to the professor’s lab.  What could happen on the way?  What could happen at the lab?  In this case, the characters get different situations to interact in and the characters have a chance to deepen their understanding of each other and build shared memories, creating a solid foundation for a relationship.
Example #3 seems ripped right from a romantic comedy and we’re curious where it will go next.  Will the Professor help Lum fix something to eat?  Will they decide to do something else completely?  Who knows?  The fun will be in finding out, and each player has a chance to show some of their character based on the action that occurs.
Example #4 immediately changes the dinner date into a wild goose-chase through the countryside.  Much like situation #2, there should be plenty of opportunities for the professor and Lum to interact.  They’ll cooperate and chase down the kobold.  Maybe they’ll get the roast back and maybe not, but they’ll have a memorable experience.  There’s still plenty of time to have a romantic interlude after the action is resolved, and indeed the quieter scene will be more meaningful following the excitement of the chase.
Scene one fails not because there is no conflict, but because the conflict has no pacing.  In scene one Professor Labcoat should clearly know Lum is interested in him, and he can accept her or reject her.  There’s no complication between exposition (Lum has a crush and wants to impress the Professor) and conclusion (Professor is/isn’t impressed).  In every other scene the resolution is delayed because of complications, and we have a real story.
Another way to think of these issues is to consider the gap between what everyone expects and what ultimately occurs.  Whenever a story goes as expected, it’s boring.  Actions and choices in stories should have results and complications that subvert expectations, creating a gap between audience prediction and what really occurs.  The action is born from the characters attempting to close that gap.
Just remember, in good stories the situation gets worse and worse until it’s finally resolved in the climax.  If you want to have good RP, you need to be willing to let your character lose sometimes, be willing to have setbacks and failures.  These problems are the heart of the story.
