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

Aya · **12-23-2015, 02:00 PM**

One of the great beauties of the FF XIV world is how it makes "simple" characters such an easy and natural part of things. There is no need to be grand or glorious to belong, and even modest talent allows such a "mundane" character to fit in amongst the adventurers who travel Eorzea, while maintaining close proximity to those wonderfully poignant and relatable tensions of everyday like (family, social, economic, legal, etc.). Embrace it! Its a wonderful opportunity and part of why I LOVE FF XIV RP.

Lady Whiteraven · **12-23-2015, 02:13 PM**

For anyone who has met Ben and roleplayed with him, he is first and foremost a homeless guy. He isn't sad about it or it isn't used as a sympathy hook, it is simply a fact of who he is. He sees great freedom in not being bound by a home, or a job, or any of the things that trap us in our own lives. However, like all people, he has a story and he has his own struggles and things he believes in and will fight for.

I tend to save most of his struggles as a dark knight between select players who I feel will add to that level of who he is but to the rest of the world I play him as homeless man who use to be a soldier. For me it is the best way to blend his simple persona with the darker and more edgy details of his profession. I often think of him as the homeless vet who you know has psychological issues and demons, but there is little that can be done about it. Again, not as a sympathy ploy, but as an accurate description of the character I enjoy playing.

FreelanceWizard · **12-23-2015, 07:57 PM**

Oh, I have a laundry list. Sad

Power level: Is L'yhta too powerful? Not powerful enough? Do I put too many restrictions on what she can do or is she too powerful and too skilled to the point where she's "solving everyone's problems" despite my efforts to keep her as a supporting character? Does talking about her adventuring life come off as bragging about being So Great And Awesome?
Lore compatibility: Does my character concept feel like a reasonable extrapolation from lore when it's in the grey areas, or does it instead come off as giving lore a giant middle finger?
Being annoying: L'yhta's usually fairly upbeat and chatty, but do people enjoy that or does it annoy the hell out of them?
Stealing the spotlight: I've got a chatty character, but does her talking with people and striking up conversations seem more like me trying to be the center of attention?
Plot paranoia: Are the plots I run, including IC dungeons, fun? Or do they just come off as self-serving (or boring and irrelevant because there's no direct tie back to my character)?
OOC fears: Do people actively avoid RPing with me because of my connections with the RPC? Because of the opinions I've posted here? Because of assumptions related to who I may or may not actually know and interact with regularly? Because I avoid Tumblr?
Missing out: If I'm doing things not in game, am I missing out on RP and potentially screwing up others' stories by not being around to participate?

I could go on, honestly, but I tend to have a fair number of anxieties about RP. Cry

They come and go, depending on what's going on in and out of game.

Kellach Woods · **12-23-2015, 09:04 PM**

Also if you didn't ask for character I'd have a better answer for you.

Verad · **12-23-2015, 09:32 PM**

Sometimes I worry that people think the character is a joke. Then I remember that of course they do, and move along.

Most of my other anxieties are centered around my LS and have more to do with mechanical complexity and balancing the need to make things interesting with the need to accommodate new players, and so are of limited value here.

Rila · **01-03-2016, 05:30 PM**

I fluctuate between desperately missing in-game RP and being unbearably sick of in-game RP.

There's no in between.

Nebbs · **01-03-2016, 06:35 PM**

Will the colour I dyed my hat match my chest piece? Maybe I should try another six combinations before I go outside.. yes... good.

Kurt S. · **01-11-2016, 02:51 AM**

And this just recent one. After being challenged (and subsequently beaten down horribly in a close fight)

I'm wondering. Am I doing this right. Oh my god am I doing this right. I mean 90% of that fight was me pulling the post out of my ass since as much as I've seen flashy action sequences to Borne-esque fight sequences, putting them into words is another ball game for me.

And for the next few seconds I'm wondering. This other guy and the people watching are judging me, oh god what if they just want this done and over with so they can beat up the next guy.

***Teadrinker*** · **01-11-2016, 03:25 AM**

(01-11-2016, 02:51 AM)Kurt S. Wrote: And this just recent one. After being challenged (and subsequently beaten down horribly in a close fight)

I'm wondering. Am I doing this right. Oh my god am I doing this right. I mean 90% of that fight was me pulling the post out of my ass since as much as I've seen flashy action sequences to Borne-esque fight sequences, putting them into words is another ball game for me.

And for the next few seconds I'm wondering. This other guy and the people watching are judging me, oh god what if they just want this done and over with so they can beat up the next guy.

Relax and enjoy your RP. Extraordinarily long post times aside, if someone is actually that impatient that they can't give you time or respect to do so then they're the tart, not you IMHO.

Kurt S. · **01-11-2016, 03:51 AM**

(01-11-2016, 03:25 AM)Teadrinker Wrote:
(01-11-2016, 02:51 AM)Kurt S. Wrote: And this just recent one. After being challenged (and subsequently beaten down horribly in a close fight)

I'm wondering. Am I doing this right. Oh my god am I doing this right. I mean 90% of that fight was me pulling the post out of my ass since as much as I've seen flashy action sequences to Borne-esque fight sequences, putting them into words is another ball game for me.

And for the next few seconds I'm wondering. This other guy and the people watching are judging me, oh god what if they just want this done and over with so they can beat up the next guy.

Relax and enjoy your RP. Extraordinarily long post times aside, if someone is actually that impatient that they can't give you time or respect to do so then they're the tart, not you IMHO.

Nah they weren't impatient, that was probably just the anxiety talking to me. Still though being able to put action sequences to words would be a nice thing to have but oh well XD

industrythirteen · **01-11-2016, 04:08 AM**

I haven't had the urge to RP in a few weeks now. I'm anxious to get over that ambivalence, but I can't force it. That said, what's always caused me to hesitate to go out and get RP are a few things.Â

When I played a Roe, I was constantly sent unsolicited tells for ERP, and very specific types of ERP just by virtue of playing a femroe and standing idle in the Quicksand. While YKINMKATO, it got to a point where I had to forgo going to public spaces, or seeking out RP altogether outside of my then FC. I could not escape it, even when I was not RPing. It was very discouraging. After I race-name-changed to my Au Ra, I was a lot happier with her concept overall, and that non-sense stopped altogether. I don't get creepy ERP tells anymore, but I still feel a little residual cringe when I RP in public spaces.

I like playing characters with carnival mode elements. It's a good way for me to get over my introverted nature and engage, rather than wait for what I think is an appropriate moment, and continue to waffle. I have to force myself out of my comfort zone, and lucky for me, RP is one of the best ways I can do that. What worries me the most about playing this type of character, even though it suits me, is that I do not want to burden other people unnecessarily with her non-sense, especially if they're not game for interacting with a character with sometimes ridiculous behavior, or even reading it in scrolling chat. I worry that I'm being obnoxious, or others may think I'm weird for the sake of being weird. I'm more concerned as to whether I'm entertaining the other person.Â

When I hit my groove with my character, I tend to know how they will react to just about any given situation. I can rattle off reactions super fast, I'm super confident in my posts, I'm very consistent with the character, and I worry about stealing a scene. I've done it before unintentionally. For this reason, I tend to opt out of participating in events, and prefer to make brief appearances, deferring to others even when it may go against how I think my character would behave. I'd rather cooperate and compromise. While having the attention of one person at a time is all well and good, and giving that person my undivided attention in return, I don't want to create moments where I even perceive that I may have killed the chat (and/or RP) because people are watching (and of course, in my mind, judging me and my roleplay.)Â

It seems to me that a lot of these anxieties are just that, and in my head most likely. I find myself none the less bound by them. The only way I ever really discourage these thoughts and feelings of mine is to shoot people a tell to ask them if they're having fun. If I think I've offended someone, I want to address it immediately and apologize.

ArmachiA · **01-11-2016, 05:51 AM**

Right now my biggest insecurity is jumping back into the rp scene. Right around Heavensward's release I took a LOT of time off the game - really only logging on for FC leader things and raiding - in order to work on my own personal health. Five months later, I had dropped 70 pounds but no one knew who Armi was anymore, as the only person I really rped with was her future husband (and only because we had to to keep up the relationship and it was only like once a month). I still have like 25 more pounds to drop but now after the holidays I have more time to actually rp again and I'm finding jumping back in difficult. Everyone has all these stories and getting into them now seems too little-too late. I know I have people who want to RP with me, it's just the insecurities of having people relearn who Armi is - hell having ME relearn who she is - is niggling at me. Will I be able to find her voice again? Will anyone actually care once I do?

Stressful.

Gone · **02-17-2016, 11:13 PM**

I'm going to bump (and reply!) to this, as I swear half the time I'm on this site, I'm simply (re)reading this thread. It helps to combat my instinct to constantly tell myself 'well look at everyone else having fun, what's wrong with you?'

I could also quote half the previous posts in my own, since I've read a lot of insecurities that I share with others -- also a nice feeling. Misery loves company and all that! But this one seems the most relevant to me, since I'm also attempting to reply with my own uncertainties, a topic I could definitely write several essays on, ha. I truncated it, but it definitely resonates with me;

(12-23-2015, 04:56 AM)Graeham Wrote: I never really struggled to find consistent role-play in the other MMO's that I invested in over the years. Yet in FFXIV I often feel as though what I want is completely different to what the majority of role-players desire.

I've never really cared much for large events that are bloated with participants. Even if there's a valid reason for my character to attend I often just avoid going simply because dealing with the chat scroll alone is troublesome. It also risks becoming very stale to attend ball after ball and drinking contest after drinking contest.

[...]

So I guess in many ways FFXIV is something of a culture shock. I often wonder if I'm alone in this regard or if I'm just not approachable [...] Though I do think that the bulk of role-players simply want to interact with characters that are designed to fit in with whatever event happens to be the 'next big thing' rather than those who seek to get people to head out into the wilds on a classic adventure.

This is basically my situation too. I've roleplayed for a long time, across many different MMOs, and I've never felt so walled-off (or felt that the greater community was walled-off) as I have in FFXIV. And as a result, I guess my biggest uncertainty is simply -- 'Is this all worth it?' trying to break into a community that seems so resistant.

Now, I try to chalk that up to a number of things. Obviously there are people playing here that have done so since pre-ARR (I was one of them, but I didn't stick around); obviously folks are more apt to have formed connections already and aren't really interested in expanding beyond them. Most MMOs, as far as RP goes, seem to be fairly guild-centric in one manner or another, too, so that's not a FFXIV-unique phenomenon. Maybe there was super-server drama in the past that frightened some people off of public RP, or expanding their contacts, I don't know. There are, I will concede, many reasons not to step beyond one's existing contacts.Â The RP community here seems to have a weird tumblr fetish too, though that's a different topic.

But this is definitely a new experience for me, and one that I'll admit has gone a long way to turning me off of the game in particular. Even in 'the-game-that-must-not-be-named,' which is quite a bit older then FFXIV, I never really had an issue finding at least some people who were amicable to new friends, wanted the lengthier connections (or even just an RP pal to do ingame things with), etc etc. Here, it feels like you're either part of the 'status quo' or you're an outsider -- you don't matter.Â

I've certainly tried. Wrote up a public page for the wiki, attempted to reach out to folks via the forum and ingame (and much love for those few who I have had the privilege of RPing with <3), even attended a few larger events, despite that they're not my forte at all, for the same reasons as Graeham lists in the quoted passage above. And because I amÂ fairly shy, I'll concede that too. And yet I seem to have even fewer social connections than I started the game with, back before ARR. It's as though folks don't know what to do with someone who isn't a gritty mercenary or a kawaii catgirl, and who hasn't been around since 2000-whatever.

I do miss having those special sorts of friends -- the sort that you spend years RPing with off and on, that you can pal around and experience content ingame with. But I realize these are the rare sorts, too; and not even the point of my post! I'm letting myself be nostalgic for a second -- I'd be happy with more people to roleplay with, period, hah.Â

The (devil/angel) on my shoulder is telling me just to wait for Legion to launch so I can go back where I belong. At least I still enjoy other parts of FFXIV, as I've actually discovered I'm a decent tank and it's not totally frightening like I first thought it might be. Hooray dark knight!

Askier · **02-18-2016, 12:45 AM**

(02-17-2016, 11:13 PM)Sable Witch Wrote: -snip-

The (devil/angel) on my shoulder is telling me just to wait for Legion to launch so I can go back where I belong. At least I still enjoy other parts of FFXIV, as I've actually discovered I'm a decent tank and it's not totally frightening like I first thought it might be. Hooray dark knight!

I'm confused. The end just seemed so passive aggressive.Â The end completely removed the valid points you had made prior to it. After that line, I no longer felt your argument was valid because it comes across that you never -wanted- to fit in because you never wanted to belong here, long term, in the first place because you were just going back to WoW at some point.

H.H. · **02-18-2016, 01:06 AM**

I conceptualized Honus as a perpetual underdog: a scoundrel with an inferiority complex and the hatred for the "superior" to match. An amicable fellow who has a tendency to rub people the wrong way until he met that one person who he could take up arms against and use every trick in the book (which he can't read) to drag down into the mud and kick his/her teeth in. As he is now, he just comes across as an excitable idiot, a yappy dog, a jerk with a heart of gold. Is it character growth, or have just not had the chance proper to stretch my villainous legs and get into the mind of a pumpkin-eating cheater?

I really dig where I am now, and the dynamic I'm building with the cool dudes I was lucky enough to toss the #ladbantz with, but I can't help but feel I've completely lost sight of my original goals. I've been on Balmung for about two weeks now, and I've already found fantastic people to just chill with. But I'm yet left with a feeling of dissatisfaction, much the ungrateful sod that I am. Maybe I just need to get more involved with the community at large, participate or plan events of my own to showcase the parts of the character I had originally intended to use.

I guess it's just the case of my egocentric self feeling fit to throw a tantrum because his speshul snowflake hasn't yet had his chance to be a scumbag and drop a bucket of pig's blood on the guy in the spotlight. Though I guess I'm also largely directionless and don't know what I really want. Is "the feeling of wanting to hammer down the nail which sticks out" a single-minded desire, or is it jut a tired and played-out trope for a tired and played-out character? Would being a jovial idiot who's also an underhanded dickbag being a multi-faceted character, or is it a bland stage prop with no thought behind it, personality bent and twisted every which way to match the scene?

tl;dr wah wah big babby is ungrateful and doesn't know what he wants

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Roleplayer Uncertainty/Insecurity Theater

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