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

Savarah · **12-09-2014, 10:34 PM**

Hey all, it's been a while. Will try not to give you a life story, but a few details.

So I love XIV. This is a wonderful place with a lot of great, talented people. Since June of 2014, I had a great group of roleplayers who became friends that RPed /all the time/. We had a great group narrative, really close, deep interactions with each other. Quite literally the best RP I've ever had the pleasure of being included in. Once launch hit we all cut back a bit to explore gameplay. A few months pass and due to a bunch of factors, I decided to take myself out of the RP scene. I allowed my character to be kidnapped (to further a group narrative), and I left it at that, got super into PvE and Coil and endgame nonsense.

Fast forward to the near present. Lo and behold, the last month or two I've /really/ been missing RP. So, with most of my old crowd either dead (old characters killed off via fantasias and name changes) or having quit XIV, I am left with 2 main connections of Sav's. While Sav is normally super happy and naive and a pleasure to be around, the effects of her kidnapping leave her incredibly hostile towards those two people. Basically, she feels abandoned and is reacting in a potentially destructive way.

As you can probably tell, this personality switch is not exactly conducive to forming bonds with new people. My original plan is to just RP it out, and hope that Sav returns to her normal self after a while. But I can't help feeling left out of all the fun while I slowly work it out. What would you guys suggest?

TLDR- Never stopped playing XIV, but haven't RPed in close to a year. Slowly getting back into it with my remaining 2-3 connections, but what would you guys suggest on how to get back into the swing of things?

Parvacake · **12-10-2014, 12:05 AM**

(12-09-2014, 10:34 PM)Savarah Wrote: Hey all, it's been a while. Will try not to give you a life story, but a few details.

So I love XIV. This is a wonderful place with a lot of great, talented people. Since June of 2014, I had a great group of roleplayers who became friends that RPed /all the time/. We had a great group narrative, really close, deep interactions with each other. Quite literally the best RP I've ever had the pleasure of being included in. Once launch hit we all cut back a bit to explore gameplay. A few months pass and due to a bunch of factors, I decided to take myself out of the RP scene. I allowed my character to be kidnapped (to further a group narrative), and I left it at that, got super into PvE and Coil and endgame nonsense.

Fast forward to the near present. Lo and behold, the last month or two I've /really/ been missing RP. So, with most of my old crowd either dead (old characters killed off via fantasias and name changes) or having quit XIV, I am left with 2 main connections of Sav's. While Sav is normally super happy and naive and a pleasure to be around, the effects of her kidnapping leave her incredibly hostile towards those two people. Basically, she feels abandoned and is reacting in a potentially destructive way.

As you can probably tell, this personality switch is not exactly conducive to forming bonds with new people. My original plan is to just RP it out, and hope that Sav returns to her normal self after a while. But I can't help feeling left out of all the fun while I slowly work it out. What would you guys suggest?

TLDR- Never stopped playing XIV, but haven't RPed in close to a year. Slowly getting back into it with my remaining 2-3 connections, but what would you guys suggest on how to get back into the swing of things?

Sometimes its best to dive right in!

I took about two breaks from the RP scene and even the game entirely and would come back with my character still wholly intact and able to go in the general direction as before with the people she had interacted with before as well.

Being as yours is a different case, the best I can recommend is just to get out there. Start with the forums and see if you can OOCly arrange meetings or connections before hand to make the transition easier. If that doesn't help, have your character be a lurker and belt out some self description posts to garner some attention. Especially if she is as hostile as she is currently, it'll either repel folks or make some curious enough to venture further and see why she is the way she is.

I can see this going multiple ways, though I wouldn't suggest making her TOO terribly isolated. Then you have a character that doesn't go anywhere because they won't be around people and thus the path you want her to go down will be even harder to achieve.

g0ne · **12-10-2014, 01:08 AM**

Lili sums it up pretty nicely. The best way would be to start poking people for RP. Do it!

*hands over a magical RP stick*

Poke people with this and watch them write helplessly as they are forced to do your bidding! Mwahahaha!

I can assure you that people on tbe RPC are very nice and friendly and helpful, so don't be afraid to ask us for any sort of help, be it RP or anything else. Smile

On a side note, Eleni is a very cheerful and optimistic girl, maybe she can help in the transitioning of Sav?Â Surprise

If you ever see a C'eleni Meztli online, feel free to poke her with that stick I gave you.

Zhavi · **12-10-2014, 12:19 PM**

In my experience (because I joined way back before FFXIV launched, never bought the game to focus on rl, came back earlier this year, took another break to sort shit out, and am back again), what has worked for me is to, as others have said, reach out. People who are well established tend to err on the cautious side of things, and will wait for people they don't know to reach out to them. There's always a chance that people will disappear on you, especially if you're in the middle of a rp thing, and they need to see that you're going to commit before they're willing to commit to you. Yeah, that can make it tougher to get involved, but in my experience as long as you're friendly oocly, make polite overtures to people, and are willing to help push rp forward where needed (because if your character is going to be grumpy or hostile towards others, you need to have a backup plan to keep things moving should other characters take the 'not going to stick around for this' road) you shouldn't have any issues. And I say this as a person who plays a right bitch. Wink

Vysce the Lad · **12-12-2014, 04:25 AM**

>.< I'm having issues with rp lately too. I remember fond days of when I could magically start a conversation and then have the simple rp turn into a cross-country event with all kinds of intrigue about. Then a month or two ago... I was at work all the time setting up shop for the holidays and I come back to XIV. It was like someone turned a switch off in my head. I see so many people I want to approach, but end up shying out and rushing away to play another game or toss myself into a dungeon.

Dazed

maybe I've got the yips. I just wanna rp again and be happy.

Mercurias · **12-13-2014, 11:24 AM**

Well if we're going to be entirely frank about this, there's only one way to really get back into the swing of things when you haven't been RPing, and it's kind of a process:

Step One - Go someplace where people are. Alternately, find someone on your friend list/party finder/Hydaelyn Roleplayers and make a date and time to RP, then show up.Â

Step Two - RP.Â

Step Three - Repeat steps one and two.

There are going to be times where the character doesn't really FEEL right, or maybe isn't speaking to you the way he or she used to. Go on and muscle through it if you want to keep the character. Eventually the voice will come back.Â

But keep it up and eventually you'll get into the swing of things naturally.

Zelmanov · **12-16-2014, 05:12 AM**

In future situations, I always like to think up a way for my character to disappear for extended periods of time before actually disappearing. For example, its finals time over here so I made Orrin disappear via being on deployment in Coerthas, he's fighting the good fight and can't be reached.

If you aren't just looking for justifications for your disappearance and just RP rusty, hop into the tavern at Ul'dah or wherever you used to hang out. Someone may recognize you, if not, strike up conversation! Do not shy away from opportunities to explain why you were missing for so long.

***Alothia*** · **12-16-2014, 11:00 AM**

I've been trying to figure out the thing much myself. I've taken a few extended breaks, and I really can't commit to being around like I was back in 1.0, no matter how much I love the world and this game.

My advice is to find a group of people who are small and easygoing who can help you ease back into things. Small plots, casual events, stuff like that. Then, as you make those closer, lighthearted connections, start getting into more in depth things.Â

Best of luck to you!

Gabineaux · **12-16-2014, 03:26 PM**

I'm trying to get back into some more 'community RP' or better known as 'random RP'. Sure it's easy to say, JUST JUMP RIGHT ON IN! But when you stand there among other RPers writing multiple emotes nobody responds to, it's much easier to give up. (Or in my case, only RP with people I know already.)

Edvyn · **12-17-2014, 08:08 PM**

(12-16-2014, 03:26 PM)Clement Janvier Wrote: I'm trying to get back into some more 'community RP' or better known as 'random RP'. Sure it's easy to say, JUST JUMP RIGHT ON IN! But when you stand there among other RPers writing multiple emotes nobody responds to, it's much easier to give up. (Or in my case, only RP with people I know already.)

keep in mind that nobody actually owes you rp - the emotes you're doing could be:
A) overly long
B) overly passive/self-directed
C) interrupting something to make you the centre of attention
D) RPing with NPCs
these are all reasons that people may be ignoring you. if you are genuinely convinced you have not committed any of the listed sins, check your smirk count. the average roleplayer smirks 6 times a minute at the bare minimum, the solution to your problem may lie in simply smirking more. Cool

Melkire · **12-17-2014, 08:11 PM**

(12-16-2014, 03:26 PM)Clement Janvier Wrote: I'm trying to get back into some more 'community RP' or better known as 'random RP'. Sure it's easy to say, JUST JUMP RIGHT ON IN! But when you stand there among other RPers writing multiple emotes nobody responds to, it's much easier to give up. (Or in my case, only RP with people I know already.)

If your problem is that you're being drowned out, you might be trying to catch people's attention in a really crowded venue like the Quicksand. I'd suggest relocating (even if it's only to right outside the doors). The streets of a city, while not as populated, offer a better chance of one-on-one roleplay that sitting around a tavern where there's no guarantee that people will react to you even if you react to them.

IMO, and contrary to popular opinion, you shouldn't go where the people are, you should go find the right people. The RPC Wiki can be an amazing resource for finding characters that your own would feasibly interact with, so I'd suggest starting there and then contriving to run into those folks. That, or poke them with an in-game /tell or a forum PM to see if they're interested in roleplaying with you.

So how do you get back into the swing of things after a long break?

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